No Arabic abstract
We present a comprehensive analysis of the loop induced top quark FCNC signals at the LHC within one class of the simplified model. The loop level FCNC interactions are well motivated to avoid the hierarchy of the top quark couplings from the new physics and standard model. Such a theory will posit a Majorana dark matter candidate and could be tested through dark matter relic density, direct detection experiments (the scattering between dark matter and heavy nuclei), and the collider signals at the LHC. We find that the spin-independent (SI) scattering between Majorana dark matter and nuclei will vanish at the leading order, while the next-to-leading order correction to the SI scattering becomes significance to constrain the parameter space of the model. A detailed comparison from direct detection experiments and LHC searches is also discussed and both of them are very important to full constrain the model.
In top quark production, the polarization of top quarks, decided by the chiral structure of couplings, is likely to be modified in the presence of any new physics contribution to the production. Hence the same is a good discriminator for those new physics models wherein the couplings have a chiral structure different than that in the Standard Model (SM). In this note we construct probes of the polarization of a top quark decaying hadronically, using easily accessible kinematic variables such as the energy fraction or angular correlations of the decay products. Tagging the boosted top quark using the usual jet sub structure technique we study robustness of these observables for a benchmark process, $W^{prime} to tb$. We demonstrate that the energy fraction of b-jet in the laboratory frame and a new angular variable, constructed by us in the top rest frame, are both very powerful tools to discriminate between the left and right polarized top quarks. Based on the polarization sensitive angular variables, we construct asymmetries which reflect the polarization. We study the efficiency of these variables for two new physics processes where which give rise to boosted top quarks: (i) decay of the top squark in the context of supersymmetry searches, and (ii) decays of the Kaluza-Klein(KK) graviton and KK gluon, in Randall Sundrum(RS) model. Remarkably, it is found that the asymmetry can vary over a wide range about +20% to -20%. The dependence of asymmetry on top quark couplings of the new particles present in these models beyond the SM (BSM) is also investigated in detail.
We adopt a fully gauge-invariant effective-field-theory approach for parametrizing top-quark flavor-changing-neutral-current interactions. It allows for a global interpretation of experimental constraints (or measurements) and the systematic treatment of higher-order quantum corrections. We discuss some recent results obtained at next-to-leading-order accuracy in QCD and perform, at that order, a first global analysis of a subset of the available experimental limits in terms of effective operator coefficients. We encourage experimental collaborations to adopt this approach and extend the analysis by using all information they have prime access to.
We present an overview of Top Quark Physics - from what has been learned so far at the Tevatron, to the searches that lie ahead at present and future colliders. We summarize the richness of the measurements and discuss their possible impact on our understanding of the Standard Model by pointing out their key elements and limitations. When possible, we discuss how the top quark may provide a connection to new or unexpected physics.
A search for dark matter produced in association with a top quark pair is presented. The search is performed using 19.7 $mathrm{fb^{-1}}$ of proton-proton collisions recorded at a center of mass energy of 8 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The signature investigated is top quark pairs in the semi-leptonic final state plus missing transverse energy. This work focuses in particular on dark matter production through scalar interaction where a proportionality to the quark mass is expected.
On the twentieth anniversary of the observation of the top quark, we trace our understanding of this heaviest of all known particles from the prediction of its existence, through the searches and discovery, to the current knowledge of its production mechanisms and properties. We also discuss the central role of the top quark in the Standard Model and the windows that it opens for seeking new physics beyond the Standard Model.