Simplified models for same-spin new physics scenarios

Abstract

Simplified models are an important tool for the interpretation of searches for new physics at the LHC. They are defined by a small number of new particles together with a specific production and decay pattern. The simplified models adopted in the experimental analyses thus far have been derived from supersymmetric theories, and they have been used to set limits on supersymmetric particle masses. We investigate the applicability of such simplified supersymmetric models to a wider class of new physics scenarios, in particular those with same-spin Standard Model partners. We focus on the pair production of quark partners and analyze searches for jets and missing energy within a simplified supersymmetric model with scalar quarks and a simplified model with spin-1/2 quark partners. Despite sizable differences in the detection efficiencies due to the spin of the new particles, the limits on particle masses are found to be rather similar. We conclude that the supersymmetric simplified models employed in current experimental analyses also provide a reliable tool to constrain same-spin BSM scenarios.