Implications of different supersymmetry breaking patterns for the spectrum and decay of neutralinos and charginos

We consider different patterns of supersymmetry breaking gaugino mass parameters, and implications of these patterns for the phenomenology of neutralinos and charginos in models of low-energy supersymmetry. We outline a general procedure for obtaining approximate values for the neutralino masses relevant for our analysis, and describe the constraints on the gaugino mass parameters which follow from the present experimental limits on the mass of the lightest chargino. We evaluate an upper bound on the mass of the lightest neutralino that follows from the structure of the mass matrix in the studied patterns. Using the experimental lower limit for the chargino mass, we examine the lower bound for the neutralino masses. Using a sum rule for the squared masses of charginos and neutralinos, we discuss how to distinguish between different models for the supersymmetry breaking. We discuss in detail the decay modes of neutralinos and charginos. Our analysis shows that by measuring the masses and decay properties of the neutralinos, one can distinguish between different patterns of supersymmetry breaking in the gaugino sector. We then compare the dark matter characteristics that arise in different models for the supersymmetry breaking gaugino mass parameters.