Search for heavy charged long-lived particles in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV using an ionisation measurement with the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS collaboration Aaboud, Morad ; Aad, Georges ; Abbott, Brad ; et al.
Phys.Lett.B 788 (2019) 96-116, 2019.
Inspire Record 1686832 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.83962

This Letter presents a search for heavy charged long-lived particles produced in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV at the LHC using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb$^{-1}$ collected by the ATLAS experiment in 2015 and 2016. These particles are expected to travel with a velocity significantly below the speed of light, and therefore have a specific ionisation higher than any high-momentum Standard Model particle of unit charge. The pixel subsystem of the ATLAS detector is used in this search to measure the ionisation energy loss of all reconstructed charged particles which traverse the pixel detector. Results are interpreted assuming the pair production of $R$-hadrons as composite colourless states of a long-lived gluino and Standard Model partons. No significant deviation from Standard Model background expectations is observed, and lifetime-dependent upper limits on $R$-hadron production cross-sections and gluino masses are set, assuming the gluino always decays in two quarks and a stable neutralino. $R$-hadrons with lifetimes above 1.0 ns are excluded at the 95% confidence level, with lower limits on the gluino mass ranging between 1290 GeV and 2060 GeV. In the case of stable $R$-hadrons, the lower limit on the gluino mass at the 95% confidence level is 1890 GeV.

26 data tables

The number of events in each CR, VR, and SR for the predicted background, for the expected contribution from the signal model normalised to $36.1$ fb$^{-1}$, and in the observed data. The predicted background includes the statistical and systematic uncertainties, respectively. The uncertainty in the signal yield includes all systematic uncertainties except that in the theoretical cross-section.

The number of events in each CR, VR, and SR for the predicted background, for the expected contribution from the signal model normalised to $36.1$ fb$^{-1}$, and in the observed data. The predicted background includes the statistical and systematic uncertainties, respectively. The uncertainty in the signal yield includes all systematic uncertainties except that in the theoretical cross-section.

Expected number of $R$-hadron signal events at different stages of the selection, normalised to $36.1$ fb$^{-1}$. Shown for three different signal points is the number of events expected and the number of events expected in which the selected track has been matched to a generated $R$-hadron. If the gluino decays, it decays to a 100 GeV $\tilde{\chi}^{0}$ and SM quarks.

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