Untangling New Physics in Single Resonant Top Quarks

TL;DR

This paper investigates how to differentiate between theoretical models involving heavy top-like quarks produced at the LHC, focusing on their electromagnetic interactions and decay signatures, to identify potential new physics beyond the Standard Model.

Contribution

It introduces a novel technique to distinguish models of heavy top-like quarks interacting via electromagnetic form factors using LHC data analysis.

Findings

Proposes a method to disentangle different heavy top quark models.

Calculates statistical significance for model discrimination.

Demonstrates potential to identify new physics signatures.

Abstract

Collisions of particles at the energy frontier can reveal new particles and forces via localized excesses. However, the initial observation may be consistent with a large variety of theoretical models, especially in sectors with new top quark partners, which feature a rich set of possible underlying interactions. We explore the power of the LHC dataset to distinguish between models of the singly produced heavy top-like quark which interacts with the Standard Model through an electromagnetic form factor. We study the heavy top decay to a top quark and a virtual photon which produces a pair of fermions, propose a technique to disentangle the models, and calculate the expected statistical significance to distinguish between various hypotheses.