Color-octet scalars at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper explores the production and decay of color-octet scalars at the LHC, analyzing their phenomenology, decay channels, and discovery potential for masses over 1 TeV.

Contribution

It provides a detailed phenomenological study of (8,2)_{1/2} scalars, including their decay modes, renormalization group analysis, and LHC discovery prospects.

Findings

Color-octet scalars can be produced abundantly at the LHC.

Decays to heavy fermion pairs dominate under minimal flavor violation.

Discovery potential extends beyond 1 TeV mass range.

Abstract

Color-octet scalars, if present at the TeV scale, will be produced in abundance at the LHC. We discuss in some detail the phenomenology of scalars in the (8,2)_{1/2} representation, recently identified by Manohar and Wise as an addition to the standard-model Higgs sector consistent with the principle of minimal flavor violation. Couplings of this multiplet to the Higgs lift the mass degeneracy among its states, possibly allowing for two-body decays of a heavier colored scalar to a lighter one and a gauge boson. We perform a renormalization group analysis of these couplings and find that limits from Tevatron searches leave little room for these decays. This fact, and the assumption of minimal flavor violation, lead us to study the case where the octets decay to the heaviest kinematically accessible fermion pairs. Focusing on pair-production events leading to (t t-bar t t-bar), (b b-bar b b-bar), and (b b-bar t t-bar) final states, we find that discovery at the LHC should be possible up to masses exceeding 1 TeV.