Top Quark Physics at the LHC: A Review of the First Two Years

TL;DR

This review covers the first two years of top quark physics at the LHC, highlighting measurements of top quark production, properties, and searches for new physics, all consistent with the Standard Model.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive summary of early top quark measurements and searches at the LHC, including cross sections, mass, and asymmetries, with detailed experimental results.

Findings

Measurements agree with Standard Model predictions

Precise top quark mass and cross section data

No evidence of new physics found in top quark sector

Abstract

This review summarizes the highlights in the area of top quark physics obtained with the two general purpose detectors ATLAS and CMS during the first two years of operation of the Large Hadron Collider LHC. It covers the 2010 and 2011 data taking periods, where the LHC provided pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt(s)=7 TeV. Measurements are presented of the total and differential top quark pair production cross section in many different channels, the top quark mass and various other properties of the top quark and its interactions, for instance the charge asymmetry. Measurements of single top quark production and various searches for new physics involving top quarks are also discussed. The already very precise experimental data are in good agreement with the standard model.