Search for Long-lived Particles Decaying into Displaced Jets with the CMS Detector at the Large Hadron Collider

Abstract

The existence of long-lived particles is very generic in many beyond standard model scenarios. A search for long-lived particles decaying into jets is presented in this dissertation. Data were collected with the CMS detector at the LHC from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV in 2016, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb-1. The search examines the distinctive topology of displaced tracks and secondary vertices. The selected events are found to be consistent with standard model predictions. The search is sensitive to a wide range of models predicting long-lived particles decaying into displaced jets. For a simplified model in which long-lived neutral particles are pair produced and decay to two jets, pair production cross sections larger than 0.2 fb are excluded at 95% confidence level for a long-lived particle mass larger than 1000 GeV and proper decay lengths between 3 and 130 mm. Several supersymmetry models with gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking or R-parity violation, where pair-produced long-lived gluinos or top squarks decay to several final-state topologies

containing displaced jets, are also tested. For these models, in the mass ranges above 200 GeV, gluino masses up to 2300—2400 GeV and top squark masses up to 1350—1600 GeV are excluded for proper decay lengths approximately between 10 and 100 mm. These are the most restrictive limits to date on these models.