Effects of CP-violating phases in supersymmetry

Abstract

Recent studies about the impact of the CP-violating complex parameters in supersymmetry on the decays of third generation squarks and about T-odd asymmetries in neutralino and chargino production and decay are reviewed. The CP-even branching ratios of the third generation squarks show a pronounced dependence on the phases of A_t, A_b, mu and M_1 in a large region of the supersymmetric parameter space. This could have important implications for stop and sbottom searches and the MSSM parameter determination in future collider experiments. We have estimated the expected accuracy in the determination of the parameters by global fits of measured masses, decay branching ratios and production cross sections. We have found that the parameter A_t can be determined with an error of 2 - 3%, whereas the error on A_b is likely to be of the order of 50 - 100%. In addition we have studied CP-odd observables, like asymmetries based on triple product correlations, which are necessary to unambiguously establish CP violation. We have analysed these asymmetries in neutralino and chargino production with subsequent three-body decays at the International Linear Collider with longitudinally polarised beams in the MSSM with complex parameters M_1 and mu. The asymmetries, which appear already at tree-level because of spin correlation between production and decay, can be as large as 20% and will therefore be an important tool for the search for CP-violating effects in supersymmetry.