Starting from a general effective Lagrangian for lepton flavor violation (LFV) in quark-lepton transitions, we derive constraints on the effective coefficients from the high-mass tails of the dilepton processes $pp \to \ell_k \ell_l$ (with $k\neq l$). The current (projected) limits derived in this paper from LHC data with $36~\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ ($3~\mathrm{ab}^{-1}$) can be applied to generic new physics scenarios, including the ones with scalar, vector and tensor effective operators. For purely left-handed operators, we explicitly compare these LHC constraints with the ones derived from flavor-physics observables, illustrating the complementarity of these different probes. While flavor physics is typically more constraining for quark-flavor violating operators, we find that LHC provides the most stringent limits on several flavor-conserving ones. Furthermore, we show that dilepton tails offer the best probes for charm-quark transitions at current luminosities and that they provide competitive limits for tauonic $b\to d$ transitions at the high-luminosity LHC phase. As a by-product, we also provide general numerical expressions for several low-energy LFV processes, such as the semi-leptonic decays $K\to π\ell^{\pm}_k \ell^{\mp}_l$, $B\to π\ell^{\pm}_k \ell^{\mp}_l$ and $B\to K^{(\ast)} \ell^{\pm}_k \ell^{\mp}_l$.
A simple and elegant mechanism is proposed to resolve the problem of having a light scalar mediator for self-interacting dark matter and the resulting disruption to the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at late times by the former's enhanced Sommerfeld production and decay. The crucial idea is to have Dirac neutrinos with the conservation of U(1) lepton number extended to the dark sector. The simplest scenario consists of scalar or fermion dark matter with unit lepton number accompanied by a light scalar dilepton mediator, which decays to two neutrinos.
A future lepton collider, such as the proposed CLIC or ILC, would allow to study top quark properties with unprecedented precision. In this paper, we present a method to reconstruct the $t \bar{t}$ decay in the dilepton channel at future $e^+e^-$ colliders. We derive a simple, closed analytical expression for the neutrino four-momenta as a function of the $W$ boson mass and develop a maximization procedure to find the optimal solution for the reconstruction of the full $t \bar{t}$ event. We show that our method is able to reconstruct neutrino four-momenta with an error of less than $2 \, \%$ i…
$SU(2)_L$-invariance links charged dilepton and dineutrino couplings. Phenomenological implications are worked out for flavor changing neutral currents involving strange, charm, beauty and top quark transitions in a model-independent way. We put forward novel tests of lepton universality and lepton flavor conservation in $|Δc|= |Δu|=1$ and $|Δb|= |Δq|=1$, $q=d,s$, transitions suitable for the experiments Belle II and BES III. Single top production plus dileptons uniquely probes semileptonic four-fermion $|Δt|= |Δq'|=1$, $q'=u,c$, couplings and further study at the LHC is encouraged. Tests with…
In this article we investigate the prospects of searching for sterile neutrinos in lowscale seesaw scenarios via the lepton flavour violating (but lepton number conserving) dilepton dijet signature. In our study, we focus on the final state $e^\pm μ^\mp jj$ at the HL-LHC and the FCC-hh (or the SppC). We perform a multivariate analysis at the detector level including the dominant SM backgrounds from di-top, di-boson, and tri-boson. Under the assumption of the active-sterile neutrino mixings $|V_{ l N}|^2=|θ_e|^2=|θ_μ|^2$ and $|V_{ τN}|^2 = |θ_τ|^2=0$, the sensitivities on the signal production …
In the present work, $k_T$-factorization formalism is applied to compute the exclusive dilepton production by timelike Compton scattering (TCS) in $eA$, $pA$ and $AA$ collisions. The nuclear effects are investigated considering heavy and light ions. The production cross section in terms of invariant mass and rapidity distribution of the lepton pair is shown. The analysis is done for electron-ion collisions at the Large Hadron-Electron Collider (LHeC), its high-energy upgrade (HE-LHeC) and at the Future Circular Collider (FCC) in lepton-hadron mode. Additionally, ultraperipheral heavy ion colli…
We calculate a novel "magnetic contribution" to the dilepton spectrum in heavy-ion collisions arising from interaction of relativistic quarks with intense magnetic field. Synchrotron radiation by quarks, which can be approximated by the equivalent photon flux, is followed by dilepton decay of photons in intense magnetic field. We argue that "magnetic contribution" dominates the dilepton spectrum at low lepton energies, whereas a conventional photon dilepton decay dominates at higher lepton energies.
We investigate the impact of flavour-conserving, non-universal quark-lepton contact interactions on the dilepton invariant mass distribution in $p~p \to \ell^+ \ell^-$ processes at the LHC. After recasting the recent ATLAS search performed at 13 TeV with 36.1 fb$^{-1}$ of data, we derive the best up-to-date limits on the full set of 36 relevant four-fermion operators, as well as estimate the sensitivity achievable at the HL-LHC. We discuss how these high-$p_T$ measurements can provide complementary information to the low-$p_T$ rare meson decays. In particular, we find that the recent hints on …
New physics thresholds which can modify the diphoton and dilepton Higgs branching ratios significantly may also provide new sources of CP and lepton flavor violation. We find that limits on electric dipole moments impose strong constraints on any CP-odd contributions to Higgs diphoton decays unless there are degeneracies in the Higgs sector that enhance CP-violating mixing. We exemplify this point in the language of effective operators and in simple UV-complete models with vector-like fermions. In contrast, we find that electric dipole moments and lepton flavor violating observables provide le…
The dilepton decay channels provide clean signatures and are an ideal hunting ground for high mass resonant, like Z', or non-resonant, like contact interactions or extra dimensions, searches at the LHC. The production of high invariant mass opposite sign lepton pairs in proton-proton collisions in the Standard Model is dominated by the Drell-Yan process. In addition to this photon or Z exchange mediated mechanism, photons radiated by the incoming protons can collide and produce lepton pairs. In this paper detailed calculations of the Drell-Yan process at next-to-next-to-leading order in QCD an…
The production of high invariant mass opposite sign lepton pairs in proton-proton collisions at the LHC is dominated by the Drell-Yan process. In addition to this photon or Z exchange mediated mechanism, gamma-gamma collisions, where photons radiated by the incoming protons collide, can produce lepton pairs. This is an important additional source of background for high mass resonant (like Z') or non-resonant (like contact interactions) searches. In this paper detailed calculations of the Drell-Yan and photon-induced cross sections in the typical acceptance of a multi-purpose LHC detector at ce…
We discuss the impact on the study of gluon transverse momentum dependent distributions (TMDs) of the associated production of a lepton pair and a $Υ$ (or a $J/ψ$) in unpolarised proton-proton collisions, $pp\to {\cal Q} \, \ell \bar{\ell} X$, at LHC energies, where one can assume that such final states are dominantly induced by gluon fusion. If the transverse momentum of the quarkonium-dilepton system - namely, the transverse momentum imbalance of the quarkonium state and the lepton pair - is small, the corresponding cross sections can be calculated within the framework of TMD factorisation. …
The invariant mass spectrum and the elliptic flow of lepton pairs produced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions at RHIC are studied with viscous hydrodynamics. The effects of viscous corrections on dilepton observables are explored. The lepton pairs originating from charm quarks evolving in the viscous background are seen to be a good probe of quark energy loss and gain, as quantified by the dilepton spectrum and by the dilepton elliptic flow.
We present next-to-leading order (NLO) electroweak corrections to the dominant five angular coefficients parametrizing the Drell-Yan process in the $Z$-boson mass peak range for finite-$p_T$ vector boson production. The results are presented differentially in the vector boson transverse momentum. The Lam-Tung violating difference $A_0-A_2$ is examined alongside the coefficients. A single lepton transverse momentum cut is needed in the case of electroweak corrections to avoid a double singularity in the photon induced diagrams, and the dependence on the value of this cut is examined. We compare…
The inclusive same-sign dilepton channel is already recognized as a promising discovery signature for supersymmetry in the early days of the LHC. We point out that it can also be used for precision measurements of sparticle masses after the initial discovery. As an illustration, we consider the LM6 CMS study point in minimal supergravity, where the same-sign leptons most often result from chargino decays to sneutrinos. We discuss three different techniques for determining the chargino and sneutrino masses in an inclusive manner, i.e. using only the two well measured lepton momenta, while treat…
We discuss the latest theoretical results on direct photon and dilepton production from relativistic heavy-ion collisions. While the dilepton spectra at low invariant mass show in-medium effects like a collisional broadening of the vector meson spectral functions, the dilepton yield at high invariant masses (above 1.1 GeV) is dominated by QGP contributions for central heavy-ion collisions at relativistic energies. The present status of the photon $v_2$ "puzzle" - a large elliptic flow $v_2$ of the direct photons experimentally observed at RHIC and LHC energies - is also addressed. The role of …
The possibility to search for lepton number violating signals at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the colored seesaw scenario is investigated. In this context the fields that generate neutrino masses at the one-loop level are scalar and Majorana fermionic color-octets of SU(3). Due to the QCD strong interaction these states may be produced at the LHC with a favorable rate. We study the production mechanisms and decays relevant to search for lepton number violation signals in the channels with same-sign dileptons. In the simplest case when the two fermionic color-octets are degenerate in mass…
In this paper, we propose an observable counting a weighted difference between right-handed and left-handed lepton pairs, which is coined dilepton helical rate. The weight is the momentum difference of the lepton pairs projected onto an auxiliary vector. We derive the helical rate in a quark-gluon plasma with a vorticity in the limit when the quark and lepton masses are ignored. We find the helical rate is maximized when the auxiliary vector is parallel to the vorticity, in which case it has a nearly spherical oblate ellipsoidal distribution. We propose that it can be used as a vortical-meter …
In this paper we propose to use the measurement of the thermal Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) dilepton spectra in the Intermediate Mass Region (IMR) of heavy-ion collisions, as a new method to search for GeV-scale dark gauge bosons (gamma' or Z'). Such light mediators are a common feature of light (i.e. low mass) dark matter scenarios, which have been invoked to explain puzzling signals in dark matter indirect and direct detection experiments. First we show that a light gamma' or Z' will generate a resonant enhancement of the dilepton spectrum produced thermally by the QGP, at an energy correspondin…
The main distribution for a bump search is the dilepton invariant mass distribution with appropriated cut on an absolute value of pseudorapidity difference Delta_eta = |eta_1 - eta_2| between the two leptons. The background from the Standard Model Drell-Yan process contributes mainly to the central pseudorapidity region Delta_eta = 0. By contrast, the excited bosons lead to a peak at Delta_eta = 1.76. We show that this property allows to enhance the significance of their bump search by means of new cut optimization. Nevertheless, in order to confirm an observation of the bump and reveal the re…
Some yet unknown dynamics is expected to be at work behind the flavor puzzles of the Standard Model. Speculations exist that this may manifest itself in significant strength at the terascale. One consequence may be lepton flavor violation with total lepton number conserved. Already observed in neutrino oscillation experiments, such a phenomenon may show up more prominently at TeV energies, thus signaling a completely new physics. Proposed flavor violating charged dilepton states have already been studied with reference to the LHC. Here we study the production and detection at the LHC of flavor…
The meaningful specific anisotropy in the angle distribution of leptons with respect to the three-momentum of pair is predicted as a feasibility signature of synchrotron-like mechanism resulting from the quarks interacting with a collective confining color field in the heavy ion collisions. The lepton pair production rate and the spectrum of pair invariant mass are presented for this new dilepton source that is apparently not taken into consideration in the available phenomenological estimates.
In this work we prob a class of neutrino mass models at both Large Hadron Collider (LHC) energies 8 TeV and 14 TeV. The focus will be on the new introduced interaction terms between a singlet charged scalar, $S^{\pm}$, and leptons leading to different final states $pp\rightarrow\ell_α^{\pm}\ell_β^{\mp}$ +$\slashed E$ with $\ell_α\ell_β=ee,eμ,μμ$ that implies lepton flavor violation (LFV). An accurate cut on the $M_{T2}$ eventvariable is found to be crucial for an effective suppression of the large Standard Model background. The obtained results can be translated into a possible detectability o…
Neutrinos in the Standard Model (SM) are considered to be massless which is in contradiction with the evidence from the neutrino oscillation data. These experiments established that at least two SM neutrinos have non-zero masses and that individual lepton numbers are violated. This is strong evidence of new physics beyond the SM that should be responsible for generating non zero mass for the neutrinos. In this work, we study the collider phenomenology of an extension of the SM where neutrinos are generated radiatively at three-loop. We show that the production of same-sign dilepton at lepton c…
DXC Technology（DXC科技）；Technical University Munich（慕尼黑工业大学）；Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory（劳伦斯利弗莫尔国家实验室）；University of California, Davis（加州大学戴维斯分校）
We study the single and double lepton polarization asymmetries in the semileptonic $B$ meson decays $B \to K_1 (1270) \ell^+ \ell^-$ $\ell \equiv e$, $μ$, $τ$), where the strange $P$-wave meson, $K_1(1270)$, is the mixtures of the $K_{1A}$ and $K_{1B}$, which are the $1^3P_1$ and $1^1P_1$ states, respectively. The lepton polarization asymmetries show relatively strong dependency in the various region of dileptonic invariant mass. The lepton polarization asymmetries can also be used for determining the $K_1(1270)$--$K_1(1400)$ mixing angle, $θ_{K_1}$ and new physics effects. Furthermore, it is …
We calculate the yield of lepton pair production from jet-plasma interaction where the plasma is anisotropic in momentum space. We compare both the $M$ and $p_T$ distributions from such process with the Drell-Yan contribution. It is observed that the invariant mass distribution of lepton pair from such process dominate over the Drell-Yan up to $3$ GeV at RHIC and up to $10$ GeV at LHC. Moreover, it is found that the contribution from anistropic quark gluon plasma (AQGP) increases marginally compared to the isotropic QGP. In case of $p_T$-distribution we observe an increase by a factor of $3-4$…
We present a novel framework within the conformal inverse seesaw scheme allowing large lepton number violation while the neutrino mass formula is still governed by the low-scale inverse seesaw mechanism. This model includes new contributions to rare low-energy lepton number violating processes like neutrinoless double beta decay. We find that the lifetime for this rare process due to heavy sterile neutrinos can saturate current experimental limits. The characteristic collider signature of the present conformal inverse seesaw scheme includes, same-sign dilepton plus two jets and same-sign dilep…
In this work, we investigate the possibility of probing a class of neutrino mass models at the LHC proton-proton collisions with 8 and 14 TeV energies. The existence of lepton flavor violating interactions for a singlet charged scalar, $S^{\pm}$, that couples to the leptons could induce many processes such as $pp\rightarrow\ell_α^{\pm}\ell_β^{\mp}+\slashed E $. Using the processes with $\ell_α\ell_β=ee,eμ,μμ$, we found that an inclusive cut on the $M_{T2}$ event variable is vital in our analysis and leads to an effective suppression of the large Standard Model background. Our results show poss…
We show that new physics can show up in dileptonic events through its radiative contributions to the dilepton invariant mass, leading to unique "monocline" features in $m_{\ell\ell}$, as well as the angular distribution of the leptons. We focus in particular on the case of dark matter with scalar messengers coupling it to the quarks and leptons. Consistent thermal models require the dark matter to have masses of 100's GeV and have $\gsim 1$ couplings to the Standard Model (SM), implying that radiative corrections to the SM Drell-Yan rate can be sizeable. We consider the case of Majorana, Dirac…
The existence of tiny neutrino masses at a scale more than a million times smaller than the lightest charged fermion mass, namely the electron, and their mixings can not be explained within the framework of the exceptionally successful Standard Model. There are four ideas that has been proposed to explain the tiny neutrino masses. These include the see-saw mechanism with a right handed neutrino at the GUT scale, and this is the most elegant mechanism. The other mechanisms are radiatively generated neutrino masses, the neutrino mass arising from a 2nd Higgs doublet having a tiny VEV and couplin…
Ultra-peripheral collisions (UPCs) of heavy ions can be used as a clean environment to study two-photon induced interactions such as dilepton pair photoproduction. Recently, precise data on lepton pair production in UPCs were obtained by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC where significant deviations, of up to 20%, from available theoretical predictions were observed. In this work, we present a Monte Carlo event generator, Upcgen, that implements a refined treatment of the photon flux allowing us to improve the agreement with ATLAS data at large dilepton rapidities. Besides, the new generator off…
We study the lepton pair production in the photodisintegration of the deuteron process. The complete seven-fold differential cross section is calculated via the Bethe-Heitler mechanism with final state interactions taken into account. The deuteron bound state is described by a relativistic covariant deuteron-nucleon vertex. With numerical results, we find that the differential cross section has strong dependence on the lepton azimuthal angle in the small polar angle region and sharp peaks appear in the dependence on the invariant mass of the produced lepton pair or the two nucleons in the fina…
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is sensitive to new heavy gauge bosons that produce narrow peaks in the dilepton invariant mass spectrum up to about $m_{Z'}\sim 5$ TeV. $Z'$s that are too heavy to produce directly can reveal their presence through interference with Standard Model dilepton production. We show that the LHC can significantly extend the mass reach for such $Z'$s by performing precision measurements of the shape of the dilepton invariant mass spectrum. The high luminosity LHC can exclude, with 95$\%$ confidence, new gauge bosons as heavy as $m_{Z'} \sim 10-20$ TeV that couple with …
The Higgs-boson decay h -> gamma l+ l- for various lepton states l = (e, mu, tau) is analyzed. The differential decay width and forward-backward asymmetry are calculated as functions of the dilepton invariant mass in a model where the Higgs boson interacts with leptons and quarks via a mixture of scalar and pseudoscalar couplings. These couplings are partly constrained from data on the decays to leptons, h -> l+ l-, and quarks h -> q \bar{q} (where q = (c, b)), while the Higgs couplings to the top quark are chosen from the two-photon and two-gluon decay rates. Nonzero values of the forward-bac…
In the presence of the T-parity violating Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) anomaly term, the otherwise stable heavy photon A_H in the Littlest Higgs model with T-parity (LHT) decays to either Standard Model (SM) gauge boson pairs, or to SM fermions via loop diagrams. We make a detailed study of the collider signatures where the A_H can be reconstructed from invariant mass peaks in the opposite sign same flavor dilepton or the four-lepton channels. This enables us to obtain information about the fundamental symmetry breaking scale f in the LHT and thereby the low-lying mass spectrum of the theory. In a…
In the composite models with colored substructure of the fermions the color singlet leptons are accompanied by a composite color octet partners, which are known as leptogluons. We consider the effect of leptogluons in the dilepton production at the LHC and show that in the reachable parameter range this effect is typically dominated by t-channel leptogluon exchange (indirect channel). We show that this channel alone can give a sizable contribution to the dimuon production at the LHC for TeV scale values of the invariant mass of the muon-antimuon pairs.
