Monojetlike Searches for Top Squarks with a b Tag

Area of Science:

• High Energy Physics
• Particle Physics
• Supersymmetry Searches

Background:

• Current LHC searches for light top squarks have established bounds for specific decay modes.
• A significant unconstrained region exists for top squarks decaying via a four-body process involving an off-shell W boson.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate a novel search strategy for light top squarks in the four-body decay channel.
• To cover the unconstrained parameter space in the top-squark-neutralino mass plane.

Main Methods:

• Development of a monojetlike search optimized for the four-body decay of top squarks.
• Inclusion of a requirement for at least one b-tagged jet in the analysis.
• Utilizing existing 8 TeV LHC data.

Main Results:

• The proposed search strategy effectively covers the entire unconstrained region in the top-squark-neutralino mass plane.
• Validation against existing ATLAS monojet search data demonstrates the method's efficacy.
• The search can exclude top squark masses below 100 GeV.

Conclusions:

• The proposed b-tagged monojet search is crucial for exploring light top squark scenarios.
• This strategy significantly enhances the LHC's sensitivity to supersymmetric particles.
• The method provides a powerful tool for extending current exclusion limits.