Heavy Neutral Gauge Bosons at the LHC in an Extended MSSM

Abstract Searching for heavy neutral gauge bosons Z ′ , predicted in extensions of the Standard Model based on a U ( 1 ) ′ gauge symmetry, is one of the challenging objectives of the experiments carried out at the Large Hadron Collider. In this paper, we study Z ′ phenomenology at hadron colliders according to several U ( 1 ) ′ -based models and in the Sequential Standard Model. In particular, possible Z ′ decays into supersymmetric particles are included, in addition to the Standard Model modes so far investigated. We point out the impact of the U ( 1 ) ′ group on the MSSM spectrum and, for a better understanding, we consider a few benchmarks points in the parameter space. We account for the D-term contribution, due to the breaking of U ( 1 ) ′ , to slepton and squark masses and investigate its effect on Z ′ decays into sfermions. Results on branching ratios and cross sections are presented, as a function of the MSSM and U ( 1 ) ′ parameters, which are varied within suitable ranges. We pay special attention to final states with leptons and missing energy and make predictions on the number of events with sparticle production in Z ′ decays, for a few values of integrated luminosity and centre-of-mass energy of the LHC.