Testing the Mechanism for the LSP Stability at the LHC

The lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) is a natural candidate for the cold dark matter of the universe. In this Letter we discuss how to test the mechanism responsible for the LSP stability at the LHC. We note that if R-parity is conserved dynamically one should expect a Higgs boson which decays mainly into two right-handed neutrinos (a "leptonic" Higgs) or into two sfermions. The first case could exhibit spectacular lepton number violating signals with four secondary vertices due to the long-lived nature of right-handed neutrinos. These signals, together with the standard channels for the discovery of SUSY, could help to establish the underlying theory at the TeV scale.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, minor corrections, published in Physics Letters

On the Origin of R-parity Violation in Supersymmetry

The fate of R-parity in supersymmetric theories is discussed in detail. We make a strong case for R-parity violation showing that the simplest theories based on the local B-L symmetry predict the spontaneous breaking of R-parity at the SUSY scale. The possible implications for the searches at the Large Hadron Collider are discussed

Spontaneous R-Parity Breaking and Left-Right Symmetry

We propose a simple renormalizable left-right theory where R-parity is spontaneously broken and neutrino masses are generated through the Type I seesaw mechanism and R-parity violation. In this theory R-parity and the gauge symmetry are broken by the sneutrino vacuum expectation values and there is no Majoron problem. The SU(2)_R and R-parity violation scales are determined by the SUSY breaking scale making the model very predictive. We discuss the spectrum and possible tests of the theory through the neutralinos, charginos, Z^' and W_R decays at the Large Hadron Collider.Comment: 4 pages, minor corrections, title changed, to appear in Physics Letters

Grand Unification and Light Color-Octet Scalars at the LHC

We study the properties and production mechanisms of color-octet scalars at the LHC. We focus on the single production of both charged and neutral members of an (8,2)_1/2 doublet through bottom quark initial states. These channels provide a window to the underlying Yukawa structure of the scalar sector. Color-octet scalars naturally appear in grand unified theories based on the SU(5) gauge symmetry. In the context of adjoint SU(5) these fields are expected to be light to satisfy constraints coming from unification and proton decay, and may have TeV-scale masses. One combination of their couplings is defined by the relation between the down-quark and charged-lepton Yukawa couplings. Observation of these states at the LHC gives an upper bound on the proton lifetime if they truly arise from this grand unified theory. We demonstrate that TeV-mass scalars can be observed over background at the LHC using boosted top quark final states, and study how well the scalar Yukawa parameters can be measured.Comment: 22 pages, LaTeX, 5 figures; typos corrected, references adde

Minimal gauged U(1)_{B-L} model with spontaneous R-parity violation

We study the minimal gauged U(1)_{B-L} supersymmetric model and show that it provides an attractive theory for spontaneous R-parity violation. Both U(1)_{B-L} and R-parity are broken by the vacuum expectation value of the right-handed sneutrino (proportional to the soft SUSY masses), thereby linking the B-L and soft SUSY scales. In this context we find a consistent mechanism for generating neutrino masses and a realistic mass spectrum, all without extending the Higgs sector of the minimal supersymmetry standard model. We discuss the most relevant collider signals and the connection between the Z' gauge boson and R-parity violation.Comment: 4 pages, new title, to appear in Physical Review Letter

Higgs boson decays, baryon number violation, and supersymmetry at the LHC

Baryon number violating interactions could modify the signatures of supersymmetric models at the Large Hadron Collider. In this article we investigate the predictions for the Higgs mass and the Higgs decays in a simple extension of the minimal supersymmetric standard model where the local baryon and lepton numbers are spontaneously broken at the TeV scale. This theory predicts baryon number violation at the low scale which can change the current LHC bounds on the supersymmetric spectrum. Using the ATLAS and CMS bounds on the Higgs mass we show the constraints on the sfermion masses, and show the subsequent predictions for the radiative Higgs decays. We found that the Higgs decay into two photons is suppressed due to the existence of new light leptons. In this theory the stops can be very light in agreement with all experimental bounds and we make a brief discussion of the possible signals at the LHC

Lepton Number Violation from Colored States at the LHC

The possibility to search for lepton number violating signals at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the colored seesaw scenario is investigated. In this context the fields that generate neutrino masses at the one-loop level are scalar and Majorana fermionic color-octets of SU(3). Due to the QCD strong interaction these states may be produced at the LHC with a favorable rate. We study the production mechanisms and decays relevant to search for lepton number violation signals in the channels with same-sign dileptons. In the simplest case when the two fermionic color-octets are degenerate in mass, one could use their decays to distinguish between the neutrino spectra. We find that for fermionic octets with mass up to about 1 TeV the number of same-sign dilepton events is larger than the standard model background indicating a promising signal for new physics.Comment: minor corrections, added reference

Dark Matter and the Seesaw Scale

We discuss the possibility of finding an upper bound on the seesaw scale using the cosmological bound on the cold dark matter relic density. We investigate a simple relation between the origin of neutrino masses and the properties of a dark matter candidate in a simple theory where the new symmetry breaking scale defines the seesaw scale. Imposing the cosmological bounds, we find an upper bound of order multi-TeV on the lepton number violation scale. We investigate the predictions for direct and indirect detection dark matter experiments and the possible signatures at the Large Hadron Collider

SUSY Spectrum and the Higgs Mass in the BLMSSM

The predictions for the mass of the light CP-even Higgs are investigated in the context of a simple extension of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model where the baryon and lepton numbers are local gauge symmetries. This theory predicts the existence of light charged and neutral leptons which give extra contributions to the Higgs mass at the one-loop level. We show the possibility to satisfy the LEP2 bound and achieve a Higgs mass around 125 GeV in a supersymmetric spectrum with light sfermions and small left-right mixing in the stop sector. We make a brief discussion of the unique leptonic signals at the Large Hadron Collider. This theory predicts baryon number violation at the low scale and one could avoid the current LHC bounds on the supersymmetric mass spectrum.Comment: references added, minor corrections, to appear in Physics Letters

Scalar Dark Matter: Direct vs. Indirect Detection

We revisit the simplest model for dark matter. In this context the dark matter candidate is a real scalar field which interacts with the Standard Model particles through the Higgs portal. We discuss the relic density constraints as well as the predictions for direct and indirect detection. The final state radiation processes are investigated in order to understand the visibility of the gamma lines from dark matter annihilation. We find two regions where one could observe the gamma lines at gamma-ray telescopes. We point out that the region where the dark matter mass is between 92 and 300 GeV can be tested in the near future at direct and indirect detection experiments