Measurements of the Production, Decay and Properties of the Top Quark: A Review

TL;DR

This review summarizes recent top quark measurements from Tevatron and LHC data, highlighting their potential to test the Standard Model and explore new physics, despite current statistical limitations.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of top quark properties measurements and discusses their implications for beyond-the-Standard-Model physics.

Findings

No measurements currently contradict the Standard Model.

Hints of beyond-the-Standard-Model physics in forward-backward asymmetry.

Growing top quark sample at the LHC enables more precise future studies.

Abstract

With the full Tevatron Run II and early LHC data samples, the opportunity for furthering our understanding of the properties of the top quark has never been more promising. Although the current knowledge of the top quark comes largely from Tevatron measurements, the experiments at the LHC are poised to probe top-quark production and decay in unprecedented regimes. Although no current top quark measurements conclusively contradict predictions from the standard model, the precision of most measurements remains statistically limited. Additionally, some measurements, most notably the forward-backward asymmetry in top quark pair production, show tantalizing hints of beyond-the-Standard-Model dynamics. The top quark sample is growing rapidly at the LHC, with initial results now public. This review examines the current status of top quark measurements in the particular light of searching for evidence of new physics, either through direct searches for beyond the standard model phenomena or indirectly via precise measurements of standard model top quark properties.