Linear Collider Capabilities for Supersymmetry in Dark Matter Allowed Regions of the mSUGRA Model

Recent comparisons of minimal supergravity (mSUGRA) model predictions with WMAP measurements of the neutralino relic density point to preferred regions of model parameter space. We investigate the reach of linear colliders (LC) with $\sqrt{s}=0.5$ and 1 TeV for SUSY in the framework of the mSUGRA model. We find that LCs can cover the entire stau co-annihilation region provided \tan\beta \alt 30. In the hyperbolic branch/focus point (HB/FP) region of parameter space, specialized cuts are suggested to increase the reach in this important ``dark matter allowed'' area. In the case of the HB/FP region, the reach of a LC extends well past the reach of the CERN LHC. We examine a case study in the HB/FP region, and show that the MSSM parameters $\mu$ and $M_2$ can be sufficiently well-measured to demonstrate that one would indeed be in the HB/FP region, where the lightest chargino and neutralino have a substantial higgsino component.Comment: 29 pages, 15 EPS figures; updated version slightly modified to conform with published versio

Super-conservative interpretation of muon g-2 results applied to supersymmetry

The recent developments in theory and experiment related to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon are applied to supersymmetry. We follow a very cautious course, demanding that the supersymmetric contributions fit within five standard deviations of the difference between experiment and the standard model prediction. Arbitrarily small supersymmetric contributions are then allowed, so no upper bounds on superpartner masses result. Nevertheless, non-trivial exclusions are found. We characterize the substantial region of parameter space ruled out by this analysis that has not been probed by any previous experiment. We also discuss some implications of the results for forthcoming collider experiments.Comment: 10 pages, latex, 3 fig

Yukawa coupling unification and non-universal gaugino mediation of supersymmetry breaking

The requirement of Yukawa coupling unification highly constrains the SUSY parameter space. In several SUSY breaking scenarios it is hard to reconcile Yukawa coupling unification with experimental constraints from B(b->s gamma) and the muon anomalous magnetic moment a_mu. We show that b-tau or even t-b-tau Yukawa unification can be satisfied simultaneously with b->s gamma and a_mu in the non-universal gaugino mediation scenario. Non-universal gaugino masses naturally appear in higher dimensional grand unified models in which gauge symmetry is broken by orbifold compactification. Relations between SUSY contributions to fermion masses, b->s gamma and a_mu which are typical for models with universal gaugino masses are relaxed. Consequently, these phenomenological constraints can be satisfied simultaneously with a relatively light SUSY spectrum, compared to models with universal gaugino masses.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures. References added. A copy of the paper with better resolution figures can be found at http://www.hep.fsu.edu/~balazs/Physics/Papers/2003

On Yukawa quasi-unification with mu<0

Although recent data on the muon anomalous magnetic moment strongly disfavor the constrained minimal supersymmetric standard model with mu<0, they cannot exclude it because of theoretical ambiguities. We consider this model supplemented by a Yukawa quasi-unification condition which allows an acceptable b-quark mass. We find that the cosmological upper bound on the lightest sparticle relic abundance is incompatible with the data on the branching ratio of b-->s gamma, which is evaluated by including all the next-to-leading order corrections. Thus, this scheme is not viable.Comment: 4 pages including 3 figures, Revte

Probing mSUGRA via the Extreme Universe Space Observatory

An analysis is carried out within mSUGRA of the estimated number of events originating from upward moving ultra-high energy neutralinos that could be detected by the Extreme Universe Space Observatory (EUSO). The analysis exploits a recently proposed technique that differentiates ultra-high energy neutralinos from ultra-high energy neutrinos using their different absorption lengths in the Earth's crust. It is shown that for a significant part of the parameter space, where the neutralino is mostly a Bino and with squark mass $\sim 1$ TeV, EUSO could see ultra-high energy neutralino events with essentially no background. In the energy range 10^9 GeV < E < 10^11 GeV, the unprecedented aperture of EUSO makes the telescope sensitive to neutralino fluxes as low as 1.1 \times 10^{-6} (E/GeV)^{-1.3} GeV^{-1} cm^{-2} yr^{-1} sr^{-1}, at the 95% CL. Such a hard spectrum is characteristic of supermassive particles' $N$-body hadronic decay. The case in which the flux of ultra-high energy neutralinos is produced via decay of metastable heavy particles with uniform distribution throughout the universe is analyzed in detail. The normalization of the ratio of the relics' density to their lifetime has been fixed so that the baryon flux produced in the supermassive particle decays contributes to about 1/3 of the events reported by the AGASA Collaboration below 10^{11} GeV, and hence the associated GeV gamma-ray flux is in complete agreement with EGRET data. For this particular case, EUSO will collect between 4 and 5 neutralino events (with 0.3 of background) in ~ 3 yr of running. NASA's planned mission, the Orbiting Wide-angle Light-collectors (OWL), is also briefly discussed in this context.Comment: Some discussion added, final version to be published in Physical Review

Focus Point SUSY at the LHC Revisited

The estimation of the backgrounds for gluino signals in focus point supersymmetry is extended by including the backgrounds from the production of four third generation quarks in the analysis. We find that these backgrounds are negligible if one uses the strong selection criteria proposed in the literature (including this analysis) for heavy gluino searches. Softer selection criteria often recommended for lighter gluino searches yield backgrounds which are small but numerically significant. We have also repeated the more conventional background calculations and compared our results with the other groups. We find that the size of the total residual background estimated by different groups using different event generators and hard kinematical cuts agree approximately. In view of the theoretical uncertainties in the leading order signal and background cross sections mainly due to the choice of the QCD scale, the gluino mass reach at the LHC cannot be pinpointed. However, requiring a signal with $\rm\geq 3$ tagged b-jets (instead of the standard choice of $\rm\geq 2$) it is shown that gluino masses close to 2 TeV can be probed at the LHC for a range of reasonable choices of the QCD scale for an integrated luminosity of 300 fb$^{-1}$.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, minor typos correctio

Particle Physics Approach to Dark Matter

We review the main proposals of particle physics for the composition of the cold dark matter in the universe. Strong axion contribution to cold dark matter is not favored if the Peccei-Quinn field emerges with non-zero value at the end of inflation and the inflationary scale is superheavy since, under these circumstances, it leads to unacceptably large isocurvature perturbations. The lightest neutralino is the most popular candidate constituent of cold dark matter. Its relic abundance in the constrained minimal supersymmetric standard model can be reduced to acceptable values by pole annihilation of neutralinos or neutralino-stau coannihilation. Axinos can also contribute to cold dark matter provided that the reheat temperature is adequately low. Gravitinos can constitute the cold dark matter only in limited regions of the parameter space. We present a supersymmetric grand unified model leading to violation of Yukawa unification and, thus, allowing an acceptable b-quark mass within the constrained minimal supersymmetric standard model with mu>0. The model possesses a wide range of parameters consistent with the data on the cold dark matter abundance as well as other phenomenological constraints. Also, it leads to a new version of shifted hybrid inflation.Comment: 32 pages including 6 figures, uses svmult.cls, some clarifications added, lectures given at the Third Aegean Summer School "The Invisible Universe: Dark Matter and Dark Energy", 26 September-1 October 2005, Karfas, Island of Chios, Greece (to appear in the proceedings

Implications of the Muon Anomalous Magnetic Moment for Supersymmetry

We re-examine the bounds on supersymmetric particle masses in light of the E821 data on the muon anomalous magnetic moment. We confirm, extend and supersede previous bounds. In particular we find (at one sigma) no lower limit on tan(beta) or upper limit on the chargino mass implied by the data at present, but at least 4 sparticles must be lighter than 700 to 820 GeV and at least one sparticle must be lighter than 345 to 440 GeV. However, the E821 central value bounds tan(beta) > 4.7 and the lighter chargino mass by 690 GeV. For tan(beta) < 10, the data indicates a high probability for direct discovery of SUSY at Run II or III of the Tevatron.Comment: 20 pages LaTeX, 14 figures; references adde

Relic Neutralino Densities and Detection Rates with Nonuniversal Gaugino Masses

We extend previous analyses on the interplay between nonuniversalities in the gaugino mass sector and the thermal relic densities of LSP neutralinos, in particular to the case of moderate to large tan beta. We introduce a set of parameters that generalizes the standard unified scenario to cover the complete allowed parameter space in the gaugino mass sector. We discuss the physical significance of the cosmologically preferred degree of degeneracy between charginos and the LSP and study the effect this degree of degeneracy has on the prospects for direct detection of relic neutralinos in the next round of dark matter detection experiments. Lastly, we compare the fine tuning required to achieve a satisfactory relic density with the case of universal gaugino masses, as in minimal supergravity, and find it to be of a similar magnitude. The sensitivity of quantifiable measures of fine-tuning on such factors as the gluino mass and top and bottom masses is also examined.Comment: Uses RevTeX; 14 pages, 16 figure

Supersymmetric Benchmarks with Non-Universal Scalar Masses or Gravitino Dark Matter

We propose and examine a new set of benchmark supersymmetric scenarios, some of which have non-universal Higgs scalar masses (NUHM) and others have gravitino dark matter (GDM). The scalar masses in these models are either considerably larger or smaller than the narrow range allowed for the same gaugino mass m_{1/2} in the constrained MSSM (CMSSM) with universal scalar masses m_0 and neutralino dark matter. The NUHM and GDM models with larger m_0 may have large branching ratios for Higgs and/or $Z$ production in the cascade decays of heavier sparticles, whose detection we discuss. The phenomenology of the GDM models depends on the nature of the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP), which has a lifetime exceeding 10^4 seconds in the proposed benchmark scenarios. In one GDM scenario the NLSP is the lightest neutralino \chi, and the supersymmetric collider signatures are similar to those in previous CMSSM benchmarks, but with a distinctive spectrum. In the other GDM scenarios based on minimal supergravity (mSUGRA), the NLSP is the lighter stau slepton {\tilde \tau}_1, with a lifetime between ~ 10^4 and 3 X 10^6 seconds. Every supersymmetric cascade would end in a {\tilde \tau}_1, which would have a distinctive time-of-flight signature. Slow-moving {\tilde \tau}_1's might be trapped in a collider detector or outside it, and the preferred detection strategy would depend on the {\tilde \tau}_1 lifetime. We discuss the extent to which these mSUGRA GDM scenarios could be distinguished from gauge-mediated models.Comment: 52 pages LaTeX, 13 figure