The Minimal Supersymmetric Model without a mu term

Abstract

We propose a supersymmetric extension of the standard model which is a realistic alternative to the MSSM, and which has several advantages. No ``mu'' supersymmetric Higgs/Higgsino mass parameter is needed for sufficiently heavy charginos. An approximate U(1) R symmetry naturally guarantees that tan beta is large, explaining the top/bottom quark mass hierarchy. This symmetry also suppresses supersymmetric contributions to anomalous magnetic moments, b to s gamma, and proton decay, and these processes place no lower bounds on superpartner masses, even at large tan beta. The soft supersymmetry breaking mass parameters can easily be obtained from either gauge or Planck scale mediation, without the usual mu problem. Unlike in the MSSM, there are significant upper bounds on the masses of superpartners, including an upper bound of 114 GeV on the mass of the lightest chargino. However the MSSM bound on the lightest Higgs mass does not apply.