Optimization of muon timing and searches for heavy long-lived charged particles with the Compact Muon Solenoid detector at the Large Hadron Collider

Proton–proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider at\nsqrt(s) = 7 and 8 TeV are studied using the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector. The measurement and improvements to the arrival time of particles to the muon system of CMS are detailed. The timing is used to associate the particle with the correct proton–proton crossing and to classify the particle. Additionally, four analyses are presented that use timing and ionization energy loss to search for the production of long-lived charged particles predicted in many theories of new physics. The searches are sensitive to a variety of signatures, including the possibility that the particles will only be detectable during part of their passage through the CMS detector. Limits are placed on the production of long-lived gluinos, stops, staus, and multiply-charged particles. The limits are the most stringent in the world to date.