Model independent analysis of the forward-backward asymmetry of top quark production at the Tevatron

TL;DR

This paper investigates the forward-backward asymmetry of top quark production at the Tevatron using an effective field theory approach, aiming to identify potential new physics explanations for observed anomalies.

Contribution

It provides a model-independent analysis using dimension-6 operators to constrain new physics scenarios consistent with experimental data.

Findings

Derived conditions on new physics couplings

Identified possible new physics scenarios

Constrained models based on Tevatron measurements

Abstract

Motivated by a possible anomaly in the forward-backward (FB) asymmetry of top quark (A_{\rm FB}) observed at the Tevatron, we perform a model independent analysis on q \bar{q} \to t \bar{t} using an effective lagrangian with dim-6 four-quark operators. We derive necessary conditions on new physics structures and the couplings that are consistent with the t\bar{t} production cross section and A_{\rm FB} measured at the Tevatron, and discuss possible new physics scenarios that could generate such dim-6 operators.