# Flavor changing neutral current decays $t\to c X$ ($X=\gamma,\,g,\, Z,\, H$) and $t\to c\bar \ell\ell $ ($\ell=\mu,\,\tau$) via scalar leptoquarks

## TL;DR

This paper investigates rare top quark decays involving flavor-changing neutral currents mediated by scalar leptoquarks, providing analytical calculations and exploring parameter space constraints to estimate possible branching ratios.

## Contribution

It introduces a renormalizable scalar leptoquark model with detailed analytical results for decay contributions and explores parameter space constraints from current experimental data.

## Key findings

- Branching ratios for $t o c X$ can reach up to $10^{-8}$.
- Branching ratios for $t o car au au$ can be up to $10^{-6}$.
- Branching ratios for $t o car au au$ and $t o car \muar \mu$ are significantly enhanced in certain parameter regions.

## Abstract

The flavor changing neutral current decays $t\to c X$ ($X=\gamma,\,g,\, Z,\, H$) and $t\to c\bar \ell\ell $ ($\ell=\mu,\,\tau$) are studied in a renormalizable scalar leptoquark (LQ) model with no proton decay, where a scalar $SU(2)$ doublet with hypercharge $Y=7/6$ is added to the standard model, yielding a non-chiral LQ $\Omega_{5/3}$. Analytical results for the one-loop (tree-level) contributions of a scalar LQ to the $f_i\to f_j X$ ($f_i\to f_j \bar f_m f_l$) decays, with $f_a=q_a, \ell_a$, are presented. We consider the scenario where $\Omega_{5/3}$ couples to the fermions of the second and third families, with its right- and left-handed couplings obeying $\lambda_R^{\ell u_i}/\lambda_L^{\ell u_i}=O(\epsilon)$, where $\epsilon$ parametrizes the relative size between these couplings. The allowed parameter space is then found via the current constraints on the muon $(g-2)$, the $\tau\to \mu\gamma$ decay, the LHC Higgs boson data, and the direct LQ searches at the LHC. For $m_{\Omega_{5/3}}=1$ TeV and $\epsilon=10^{-3}$, we find that the $t\to c X$ branching ratios are of similar size and can be as large as $10^{-8}$ in a tiny area of the parameter space, whereas ${\rm Br}(t\to c\bar \tau\tau)$ [${\rm Br}(t\to c\bar \mu\mu)$] can be up to $10^{-6}$ ($10^{-7}$).