Color-Octet Scalars of N=2 Supersymmetry at the LHC
Résumé
The color gauge hyper-multiplet in N=2 supersymmetry consists of the usual N=1 gauge vector/gaugino super-multiplet, joined with a novel gaugino/scalar super-multiplet. Large cross sections are predicted for the production of pairs of the color-octet scalars $\sigma$ [sgluons] at the LHC: $gg, q\bar{q} \to \sigma\sigma^{\ast}$. Single $\sigma$ production is possible at one-loop level, but the $g g\to \sigma$ amplitude vanishes in the limit of degenerate $L$ and $R$ squarks. When kinematically allowed, $\sigma$ decays predominantly into two gluinos, whose cascade decays give rise to a burst of eight or more jets together with four LSP's as signature for $\sigma$ pair events at the LHC. $\sigma$ can also decay into a squark-antisquark pair at tree level. At one-loop level $\sigma$ decays into gluons or a $t \bar t$ pair are predicted, generating exciting resonance signatures in the final states. The corresponding partial widths are very roughly comparable to that for three body final states mediated by one virtual squark at tree level.