SUPERSYMMETRIC SIGNALS IN GAMMA-GAMMA COLLISIONS

We study the occurrence of final states with only an electron-positron pair and missing transverse momentum as a signal of supersymmetry in photon-photon collisions. Suitable high-energy photon beams may be pro vided at linear colliders by back-scattering laser beams on electron b eams. The final states considered represent a typical signature for th e production and decay of selectron and chargino pairs within the mini mal supersymmetric standard model. We show that, away from the kinemat ical threshold, selectrons produce this signal far more abundantly tha n charginos. The standard model background is dominated by W-pair prod uction. We propose a series of kinematical cuts which reduce this back ground to an acceptable level. With a 1 TeV collider operated in the g ammagamma mode, we find that interesting and complementary tests of su persymmetric models can be performed for selectron masses up to 350 Ge V.