The first collider search for dark matter arising from a strongly coupled hidden sector is presented and uses a data sample corresponding to 138 fb−1, collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC, at s = 13 TeV. The hidden sector is hypothesized to couple to the standard model (SM) via a heavy leptophobic Z′ mediator produced as a resonance in proton-proton collisions. The mediator decay results in two “semivisible” jets, containing both visible matter and invisible dark matter. The final state therefore includes moderate missing energy aligned with one of the jets, a signature ignored by most dark matter searches. No structure in the dijet transverse mass spectra compatible with the signal is observed. Assuming the Z′ boson has a universal coupling of 0.25 to the SM quarks, an inclusive search, relevant to any model that exhibits this kinematic behavior, excludes mediator masses of 1.5–4.0 TeV at 95% confidence level, depending on the other signal model parameters. To enhance the sensitivity of the search for this particular class of hidden sector models, a boosted decision tree (BDT) is trained using jet substructure variables to distinguish between semivisible jets and SM jets from background processes. When the BDT is employed to identify each jet in the dijet system as semivisible, the mediator mass exclusion increases to 5.1 TeV, for wider ranges of the other signal model parameters. These limits exclude a wide range of strongly coupled hidden sector models for the first time. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2022, The Author(s).

Search for resonant production of strongly coupled dark matter in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV

Bertacchi, V.;Ligabue, F.
;
Manca, E.;Mandorli, G.;Ramirez Sanchez, G.;Roy Chowdhury, S.;
2022

Abstract

The first collider search for dark matter arising from a strongly coupled hidden sector is presented and uses a data sample corresponding to 138 fb−1, collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC, at s = 13 TeV. The hidden sector is hypothesized to couple to the standard model (SM) via a heavy leptophobic Z′ mediator produced as a resonance in proton-proton collisions. The mediator decay results in two “semivisible” jets, containing both visible matter and invisible dark matter. The final state therefore includes moderate missing energy aligned with one of the jets, a signature ignored by most dark matter searches. No structure in the dijet transverse mass spectra compatible with the signal is observed. Assuming the Z′ boson has a universal coupling of 0.25 to the SM quarks, an inclusive search, relevant to any model that exhibits this kinematic behavior, excludes mediator masses of 1.5–4.0 TeV at 95% confidence level, depending on the other signal model parameters. To enhance the sensitivity of the search for this particular class of hidden sector models, a boosted decision tree (BDT) is trained using jet substructure variables to distinguish between semivisible jets and SM jets from background processes. When the BDT is employed to identify each jet in the dijet system as semivisible, the mediator mass exclusion increases to 5.1 TeV, for wider ranges of the other signal model parameters. These limits exclude a wide range of strongly coupled hidden sector models for the first time. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2022, The Author(s).
2022
Settore FIS/01 - Fisica Sperimentale
Beyond Standard Model; Dark Matter; Hadron-Hadron Scattering
   Advanced Multi-Variate Analysis for New Physics Searches at the LHC
   AMVA4NewPhysics
   European Commission
   Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
   675440

   Search for Higgs bosons decaying to charm quarks
   HIGCC
   European Commission
   Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
   724704

   Direct and indirect searches for new physics in events with top quarks using LHC proton-proton collisions at the CMS detector
   LHCTOPVLQ
   European Commission
   Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
   752730

   Majorana neutrino discovery strategy with CMS
   MajorNet
   European Commission
   Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
   758316

   International Training Network for Statistics in High Energy Physics and Society
   INSIGHTS
   European Commission
   Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
   765710

   The strong interaction at the frontier of knowledge: fundamental research and applications
   STRONG-2020
   European Commission
   Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
   824093

   International, Interdisciplinary & Intersectoral Postdoctoral Fellowships at the Paul Scherrer Institut
   PSI-FELLOW-III-3i
   European Commission
   Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
   884104
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11384/139565
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