Vector boson fusion processes as a probe of supersymmetric electroweak sectors at the LHC

Vector boson fusion processes offer a promising avenue to study the noncolored sectors of supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model at the LHC. A feasibility study for searching for the chargino/neutralino system in the R-parity conserving minimal supersymmetric Standard Model is presented. The high ET forward jets in opposite hemispheres are used to trigger vector boson fusion events, so that the production of the lightest chargino χ₁^± and the second-lightest neutralino χ₂⁰ can be probed without a bias by experimental triggers. Kinematic requirements are developed to search for signals of these supersymmetric states above Standard Model backgrounds in both τ and light lepton (e and μ) final states at √s=8 TeV.