Probing displaced top quark signature at the LHC Run 3

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential of detecting displaced top quarks from long-lived particles at the LHC Run 3, proposing new models and experimental strategies to identify such signatures for new physics searches.

Contribution

It introduces three simplified supersymmetric models for displaced top quark signatures and provides experimental guidelines for detecting long-lived particles at the LHC.

Findings

Identified parameter regions with displaced top quarks in tracker volume

Defined promising benchmarks for experimental searches

Suggested guidelines for detecting long-lived particles

Abstract

In the context of prospective studies for searches of new physics at the LHC Run 3, this paper investigates the relevance of using top quarks produced from new long-lived particles, and detected in the tracker volume of the ATLAS and CMS experiments. Such a signature, referred to as displaced top quarks, leads to final states containing displaced vertices and a high multiplicity of displaced jets and tracks, thanks to the top quark decays. Therefore, it is a possible powerful tool for searching for new long-lived particles. Three simplified models based on supersymmetry are explicitly designed for the study of this signature. They differ according to the nature of the long-lived heavy particle which produces at least one top quark: electrically neutral or charged, coloured or non-coloured long-lived particle. For each model, a wide region of parameter space, consistent with a reasonable number of displaced top quarks decaying in a typical tracker volume has been probed. From this study, promising benchmarks are defined and experimental guidelines are suggested.