A LIGHT TOP-SQUARK AND ITS CONSEQUENCES AT HIGH ENERGY COLLIDERS

Abstract

An interesting prediction of a string-inspired one-parameter SU (5)× U (1) supergravity model, is the fact that the lightest member [Formula: see text] of the top-squark doublet [Formula: see text], may be substantially lighter than the top quark. This sparticle [Formula: see text] may be readily pair-produced at the Tevatron and, if [Formula: see text] even be observed at the end of Run IB. Top-squark production may also be a source of top-quark-like signatures in the dilepton and ℓ+ jets channels, if the experimental acceptances are tuned to look for soft leptons. Such a light top-squark is linked with a light supersymmetric spectrum, which can certainly be searched for at the Tevatron through trilepton and squark-gluino searches, and at LEPII through direct [Formula: see text] pair-production and via chargino and Higgs-boson searches.