Beautiful Mirrors at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper investigates the 'Beautiful Mirrors' model, which introduces vector-like quarks to explain the $A^b_{FB}$ anomaly, analyzing their LHC phenomenology and discovery potential for masses up to 500 GeV.

Contribution

It presents a detailed phenomenological analysis of the new vector-like quarks in the 'Beautiful Mirrors' model and assesses their discoverability at the LHC.

Findings

Mirror quarks with masses below 500 GeV can be probed at the 14 TeV LHC with 300 fb^{-1}

Single production rates depend on mixing parameters that explain the $A^b_{FB}$ anomaly

A 14 TeV LHC can reasonably establish the model and measure relevant parameters

Abstract

We explore the "Beautiful Mirrors" model, which aims to explain the measured value of $A^b_{FB}$, discrepant at the $2.9\sigma$ level. This scenario introduces vector-like quarks which mix with the bottom, subtly affecting its coupling to the $Z$. The spectrum of the new particles consists of two bottom-like quarks and a charge -4/3 quark, all of which have electroweak interactions with the third generation. We explore the phenomenology and discovery reach for these new particles at the LHC, exploring single mirror quark production modes whose rates are proportional to the same mixing parameters which resolve the $A_{FB}^b$ anomaly. We find that for mirror quark masses $\lesssim 500 GeV, a 14 TeV LHC with 300 {\rm fb}^{-1}$ is required to reasonably establish the scenario and extract the relevant mixing parameters.