In this Letter we report on a search for long-lived particles that decay into final states with two electrons or photons. Such long-lived particles arise in a variety of theoretical models, like hidden valleys and supersymmetry with gauge-mediated breaking. By precisely reconstructing the direction of the electromagnetic shower we are able to probe much longer lifetimes than previously explored. We see no evidence of the existence of such long-lived particles and interpret this search as a quasi model-independent limit on their production cross section, as well as a limit on a long-lived fourth generation quark.

A search is performed for long-lived particles that decay into final states that include a pair of electrons or a pair of muons. The experimental signature is a distinctive topology consisting of a pair of charged leptons originating from a displaced secondary vertex. Events corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.6 (20.5) fb-1 in the electron (muon) channel were collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC in proton-proton collisions at √s=8 TeV. No significant excess is observed above standard model expectations. Upper limits on the product of the cross section and branching fraction of such a signal are presented as a function of the long-lived particle's mean proper decay length. The limits are presented in an approximately model-independent way, allowing them to be applied to a wide class of models yielding the above topology. Over much of the investigated parameter space, the limits obtained are the most stringent to date. In the specific case of a model in which a Higgs boson in the mass range 125-1000 GeV/c2 decays into a pair of long-lived neutral bosons in the mass range 20-350 GeV/c2, each of which can then decay to dileptons, the upper limits obtained are typically in the range 0.2-10 fb for mean proper decay lengths of the long-lived particles in the range 0.01-100 cm. In the case of the lowest Higgs mass considered (125 GeV/c2), the limits are in the range 2-50 fb. As a result, these limits are sensitive to Higgs boson branching fractions as low as 10-4.

The authors present the first search for heavy, long-lived particles that decay to photons at a hadron collider. They use a sample of [gamma] + jet + missing transverse energy events in p{bar p} collisions at √s = 1.96 TeV taken with the CDF II detector. Candidate events are selected based on the arrival time of the photon at the detector. Using an integrated luminosity of 570 pb−1 of collision data, they observe 2 events, consistent with the background estimate of 1.3 ± 0.7 events. While the search strategy does not rely on model-specific dynamics, they set cross section limits in a supersymmetric model with {tilde {chi}}1° → [gamma]{tilde G} and place the world-best 95% C.L. lower limit on the {tilde {chi}}1° mass of 101 GeV/c2 at [tau]{sub {tilde {chi}}1°} = 5 ns.

This thesis presents a search for long-lived particles decaying into displaced electrons and/or muons with large impact parameters. This signature provides unique sensitivity to the production of theoretical lepton-partners, sleptons. These particles are a feature of supersymmetric theories, which seek to address unanswered questions in nature. The signature searched for in this thesis is difficult to identify, and in fact, this is the first time it has been probed at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). It covers a long-standing gap in coverage of possible new physics signatures. This thesis describes the special reconstruction and identification algorithms used to select leptons with large impact parameters and the details of the background estimation. The results are consistent with background, so limits on slepton masses and lifetimes in this model are calculated at 95% CL, drastically improving on the previous best limits from the Large Electron Positron Collider (LEP).

This dissertation presents the results of the first search for heavy, neutral, longlived particles that decay to photons at a hadron collider. We use a sample of +jet+missing transverse energy events in $p \bar{p}$ collisions at √s = 1.96 TeV taken with the Collider Detector at Fermilab. Candidate events are selected based on the arrival time of a high-energy photon at the electromagnetic calorimeter as measured with a timing system that was recently installed. The final result is that we find 2 events, using 570±34 pb-1 of data collected during 2004-2005 at the Fermilab Tevatron, consistent with the background estimate of 1.3±0.7 events. While our search strategy does not rely on model-specific dynamics, we interpret this result in terms of cross section limits in a supersymmetric model with $\vec{X}$$0\atop{1}$ eG and set a world-best e 01 mass reach of 101 GeV/c2 at e = 5 ns. We can exclude any [gamma]+jet+missing transverse energy signal that would produce more than 5.5 events.

Several searches have been performed for long lived particles using data collected by the CDF and D0 detectors at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. These include searches for charged massive stable particles, stopped gluinos, neutral long-lived particles decaying to muons, and magnetic monopoles. These proceedings [1] review recent experimental results from Run II analyses.

This book describes the fundamentals of particle detectors as well as their applications. Detector development is an important part of nuclear, particle and astroparticle physics, and through its applications in radiation imaging, it paves the way for advancements in the biomedical and materials sciences. Knowledge in detector physics is one of the required skills of an experimental physicist in these fields. The breadth of knowledge required for detector development comprises many areas of physics and technology, starting from interactions of particles with matter, gas- and solid-state physics, over charge transport and signal development, to elements of microelectronics. The book's aim is to describe the fundamentals of detectors and their different variants and implementations as clearly as possible and as deeply as needed for a thorough understanding. While this comprehensive opus contains all the materials taught in experimental particle physics lectures or modules addressing detector physics at the Master's level, it also goes well beyond these basic requirements. This is an essential text for students who want to deepen their knowledge in this field. It is also a highly useful guide for lecturers and scientists looking for a starting point for detector development work.