No Arabic abstract
We study a model with a down-type SU(2) singlet vector-like quark (VLQ) as a minimal extension of the standard model (SM). In this model, flavor changing neutral currents (FCNCs) arise at tree level and the unitarity of the $3times 3$ Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix does not hold. In this paper, we constrain the FCNC coupling from $brightarrow s$ transitions, especially $B_srightarrow mu^+mu^-$ and $bar{B}rightarrow X_sgamma$ processes. In order to analyze these processes, we derive an effective Lagrangian which is valid below the electroweak symmetry breaking scale. For this purpose, we first integrate out the VLQ field and derive an effective theory by matching Wilson coefficients up to one-loop level. Using the effective theory, we construct the effective Lagrangian for $brightarrow sgamma^{(*)}$. It includes the effects of the SM quarks and the violation of the CKM unitarity. We show the constraints on the magnitude of the FCNC coupling and its phase by taking account of the current experimental data on $Delta M_{B_s}$, $mathrm{Br}[B_srightarrowmu^+mu^-]$, $mathrm{Br}[bar{B}rightarrow X_sgamma]$ and CKM matrix elements as well as theoretical uncertainties. We find that the constraint from the $mathrm{Br}[B_srightarrowmu^+mu^-]$ is more stringent than that from the $mathrm{Br}[bar{B}rightarrow X_sgamma$]. We also obtain the bound for the mass of the VLQ and the strength of the Yukawa couplings related to the FCNC coupling of $brightarrow s$ transition. Using the CKM elements which satisfy above constraints, we show how the unitarity is violated on the complex plane.
We argue that in models with several high scales; e.g. in composite Higgs models or in gauge extensions of the Standard Model (SM), vector-like leptons can be likely produced in a relatively large $sqrt{s}$ region of the phase space. Likewise, they can easily decay into final states not containing SM gauge bosons. This contrasts with the topology in which these new particles are being searched for at the LHC. Adopting an effective field theory approach, we show that searches for excited leptons must be used instead to test this scenario. We derive bounds on all the relevant interactions of dimension six; the most constrained ones being of about $0.05$ TeV$^{-2}$. We build new observables to improve current analyses and study the impact on all single-field UV completions of the SM extended with a vector-like lepton that can be captured by the effective field theory at tree level, in the current and in the high-luminosity phase of the LHC.
Extensions of the Standard Model that include vector-like quarks commonly also include additional particles that may mediate new production or decay modes. Using as example the minimal linear $sigma$ model, that reduces to the minimal $SO(5)/SO(4)$ composite Higgs model in a specific limit, we consider the phenomenology of vector-like quarks when a scalar singlet $sigma$ is present. This new particle may be produced in the decays $T to t sigma$, $B to b sigma$, where $T$ and $B$ are vector-like quarks of charges $2/3$ and $-1/3$, respectively, with subsequent decay $sigma to W^+ W^-, ZZ, hh$. By scanning over the allowed parameter space we find that these decays may be dominant. In addition, we find that the presence of several new particles allows for single $T$ production cross sections larger than those expected in minimal models. We discuss the observability of these new signatures in existing searches.
We present a novel framework for carrying out global analyses of the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT) at dimension-six: SMEFiT. This approach is based on the Monte Carlo replica method for deriving a faithful estimate of the experimental and theoretical uncertainties and enables one to construct the probability distribution in the space of the SMEFT degrees of freedom. As a proof of concept of the SMEFiT methodology, we present a first study of the constraints on the SMEFT provided by top quark production measurements from the LHC. Our analysis includes more than 30 independent measurements from 10 different processes at 8 and 13 TeV such as inclusive top-quark pair and single-top production and the associated production of top quarks with weak vector bosons and the Higgs boson. State-of-the-art theoretical calculations are adopted both for the Standard Model and for the SMEFT contributions, where in the latter case NLO QCD corrections are included for the majority of processes. We derive bounds for the 34 degrees of freedom relevant for the interpretation of the LHC top quark data and compare these bounds with previously reported constraints. Our study illustrates the significant potential of LHC precision measurements to constrain physics beyond the Standard Model in a model-independent way, and paves the way towards a global analysis of the SMEFT.
We consider supersymmetric extensions of the standard model with a vector-like doublet $(T , B)$ of quarks with charge $2/3$ and $-1/3$, respectively. Compared to non-supersymmetric models, there is a variety of new decay modes for the vector-like quarks, involving the extra scalars present in supersymmetry. The importance of these new modes, yielding multi-top, multi-bottom and also multi-Higgs signals, is highlighted by the analysis of several benchmark scenarios. We show how the triangles commonly used to represent the branching ratios of the `standard decay modes of the vector-like quarks involving $W$, $Z$ or Higgs bosons can be generalised to include additional channels. We give an example by recasting the limits of a recent heavy quark search for this more general case.
We compute the helicity-dependent strange quark distribution in the proton in the framework of chiral effective theory. Starting from the most general chiral SU(3) Lagrangian that respects Lorentz and gauge invariance, we derive the complete set of hadronic splitting functions at the one meson loop level, including the octet and decuplet rainbow, tadpole, Kroll-Ruderman and octet-decuplet transition configurations. By matching hadronic and quark level operators, we obtain generalized convolution formulas for the quark distributions in the proton in terms of hadronic splitting functions and quark distributions in the hadronic configurations, and from these derive model-independent relations for the leading nonanalytic behavior of their moments. Within the limits of parameters of the Pauli-Villars regulators derived from inclusive hyperon production, we find that the polarized strange quark distribution is rather small and mostly negative.