Constraints on baryon-number-violating top-quark operators in standard model effective field theory

TL;DR

This paper derives indirect constraints on baryon-number-violating top-quark operators within the Standard Model Effective Field Theory, showing these bounds are much tighter than collider-based limits, implying any direct observation would require fine-tuning.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive indirect bounds on baryon-number-violating top-quark operators in the SMEFT framework, surpassing collider constraints in stringency.

Findings

Indirect bounds are many orders of magnitude stronger than collider bounds.

Observation of baryon number violation at TeV scale would imply fine-tuning.

Such violations are not protected by known symmetries or radiative corrections.

Abstract

Within the Standard Model Effective Field Theory framework, we set indirect constraints on top quark operators that violate baryon number by one unit above the TeV scale. We find that these constraints are typically many orders of magnitude more stringent than the recently derived direct bounds from collider experiments. Therefore, direct observation of baryon number violation in these top-quark observables at the TeV scale would imply a large fine-tuning among operators across different energy scales. This possibility is not protected under universal radiative corrections or any known symmetry principles.