Spin and parity in the \boldmath{$WH \rightarrow \ell \nu b\bar{b}$} channel at the D0 experiment

TL;DR

This study investigates the spin and parity of the Standard Model scalar particle by analyzing its decay to b-quarks in association with a W boson, using kinematic differences to distinguish hypotheses.

Contribution

It introduces a method to differentiate spin and parity hypotheses of the scalar particle using kinematic observables in the $WH ightarrow u ext{b}ar{ ext{b}}$ channel at D0.

Findings

Expected sensitivity to various $J^P$ hypotheses.

Discrimination between scalar, pseudoscalar, and graviton-like particles.

Analysis based on 9.7 fb$^{-1}$ of data.

Abstract

We probe the spin ($J$) and parity ($P$) of the Standard Model Scalar (SMS) using existing searches sensitive to its production rate and kinematic properties. In particular, we search for the SMS decaying to a pair of $b$-quarks produced in association with a $W$ boson decaying leptonically. By exploiting the differences in kinematic observables, namely the transverse mass of the final state products ($M_{T}$), we attempt to distinguish between three possible $J^{P}$ hypotheses: the standard model prediction (\jpzp), a pseudoscalar (\jpzm), and a graviton-like particle (\jptp). With 9.7 fb$^{-1}$ of data collected at the D0 experiment we show the expected sensitivity to different spin and parity hypotheses.