Physics searches at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper surveys the breadth of TeV-scale physics motivated by electroweak symmetry breaking and the hierarchy problem, outlining leading models (SUSY, extra dimensions, compositeness, little Higgs, warped extra dimensions, hidden sectors) and their characteristic LHC signatures. It emphasizes collider phenomenology, including QCD features, missing-energy cascades, resonances, and top-related channels, and discusses strategies for mapping observed signals back to underlying theories via parameter extraction and model comparisons. The work also investigates how to combine LHC measurements with flavor, dark matter, and future linear colliders to reconstruct the high-scale origin of new physics, including unification tests and the role of theory uncertainties. Overall, it provides a framework for interpreting potential LHC discoveries through a broad, interconnected set of models and observables, highlighting both practical search strategies and theoretical challenges. The significance lies in guiding experimental analyses and theory development toward a coherent understanding of TeV-scale physics in the LHC era.

Abstract

With the LHC up and running, the focus of experimental and theoretical high energy physics will soon turn to an interpretation of LHC data in terms of the physics of electroweak symmetry breaking and the TeV scale. We present here a broad review of models for new TeV-scale physics and their LHC signatures. In addition, we discuss possible new physics signatures and describe how they can be linked to specific models of physics beyond the Standard Model. Finally, we illustrate how the LHC era could culminate in a detailed understanding of the underlying principles of TeV-scale physics.

Figures (54)

• Figure 1: Limits on the Higgs mass within the Standard Model from precision electroweak constraints, and direct Higgs searches by the LEP and Tevatron experiments. Figure from Refs. Alcaraz:2007rilepewwg
• Figure 2: Correction to $m_H^2$ in the Standard Model from the top quark. Similar contributions arise from the weak gauge boson and from the Higgs boson itself.
• Figure 3: Regions in the plane of the energy density of the Universe in the form of dark matter ($x$-axis) and dark energy ($y$-axis) expressed as a fraction of the critical density, which are consistent with observations of the CMB, supernova, and structure formation. From Ref. Knop:2003iy.
• Figure 4: Cancellation of quadratic corrections in SUSY
• Figure 5: Estimated number of GMSB signal events at the LHC containing photons with $p_T^{\gamma}> 20\,{\rm GeV}$ and $|\eta|<2.5$ from a GMSB scenario with a mostly bino NLSP that decays promptly to the gravitino. Also shown are the estimated Standard Model backgrounds. There is a clear excess above background in the multi-photon channels. The diagram is from Ref. atlas_csc.