CR005 $pp \to (\gamma^{(1)}, Z^{(1)})_{KK} \to l^+ l^-$

Dilepton high-mass resonance (KK electroweak)
Status REVIEWED VERIFIED High Code: NO Priority Medium

PDG / equivalent values

Observable Value Year Experiment / source Provenance
Observed lower mass limit for spin-1 $Z'_{SSM} \to $ e+e- and $\mu^+\mu^-$ m(Z'_SSM) > 5.15 TeV
95% CL (lower_limit)
2021 CMS source ↑
Observed lower mass limit for spin-1 $Z'_\psi \to $ e+e- and $\mu^+\mu^-$ m(Z'_psi) > 4.56 TeV
95% CL (lower_limit)
2021 CMS source ↑
Observed lower mass limit for spin-1 $Z'_{SSM} \to $ e+e- and $\mu^+\mu^-$ m(Z'_SSM) > 5.1 TeV
95% CL (lower_limit)
2019 ATLAS source ↑
Observed fiducial cross-section times branching-ratio upper limit for a zero-width dilepton resonance at 6 TeV sigma_fid x B < about 0.014 fb at m_X = 6 TeV
95% CL (upper_limit)
2019 ATLAS source ↑
PDG summary of ATLAS/CMS Z' $ \to $ e+e- and $\mu^+\mu^-$ cross-section upper limits cross-section upper limits as low as 0.02 fb
95% CL (upper_limit)
2024 ATLAS/CMS summary source ↑

Why this constrains the RS scan

For an RS model with bulk electroweak gauge fields, this search constrains the first neutral electroweak KK tower, schematically \((\gamma^{(1)},Z^{(1)},Z'_{\rm custodial})\), only after specifying the light-quark production coupling, the lepton coupling, the total width, and the branching fraction to \(e^+e^-\) and \(\mu^+\mu^-\). A sequential \(Z'\) limit is therefore a useful collider benchmark, but it is not a model-independent lower bound on the RS \(M_{\rm KK}\). The distinction matters for the anarchic-flavor scan. The current quark scan methodology note quotes the low-energy \(\Delta F=2\) headline crossing \(M_{\rm KK}^{\min}=47.26~{\rm TeV}\) at \(g_*=3\) and 50\% acceptance. The direct dilepton reach is an order of magnitude lower in the SSM-like benchmark and can weaken further in custodial RS if the neutral KK bosons couple weakly to light quarks or leptons, are broad, or preferentially decay to \(t\bar t\), \(b\bar b\), \(W_LW_L\), \(Zh\), Higgs-sector states, or fermion partners. CR005 is therefore a PRIMARY collider cross-check and a handle on non-anarchic or nonstandard coupling patterns, not the leading constraint for the anarchic-flavor RS baseline.

What's changed since the original paper

The post-2010 search history is a steady luminosity and energy progression. ATLAS arXiv:1209.2535 is the Run-1 reference most directly naming Kaluza--Klein \(Z/\gamma\) bosons among the interpreted high-mass dilepton signals. ATLAS arXiv:1707.02424 and CMS arXiv:1803.06292 moved the same prompt \(ee/\mu\mu\) strategy to the early 13 TeV Run-2 dataset and set the predecessor high-mass resonance limits. ATLAS arXiv:1903.06248 then used the full Run-2 ATLAS sample and provided generic width-dependent fiducial cross-section limits plus \(Z'_{\rm SSM}\), \(Z'_\chi\), \(Z'_\psi\), and HVT interpretations. CMS arXiv:2103.02708 used the full Run-2 CMS electron and muon datasets, supplied the sharpest combined \(Z'_{\rm SSM}\) mass benchmark for this entry, and also published recast-friendly coupling-plane information in HEPData.

Validity and model dependence

The measured collider objects are cross-section upper limits and benchmark mass exclusions. Translating them into custodial-RS parameters requires model input: production is usually \(q\bar q\)-initiated, the \(Z'\) or KK state is treated as a narrow or moderately broad spin-1 resonance, and the quoted SSM benchmark assumes SM-like fermion couplings. In realistic custodial RS, the first neutral electroweak resonances can have suppressed light-fermion couplings and enhanced couplings to IR-localized third generation fermions and longitudinal electroweak bosons. The dilepton branching fraction may therefore be much smaller than in \(Z'_{\rm SSM}\). Conversely, a non-anarchic flavor structure or a model with deliberately large lepton couplings can make this channel more competitive than the minimal custodial-RS expectation.

Code coverage in this repo

NO. Required greps over quarkConstraints/, qcd/, flavorConstraints/, neutrinos/, yukawa/, warpConfig/, solvers/, scanParams/, and tests/ found no direct LHC dilepton-resonance likelihood, no ATLAS/CMS/HEPData collider-limit ingestion, and no neutral electroweak KK filter. The adjacent code is low-energy or spectrum bookkeeping: quarkConstraints/deltaf2.py:1--10 describes a tree-level KK-gluon-inspired \(\Delta F=2\) benchmark, and quarkConstraints/deltaf2.py:320--324 matches a compact meson-mixing operator basis at \(M_{\rm KK}\). quarkConstraints/couplings.py:96--124 builds quark mass-basis KK-gluon couplings, not electroweak dilepton production. The only collider-looking grep hit was tests/test\_alpha\_s.py:88--90, a CMS/RunDec \(\alpha_s\) example, not an LHC search constraint.

Implementation difficulty

HIGH. A faithful implementation is not a one-line mass cut. It needs a signal model for the neutral electroweak KK spectrum and couplings, parton luminosities or event generation, widths and branching fractions, and a likelihood or external reinterpretation of the ATLAS/CMS dilepton spectra and limits. A practical implementation would likely use exported HEPData tables plus a recasting tool or a validated internal likelihood, and would need separate branches for narrow \(Z'\)-like, broad, and third-generation dominated custodial-RS scenarios.

Reason: A faithful live constraint needs a neutral electroweak KK signal model, parton luminosities or event generation, total-width and branching-ratio predictions, and a likelihood or external reinterpretation of ATLAS/CMS dilepton limits. A simple universal M_KK mass cut would overstate the SSM benchmark.

Key references

Process-local source keys before bibliography consolidation are CMS2021\_HighMassDilepton, ATLAS2019\_HighMassDilepton, PDG2024\_ZPrimeSearches, HEPDataCMS2021\_HighMassDilepton, HEPDataATLAS2019\_HighMassDilepton, DavoudiaslHewettRizzo1999\_BulkGauge, AgasheDelgadoMaySundrum2003\_CustodialRS, AgasheServant2004\_WarpedGUT, BellaEtAl2010\_KKEWGauge, ATLAS2012\_Run1Dilepton, ATLAS2017\_Run2Dilepton36fb, and CMS2018\_Run2Dilepton36fb.
Source SHAs
12 snapshot(s) tracked in flavor_catalog/processes/collider_rs/CR005.yaml
Access dates
2026-05-17
Worklog
flavor_catalog/worklogs/CR005/
LaTeX source
flavor_catalog/processes/collider_rs/CR005.tex
Anchors generated
2026-05-17T21:55:00-04:00

CMS2021:CR005:ZSSM_ll_mass_lower_limit

https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.02708
accessed 2026-05-17 sha c33742062e29... snapshot CR005/cms_2021_arxiv2103_02708.txt RESOLVED
display m(Z'_SSM) > 5.15 TeV
RESOLVED
Match snapshot line 28
L25: spin-1 resonances. Table 5 reports observed and expected 95% CL lower limits
L26: on the masses of Z'_SSM and Z'_psi. For the combined ee + mumu channel:
L27: 
L28:   Z'_SSM observed 5.15 TeV, expected 5.14 TeV.
L29:   Z'_psi observed 4.56 TeV, expected 4.55 TeV.
L30: 
L31: The table assumes signal widths of 3.0% of the resonance mass for Z'_SSM and
Snapshots live under flavor_catalog/references/<process_id>/. Source-line anchoring is automated; the status pill reflects match confidence, not editorial review.

CMS2021:CR005:Zpsi_ll_mass_lower_limit

https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.02708
accessed 2026-05-17 sha c33742062e29... snapshot CR005/cms_2021_arxiv2103_02708.txt RESOLVED
display m(Z'_psi) > 4.56 TeV
RESOLVED
Match snapshot line 29
L26: on the masses of Z'_SSM and Z'_psi. For the combined ee + mumu channel:
L27: 
L28:   Z'_SSM observed 5.15 TeV, expected 5.14 TeV.
L29:   Z'_psi observed 4.56 TeV, expected 4.55 TeV.
L30: 
L31: The table assumes signal widths of 3.0% of the resonance mass for Z'_SSM and
L32: 0.6% for Z'_psi. This CR005 draft uses the Z'_SSM combined result as the
Snapshots live under flavor_catalog/references/<process_id>/. Source-line anchoring is automated; the status pill reflects match confidence, not editorial review.

ATLAS2019:CR005:ZSSM_ll_mass_lower_limit

https://arxiv.org/abs/1903.06248
accessed 2026-05-17 sha eacbb1bc7c23... snapshot CR005/atlas_2019_arxiv1903_06248.txt RESOLVED
display m(Z'_SSM) > 5.1 TeV
RESOLVED
Match snapshot line 29
L26: 
L27:   Z'_psi observed 4.5 TeV, expected 4.5 TeV.
L28:   Z'_chi observed 4.8 TeV, expected 4.8 TeV.
L29:   Z'_SSM observed 5.1 TeV, expected 5.1 TeV.
L30: 
L31: The paper also states that the observed fiducial cross-section times
L32: branching-ratio limit in the combined dilepton channel ranges from 3.6 fb at
Snapshots live under flavor_catalog/references/<process_id>/. Source-line anchoring is automated; the status pill reflects match confidence, not editorial review.

ATLAS2019:CR005:fiducial_xsec_limit_6tev_zero_width

https://arxiv.org/abs/1903.06248
accessed 2026-05-17 sha eacbb1bc7c23... snapshot CR005/atlas_2019_arxiv1903_06248.txt RESOLVED
display sigma_fid x B < about 0.014 fb at m_X = 6 TeV
RESOLVED
Match snapshot line 33
L30: 
L31: The paper also states that the observed fiducial cross-section times
L32: branching-ratio limit in the combined dilepton channel ranges from 3.6 fb at
L33: 250 GeV to about 0.014 fb at 6 TeV for the zero-width signal, and from 13.1 fb
L34: at 250 GeV to about 0.018 fb at 6 TeV for the 10% relative-width signal.
Snapshots live under flavor_catalog/references/<process_id>/. Source-line anchoring is automated; the status pill reflects match confidence, not editorial review.

PDG2024:CR005:dilepton_zprime_xsec_summary_limit

https://pdg.lbl.gov/2024/reviews/rpp2024-rev-zprime-searches.pdf
accessed 2026-05-17 sha f12a1d992f09... snapshot CR005/pdg2024_zprime_searches.txt RESOLVED
display cross-section upper limits as low as 0.02 fb
RESOLVED
Match snapshot line 20
L17:   [23] CMS, JHEP 07, 208 (2021), arXiv:2103.02708.
L18: 
L19: The review states that ATLAS and CMS searches for Z' -> e+e- and Z' -> mu+mu-
L20: have set 95% CL upper cross-section limits as low as 0.02 fb, with model
L21: mass lower limits as high as 4.9 TeV in a single channel. It also emphasizes
L22: that dilepton resonances determine the Z' mass and width at discovery and
L23: that angular and rapidity distributions can help distinguish couplings to
Snapshots live under flavor_catalog/references/<process_id>/. Source-line anchoring is automated; the status pill reflects match confidence, not editorial review.