Gluino decay patterns and signatures

Abstract

We survey the decay modes and signatures of gluinos in the minimal supersymmetric model. Gluino decays will contain two jets and a chargino or neutralino. The decay mode containing the lightest supersymmetric particle (assumed to be the lightest neutralino) is dominant only for very light gluinos. Otherwise, the dominant gluino decay modes contain either a chargino or a heavier neutralino. In fact, over much of the supersymmetric-model parameter space the heaviest chargino and neutralinos dominate, and will, in turn, decay to a lighter neutralino or chargino plus a W, Z, or Higgs boson. The important features of these decays are illustrated and their phenomenological implications discussed. In particular, we identify the most useful gluino decay signatures for a given gluino mass and choice of other supersymmetric-model parameters.