Neutralino production as a SUSY discovery process at CERN LEP 2

A thorough study is performed on pair production and signatures of supersymmetric neutralinos in the MSSM at LEP 2. Particular attention is paid to the region of SUSY parameter space where the associated production of lightest and next-to-lightest neutralinos is the only visible allowed supersymmetric process. In that region, the signal is critically dependent on the selection masses ${\mathit{m}}_{\mathit{e}\mathrm{̃}\mathit{L},}$R. For √s /2${\mathit{m}}_{\mathit{e}\mathrm{̃}\mathit{L},}$R≲200–300 GeV and charginos above the threshold for pair production, neutralinos arising from ${\mathit{e}}^{+}$ ${\mathit{e}}^{\mathrm{-}}$→χ${\mathrm{̃}}_1^0$χ${\mathrm{̃}}_2^0$ could be the only SUSY signal detectable at LEP 2.