The LHC will be a top-quark factory. With 80 million pairs of top quarks and an additional 34 million single tops produced annually at the designed high luminosity, the properties of this particle will be studied to a great accuracy. The fact that the top quark is the heaviest elementary particle in the Standard Model with a mass right at the electroweak scale makes it tempting to contemplate its role in electroweak symmetry breaking, as well as its potential as a window to unknown new physics at the TeV scale. We summarize the expectations for top-quark physics at the LHC, and outline new physics scenarios in which the top quark is crucially involved.
The QCD Explorer will give opportunity to enlighten the origin of the 98.5% portion of the visible universe's mass, clarify the nature of the strong interactions from parton to nuclear level and provide precission pdf's for the LHC. Especially the γ-nucleus option seems to be very promising for QCD studies.
Overall, the Standard Model describes electroweak precision data rather well. There are however a few areas of tension (charged current universality, NuTeV, (g-2)_μ, b quark asymmetries), which I review emphasizing recent theoretical and experimental progress. I also discuss what precision data tell us about the Higgs boson and new physics scenarios. In this context, the role of a precise measurement of the top mass is crucial.
A search for a fourth family at the LHC is presently a low priority, but we argue that an effective search can be conducted early with only a few inverse femtobarns of data. We discuss a method based on invariant masses of single jets for identifying the $W$'s originating from heavy quark decays. This can significantly increase signal to background in the reconstruction of the $t'$ mass. We also study the various types of physics that can impact the background estimate, most notably higher order effects, initial state radiation, and models of the underlying event.
In this brief review we study the discovery potential of heavy Higgs induced single-top, same-sign top and triple-top quark productions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The context is general two Higgs doublet model where such processes can be induced by additional Yukawa couplings and sub-Tev Higgs bosons. We show that these processes can be discovered at the ongoing or future high luminosity LHC run. Discovery of these multi-top productions may shed light on the mechanism behind baryogenesis or cosmic inflation.
We propose to probe the topcolor-assisted technicolor (TC2) model from the top-charm associated productions at the LHC, which are highly suppressed in the Standard Model. Due to the flavor-changing couplings of the top quark with the scalars (top-pions and top-Higgs) in TC2 model, the top-charm associated productions can occur via both the s-channel and t-channel parton processes by exchanging a scalar field at the LHC. We examined these processes through Monte Carlo simulation and found that they can reach the observable level at the LHC in quite a large part of the parameter space of the TC2…
The High-Luminosity LHC is expected to provide $3 ab^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity. As a result billions of events containing top quarks will be detected at the CMS and ATLAS experiments, allowing for precise measurements of the top quark properties. The experimental challenges that will be faced in a high luminosity environment, with a special focus on top quark related observables are examined. We discuss prospects for measuring top quark anomalous couplings at the HL-LHC. Projections for detecting flavor changing neutral currents involving top quarks are also reviewed.
We suggest that top physics can be studied at the LHCb experiment, and that top production could be observed. Since LHCb covers a large pseudorapidity region in the forward direction, it has unique abilities to probe new physics in the top sector. Furthermore, we demonstrate that LHCb may be able to measure a t\bar t production rate asymmetry, and thus indirectly probe an anomalous forward backward t\bar t asymmetry in the forward region; a possibility suggested by the enhanced forward-backward asymmetry reported by the CDF experiment.
I present the latest calculations of total and differential cross sections for top-antitop pair production and single top quark production via all main partonic channels. Higher-order corrections from the resummation of soft gluons are added through NNLL accuracy. Detailed numerical results are presented for approximate NNLO cross sections and top quark transverse momentum distributions at the Tevatron and LHC colliders.
We study the precision with which the t-channel single top quark production cross section is expected to be measured in future LHC runs at 14 TeV. The single top final state has a lepton and neutrino from the top quark decay plus two jets, one of which is required to be b-tagged. This measurement is done in the context of the Snowmass 2013 study for the low-luminosity 14 TeV and the high-luminosity 14 TeV LHC as well as for high-luminosity 33 TeV LHC.
The topcolor-assisted technicolor (TC2) theory predicts tree-level flavor-changing neutral-current (FCNC) top quark Yukawa couplings with top-pions. Such FCNC interactions will induce like-sign top quark pair productions at CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). While these rare productions are far below the observable level in the Standard Model and other popular new physics models such as the Minimal Supersymmetric Model, we find that in a sound part of parameter space the TC2 model can enhance the production cross sections to several tens of fb and thus may be observable at the LHC due to rather…
This is a brief review of charge asymmetries in top-antitop quark production at the LHC. Proposed asymmetry observables in processes of associated top-pair production $t\bar t$ + jet, $t\bar t + W$, and $t\bar t + γ$ are analyzed and compared. While the focus is on standard-model predictions, we also comment on the sensitivity to possible new physics and observation prospects during the second runtime of the LHC.
I review the prospects for measuring the properties of the top quark at the Tevatron, with an integrated luminosity of 2 fb$^{-1}$ or more, and at LHC in the early running at instantaneous luminosities of $10^{32}-10^{33}~cm^{-2}~s^{-1}$.
We investigate the discovery potential of light color-octet bosons in the mass range of 100 - 400 GeV in exclusive top-pair plus jet production at the LHC. We study the impact of such bosons on the incline, the energy and the rapidity asymmetries. We show that light axigluons with large couplings to quarks can be discovered at the LHC with a luminosity of a few inverse fb. Almost all of the considered axigluon parameter space can be probed using the already available 2011/2012 LHC data. In a small-coupling scenario, axigluons could be discovered using the charge asymmetry with 65 inverse fb at…
The top quark is the heaviest elementary particle in the Standard Model (SM). For this reason, a precise determination of its mass $m_t$ is part of the LHC physics program. The most accurate determinations of $m_t$ rely on the kinematic reconstruction of the top decay products and on the use of Monte Carlo event generators. In these proceedings I discuss the impact of different theoretical descriptions for the process of top pair production at the LHC on the extraction of $m_t$.
I briefly discuss some theoretical aspects of top mass measurements at the LHC. In particular, I illustrate a recent theoretical study performed using next-to-leading order (NLO) calculations interfaced to shower generators (NLO+PS) of increasing accuracy, interfaced to both Pythia8 and Herwig7 Monte Carlo generators.
Models incorporating flavoured dark matter provide an elegant solution to the dark matter problem, evading the tight LHC and direct direction constraints on simple WIMP models. In Dark Minimal Flavour Violation, a simple framework of flavoured dark matter with new sources of flavour violation, the constraints from thermal freeze-out, direct detection experiments, and flavour physics create well-defined benchmark scenarios for these models. We study the LHC phenomenology of four such scenarios, focusing on final states where a single top quark is produced accompanied by no jets, one jet from th…
In our latest paper "Search for anomalous top-gluon couplings at LHC revisited" in Eur. Phys. J. C65 (2010), 127-135 (arXiv:0910.3049 [hep-ph]), we studied possible effects of nonstandard top-gluon couplings through the chromoelectric and chromomagnetic moments of the top quark using the total cross section of ppbar/pp --> ttbar X at Tevatron/LHC. There we pointed out that LHC data could give a stronger constraint on those two parameters, which would be hard to obtain from Tevatron data alone. We show here the first CMS measurement of this cross section actually makes it possible.
The dijet signature at the LHC is studied in new physics models for the top forward-backward asymmetry at the Tevatron. In the t-mediator models, flavor-changing interactions contribute to the dijet production cross section as well as the asymmetry at least at the one-loop level. It is found that the LHC dijet measurements at 36pb^(-1) have constrained the Z' coupling larger than 2.5-3. The sensitivity is expected to be improved significantly as the integrated luminosity increases in the LHC.
We update the theoretical precision of the total cross section for direct top quark production at the LHC by extending the threshold resummation to the next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy.
This proceeding describes the experimental results presented at the TOP2014 conference on searches for physics beyond the standard model in final states containing top quarks by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the LHC. The searches presented were done in the context of a wide range of theoretical models except those related to Supersymmetry. Results presented use about 20 fb$^{-1}$ of data taken with 8 TeV proton-proton collisions from the LHC. No significant excesses beyond the standard model are observed, therefore limits on potential new signals are set.
We address the potential of measurements with boosted single-top final states at the high-luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) and possible future hadron colliders: the high-energy LHC (HE-LHC), and the future circular collider (FCC). As new physics examples to assess the potential, we consider the search for $tbW$ anomalous couplings and for a weakly-coupled $W'$ boson. The FCC would improve by a factor of two the sensitivity to anomalous couplings of the HL-LHC. For $W'$ bosons, the FCC is sensitive to $W'$ couplings $2-5$ times smaller than the HL-LHC in the mass range 2-4 TeV, and to masses up to 30 Te…
We study the phenomenology of same sign top pair production at the LHC in a model-independent way. The complete set of dimension six operators involving two top (or anti-top) quarks is introduced and the connection with all possible t- or s-channel particle exchanges is established. Only in the former case, same and opposite sign top pair production can be related. We find that while current Tevatron data disfavor t-channel models, other production mechanisms are viable and can be tested at the LHC.
We evaluate the top-quark FCNC productions induced by the topcolor assisted technicolor (TC2) model at the LHC. These productions proceed respectively through the parton-level processes g g -> t c_bar, c g->t, c g -> t g, c g -> t Z and c g -> t γ. We show the dependence of the production rates on the relevant TC2 parameters and compare the results with the predictions in the minimal supersymmetric model. We find that for each channel the TC2 model predicts a much larger production rate than the supersymmetric model. All these rare productions in the TC2 model can be enhanced above the 3-sigma…
Theoretical predictions for standard model (SM) processes involving top quarks, such as top quark-antiquark pair or single top production, depend on fundamental SM parameters like the strong coupling constant or the top quark mass. By confronting predictions with measurements performed at the ATLAS and CMS Collaboration using data collected at the CERN LHC in the second data taking period, these parameters can be determined precisely. In these proceedings, recent results measuring SM and top quark properties are presented.
Selected topics of the top-quark mass measurements in well-defined schemes are presented. The measurements have been performed using data recorded with the ATLAS and CMS detectors at the LHC at proton-proton centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV. Precision theoretical QCD calculations for both inclusive top-antitop quark pair production and top-antitop quark pair production with an additional jet to extract the top quark mass in the pole-mass scheme have been used.
We carry out a comprehensive analysis of models for top A_{FB} at CDF in light of new top data arriving from the LHC. We begin with a careful Tevatron analysis, considering in general which sets of effective vertices give rise to a large forward-backward asymmetry while suppressing the contribution to the total t tbar cross-section. We show on general grounds that scalar models struggle to produce sufficient asymmetries consistent with CDF observations, while vector models can produce a large asymmetry with a less significant tension in the total cross-section and $t\bar{t}$ invariant mass dis…
Alternative top quark mass determinations can provide inputs to the world average with orthogonal systematic uncertainties and may help to refine the interpretation of the standard method. Among a number of recent results I focus on the extractions by ATLAS and CMS of the top quark pole mass from the top quark pair and tt + 1 jet production cross-section, which have now reached a precision of 1%.
Almost two decades after its discovery at Fermilab's Tevatron collider experiments, the top quark is still under the spotlight due to its connections to some of the most interesting puzzles in the Standard Model. The Tevatron has been shut down two years ago, yet some interesting results are coming out of the CDF and D0 collaborations. The LHC collider at CERN produced two orders of magnitude more top quarks than Tevatron's, thus giving birth to a new era for top quark physics. While the LHC is also down at the time of this writing, many top quark physics results are being extracted out of the…
Our main aim in this paper is to present detailed studies to probe the top quark flavor changing neutral current (FCNC) interactions at $tqg$, $tqγ$, $tqH$ and $tqZ (σ^{μν}, γ_μ)$ vertices in the triple-top signal $p p \to t \bar t t \, (\bar t t \bar t)$ at the high energy proposal of Large Hadron Collider (HE-LHC) and future circular hadron-hadron collider (FCC-hh). To this end, we investigate the production of three top quarks which arises from the FCNC couplings taken into account the fast simulation at $\sqrt{s} = 27$ TeV of HE-LHC and 100 TeV of FCC-hh considering the integrated luminosi…
The main production mode for a light charged Higgs boson at the LHC is $pp \to t \bar t$, with one the top-quarks decaying to a charged Higgs and a $b$-quark. However, single top production also gives rise to final states with charged Higgs bosons. In this work we analyse how the two processes compare at the LHC@14TeV. We will be working in the framework of the two-Higgs double model, considering both a CP-conserving and a CP-violating version of the model. We conclude that the single top mode could help to constrain the parameter space in several versions of the model. We also discuss the rol…
We consider the top forward-backward (FB) asymmetry at the Tevatron and top charge asymmetry at the LHC within chiral U(1)^\prime models with flavor-dependent U(1)^\prime charges and flavored Higgs fields, which were introduced in the ref. [65]. The models could enhance not only the top forward-backward asymmetry at Tevatron, but also the top charge asymmetry at LHC, without too large same-sign top pair production rates. We identify parameter spaces for the U(1)^\prime gauge boson and (pseudo)scalar Higgs bosons where all the experimental data could be accommodated, including the case with abo…
Through top-quark pair productions at LHC, we study possible effects of nonstandard top-gluon couplings yielded by SU(3)xSU(2)xU(1) invariant dimension-6 effective operators. We calculate the total cross section and also some distributions for p p -> t tbar X as functions of two anomalous-coupling parameters, i.e., the chromoelectric and chromomagnetic moments of the top, which are constrained by the total cross section sigma(p pbar -> t tbar X) measured at Tevatron. We find that LHC might give us some chances to observe sizable effects induced by those new couplings.
As a top quark factory, the LHC can test the new physics models used to explain the top quark forward-backward asymmetry A^t_FB measured at the Tevatron. In this work we perform a comparative study for two such models: the W'-model and the color triplet diquark (ϕ) model. Requiring these models to explain A^t_FB and also satisfy the top pair production rate measured at the Tevatron, we examine their contributions to the LHC observables such as the polarization and charge asymmetry in top quark and W' (or ϕ) productions. We find that these observables can be enhanced to the observable level and…
In minimal supersymmetric standard model the R-parity violating interactions can induce anomalous top pair productions at the LHC through the t-channel process d_R \bar d_R -> t_L \bar t_L by exchanging a slepton or u-channel process d_R \bar d_R -> t_R \bar t_R by exchanging a squark. Such top pair productions with certain chirality cause top quark polarization in the top pair events. We found that at the LHC, due to the large statistics, the statistical significance of the polarization observable and thus the probing ability for the corresponding R-parity violating couplings are much higher …
We analyze the collider signatures of models with a vector-like top-prime quark and a massive color-octet boson. The top-prime quark mixes with the top quark in the Standard Model, leading to richer final states than ones that are investigated by experimental collaborations. We discuss the multi-lepton final states, and show that they can provide increased sensitivity to models with a top-prime quark and gluon-prime. Searches for new physics in high multiplicity events are an important component of the LHC program and complementary to analyses that have been performed.
The charge asymmetry in hadronic top-antitop-quark production is a powerful test observable of perturbative quantum chromodynamics. Since its origin in terms of Feynman diagrams is distinct from charge-symmetric top-antitop production, probing the charge asymmetry provides complementary information to cross section measurements. Furthermore, asymmetric observables offer new ways to distinguish new physics beyond the standard model. This article summarizes prospects to investigate the top-quark charge asymmetry at the LHC in and beyond the standard model. Particular attention is given to observ…
Several proposals exist for energy-frontier facilities after the HL-LHC. In this contribution I review the potential of these facilities to perform key measurements of top quark properties and interacions. Top quark precision physics at a lepton collider provides excellent opportunities for the determination of the top quark mass and its couplings to neutral electro-weak gauge bosons. Measurements at very high center-of-mass energy at a new hadron collider likely offer the ultimate precision on the QCD interaction of the top quark and its coupling to the Higgs boson. The combination of a lepto…
The energy asymmetry in top-antitop-jet production is an observable of the top charge asymmetry designed for the LHC. We perform a realistic analysis in the boosted kinematic regime, including effects of the parton shower, hadronization and expected experimental uncertainties. Our predictions at particle level show that the energy asymmetry in the Standard Model can be measured with a significance of $3σ$ during Run 3, and with more than $5σ$ significance at the HL-LHC. Beyond the Standard Model the energy asymmetry is a sensitive probe of new physics with couplings to top quarks. In the frame…
Searching for the Higgs boson is of first priority in LHC experiments. Once a Higgs candidate is found, we then need to know whether it is the standard model (SM) Higgs boson or a Higgs boson in new physics beyond the SM. So far we do not know what model of new physics will actually reflect the property of the nature. A model-independent way of measuring the anomalous couplings of the Higgs boson will provide a no-lose study, i.e., if we find nonvanishing anomalous couplings (deviation from the SM couplings), we can conclude that it is a new physics effect. In a previous paper \cite{QKLZ09}, w…
It was shown: 1) that the mass of the Higgs boson discovered by LHC corresponds to the stability conditions of the SM vacua and to the Multiple Point Principle, according to which all vacua of the SM are degenerate, or almost degenerate; 2) that early predicted by authors new bound states (NBS) of the 6 top and 6 anti-top quarks ("T-fireballs"), which are formed by their intermediate interactions with the Higgs bosons, manifest themselves in the production of multijets in pp-collisions at LHC. The CMS experiment of LHC with the production of 10 jets can be explained by the production of pairs …
We show that a light charged Higgs boson signal via $τ^\pmν$ decay can be established at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) also in the case of single top production. This process complements searches for the same signal in the case of charged Higgs bosons emerging from $t \bar t$ production. The models accessible include the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) as well a variety of 2-Higgs Doublet Models (2HDMs). High energies and luminosities are however required, thereby restricting interest on this mode to the case of the LHC running at 14 TeV with design configuration.
We study contributions of a scalar diquark particle in a color representation of anti-triplet and sextet to the top quark pair production at the Tevatron and the Large hadron collider (LHC). The model can give Forward-Backward (FB) asymmetry at the Tevatron while can avoid the same sign top quark production at the LHC by assuming the top-number conserving diquark couplings. We study compatibility between the large positive FB asymmetry observed at the Tevatron and non-observation of the charge asymmetry at the LHC, by including contributions from the single and pair production of diquarks. We …
We perform an up-to-date global fit of top quark effective theory to experimental data from the Tevatron, and from LHC Runs I and II. Experimental data includes total cross-sections up to 13 TeV, as well as differential distributions, for both single top and pair production. We also include the top quark width, charge asymmetries, and polarisation information from top decay products. We present bounds on the coefficients of dimension six operators, and examine the interplay between inclusive and differential measurements, and Tevatron / LHC data. All results are currently in good agreement wit…
The forward LHCb acceptance offers the possibility of measuring the top-quark pair asymmetry in a kinematic region that does not receive overwhelming dilution from the symmetric gluon-fusion channel. To investigate this possibility, two leptonic final states are identified, and analysis strategies are proposed for each channel with 14~TeV data. Leading fixed-order predictions are then provided for the relevant leptonic asymmetry variables in each channel. If backgrounds can be experimentally constrained, statistically, a non-zero asymmetry is estimated to be observable beyond 5$σ$ confidence l…
The physics perspectives of the production and decay of single top quarks and top quark pairs at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are reviewed from a phenomenological point of view.
We study the charged Higgs production at LHC via its associated production with top quark. The kinematic cuts are optimized to suppress the background processes so that the reconstruction of the charged Higgs and top quark is possible. The angular distributions with respect to top quark spin are explored to study the $Htb$ interaction at LHC.
LHC is expected to be a top quark factory. If the fundamental Planck scale is near a TeV, then we also expect the top quarks to be produced from black holes via Hawking radiation. In this paper we calculate the cross sections for top quark production from black holes at the LHC and compare it with the direct top quark cross section via parton fusion processes at next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO). We find that the top quark production from black holes can be larger or smaller than the pQCD predictions at NNLO depending upon the Planck mass and black hole mass. Hence the observation of very h…
The determination of the electromagnetic dipole moments of the top quark is one of the most important goals of the top quark physics program in the collider experiments. For this reason, the top quark pair production to investigate the sensitivity on the electric and magnetic dipole moments of the top quark via the process $pp\rightarrow p γp \rightarrow p t \bar{t} X$ at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) and High-Energy Large Hadron Collider (HE-LHC) is discussed. We apply pure leptonic and semileptonic decays for top quark pair production in …
We study the effects of a set of dimension six flavor changing effective operators on several processes of production of top quarks at the LHC. Namely, top anti-top production and associated production of a top and a gauge or Higgs boson. Analytical expressions for the cross sections of these processes are derived and presented.
In a topcolor-assisted technicolor model (TC2) with large FCNC top quark couplings, we study its correlated contributions to the top quark forward-backward asymmetry ($A_{FB}$) at the Tevatron, the top charge asymmetry ($A_{C}$) and the triple-top production at the LHC. Under current constraints on the top quark from the LHC and Tevatron(such as the total and differential production rates), we scan the parameter space of such a TC2 model. We find that in the allowed parameter space the TC2 model can explain the Tevatron measured $A_{FB}$ at $2σ$ level, but meanwhile significantly enhance $A_{C…
In this work, we investigate the one-loop QCD correction to top pair production in the littlest Higgs model with T-parity at the LHC. We calculate the relative correction of the top pair production cross section and top-antitop spin correlation at the LHC for $\sqrt{s}=8,14$ TeV. We find that the relative corrections of top pair production cross section can reach about $-0.35\%$, and the top-antitop spin correlation can reach $1.7\%$($2\%$) at the 8(14) TeV LHC in the favorable parameter space.
The average charged hadron multiplicities induced by top quark decays are calculated in pQCD at LHC energies. Different modes of top production are considered. Proposed measurements can be used as an additional test of pQCD calculations independent on a fragmentation model.
We review some peculiar features of Sudakov expansions in the calculation of electroweak radiative corrections in the MSSM at high energy. We give specific examples and consider in particular the process b g -> t W of single top quark production relevant for the top quark physics programme at LHC.
We propose to extract the electric and weak dipole moments of the top quark via $t\bar tγ$ and $t\bar t Z$ productions at the CERN LHC. With the large numbers of events available at the LHC, these dipole moments can be measured to the accuracy of $10^{-18}e cm$.
The top-pions($π_{t}^{0,\pm}$) predicted by extra dimensional descriptions of the topcolor scenario have similar feature with those in four dimensional topcolor scenario, which have large Yukawa couplings to the third generation quarks. In the context of the higgsless--top-Higgs(HTH) model, we discuss the production of these new particles at the CERN Large Hadron Collider(LHC) via various suitable mechanisms (gluon-gluon fusion, bottom-bottom fusion, gluon-bottom fusion, and the usual Drell-Yan processes) and estimate their production rates. We find that, as long as the top-pions are not too h…
