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CMS-EXO-24-033 ; CERN-EP-2025-238
Search for long-lived particles using displaced vertices with low-momentum tracks in proton-proton collisions at $ \sqrt{s} = $ 13 TeV
Submitted to J. High Energy Phys.
Abstract: A search for long-lived particles using final states including a displaced vertex with low-momentum tracks, large missing transverse momentum, and a jet from initial-state radiation is presented. This search uses proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC in 2017 and 2018, with a total integrated luminosity of 100 fb$ ^{-1} $. This analysis adopts specific supersymmetric (SUSY) coannihilation scenarios as benchmark signal models, characterized by a next-to-lightest SUSY particle (NLSP) with a mass difference of less than 25 GeV relative to the lightest SUSY particle, assumed to be a bino-like neutralino. In the top squark ($ \tilde{\mathrm{t}} $) NLSP model, the NLSP is a long-lived $ \tilde{\mathrm{t}} $, while in the bino-wino NLSP scenario, the mass-degenerate NLSPs are a wino-like long-lived neutralino and a short-lived chargino. The search excludes top squarks with masses less than 400-1100 GeV and wino-like neutralinos with masses less than 220-550 GeV, depending on the signal parameters, including the mass difference, mass, and lifetime of the long-lived particle. It sets the most stringent limits to date for the $ \tilde{\mathrm{t}} $ and bino-wino NLSP models.
Figures & Tables Summary References CMS Publications
Figures

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Figure 1:
Feynman diagrams for the $ \tilde{\mathrm{t}} $ NLSP (left) and the bino-wino NLSP (right) production.

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Figure 1-a:
Feynman diagrams for the $ \tilde{\mathrm{t}} $ NLSP (left) and the bino-wino NLSP (right) production.

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Figure 1-b:
Feynman diagrams for the $ \tilde{\mathrm{t}} $ NLSP (left) and the bino-wino NLSP (right) production.

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Figure 2:
The LLP reconstruction efficiency as a function of the transverse displacement of the LLP decay vertex. Bino-wino NLSP samples with $ m_{\text{LLP}} = $ 400 GeV, $ c\tau = $ 20 mm, and $ \Delta m = $ 25 (blue circles) and 12 (red squares) GeV are shown in the plot. Tuned (solid) and default (dashed) IVF are compared.

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Figure 3:
Diagram that shows the key features of a displaced vertex.

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Figure 4:
The vertex $ \alpha_{\text{p}} $ distribution compared between data, simulation, and bino-wino NLSP sample with $ m_{\text{LLP}} = $ 400 GeV, $ c\tau = $ 20 mm, and $ \Delta m = $ 15 GeV. All distributions are normalized to unity. The ratio of data to simulation is shown in the lower panel. The arrow indicates the value of the optimal $ \alpha_{\text{p}} $ threshold.

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Figure 5:
Material map for the CMS tracker derived from data. A zoomed-in view is provided for $ x $ and $ y $ within the range-25 to 25$ \text{cm} $.

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Figure 6:
Definition of the signal (orange) and control (blue) regions. Different planes are defined based on the number of good tracks in the vertex. In each plane, different regions are divided according to the $ p_{\mathrm{T}}^\text{miss} $ and $ S_{xy}^{\text{vtx}} $ values. The letters in the boxes correspond to the region labels described in the text, while the numbers in the boxes correspond to the plane numbers.

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Figure 7:
The number of observed and predicted background events in the regions of the validation planes. The predicted background is shown with its associated uncertainties. The observed data are displayed with the 68% Poisson intervals. The lower panel shows the fractional difference between the observed data and the predicted background.

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Figure 8:
The $ \mathrm{K^0_S} $ decay candidate vertex $ L_{xy} $ distribution compared between data and simulation. The ratios between data and simulation are shown in the lower panel.

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Figure 9:
The number of observed and predicted background events after the fit to the regions of the search planes. In addition, two representative signals are shown. The predicted background is shown with its associated uncertainties. The observed data are displayed with the 68% confidence level Poisson confidence intervals. The lower panel shows the fractional difference between the observed data and the predicted background.

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Figure 10:
Observed 95% CL upper limits on the $ \tilde{\mathrm{t}} $ production cross section, as functions of $ m_{\tilde{\mathrm{t}}} $ and $ \Delta m $, for $ \mathcal{B}(\tilde{\mathrm{t}} \to \mathrm{b} \mathrm{f}\overline{\mathrm{f}}' \tilde{\chi}_{1}^{0}) $ of 10% (upper left), 50% (upper right), and 100% (lower). The observed (solid black) and expected (dashed red) exclusion curves are overlaid on the plots. The search excludes the region to the left of the exclusion curves.

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Figure 10-a:
Observed 95% CL upper limits on the $ \tilde{\mathrm{t}} $ production cross section, as functions of $ m_{\tilde{\mathrm{t}}} $ and $ \Delta m $, for $ \mathcal{B}(\tilde{\mathrm{t}} \to \mathrm{b} \mathrm{f}\overline{\mathrm{f}}' \tilde{\chi}_{1}^{0}) $ of 10% (upper left), 50% (upper right), and 100% (lower). The observed (solid black) and expected (dashed red) exclusion curves are overlaid on the plots. The search excludes the region to the left of the exclusion curves.

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Figure 10-b:
Observed 95% CL upper limits on the $ \tilde{\mathrm{t}} $ production cross section, as functions of $ m_{\tilde{\mathrm{t}}} $ and $ \Delta m $, for $ \mathcal{B}(\tilde{\mathrm{t}} \to \mathrm{b} \mathrm{f}\overline{\mathrm{f}}' \tilde{\chi}_{1}^{0}) $ of 10% (upper left), 50% (upper right), and 100% (lower). The observed (solid black) and expected (dashed red) exclusion curves are overlaid on the plots. The search excludes the region to the left of the exclusion curves.

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Figure 10-c:
Observed 95% CL upper limits on the $ \tilde{\mathrm{t}} $ production cross section, as functions of $ m_{\tilde{\mathrm{t}}} $ and $ \Delta m $, for $ \mathcal{B}(\tilde{\mathrm{t}} \to \mathrm{b} \mathrm{f}\overline{\mathrm{f}}' \tilde{\chi}_{1}^{0}) $ of 10% (upper left), 50% (upper right), and 100% (lower). The observed (solid black) and expected (dashed red) exclusion curves are overlaid on the plots. The search excludes the region to the left of the exclusion curves.

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Figure 11:
Observed 95% CL upper limits on the production cross section for the bino-wino NLSP model, as functions of $ m_{\text{LLP}} $ and $ c\tau $, for $ \Delta m $ of 12 GeV (upper left), 15 GeV (upper right), 20 GeV (lower left), and 25 GeV (lower right). The observed (solid black) and expected (dashed red) exclusion curves are overlaid on the plots. The search excludes the region to the left of the exclusion curves.

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Figure 11-a:
Observed 95% CL upper limits on the production cross section for the bino-wino NLSP model, as functions of $ m_{\text{LLP}} $ and $ c\tau $, for $ \Delta m $ of 12 GeV (upper left), 15 GeV (upper right), 20 GeV (lower left), and 25 GeV (lower right). The observed (solid black) and expected (dashed red) exclusion curves are overlaid on the plots. The search excludes the region to the left of the exclusion curves.

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Figure 11-b:
Observed 95% CL upper limits on the production cross section for the bino-wino NLSP model, as functions of $ m_{\text{LLP}} $ and $ c\tau $, for $ \Delta m $ of 12 GeV (upper left), 15 GeV (upper right), 20 GeV (lower left), and 25 GeV (lower right). The observed (solid black) and expected (dashed red) exclusion curves are overlaid on the plots. The search excludes the region to the left of the exclusion curves.

png pdf
Figure 11-c:
Observed 95% CL upper limits on the production cross section for the bino-wino NLSP model, as functions of $ m_{\text{LLP}} $ and $ c\tau $, for $ \Delta m $ of 12 GeV (upper left), 15 GeV (upper right), 20 GeV (lower left), and 25 GeV (lower right). The observed (solid black) and expected (dashed red) exclusion curves are overlaid on the plots. The search excludes the region to the left of the exclusion curves.

png pdf
Figure 11-d:
Observed 95% CL upper limits on the production cross section for the bino-wino NLSP model, as functions of $ m_{\text{LLP}} $ and $ c\tau $, for $ \Delta m $ of 12 GeV (upper left), 15 GeV (upper right), 20 GeV (lower left), and 25 GeV (lower right). The observed (solid black) and expected (dashed red) exclusion curves are overlaid on the plots. The search excludes the region to the left of the exclusion curves.
Tables

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Table 1:
Summary of the systematic uncertainties. The magnitude represents the change in the event yields.
Summary
A search for long-lived particles in signatures with displaced vertices with low-momentum tracks, missing transverse momentum, and an initial-state radiation jet has been presented. Proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC, with a total integrated luminosity of 100 fb$ ^{-1} $, are used in the search. Compared with the previous CMS and ATLAS searches using displaced vertices, this search targets vertices with tracks of significantly lower momenta. This search adopts specific supersymmetric (SUSY) coannihilation scenarios as benchmark signal models, characterized by a long-lived next-to-lightest SUSY particle (NLSP) with a mass difference of less than 25 GeV relative to the lightest SUSY particle, assumed to be a bino-like neutralino. In the top squark ($ \tilde{\mathrm{t}} $) NLSP model, the NLSP is a $ \tilde{\mathrm{t}} $, while in the bino-wino NLSP scenario, the mass-degenerate NLSPs are a wino-like long-lived neutralino and a short-lived chargino. This search reconstructs displaced vertices using a customized algorithm based on the inclusive vertex finder [46]. In addition, the background estimation method using transfer factors allows for targeting multiple signal regions, thus enhancing the search sensitivity. The search shows good overall agreement between the background predictions and observed event yields across most of the signal regions. The search excludes $ \tilde{\mathrm{t}} $ masses less than 400-1100 GeV and wino-like neutralinos with masses less than 220-550 GeV, depending on the signal parameters. This search is the first at the LHC to demonstrate sensitivity to long-lived particles in compressed-spectrum scenarios using displaced-vertex signatures. It sets the most stringent upper limits to date for the $ \tilde{\mathrm{t}} $ and bino-wino NLSP signal models.
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