Data driving the top quark forward--backward asymmetry with a lepton-based handle

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that the correlation between the top quark forward-backward asymmetry and the lepton-based asymmetry within the standard model is strong and can be used as a clean, differential observable to test the model and probe new physics.

Contribution

It introduces a method to use the correlation between $A_{t\bar t}$ and $A_l$ as a differential, lepton $p_T$-based observable for testing the standard model and detecting new physics effects.

Findings

The correlation remains robust under various experimental and theoretical uncertainties.

Shape distortions are moderate, supporting the method's reliability.

New physics scenarios can significantly alter the correlation, aiding their detection.

Abstract

We propose that, within the standard model, the correlation between the $t\bar{t}$ forward--backward asymmetry $A_{t\bar t}$ and the corresponding lepton-based asymmetry $A_l$ -- at the differential level -- is strong and rather clean both theoretically and experimentally. Hence a combined measurement of the two distributions as a function of the lepton $p_T$, a direct and experimentally clean observable, would lead to a potentially unbiased and normalization-free test of the standard model prediction. To check the robustness of our proposal we study how the correlation is affected by mis-measurement of the $t\bar t$ system transverse momenta, acceptance cuts, scale dependence and compare the results of MCFM, POWHEG (with & without PYTHIA showering), and SHERPA's CSSHOWER in first-emission mode. We find that the shape of the relative differential distribution $A_{l} (p^{l}_{T}) [A_{t\bar{t}} (p^l_T)]$ is only moderately distorted hence supporting the usefulness of our proposal. Beyond the first emission, we find that the correlation is not accurately captured by lowest-order treatment. We also briefly consider other differential variables such as the system transverse mass and the canonical $t\bar t$ invariant mass. Finally, we study new physics scenarios where the correlation is significantly distorted and therefore can be more readily constrained or discovered using our method.