On Models of New Physics for the Tevatron Top A_FB

TL;DR

This paper evaluates various new physics models that could explain the Tevatron top forward-backward asymmetry, analyzing their predictions and compatibility with experimental data, and discusses prospects for their detection at the LHC.

Contribution

It provides a detailed comparison of multiple new physics models' predictions with Tevatron data, including efficiency effects and decay reconstructions, to identify viable explanations for the asymmetry.

Findings

W', Z'_H, and axigluon models can produce the asymmetry while fitting the data

Triplet and sextet models struggle to match the asymmetry without conflicting with other measurements

Models that match the asymmetry also align with the uncorrected asymmetry distributions

Abstract

CDF has observed a top forward-backward asymmetry discrepant with the Standard Model prediction at 3.4 \sigma. We analyze models that could generate the asymmetry, including flavor-violating W's, horizontal Z'_Hs, triplet and sextet diquarks, and axigluons. We consider the detailed predictions of these models for the invariant mass and rapidity distributions of the asymmetry at the parton level, comparing against the unfolded parton-level CDF results. While all models can reproduce the asymmetry with the appropriate choice of mass and couplings, it appears at first examination that the extracted parton-level invariant mass distribution for all models are in conflict with Tevatron observations. We show on closer examination, however, that t tbar events in Z'_H and W' models have considerably lower selection efficiencies in high invariant mass bins as compared to the Standard Model, so that W', Z'_H, and axigluon models can generate the observed asymmetry while being consistent with the total cross-section and invariant mass spectrum. Triplet and sextet models have greater difficulty producing the observed asymmetry while remaining consistent with the total cross-section and invariant mass distribution. To more directly match the models and the CDF results, we proceed to decay and reconstruct the tops, comparing our results against the "raw" CDF asymmetry and invariant mass distributions. We find that the models that successfully generate the corrected CDF asymmetry at the parton level reproduce very well the more finely binned uncorrected asymmetry. Finally, we discuss the early LHC reach for discovery of these models, based on our previous analysis [arXiv:1102.0018].