Lower limits on R-parity-violating couplings in supersymmetric models with light squarks

Abstract

We interpret the results of searches for strongly interacting massive particles to place absolute lower limits on R-parity-violating couplings for squarks with mass (m_\tilde{q}) below 100 GeV. Recent searches for anomalous isotopes require that there be a baryon-number-violating or lepton-number-violating coupling larger than 10^{-22} -- 10^{-21} if m_\tilde{q} > 18 GeV. Using data from searches for stable particles at the CERN Large Electron Positron collider (LEP) we demonstrate that this lower limit increases by 14 orders of magnitude, to an R-parity-violating coupling larger than 10^{-8} -- 10^{-7} for any squarks of mass less than 90 GeV. In the presence of an R-parity-violating coupling of this magnitude, neutralinos cannot explain the dark matter density in the Universe.