New Signature for Gauge Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking

In theories with gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking, the scalar tau, ( ${\tilde{\tau }}_1$), is the lightest superpartner for a large range of the parameter space. At the large electron-positron collider (LEP2) this scenario can give rise to events with four $\tau$ leptons and large missing energy. Two of the $\tau$'s (coming from the decays of ${\tilde{\tau }}_1$'s) will have large energy and transverse momentum, and can have similar sign electrical charges. Such events are very different from the usual photonic events that have been widely studied, and could be a very distinct signal for the discovery of supersymmetry.