Positivity bounds on vector boson scattering at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper derives theoretical positivity bounds on dimension-8 operators in vector boson scattering at the LHC, reducing the viable parameter space and guiding future experimental analyses.

Contribution

It introduces new positivity constraints on EFT coefficients for VBS, revealing that only a small fraction of parameter space is physically consistent with a UV completion.

Findings

Only about 2% of the EFT parameter space is compatible with a UV completion.

Positivity bounds eliminate large unphysical regions in the effective field theory parameter space.

Guides future VBS measurements by constraining allowed deviations from the Standard Model.

Abstract

Weak vector boson scattering (VBS) is a sensitive probe of new physics effects in the electroweak symmetry breaking. Currently, experimental results at the LHC are interpreted in the effective field theory approach, where possible deviations from the Standard Model in the quartic-gauge-boson couplings are often described by 18 dimension-8 operators. By assuming that a UV completion exists, we derive a new set of theoretical constraints on the coefficients of these operators, i.e. certain combinations of coefficients must be positive. These constraints imply that the current effective approach to VBS has a large redundancy: only about $2\%$ of the full parameter space leads to a UV completion. By excluding the remaining unphysical region of the parameter space, these constraints provide guidance for future VBS studies and measurements.