Searching for dilepton resonances below the Z mass at the LHC

Understand

We consider LHC searches for dilepton resonances in an intermediate mass range, $\sim 10 -80$ GeV.

• We adopt a kinetically mixed $Z'$ as an example of weakly coupled new physics that might have evaded detection at previous experiments but which could still be probed by LHC dilepton spectrum measurements in this mass range.
• Based on Monte Carlo simulations, we estimate that existing data from the 7 and 8 TeV LHC could be used to test values of the kinetic mixing parameter $\epsilon$ several times smaller than precision electroweak upper bounds, were an appropriate analysis to be carried out by one of the experimental collaborations.