Triggering and signal optimization in a search for SUSY with bottom-quark jets in pp collisions at 8 TeV with CMS

A search is presented for physics beyond the standard model based on events with significant missing transverse energy (MET), at least three jets, and at least one identified bottom-quark jet. The bottom-quark-jets plus MET signature arises in models of so-called natural supersymmetry and is expected to be one of the most accessible SUSY final states at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The study is based on a sample of 19 fb-1 collected at 8 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2012. Particular emphasis is given to the trigger, event selection, and optimization of the analysis selection criteria. The background-determination methods and limits on new physics signatures are described.