Constraining scalar resonances with top-quark pair production at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper reinterprets LHC top-quark pair production data to set constraints on scalar resonance models, including various CP and color states, using advanced simulations and measurements of the top-antitop invariant mass distribution.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive reinterpretation method for LHC data to constrain scalar resonances decaying into top-quarks, covering multiple resonance types and decay regimes.

Findings

Excluded regions in scalar resonance parameter spaces

Constraints on CP-even and CP-odd scalar states

Limits on color-singlet and color-octet resonances

Abstract

Constraints on models which predict resonant top-quark pair production at the LHC are provided via a reinterpretation of the Standard Model (SM) particle level measurement of the top-anti-top invariant mass distribution, $m(t\bar{t})$. We make use of state-of-the-art Monte Carlo event simulation to perform a direct comparison with measurements of $m(t\bar{t})$ in the semi-leptonic channels, considering both the boosted and the resolved regime of the hadronic top decays. A simplified model to describe various scalar resonances decaying into top-quarks is considered, including CP-even and CP-odd, color-singlet and color-octet states, and the excluded regions in the respective parameter spaces are provided.