Supersymmetric QCD corrections to quark pair production in e+ e- annihilation

Abstract

We calculate supersymmetric QCD corrections (squark/gluino loops) to quark pair production in e+ e- annihilation, allowing for mixing between left- and right-handed squarks and taking into account the effects of nonzero quark masses. Corrections to the Z boson partial widths are generally small and positive, except in the case of large b-squark mixing, where they become negative. At high-energy e+ e- colliders, larger corrections to the total cross sections are possible. Corrections to forward-backward asymmetries are negligible except possibly for top quarks, where they are sensitive to t-squark mixing. We also comment on the possibility that the gluino mass is only a few GeV.