arXiv subjects

Christoph Englert

Publications and source records attributed to Christoph Englert.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2023

Non-linear top-Higgs CP violation

Searches for additional sources of CP violation at the Large Hadron Collider are a central part of the Higgs physics programme beyond the Standard Model. Studies employing so-called signed observables that track CP violation through purpose-built asymmetries bolster efforts based on Higgs boson rate analyses under clear assumptions. A possibility, which is so far unexplored at the LHC, is a significant non-linear realisation of CP-violation, which is naturally described in non-linear Higgs Effective Field Theory (HEFT). We perform an analysis of the HL-LHC potential to constrain such interactions considering a large range of single and double Higgs production processes, including differential information where this is statistically and theoretically possible. A particular emphasis of our work is distinguishing expected correlations in the Standard Model Effective Field Theory from those attainable in HEFT.

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arXiv2023

Higgs Footprints of Hefty ALPs

We discuss axion-like particles (ALPs) within the framework of Higgs Effective Field Theory, targeting instances of close alignment of ALP physics with a custodial singlet character of the Higgs boson. We tension constraints arising from new contributions to Higgs boson decays against limits from high-momentum transfer processes that become under increasing control at the LHC. Going beyond leading-order approximations, we highlight the importance of multi-top and multi-Higgs production for the pursuit of searches for physics beyond the Standard Model extensions.

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arXiv2023

On the BSM reach of four top production at the LHC

Many scenarios of beyond the Standard Model (BSM) physics give rise to new top-philic interactions that can be probed at proton machines such as the Large Hadron Collider through a variety of production and decay modes. On the one hand, this will enable a detailed determination of the BSM model's parameters when a discovery is made and additional sensitivity in non-dominant production modes can be achieved. On the other hand, the naive narrow width approximation in dominant production modes such as gluon fusion might be inadequate for some BSM parameter regions due to interference effects, effectively making less dominant production modes more relevant in such instances. In this work, we consider both these questions in the context of four top quark final states at the LHC. Firstly, we show that the SM potential can be enhanced through the application of targeted Graph Neural Network techniques that exploit data correlations beyond cut-and-count approaches. Secondly, we show that destructive interference effects that can degrade BSM sensitivity of top-philic states from gluon fusion are largely avoided by turning to four top final states. This achieves considerable exclusion potential for, e.g., the two Higgs doublet model. This further motivates four top final states as sensitive tools for BSM discovery in the near future of the LHC.

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arXiv2023

Integrating out heavy scalars with modified EOMs: matching computation of dimension-eight SMEFT coefficients

The shift in focus towards searches for physics beyond the Standard Model (SM) employing model-independent Effective Field Theory (EFT) methods necessitates a rigorous approach to matching to guarantee the validity of the obtained results and constraints. The limits on the leading dimension-six EFT effects can be rather inaccurate for LHC searches that suffer from large uncertainties while exploring an extensive energy range. Similarly, precise measurements can, in principle, test the subleading effects of the operator expansion. In this work, we present an algorithmic approach to automatise matching computations for dimension-eight operators for generic scalar extensions with proper implementation of equations of motion. We devise a step-by-step procedure to obtain the dimension-eight Wilson coefficients (WCs) in a non-redundant basis to arrive at complete matching results. We apply this formalism to a range of scalar extensions of the SM and provide tree-level and loop-suppressed results. Finally, we discuss the relevance of the dimension-eight operators for a range of phenomenological analyses, particularly focusing on Higgs and electroweak physics.

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arXiv2023

Machine-enhanced CP-asymmetries in the electroweak sector

The violation of charge conjugation (C) and parity (P) symmetries are a requirement for the observed dominance of matter over antimatter in the Universe. As an established effect of beyond the Standard Model physics, this could point towards additional CP violation in the Higgs-gauge sector. The phenomenological footprint of the associated anomalous couplings can be small, and designing measurement strategies with the highest sensitivity is therefore of the utmost importance in order to maximise the discovery potential of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). There are, however, very few measurements of CP-sensitive observables in processes that probe the weak-boson self-interactions. In this article, we study the sensitivity to new sources of CP violation for a range of experimentally-accessible electroweak processes, including $Wγ$ production, $WW$ production via photon fusion, electroweak $Zjj$ production, electroweak $ZZjj$ production, and electroweak $W^\pm W^\pm jj$ production. We study simple angular observables as well CP-sensitive observables constructed using the outputs of machine-learning (ML) algorithms. We find that the ML-constructed CP-sensitive observables improve the sensitivity to CP-violating effects by up to a factor of five, depending on the process. We also find that inclusive $Wγ$ and electroweak $Zjj$ production have the potential to set the best possible constraints on certain CP-odd operators in the Higgs-gauge sector of dimension-six effective field theories.

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arXiv2022

Quartic Gauge-Higgs couplings: Constraints and Future Directions

Constraints on quartic interactions of the Higgs boson with gauge bosons have been obtained by the experimental LHC collaborations focussing on the so-called $κ$ framework of flat rescalings of SM-like interactions in weak boson fusion (WBF) Higgs pair production. While such approaches are admissible to obtain a qualitative picture of consistency with the SM when the statistical yield is low, once more statistics become available a more theoretically consistent framework of limit setting is desirable. Reviewing the constraints provided at the Large Hadron Collider, we first show that these limits are robust when considered in a leading order context. Turning to radiative corrections, we demonstrate the limitations of this approach in the SM, and by adopting Higgs effective field theory techniques, we clarify the sensitivity from single Higgs measurements to rescalings of quartic Higgs-gauge couplings. We then discuss avenues for sensitivity improvements of WBF analyses employing Graph Neural Networks to combat the large contributing backgrounds.

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arXiv2022

Implications of the muon anomalous magnetic moment for the LHC and MUonE

We consider the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon $a_μ$, which shows a significant deviation from the Standard Model expectation given the recent measurements at Fermilab and BNL. We focus on Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT) with the aim to identify avenues for the upcoming LHC runs and future experiments such as MUonE. To this end, we include radiative effects to $a_μ$ in SMEFT to connect the muon anomaly to potentially interesting searches at the LHC, specifically Higgs decays into muon pairs and such decays with resolved photons. Our investigation shows that similar to results for concrete UV extensions of the Standard Model, the Fermilab/BNL result can indicate strong coupling within the EFT framework and $a_μ$ is increasingly sensitive to a single operator direction for high scale UV completions. In such cases, there is some complementarity between expected future experimental improvements, yet with considerable statistical challenges to match the precision provided by the recent $a_μ$ measurement.

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arXiv2022

IRC-safe Graph Autoencoder for unsupervised anomaly detection

Anomaly detection through employing machine learning techniques has emerged as a novel powerful tool in the search for new physics beyond the Standard Model. Historically similar to the development of jet observables, theoretical consistency has not always assumed a central role in the fast development of algorithms and neural network architectures. In this work, we construct an infrared and collinear safe autoencoder based on graph neural networks by employing energy-weighted message passing. We demonstrate that whilst this approach has theoretically favourable properties, it also exhibits formidable sensitivity to non-QCD structures.

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arXiv2022

MUonE, muon $g-2$ and electroweak precision constraints within 2HDMs

Two Higgs doublet models are attractive scenarios for physics beyond the Standard Model. In particular, lepton-specific manifestations remain contenders to explain the observed discrepancy between the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon $a_μ$ predicted within the Standard Model and recent observations at Fermilab and BNL. Dominant uncertainties that affect $a_μ$ have motivated the MUonE experiment to access the hadronic vacuum polarisation contribution that impacts $a_μ$ via elastic muon-electron scattering. In this work, we contrast the high precision that is achievable within the MUonE context with constraints from flavour physics, precision electroweak constraints and LHC searches as well as their extrapolations for a range of two Higgs doublet models with a softly broken $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry. We find that the sensitivity of MUonE does not extend beyond the parameter regions that are already excluded by other constraints. MUonE will therefore provide a detailed measurement of the hadronic vacuum polarisation contribution which then transparently informs $a_μ$ interpretations in 2HDMs without modifications of correlations from beyond the Standard Model interactions. In passing we extend earlier results of LHC and flavour projections to lepton-specific 2HDM (Types X and Y) scenarios, and comment on the possibility of modifying the value of the W-boson mass; we briefly discuss the implications for a strong first-order electroweak phase transition for these models.

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arXiv2022

Machine-enhanced CP-asymmetries in the Higgs sector

Improving the sensitivity to CP-violation in the Higgs sector is one of the pillars of the precision Higgs programme at the Large Hadron Collider. We present a simple method that allows CP-sensitive observables to be directly constructed from the output of neural networks. We show that these observables have improved sensitivity to CP-violating effects in the production and decay of the Higgs boson, when compared to the use of traditional angular observables alone. The kinematic correlations identified by the neural networks can be used to design new analyses based on angular observables, with a similar improvement in sensitivity.

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arXiv2022

Improved Constraints on Effective Top Quark Interactions using Edge Convolution Networks

We explore the potential of Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) to improve the performance of high-dimensional effective field theory parameter fits to collider data beyond traditional rectangular cut-based differential distribution analyses. In this study, we focus on a SMEFT analysis of $pp \to t\bar t$ production, including top decays, where the linear effective field deformation is parametrised by thirteen independent Wilson coefficients. The application of GNNs allows us to condense the multidimensional phase space information available for the discrimination of BSM effects from the SM expectation by considering all available final state correlations directly. The number of contributing new physics couplings very quickly leads to statistical limitations when the GNN output is directly employed as an EFT discrimination tool. However, a selection based on minimising the SM contribution enhances the fit's sensitivity when reflected as a (non-rectangular) selection on the inclusive data samples that are typically employed when looking for non-resonant deviations from the SM by means of differential distributions.

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arXiv2022

Two Higgs doublets, Effective Interactions and a Strong First-Order Electroweak Phase Transition

It is well-known that type II two Higgs doublet models (2HDMs) can struggle to facilitate a strong first-order electroweak phase transition in the early universe whilst remaining theoretically appealing scenarios for many reasons. We analyse this apparent shortfall from the perspective of additional new physics. Starting from a consistent dimension-6 effective field theory Higgs potential extension, we identify the Higgs potential extensions that provide the necessary additional contributions required to achieve a strong first-order electroweak phase transition and trace their phenomenological implications for the Large Hadron Collider. In passing, we critically assess the reliability of the dimension-6 approximation depending on the expected 2HDM phenomenology. In particular, we focus on the role of Higgs pair production (resonant and non-resonant) and interference effects expected in top final states, which are the prime candidates of 2HDM exotics discoveries.

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arXiv2022

The Flavourful Present and Future of 2HDMs at the Collider Energy Frontier

We study the intersection of flavour and collider physics for Two-Higgs-Doublet models of Type I and II. Drawing from the flavour precision-LHC exotics search complementarity, we also provide a projection of the future sensitivity that can be achieved in light of currently available analyses. On the one hand, we find that the parameter space of the 2HDM can be explored significantly further with more data from the LHC with some complementarity with flavour physics. On the other hand, flavour physics results alongside their projections remain powerful tools to constrain the model space in regions where direct sensitivity to new states via exotics searches is lost. Our results further highlight the recently observed flavour physics anomalies as important drivers of new physics searches in the future; we also touch on implications for a strong first order electroweak phase transition.

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arXiv2022

Landscaping CP-violating BSM scenarios

We consider a wide range of UV scenarios with the aim of informing searches for CP violation at the TeV scale using effective field theory techniques. We demonstrate that broad theoretical assumptions about the nature of UV dynamics responsible for CP violation map out a small subset of relevant operators at the TeV scale. Concretely, this will allow us to reduce the number of free parameters that need to be considered in experimental investigations, thus enhancing analyses' sensitivities. In parallel, reflecting the UV dynamics' Wilson coefficient hierarchy will enable a streamlined theoretical interpretation of such analyses in the future. We demonstrate a minimal approach to analysing CP violation in this context using a Monte Carlo study of a combination of weak boson fusion Higgs and electroweak diboson production, which provide complementary information on the relevant EFT operators.

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arXiv2021

On interference effects in top-philic decay chains

Sizeable exotic Higgs boson production through gluon fusion via top quark loops is correlated with large Higgs decay probabilities into top quark final states, if these are kinematically accessible. It is known that $gg\to S \to t\bar t$ is particularly susceptible to signal-background interference effects that can significantly impact discovery sensitivities. In such an instance, identifying more robust signatures to enhance the discovery sensitivity becomes necessary, shifting phenomenological focus to final states that show a reduced destructive signal-background interference. In this work, we discuss the phenomenological relevance of signal-signal and signal-background interference effects for decay chains. In particular, we identify asymmetric cascade decays in models of scalar extensions of the SM Higgs sector as new promising candidates. In parallel, characteristic interference patterns can provide a formidable tool for indirect CP spectroscopy of BSM sectors if a discovery is made in the future. This motivates associated searches at present and future colliders as robust discovery modes of new physics, in addition to serving as a sensitive tool for the reconstruction of the underlying UV electroweak potential.

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arXiv2021

Effective connections of $a_μ$, Higgs physics, and the collider frontier

We consider scalar extensions of the SM and their effective field theoretic generalisations to illustrate the phenomenological connection between precision measurements of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon $a_μ$, precision Higgs measurements, and direct collider sensitivity. To this end, we consider charged BSM scalar sectors of the Zee-Babu type for which we develop a consistent, and complete dimensions-5 and -6 effective field theory extension. This enables us to track generic new physics effects that interact with the SM predominantly via radiative interactions. While the operator space is high dimensional, the intersection of exotics searches at the Large Hadron Collider, Higgs signal strength and anomalous muon magnetic measurements is manageably small. We find that consistency of LHC Higgs observations and $a_μ$ requires a significant deformation of the new states' electroweak properties. Evidence in searches for doubly charged scalars as currently pursued by the LHC experiments can be used to further tension the BSMEFT parameter space and resolve blind directions in the EFT-extended Zee-Babu scenario.

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arXiv2021

Anomaly detection with Convolutional Graph Neural Networks

We devise an autoencoder based strategy to facilitate anomaly detection for boosted jets, employing Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) to do so. To overcome known limitations of GNN autoencoders, we design a symmetric decoder capable of simultaneously reconstructing edge features and node features. Focusing on latent space based discriminators, we find that such setups provide a promising avenue to isolate new physics and competing SM signatures from sensitivity-limiting QCD jet contributions. We demonstrate the flexibility and broad applicability of this approach using examples of $W$ bosons, top quarks, and exotic hadronically-decaying exotic scalar bosons.

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arXiv2021

ATLAS Violating CP Effectively

CP violation beyond the Standard Model (SM) is a crucial missing piece for explaining the observed matter-antimatter symmetry in the Universe. Recently, the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider has performed an analysis of electroweak $Zjj$ production, thereby excluding the SM locally at 95\% confidence level in the measurement of CP-sensitive observables. We take the excess' interpretation in terms of anomalous gauge-Higgs interactions at face value and discuss further steps that are required to scrutinize its origin. In particular, we discuss the relevance of multi-boson production using adapted angular observables to show how they can be used to directly tension the reported $Zjj$ excess in a more comprehensive analysis. To connect the excess to a concrete UV scenario for which the underlying assumptions of the $Zjj$ analysis are valid, we identify vector-like leptons as a candidate theory consistent with the observed CP-odd Wilson coefficient hierarchy observed by ATLAS. We perform a complete one-loop matching calculation to motivate further model-specific and correlated new physics searches. In parallel, we provide estimates of the sensitivity reach of the LHC's high luminosity phase for this particular scenario of CP-violation in light of electroweak precision and Run-2 Higgs data. These provide strong constraints on the model's CP-even low-energy phenomenology, but also inform the size of the CP-odd SM deformation indirectly via our model hypothesis.

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