Novel signatures for vector-like quarks

Abstract

We consider supersymmetric extensions of the standard model with a vector-like doublet $(TB)$ of quarks with charge $2/3$ and $-1/3$, respectively. Compared to non-supersymmetric models, there is a variety of new decay modes for the vector-like quarks, involving the extra scalars present in supersymmetry. The importance of these new modes, yielding multi-top, multi-bottom and also multi-Higgs signals, is highlighted by the analysis of several benchmark scenarios. We show how the triangles commonly used to represent the branching ratios of the `standard' decay modes of the vector-like quarks involving $W$, $Z$ or Higgs bosons can be generalised to include additional channels. We give an example by recasting the limits of a recent heavy quark search for this more general case.

Comments: LaTeX 30 pages. References added; journal version