Searches for long-lived charged particles with the ATLAS experiment

The discovery of a new type of a heavy long-lived particle (LLP) would be of fundamental significance, since no such particles exist in the Standard Model. An added motivation for LLP searches in 7 TeV pp collisions at the CERN LHC arises from the so-called gauge hierarchy problem, proposed solutions to which typically postulate the existence of non-Standard Model particles possessing masses close to the TeV-scale. LLPs are anticipated in a wide range of physics models which extend the Standard Model, such as supersymmetry (SUSY) and universal extra dimensions. Since LLPs produced at the LHC can be slow (beta<1) and penetrating, time-of-flight and anomalous dE/dx energy loss measurements are promising ways to search for LLPs. Searches using the ATLAS experiment are presented, with the techniques described and results from ATLAS covered.