This section contains limits on charged scalar leptons (${{\widetilde{\mathit \ell}}}$, with ${{\mathit \ell}}={{\mathit e}},{{\mathit \mu}},{{\mathit \tau}}$). Studies of width and decays of the ${{\mathit Z}}$ boson (use is made here of $\Delta \Gamma _{{\mathrm {inv}}}<2.0~$MeV, LEP 2000) conclusively rule out ${\mathit m}_{{{\widetilde{\mathit \ell}}_{{{R}}}}}<40~$GeV (41 GeV for ${{\widetilde{\mathit \ell}}_{{{L}}}}$) , independently of decay modes, for each individual slepton. The limits improve to 43$~$GeV ($43.5$ GeV for ${{\widetilde{\mathit \ell}}_{{{L}}}}$) assuming all 3 flavors to be degenerate. Limits on higher mass sleptons depend on model assumptions and on the mass splitting $\Delta \mathit m$= ${\mathit m}_{{{\widetilde{\mathit \ell}}}}–{\mathit m}_{{{\widetilde{\mathit \chi}}_{{{1}}}^{0}}}$. The mass and composition of ${{\widetilde{\mathit \chi}}_{{{1}}}^{0}}$ may affect the selectron production rate in ${{\mathit e}^{+}}{{\mathit e}^{-}}$ collisions through ${{\mathit t}}$-channel exchange diagrams. Production rates are also affected by the potentially large mixing angle of the lightest mass eigenstate ${{\widetilde{\mathit \ell}}_{{{1}}}}={{\widetilde{\mathit \ell}}_{{{R}}}}$ sin$\theta _{{{\mathit \ell}}}$ + ${{\widetilde{\mathit \ell}}_{{{L}}}}$ cos $\theta _{{{\mathit \ell}}}$. It is generally assumed that only ${{\widetilde{\mathit \tau}}}$ may have significant mixing. The coupling to the ${{\mathit Z}}$ vanishes for $\theta _{{{\mathit \ell}}}$=0.82. In the high-energy limit of ${{\mathit e}^{+}}{{\mathit e}^{-}}$ collisions the interference between ${{\mathit \gamma}}$ and ${{\mathit Z}}$ exchange leads to a minimal cross section for $\theta _{{{\mathit \ell}}}$=0.91, a value which is sometimes used in the following entries relative to data taken at LEP2. When limits on ${\mathit m}_{{{\widetilde{\mathit \ell}}_{{{R}}}}}$ are quoted, it is understood that limits on ${\mathit m}_{{{\widetilde{\mathit \ell}}_{{{L}}}}}$ are usually at least as strong.
Possibly open decays involving gauginos other than ${{\widetilde{\mathit \chi}}_{{{1}}}^{0}}$ will affect the detection efficiencies. Unless otherwise stated, the limits presented here result from the study of ${{\widetilde{\mathit \ell}}^{+}}{{\widetilde{\mathit \ell}}^{-}}$ production, with production rates and decay properties derived from the MSSM. Limits made obsolete by the recent analyses of ${{\mathit e}^{+}}{{\mathit e}^{-}}$ collisions at high energies can be found in previous Editions of this Review.
For decays with final state gravitinos (${{\widetilde{\mathit G}}}$), ${\mathit m}_{{{\widetilde{\mathit G}}}}$ is assumed to be negligible relative to all other masses.