A Global Analysis of the Standard Model Effective Field Theory in the Production and Decay Channels of a Single Top Quark

TL;DR

This paper performs a comprehensive global analysis of the Standard Model Effective Field Theory using top quark production and decay data from ATLAS and CMS, incorporating NLO QCD corrections and advanced uncertainty correlations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel framework combining NLO QCD corrections and detailed uncertainty correlations for SMEFT global fits involving top quark processes.

Findings

Constraints are over three times more stringent than previous literature.

The framework enables a model-independent analysis of physics beyond the Standard Model.

Sets the stage for a comprehensive global fit of top and Higgs sectors.

Abstract

A global analysis of the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT) with SFitter is performed using measurements of single top quark production and top quark decay processes from ATLAS and CMS at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and 13 TeV. NLO QCD corrections are included in the theoretical predictions of all involved processes. Correlations among theoretical and experimental uncertainties are accounted for using DataPrep, which has been developed by the author. Using the dataset prepared by this software, constraints for the relevant degrees of freedom are derived. Almost all constraints are more than three times more stringent than the values of the literature. This thesis sets the technical and conceptual framework for a global fit of the entire top quark and Higgs boson sectors, which the author is involved in. The project marks an important milestone towards a truly global analysis constraining physics beyond the Standard Model in a model-independent way.