This review discusses both experimental and theoretical aspects of searches for dark matter at the LHC. An overview of the various experimental search channels is given, followed by a summary of the different theoretical approaches for predicting dark matter signals. A special emphasis is placed on the interplay between LHC dark matter searches and other kinds of dark matter experiments, as well as among different types of LHC searches.
In the extensive efforts to understand the nature of Dark Matter and searches at colliders, the LHCb experiment has a unique sensitivity to low mass Dark Matter candidates. These proceedings present recent results and prospects on Dark Matter searches with the LHCb experiment that achieve world-leading sensitivities.
A review of the current experimental results on searches for Higgs bosons in models beyond the Standard Model is presented. Searches from ATLAS, CMS and LHCb use datasets from Run 1 of the LHC, including 7 and 8 TeV proton-proton collisions. Searches from CDF and D0 use the full or partial 1.96 TeV proton-anti-proton collision datasets from the Tevatron.
Motivated by the null results of LHC searches, which together with the Higgs mass, severely constrain minimal supersymmetric extensions of the standard model, we adopt a model-independent approach to study charged slepton flavor. We examine a number of simplified models, with different subsets of sleptons, electroweak gauginos, and Higgsinos, and derive the allowed slepton flavor dependence in the region probed by current LHC searches, and in the region relevant for the 14 TeV LHC. We then study the impact of the allowed flavor dependence on lepton plus missing energy searches. In some cases, …
We present a summary of the current status of searches for dark matter at the LHC from the ATLAS and CMS experiments. For various assumptions in the simplified parameter space, the LHC exclusions is complementary to direct detection results. Mono-object analyses in search of dark matter and various analyses searching for dark matter mediators are presented.
An overview of the recent searches for Higgs boson pair production at the LHC was presented. The searches were based on approximately 140 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ of data collected by the ATLAS and CMS experiments in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV. With respect to the previous searches, analysis techniques were significantly improved, and new signatures and decays channels were explored.
In these proceedings we review the interplay between LHC searches for dark matter and direct detection experiments. For this purpose we consider two prime examples: the effective field theory (EFT) approach and the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM). In the EFT scenario we show that for operators which do not enter directly direct detection at tree-level, but only via loop effects, LHC searches give complementary constraints. In the MSSM stop and Higgs exchange contribute to the direct detection amplitude. Therefore, LHC searches for supersymmetric particles and heavy Higgses place c…
Recent results in the search for supersymmetry in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV and sqrt(s) = 8 TeV by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the LHC are reviewed. After discussing features of inclusive analyses and the presentation of results, emphasis will be put on searches for the third generation squarks, on searches for gauginos, and on possible ways supersymmetry could escape the present analyses.
We study the sensitivity of displaced vertex searches for heavy neutrinos produced in W boson decays in the LHC detectors ATLAS, CMS and LHCb. We also propose a new search that uses the muon chambers to detect muons from heavy neutrino decays outside the tracker. The sensitivity estimates are based on benchmark models in which the heavy neutrinos mix exclusively with one of the three Standard Model generations. In the most sensitive mass regime the displaced vertex searches can improve existing constraints on the mixing with the first two Standard Model generations by more than four orders of …
Using two suitable benchmark scenarios that satisfy the experimental constraints on the total decay width of the $125 \, {\rm GeV}$ Higgs boson, we determine the bounds on light CP-odd spin-0 states in the 2HDM+$a$ model that arise from existing LHC searches. Our work represents the first thorough study that considers the parameter space with $m_a \lesssim 100 \, {\rm GeV}$ and should prove useful for 2HDM+$a$ interpretations of future ATLAS, CMS and LHCb searches for pseudoscalars with masses below the electroweak scale.
A summary of the different searches for weakly produced SUSY by both CMS and ATLAS is presented here. A review on the methodology of these searches, including event selection, background suppression and estimation methods, etc is covered. Other searches at the LHC already probe squarks and gluino masses up to 1.4 TeV, such scenario, may favour electroweak production of charginos and neutralinos, that will produce many-lepton final states accompanied by E$_{\rm T}^{\rm miss}\,$ and very little hadronic activity. Latest searches include Higgs boson in the decay and exploits VBF associated produc…
The LHC has delivered several fb-1 of data in spring and summer 2011, opening new windows of opportunity for discovering phenomena beyond the Standard Model. A summary of the searches conducted by the ATLAS and CMS experiments based on about 1 fb-1 of data is presented.
We present several strategies for searching for supersymmetry in dijet channels that do not explicitly invoke missing energy. Preliminary investigations suggest that signal-to-background ratios of at least 4--5 should be achievable at the LHC, with discovery possible for squarks as heavy as ~ 1.7 TeV.
Heavy neutrinos at the TeV scale have been searched for at the LHC in the context of left-right models, under the assumption that they couple to the electron, the muon, or both. We show that current searches are also sensitive to heavy neutrinos coupling predominantly to the tau lepton, and present limits can significantly constrain the parameter space of general flavour mixing.
I summarize the status of the inclusive SUSY searches conducted by the ATLAS and CMS experiments using the 20 fb-1 of 8 TeV LHC data in the all inclusive, 0 lepton, >=1 lepton and >=2 lepton final states. Current searches show that data are consistent with the SM. The impact of this consistency was explored on a rich variety of SUSY scenarios and simplified models, examples of which I present here.
The process $p+p\to W^\pm W^+ W^-$ with lepton decays of $W$-bosons is shown to be promising for improving conditions for studies of parameter $λ$, which is the anomalous triple $W$-bosons interaction coupling constant.
We review the limitations to the use of the effective field theory approach to study dark matter at the LHC. Due to the high energy reach, the low energy description breaks down, and may lead to incorrect results. The use of simplified models is suggested.
The Run 2 data taking period of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in years 2015-2018 has presented a great opportunity to search for physics beyond the standard model (BSM). It will be followed by the Run 3 period starting in 2022, and by the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) era starting in late 2020s, where the latter promises an unprecedented wealth of physics prospects due to very high expected integrated luminosity and improved detector features. The ATLAS, CMS and LHCb experiments pursued a rich physics program in Run 2, and are already assessing the physics expectations at the HL-LHC e…
Considering the supersymmetric model with the long-lived charged Higgsino, we discuss how Higgsino kink signals can show up in the latest LHC Disappearing Track (DT) and stable chargino searches. We derive constraints on the Higgsino kink signal, and characterize it in comparison to the Wino DT and the slepton kink track. We also discuss how to infer Higgsino model kinematics.
We study the implications of LHC searches on SUSY particle spectra using flat scans of the 19-parameter pMSSM phase space. We apply constraints from flavour physics, g_mu-2, dark matter and earlier LEP and Tevatron searches. The sensitivity of the LHC SUSY searches with jets, leptons and missing energy is assessed by reproducing with fast simulation the recent CMS analyses after validation on benchmark points. We present results in terms of the fraction of pMSSM points compatible with all the constraints which are excluded by the LHC searches with 1 fb^{-1} and 15 fb^{-1} as a function of the …
The success of the first three years of operations of the LHC at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV radically changed the landscape of searches for new physics beyond the standard model and our very way of thinking about its possible origin and its hiding place. Among the paradigms of new physics that have been probed quite extensively at the LHC, are various models that predict the existence of extra spatial dimensions. In this review, the current status of searches for extra dimensions with the CMS detector is presented, along with prospects for future searches at the full energy of the …
Data taking at the LHC is the beginning of a new era in particle physics which will lead us towards understanding the completion of the Standard Model at and beyond the TeV scale. I discuss different approaches to new physics searches: driven by experimental anomalies, driven by model building, or driven by new analysis ideas. All of them have their place as long as we keep an open mind and see their opportunities as well as their limitations.
If only tree-level processes are included in the analysis, LHC monojet searches give weak constraints on the dark matter-proton scattering cross section arising from the exchange of a new heavy scalar or pseudoscalar mediator with Yukawa-like couplings to quarks. In this letter we calculate the constraints on these interactions from the CMS 5.0/fb and ATLAS 4.7/fb searches for jets with missing energy including the effects of heavy-quark loops. We find that the inclusion of such contributions leads to a dramatic increase in the predicted cross section and therefore a significant improvement of…
SND@LHC is an approved experiment equipped to detect scattering of neutrinos produced in the far-forward direction at the LHC, and aimed to measure their properties. In addition, the detector has a potential to search for new feebly interacting particles (FIPs) that may be produced in proton-proton collisions. In this paper, we discuss FIPs signatures at SND@LHC considering two classes of particles: stable FIPs that may be detected via their scattering, and unstable FIPs that decay inside the detector. We estimate the sensitivity of SND@LHC to probe scattering of leptophobic dark matter, and t…
Sterile neutrinos with masses in the range (1-100) GeV, have been searched for in a variety of experiments. Here, we discuss the prospects to search for sterile neutrinos at the LHC using displaced vertices. Two different cases are discussed: (i) the standard model extended with sterile neutrinos and (ii) right-handed neutrinos in a left-right symmetric extension of the standard model. A dedicated displaced vertex search will allow to probe parts of the parameter space not accessible to other searches, but will require large luminosity in both cases.
The U(1) extended supersymmetric standard model (UMSSM) can accommodate a Higgs boson at 125 GeV without relying on large corrections from the top/stop sector. After imposing LHC results on the Higgs sector, on B-physics and on new particle searches as well as dark matter constraints, we show that this model offers two viable dark matter candidates, the right-handed (RH) sneutrino or the neutralino. Limits on supersymmetric partners from LHC simplified model searches are imposed using SModelS and allow for light squarks and gluinos. Moreover the upper limit on the relic abundance often favours…
Searches for Beyond the Standard Model Higgs processes in the context of Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model and Next to MSSM are presented. The results are based on the first LHC run of pp collision data recorded by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV, corresponding to integrated luminosities of about 5 and 20 fb$^{-1}$ respectively. Current searches constrain large parts of the parameter space. No evidence for BSM Higgs is found.
We study direct searches of additional Higgs bosons in multi-top-quarks events at the LHC Run-II, its luminosity upgraded version with 3000 fb$^{-1}$, and the International Linear Collider (ILC) with the collision energy of 1 TeV. Additional Higgs bosons are predicted in all kinds of extended Higgs sectors, and their detection at collider experiments is a clear signature of the physics beyond the standard model. We consider two Higgs doublet models with the discrete symmetry as benchmark models. If these additional Higgs bosons are heavy enough, the decay modes including top quarks can be domi…
The discovery of the Higgs boson at the LHC opened up a new possibility to obtain a precise understanding of the origin of mass and the structure of the vacuum. Several theories beyond the Standard Model predict an extended Higgs sector, with additional scalar particles. We outline the complementary search possibilities for these beyond Standard Model Higgs bosons at the LHC and at possible future high-energy collider facilities.
We analyze the Tevatron and Large Hadron Collider (LHC) reach for the Higgs sector of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) in the presence of explicit CP-violation. Using the most recent studies from the Tevatron and LHC collaborations, we examine the CPX benchmark scenario for a range of CP-violating phases in the soft trilinear and gluino mass terms and compute the exclusion/discovery potentials for each collider on the $(M_{H^+}, \tanβ)$ plane. Projected results from Standard Model (SM)-like, non-standard, and charged Higgs searches are combined to maximize the statistical signi…
We confront the ATLAS and CMS new physics searches with simplified models from R-parity violating (RPV) supersymmetry that contain naturally light stops and higgsinos. We emphasize the important role played by searches for exotic heavy quarks and leptoquarks and discuss how these searches could be modified to better address RPV scenarios. We also argue that it would be useful to design searches for new physics based on the ttbar cross section measurements, to enhance searches for taus + jets + MET with regions with b tagging and reduced MET requirements, and to expand the search program for al…
A selection of recent searches for Supersymmetry conducted by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations is presented, summarizing the relevant results for inclusive squark and gluino production at the LHC. No indication for the existence of Supersymmetry in terms of an excess above the Standard Model background is seen by any analysis, therefore limits are reported on parameters of the various models used to interpret the findings.
We investigate the prospects of supersymmetry searches at the LHC with 7 TeV energy. A new set of selection cuts is proposed based on event shapes to control backgrounds. Our preliminary studies show that it is possible to minimize backgrounds to a significantly low level and conservative estimate suggests that the mass reach can be extended to $\sim$ 1.1 TeV for luminosity 1/fb with a reasonable signal-to-background ratio.
We present a reinterpretation of CMS searches for type-III seesaw lepton triplets at the LHC, both for the normal and the inverse seesaw. We find that, in contrast with previous expectations, these searches in the trilepton final state have a good sensitivity to triplets with predominant coupling to the tau lepton. We also show that the limits resulting from direct searches can be neatly presented for arbitrary masses and general flavour mixings. Thus, it turns out that the common (and often unrealistic) simplifying assumptions about the flavour couplings of the triplets used by experimental c…
The planned upgrade of the CMS detector for the High Luminosity LHC allows to find tracks in the silicon tracker for every single LHC collision and use them in the first level (hardware) trigger decision. So far, studies by CMS collaboration concentrated on the maintaining the overall trigger performance in the punishing pile up environment. We argue that the potential capabilities of the track trigger are much wider, and may offer groundbreaking opportunities for new physics searches. As an example, and to facilitate community discussion, we use a simple toy simulation to study rare Higgs dec…
It is very easy to write down models in which long-lived particles decaying to standard model states are pair-produced via Higgs decays, resulting in the signature of approximately back-to-back pairs of displaced narrow hadronic jets and/or lepton jets at the LHC. The LHC collaborations have already searched for such signatures with no observed excess. This paper describes a Monte Carlo method to reinterpret the searches. The method relies on (ideally multidimensional) efficiency tables, thus we implore collaborations to include them in any future work. Exclusion regions in mixing-mass paramet…
A light singlino in the NMSSM can reduce considerably the missing transverse energy at the end of sparticle decay cascades; instead, light NMSSM-specific Higgs bosons can be produced. Such scenarios can be consistent with present constraints from the LHC with all sparticle masses below ~1 TeV. We discuss search strategies, which do not rely on missing transverse energy, for such scenarios at the next run of the LHC near 14 TeV.
The ATLAS collaboration has recently reported a 2.6 sigma excess in the search for a heavy resonance decaying into a pair of weak gauge bosons. Only fully hadronic final states are being looked for in the analysis. If the observed excess really originates from the gauge bosons' decays, other decay modes of the gauge bosons would inevitably leave a trace on other exotic searches. In this paper, we propose the use of the Z boson decay into a pair of neutrinos to test the excess. This decay leads to a very large missing energy and can be probed with conventional dark matter searches at the LHC. W…
We present a status report on the indirect searches for New Physics performed by means of heavy flavour decays. Particular attention is devoted to the recent experimental results in B and charm physics obtained by the LHC experiments. The implications of these results for physics beyond the Standard Model are discussed both in general terms and by means of a few specific examples.
Searches for supersymmetry (SUSY) at the LHC frequently assume the conservation of $R$-parity in their design, optimization and interpretation. In the case that $R$-parity is not conserved, constraints on SUSY particle masses tend to be weakened with respect to $R$-parity-conserving models. We review the current status of searches for $R$-parity-violating (RPV) supersymmetry models at the ATLAS and CMS experiments, limited to 8 TeV search results published or submitted for publication as of the end of March 2015. All forms of renormalisable RPV terms leading to prompt signatures have been cons…
Separate, validated implementations of the ATLAS and CMS new physics analyses are necessary to fully exploit the potential of these searches. To this end, we use MadAnalysis 5, a public framework for collider phenomenology. In this talk, we present recent developments of MadAnalysis 5, as well as a new public database of reimplemented LHC analyses. The validation of one ATLAS and one CMS search for supersymmetry, present in the database, is also summarized.
The searches for new particles that could be constituents of the dark matter in the universe are an essential part of the physics program of the experiments at the Large Hadron Collider. An overview of recent dark matter candidate searches is presented with a focus on new results obtained by the ATLAS and CMS experiments from the analysis of the proton-proton collision data at 13 TeV center-of-mass energy collected in the first part of Run 2.
We consider simplified models for dark matter (DM) at the LHC, focused on mono-Higgs, -Z, or -b produced in the final state. Our primary purpose is to study the LHC reach of a relatively complete set of simplified models for these final states, while comparing the reach of the mono-X DM search against direct searches for the mediating particle. We find that direct searches for the mediating particle, whether in di-jets, jets+MET, multi-b+MET, or di-boson+MET, are usually stronger. We draw attention to the cases that the mono-X search is strongest, which include regions of parameter space in in…
With the LHC up and running, the focus of experimental and theoretical high energy physics will soon turn to an interpretation of LHC data in terms of the physics of electroweak symmetry breaking and the TeV scale. We present here a broad review of models for new TeV-scale physics and their LHC signatures. In addition, we discuss possible new physics signatures and describe how they can be linked to specific models of physics beyond the Standard Model. Finally, we illustrate how the LHC era could culminate in a detailed understanding of the underlying principles of TeV-scale physics.
We examine the ATLAS and CMS 7 & 8 TeV multijet supersymmetry (SUSY) searches requiring the incidence of a single lepton in the framework of the supersymmetric grand unified model No-Scale Flipped SU(5) with extra vector-like flippon multiplets derived from F-Theory, or F-SU(5) for short. Investigated are five multijet+lepton SUSY searches: 4.7/fb ATLAS 7 TeV gluino and light stop searches, as well as 13/fb ATLAS and 9.7/fb CMS 8 TeV light stop searches. Most significantly, all five leptonic SUSY searches represent statistically independent data samples. Findings show that all five orthogonal …
Precision electroweak data, a light higgs and LHC searches for new spin one particles are all very constraining on technicolor models. We use a holographic model of walking techicolor (WTC) gauge dynamics, tuned to produce a light higgs and low $S$ parameter, to estimate the range of possible vector($ρ$) and pseudo-vector($A$) resonance masses and couplings as a function of the number of colours and the number of flavours of techni-singlet and techni-doublet quarks. The resulting models predict techni-hadron masses and couplings above the current limits from dilepton resonance searches at the …
The search for new physics is a major goal of the LHC physics program. As excitement grows for the upcoming start of Run 2, I review the CMS and ATLAS searches for physics beyond the Standard Model from Run 1 and present recent analyses. These searches have covered a wide range of new physics scenarios including Supersymmetry, new resonances, additional Higgs bosons, new hidden sectors, other Dark Matter, and multi-charged particles. In addition to reviewing some of the techniques that made the analyses possible, I will summarize what we have learned from the results and briefly discuss prospe…
The Large Hadron Collider is the world's largest and highest center-of-mass energy particle accelerator. During the Phase I operation it is expected that the LHC operated at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV will deliver to the CMS experiment total integrated luminosity of $\sim$300 fb$^{-1}$ till 2023. The High Luminosity LHC upgrade is expected to run at a centre-of-mass energy of 14 TeV and will allow ATLAS and CMS to collect integrated luminosities of the order of 300 fb$^{-1}$ per year, and up to 3000 fb$^{-1}$ during the HL-LHC projected lifetime of ten years. The large expected integrat…
Complex parameters in the MSSM lead to mixing and interference between the two heavier neutral CP-even and CP-odd Higgs states. These effects can become very large in the case of almost degenerate states. In a CP-violating benchmark scenario, we investigate phenomenological implications of such interferences in view of the LHC searches for heavy Higgs bosons decaying to a pair of $τ$-leptons and produced in gluon fusion and in association with b-quarks. Strongly destructive effects leave parameter regions unconstrained that would be regarded as excluded if no interference terms were taken into…
Collider signatures with top quarks provide sensitive probes of dark matter (DM) production at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In this article, we review the results of DM searches in final states with top quarks conducted by the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations at the LHC, including the most recent results on the full LHC Run 2 dataset. We highlight the complementarity of DM searches in final states with top quarks with searches in other final states in the framework of various simplified models of DM. A re-interpretation of a DM search with top quarks in the context of an effective-field theory…
The vector boson fusion (VBF) event topology at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) allows efficient suppression of dijet backgrounds and is therefore a promising target for new physics searches. We consider dark matter models which interact with the Standard Model through the electroweak sector: either through new scalar and pseudoscalar mediators which can be embedded into the Higgs sector, or via effective operators suppressed by some higher scale, and therefore have significant VBF production cross-sections. Using realistic simulations of the ATLAS and CMS analysis chain, including estimates o…
The LHC has collided protons on protons at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV between 2010-2012, referred to as the Run I period. We review the current status of searches for new physics beyond the Standard Model at the end of Run I by the ATLAS and CMS experiments, limited to the 8 TeV search results published or submitted for publication as of the end of February 2014. We discuss some of the implications of these searches on the existence of TeV scale new physics, with a special focus on two open questions: the hierarchy problem, and the nature of dark matter. Finally, we give an outlook…
Searches for new physics in high-multiplicity events with little or no missing energy are an important component of the LHC program, complementary to analyses that rely on missing energy. We consider the potential reach of searches for events with a lepton and six or more jets, and show they can provide increased sensitivity to many supersymmetric and exotic models that would not be detected through standard missing-energy analyses. Among these are supersymmetric models with gauge mediation, R-parity violation, and light hidden sectors. Moreover, ATLAS and CMS measurements suggest the primary …
Uncovering the physics of electroweak symmetry breaking (EWSB) is the raison-d'etre of the LHC. Flavor questions, it would seem, are of minor relevance for this quest, apart from their role in constraining the possible structure of EWSB physics. In this short review article, we outline, using flavor-dependent sleptons as an example, how flavor can affect both searches for supersymmetry, and future measurements aimed at understanding the nature of any new discoveries. If the production cross-sections for supersymmetry are relatively low, as indicated by the fact that it has not revealed itself …
We present the implementation, in the MadAnalysis 5 framework, of several ATLAS and CMS searches for supersymmetry in data recorded during the first run of the LHC. We provide extensive details on the validation of our implementations and propose to create a public analysis database within this framework.
The mass of the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson was constrained by the Large Electron-Positron (LEP) collider to be above 114.4 GeV. Simple extensions of the scalar sector like adding singlets and/or doublets allow the lightest Higgs to be much lighter via a reduction in its coupling to gauge bosons. Such a light Higgs could have evaded the LEP searches but could be detected at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the process pp -> h j -> tau^+ tau^- j, where j is a resolved jet. We conclude that in some Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) extensions of the scalar sector, a very light Higgs state co…
We discuss the physics case for direct searches at the LHC motivated by the $B$-physics anomalies. After correlating semi-tauonic $B$ decays to di-tau production at the LHC, and discussing the possible models solving the $B$-anomalies, we show how current LHC data in $τ\barτ$ tails exclude most beyond the SM scenarios except for a handful of leptoquark (LQ) models. We analyze in detail the impact of LHC searches for some of these LQ solutions using current data. In particular, we focus on the well known $U_1\sim({\bf3},{\bf1})_{2/3}$ vector LQ solution as well as the GUT-inspired scalar LQ sol…
We confront the indications of lepton flavor universality (LFU) violation observed in semi-tauonic $B$ meson decays with new physics (NP) searches using high $p_T$ tau leptons at the LHC. Using effective field theory arguments we correlate possible non-standard contributions to semi-tauonic charged currents with the $τ^+ τ^-$ signature at high energy hadron colliders. Several representative standard model extensions put forward to explain the anomaly are examined in detail: (i) weak triplet of color-neutral vector resonances, (ii) second Higgs doublet and (iii) scalar or (iv) vector leptoquark…
We study resonances decaying to one top quark and one additional quark (b or c) at the low- luminosity and high-luminosity 14 TeV LHC and at a future 33 TeV hadron collider in the context of Snowmass 2013. A heavy W boson that preferentially couples to quarks can be found through its decay to tb. A Kaluza-Klein gluon might have a significant branching ratio to tc. The final state in these searches has a lepton and neutrino from a W boson decay plus two jets, at least one of which is b-tagged. We give expected limits as a function of W boson and KKg masses for different collider energy and inte…
