Search for Soft Unclustered Energy Patterns in Proton-Proton Collisions at 13 TeV.

Area of Science:

• High Energy Physics
• Particle Physics
• Beyond Standard Model Physics

Background:

• Hidden valley models predict new confining forces and soft unclustered energy patterns (SUEPs).
• These models involve a large 't Hooft coupling and are motivated by new physics beyond the Standard Model.

Purpose of the Study:

• To perform the first search for SUEPs at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
• To test predictions of hidden valley models by searching for specific energy patterns in proton-proton collisions.

Main Methods:

• Utilized 138 fb^{-1} of proton-proton collision data at 13 TeV collected by the CMS detector (2016-2018).
• Selected boosted event topologies using high-threshold hadronic triggers.
• Employed track multiplicity and sphericity to reject Standard Model quantum chromodynamics background.

Main Results:

• No significant excess of events consistent with SUEP production was observed.
• Set upper limits on the production cross section for a scalar mediator decaying into SUEP-like particles via gluon fusion.

Conclusions:

• The search places constraints on hidden valley models with SUEP production.
• The results indicate no evidence for SUEPs within the analyzed dataset, contributing to the ongoing search for new physics at the LHC.