Search for long-lived particles using out-of-time trackless jets in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV

The collaboration
CMS-EXO-21-014, 2022.

Abstract (data abstract)
A search for long-lived particles decaying in the outer regions of the CMS silicon tracker or in the calorimeters is presented. The search is based on a data sample of proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2016-2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 $\text{fb}^{-1}$. A novel technique, using trackless and out-of-time jet information combined in a deep neural network discriminator, is employed to identify decays of long-lived particles. The results are interpreted in a simplified model of chargino-neutralino production, where the neutralino is the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle, is long-lived, and decays to a gravitino and either a Higgs or $Z$ boson.This search is most sensitive to neutralino proper decay lengths of approximately 0.5 m, for which masses up to 1.18 TeV are excluded at 95% confidence level. The current search is the best result to date in the mass range from the kinematic limit imposed by the Higgs mass up to 1.8 TeV.