Interference effects in new physics searches

TL;DR

Interference effects significantly impact new physics searches and are often overlooked, leading to potential inaccuracies in experimental and theoretical analyses, especially in models with extended scalar sectors.

Contribution

This review highlights the importance of interference effects in particle physics, emphasizing their role in models with extended scalar searches and current gaps in their treatment.

Findings

Interference effects can alter kinematical distributions in new physics searches.

Neglecting interference effects may lead to incorrect interpretations of experimental data.

Current models and searches often overlook these effects, affecting accuracy.

Abstract

Interference effects are an important consequence of a correct description in physics theories within and beyond the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics. However, many current theoretical descriptions as well as experimental searches neglect such effects, which can, among others, lead to an incorrect description of e.g. kinematical distributions, at least within the context of UV-complete models. In this review, I briefly discuss the current status and most common descriptions as well as existing studies of such effects, where I focus on models with extended scalar searches.