Basic Input¶

Basic Model Input¶

SModelS requires two types of input from the user:

• the particle content of the BSM model (BSM states and their quantum numbers) and
• the model parameters, such as masses, widths, branching ratios and cross-sections.

Below we describe how this information should be provided.

• Information about the SM and BSM particles, along with their cross-sections is stored in a Model object

Particle Content¶

The definition of the BSM states and their quantum numbers can be provided in either of the following two formats:

The python module is more flexible and allows the user to define their own particle properties. This format is automatically generated by the micrOMEGAs interface to SModelS. The SLHA file can be automatically generated by tools relying on the UFO format, in particular MadGraph . A path to the user’s own model file (in either format) can be specified in the parameter file, in the [particles] section.

Model Parameters¶

Once the particle content has been specified, the main input for SModelS is the set of model parameters (masses, widths,…), which can be given in the two following forms:

• an SLHA (SUSY Les Houches Accord) file containing masses, widths, branching ratios and cross sections for the BSM states (see an example file here)
• an LHE (Les Houches Event) file containing parton level events (see an example file here)

The SLHA format is usually more compact and best suited for supersymmetric models. On the other hand, an LHE file can always be generated for any BSM model (through the use of your favorite MC generator).[1] In this case, however, the precision of the results is limited to the MC statistics used to generate the file.

In the case of SLHA input only, the production cross sections for the BSM states also have to be included in the SLHA file as SLHA blocks, according to the SLHA cross section format (see example file). For the MSSM and some of its extensions, they may be calculated automatically using Pythia and NLLfast, as discussed in cross section calculator.

In the case of LHE input, the total production cross section as well as the center-of-mass energy should be listed in the <init></init> block, according to the standard LHE format (see example file). Moreover, all the Z2-even particles should be set as stable, since in SModelS they are effectively considered as final states. When generating the events it is also important to ensure that no mass smearing is applied, so the mass values for a given particle are the same throughout the LHE file. We also point out that all the decays appearing in the LHE input are assumed to be prompt, so this input format is not well suited if the model contains meta-stable particles. An example of how to add the width information after reading an LHE input file can be found in this notebook .

SLHA Format for Cross Sections¶

A list of cross section blocks (one for each production process) must be included in the SLHA file for the SLHA-based decomposition. The SLHA format for each cross section block is shown below (see the Les Houches note):

The above example shows the cross section for $$pp \rightarrow \tilde{u}_L^* + \tilde{g}$$ at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV and at leading order. The only information used by SModelS are the center-of-mass energy, the outgoing particle PDGs, the cross section value and the QCD order. If the input file contains two cross sections for the same process but at different QCD orders, only the highest order will be used.

• Reading of cross sections from an input file is implemented by the getXsecFromSLHAFile method

SLHA Format for Quantum Numbers¶

If the particle content of the input model is specificed through an SLHA file (instead of a python module), it must contain a QNUMBERS block for each particle following the format below:

This specifies the particle PDG, electric charge, color representation and spin. Furthermore, if the first line contains a comment (after the particle PDG), it will be used as the particle label, otherwise the particle label will be its PDG number. The entry number 5 (Z2 parity) is a SModelS specific line which can be added to specify the particle parity (even or odd). If this line is missing the parity will be assumed to be odd. Finally, if the particle is not its own anti-particle (specified by entry number 4), a second particle will be added to the model with the opposite electric charge and minus the PDG number.