Probing gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking through polarized electron beams in an e⁺e^- collider

Abstract

Using the fact that in gauge-mediated supersymmetry-breaking schemes masses of the right and the left sfermions can differ widely, and the gravitino is the lightest supersymmetric particle, we show that it is possible to obtain signatures of such schemes in a high energy e⁺e^- collider if one looks at certain asymmetries in the cross sections for certain final states with left- and right-polarized beams. These asymmetries successfully exclude not only standard model backgrounds but also signals of supergravity-inspired theories.