Study of GMSB models with photon final states using the ATLAS detector

Models with gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking (GMSB) provide a possible mechanism to mediate supersymmetry breaking to the electroweak scale. In these models the lightest-supersymmetric particle is the gravitino, while the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle is either the lightest neutralino or a slepton. In the former case final states with large missing transverse energy from the gravitinos, multiple jets and two hard photons are expected in pp-collisions at the LHC. Depending on the lifetime of the neutralino the photons might not point back to the interaction vertex, which requires dedicated search strategies. Additionally, this feature can be used to measure the neutralino lifetime using either the timing information from the electromagnetic calorimeter or the reconstructed photon direction. Together with the measurements of kinematic endpoints in invariant mass distributions, the lifetime can be used as input for fits of the GMSB model and for the determination of the underlying parameters. The signal selection and the discovery potential for GMSB models with photons in the nal state are discussed using simulated data of the ATLAS detector. In addition, the measurement of supersymmetric particle masses and of the neutralino lifetime as well as the results of the global GMSB fits are presented. (orig.)