Search for production of single top quarks via flavor-changing neutral currents at the Tevatron

TL;DR

This study searches for single top quark production via flavor-changing neutral currents at the Tevatron, setting upper limits on anomalous couplings due to no observed deviation from the standard model.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental limits on the strength of flavor-changing neutral current couplings involving the top quark at the Tevatron.

Findings

No significant deviation from the standard model observed.

Upper limits set on anomalous couplings _g/mbda and _u_g/mbda.

Constraints improve understanding of top quark interactions.

Abstract

We search for the production of single top quarks via flavor-changing neutral current couplings of a gluon to the top quark and a charm (c) or up (u) quark. We analyze 230 pb^{-1} of lepton+jets data from \ppbar collisions at a center of mass energy of 1.96 TeV collected by the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. We observe no significant deviation from standard model predictions, and hence set upper limits on anomalous coupling parameters \kappa^c_g/\Lambda and \kappa^u_g/\Lambda, where the \kappa_g define the strength of the tcg and tug couplings, and \Lambda defines the scale of new physics. The limits at 95% C.L. are: \kappa^c_g/\Lambda < 0.15 TeV^{-1} and \kappa^u_g/\Lambda < 0.037 TeV^{-1}.