Search for single production of a vector-like T quark decaying to a top quark and a neutral scalar boson in the lepton+jets final state in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV

Abstract

A search for single production of a vector-like T quark with charge 2$e$/3, decaying to a top quark and a neutral scalar boson is presented. The boson can be a standard model Higgs boson (H) or a new scalar boson ($\phi$). In the first case, a branching fraction of 25% is assumed for the decay T $\to$ tH, while in the second case the T quark is assumed to decay exclusively to t$\phi$. The top quark is identified via its lepton+jets decay, and the neutral boson via its decay into a bottom quark-antiquark pair. Final states with Lorentz-boosted topologies are considered and machine-learning techniques are exploited for optimal event classification. The analysis uses data collected by the CMS experiment in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$ recorded at the CERN LHC in 2016$-$2018. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the product of cross section and branching fraction for a T quark in a narrow-width approximation. They vary between 14.7 and 0.1 fb, for T quark masses in the range 1.3$-$3.0 TeV and $\phi$ boson masses in the range 25$-$250 GeV. These are the first exclusion limits set on the production of a single T quark decaying into a top quark and a new neutral scalar boson. For the decay channel into a top quark and a standard model Higgs boson, the results provide the best limits on production cross sections to date, for T quark masses above 2 TeV.