Combination and reinterpretation of LHC SUSY searches

Abstract

Abstract To maximise the information obtained from various independent new physics searches conducted at the LHC, it is imperative to consider the combination of multiple analyses. To showcase the exclusion power gained by combining signal regions from different searches, we consider a simplified scenario inspired by supersymmetry, with all particles but one squark flavour and a bino-like neutralino decoupled. The corresponding signal therefore comprises strong squark pair production, associated squark-neutralino production, as well as weak neutralino pair production. We find that considering the associated and strong production mechanisms together significantly impacts mass limits, while contributions from the weak production are insignificant in the context of current exclusion limits. In addition, we demonstrate that the combination of uncorrelated signal regions as assessed from the recent TACO approach substantially pushes exclusion limits towards higher masses, relative to the bounds derived from the most sensitive individual analyses.