arXiv subjects

Christophe Grojean

Publications and source records attributed to Christophe Grojean.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2012

From Lagrangians to Events: Computer Tutorial at the MC4BSM-2012 Workshop

This is a written account of the computer tutorial offered at the Sixth MC4BSM workshop at Cornell University, March 22-24, 2012. The tools covered during the tutorial include: FeynRules, LanHEP, MadGraph, CalcHEP, Pythia 8, Herwig++, and Sherpa. In the tutorial, we specify a simple extension of the Standard Model, at the level of a Lagrangian. The software tools are then used to automatically generate a set of Feynman rules, compute the invariant matrix element for a sample process, and generate both parton-level and fully hadronized/showered Monte Carlo event samples. The tutorial is designed to be self-paced, and detailed instructions for all steps are included in this write-up. Installation instructions for each tool on a variety of popular platforms are also provided.

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arXiv2012

Up Asymmetries From Exhilarated Composite Flavor Structures

We present a class of warped extra dimension (composite Higgs) models which conjointly accommodates the t\bar t forward-backward asymmetry observed at the Tevatron and the direct CP asymmetry in singly Cabibbo suppressed D decays first reported by the LHCb collaboration. We argue that both asymmetries, if arising dominantly from new physics beyond the Standard Model, hint for a flavor paradigm within partial compositeness models in which the right-handed quarks of the first two generations are not elementary fields but rather composite objects. We show that this class of models is consistent with current data on flavor and CP violating physics, electroweak precision observables, dijet and top pair resonance searches at hadron colliders. These models have several predictions which will be tested in forthcoming experiments. The CP asymmetry in D decays is induced through an effective operator of the form (\bar u c)_{V+A}(\bar s s)_{V+A} at the charm scale, which implies a larger CP asymmetry in the D^0\to K^+K^- rate relative the D^0\to π^+π^- channel. This prediction is distinctive from other Standard Model or dipole-based new physics interpretation of the LHCb result. CP violation in D-\bar D mixing as well as an an excess of dijet production of the LHC are also predicted to be observed in a near future. A large top asymmetry originates from the exchange of an axial resonance which dominantly produces left-handed top pairs. As a result a negative contribution to the lepton-based forward-backward asymmetry in t\bar t production, as well as O(10%) forward-backward asymmetry in b\bar b production above m_{b\bar b}\simeq 600GeV at the Tevatron is expected.

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arXiv2012

Theory and LHC Phenomenology of Classicalon Decays

It has been recently proposed by Dvali et al that high energy scattering in non-renormalizable theories, like the higgsless Standard Model, can be unitarized by the formation of classical configurations called classicalons. In this work we argue that classicalons should have analogs of thermodynamic properties like temperature and entropy and perform a model-independent statistical mechanical analysis of classicalon decays. We find that, in the case of massless quanta, the decay products have a Planck distribution with an effective temperature T~1/r_* where r_* is the classicalon radius. These results, in particular a computation of the decay multiplicity, N_*, allow us to make the first collider analysis of classicalization. In the model for unitarization of WW scattering by classicalization of longitudinal Ws and Zs we get spectacular multi-W/Z final states that decay into leptons, missing energy and a very high multiplicity (at least 10) of jets. We find that for the classicalization scale, M_* = v=246 GeV (M_*=1 TeV) discovery should be possible in the present 7 TeV (14 TeV) run of the LHC with about 10 /fb (100 /fb) data. We also consider a model to solve the hierarchy problem, where the classicalons are configurations of the Higgs field which decay into to multi-Higgs boson final states. We find that, in this case, for M_*=500 GeV (M_*=1 TeV), discovery should be possible in the top fusion process with about 10 /fb (100 /fb) data at 14 TeV LHC.

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arXiv2012

(Dys)Zphilia or a custodial breaking Higgs at the LHC

Electroweak precision measurements established that custodial symmetry is preserved to a good accuracy in the gauge sector after electroweak symmetry breaking. However, recent LHC results might be interpreted as pointing towards Higgs couplings that do not respect such symmetry. Motivated by this possibility, we reconsider the presence of an explicitly custodial breaking coupling in a generic Higgs parameterization. After briefly commenting on the large UV sensitivity of the T parameter to such a coupling, we perform a fit to results of Higgs searches at LHC and Tevatron, and find that the apparent enhancement of the ZZ channel with respect to WW can be accommodated. Two degenerate best-fit points are present, which we label `Zphilic' and `dysZphilic' depending on the sign of the hZZ coupling. Finally we highlight some measurements at future linear colliders that may remove such degeneracy.

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arXiv2012

Fingerprinting Higgs Suspects at the LHC

We outline a method for characterizing deviations from the properties of a Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson. We apply it to current data in order to characterize up to which degree the SM Higgs boson interpretation is consistent with experiment. We find that the SM Higgs boson is consistent with the current data set at the 82 % confidence level, based on data of excess events reported by CMS and ATLAS, which are interpreted to be related to the mass scale mh = 124-126 GeV, and on published CL_s exclusion regions. We perform a global fit in terms of two parameters characterizing the deviation from the SM value in the gauge and fermion couplings of a Higgs boson. We find two minima in the global fit and identify observables that can remove this degeneracy. An update for Moriond 2012 data is included in the Appendix, which finds that the SM Higgs boson is now consistent with the current data set at only the 94 % confidence level (which corresponds to ~ 2 sigma tension compared to the best fit point).

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arXiv2011

If no Higgs then what?

In the absence of a Higgs boson, the perturbative description of the Standard Model ceases to make sense above a TeV. Heavy spin-1 fields coupled to W and Z bosons can extend the validity of the theory up to higher scales. We carefully identify regions of parameter space where a minimal addition - a single spin-1 custodial SU(2) triplet resonance - allows one to retain perturbative control in all channels. Elastic scattering of longitudinal W and Z bosons alone seems to permit a very large cut-off beyond the Naive Dimensional Analysis expectation. We find however that including scattering of the spin-1 resonances then leads to an earlier onset of strong coupling. Most importantly for LHC searches, we define a self-consistent set-up with a well-defined range of validity without recourse to unitarization schemes whose physical meaning is obscure. We discuss the LHC phenomenology and the discovery reach for these electroweak resonances and mention the possibility of a nightmare scenario with no Higgs nor resonance within the LHC reach. Finally, we discuss the effects of parity breaking in the heavy resonance sector which reduces the contributions to the S parameter.

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arXiv2011

An effective approach to same sign top pair production at the LHC and the forward-backward asymmetry at the Tevatron

We study the phenomenology of same sign top pair production at the LHC in a model-independent way. The complete set of dimension six operators involving two top (or anti-top) quarks is introduced and the connection with all possible t- or s-channel particle exchanges is established. Only in the former case, same and opposite sign top pair production can be related. We find that while current Tevatron data disfavor t-channel models, other production mechanisms are viable and can be tested at the LHC.

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arXiv2011

A weakly constrained W' at the early LHC

We study, within an effective approach, the phenomenology of a charged W' vector which transforms as an isosinglet under the Standard Model gauge group. We discuss bounds from present data, finding that these are quite weak for suitable choices of the right-handed quark mixing matrix. Then we study the resonant production at the early LHC of such a weakly constrained W'. We start discussing the reach in the dijet final state, which is one of the channels where the first W' signal would most likely appear, and then we analyse prospects for the more challenging discovery of W' decays into Wγ and WZ. We show in particular that the former can be used to gain insight on the possibly composite nature of the resonance.

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arXiv2011

FCNC Effects in a Minimal Theory of Fermion Masses

As a minimal theory of fermion masses we extend the SM by heavy vectorlike fermions, with flavor-anarchical Yukawa couplings, that mix with chiral fermions such that small SM Yukawa couplings arise from small mixing angles. This model can be regarded as an effective description of the fermionic sector of a large class of existing flavor models and thus might serve as a useful reference frame for a further understanding of flavor hierarchies in the SM. Already such a minimal framework gives rise to FCNC effects through exchange of massive SM bosons whose couplings to the light fermions get modified by the mixing. We derive general formulae for these corrections and discuss the bounds on the heavy fermion masses. Particularly stringent bounds, in a few TeV range, come from the corrections to the Z couplings.

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arXiv2011

Non-resonant New Physics in Top Pair Production at Hadron Colliders

We use top quark pair production as a probe of top-philic non-resonant new physics. Following a low energy effective field theory approach, we calculate several key observables in top quark pair production at hadron colliders (e.g., total cross section, ttbar invariant mass distribution, forward-backward asymmetry, spin correlations) including the interference of the Standard Model with dimension-six operators. We determine the LHC reach in probing new physics after having taken into account the Tevatron constraints. In particular, we show that the gluon fusion process gg -> ttbar which remains largely unconstrained at the Tevatron is affected by only one top-philic dimension-six operator, the chromo-magnetic moment of the top quark. This operator can be further constrained by the LHC data as soon as a precision of about 20% is reached for the total ttbar cross-section. While our approach is general and model-independent, it is particularly relevant to models of Higgs and top compositeness, which we consider in detail, also in connection with ttbar ttbar and ttbar bbbar production.

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arXiv2010

Strong Double Higgs Production at the LHC

The hierarchy problem and the electroweak data, together, provide a plausible motivation for considering a light Higgs emerging as a pseudo-Goldstone boson from a strongly-coupled sector. In that scenario, the rates for Higgs production and decay differ significantly from those in the Standard Model. However, one genuine strong coupling signature is the growth with energy of the scattering amplitudes among the Goldstone bosons, the longitudinally polarized vector bosons as well as the Higgs boson itself. The rate for double Higgs production in vector boson fusion is thus enhanced with respect to its negligible rate in the SM. We study that reaction in pp collisions, where the production of two Higgs bosons at high pT is associated with the emission of two forward jets. We concentrate on the decay mode hh -> WW^(*)WW^(*) and study the semi-leptonic decay chains of the W's with 2, 3 or 4 leptons in the final states. While the 3 lepton final states are the most relevant and can lead to a 3 sigma signal significance with 300 fb^{-1} collected at a 14 TeV LHC, the two same-sign lepton final states provide complementary information. We also comment on the prospects for improving the detectability of double Higgs production at the foreseen LHC energy and luminosity upgrades.

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arXiv2010

Composite Higgs Search at the LHC

The Higgs boson production cross-sections and decay rates depend, within the Standard Model (SM), on a single unknown parameter, the Higgs mass. In composite Higgs models where the Higgs boson emerges as a pseudo-Goldstone boson from a strongly-interacting sector, additional parameters control the Higgs properties which then deviate from the SM ones. These deviations modify the LEP and Tevatron exclusion bounds and significantly affect the searches for the Higgs boson at the LHC. In some cases, all the Higgs couplings are reduced, which results in deterioration of the Higgs searches but the deviations of the Higgs couplings can also allow for an enhancement of the gluon-fusion production channel, leading to higher statistical significances. The search in the H to gamma gamma channel can also be substantially improved due to an enhancement of the branching fraction for the decay of the Higgs boson into a pair of photons.

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arXiv2007

The S-parameter in Holographic Technicolor Models

We study the S parameter, considering especially its sign, in models of electroweak symmetry breaking (EWSB) in extra dimensions, with fermions localized near the UV brane. Such models are conjectured to be dual to 4D strong dynamics triggering EWSB. The motivation for such a study is that a negative value of S can significantly ameliorate the constraints from electroweak precision data on these models, allowing lower mass scales (TeV or below) for the new particles and leading to easier discovery at the LHC. We first extend an earlier proof of S>0 for EWSB by boundary conditions in arbitrary metric to the case of general kinetic functions for the gauge fields or arbitrary kinetic mixing. We then consider EWSB in the bulk by a Higgs VEV showing that S is positive for arbitrary metric and Higgs profile, assuming that the effects from higher-dimensional operators in the 5D theory are sub-leading and can therefore be neglected. For the specific case of AdS_5 with a power law Higgs profile, we also show that S ~ + O(1), including effects of possible kinetic mixing from higher-dimensional operator (of NDA size) in the $5D$ theory. Therefore, our work strongly suggests that S is positive in calculable models in extra dimensions.

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arXiv2006

Gravitational Waves from Phase Transitions at the Electroweak Scale and Beyond

If there was a first order phase transition in the early universe, there should be an associated stochastic background of gravitational waves. In this paper, we point out that the characteristic frequency of the spectrum due to phase transitions which took place in the temperature range 100 GeV - 10^7 GeV is precisely in the window that will be probed by the second generation of space-based interferometers such as the Big Bang Observer (BBO). Taking into account the astrophysical foreground, we determine the type of phase transitions which could be detected either at LISA, LIGO or BBO, in terms of the amount of supercooling and the duration of the phase transition that are needed. Those two quantities can be calculated for any given effective scalar potential describing the phase transition. In particular, the new models of electroweak symmetry breaking which have been proposed in the last few years typically have a different Higgs potential from the Standard Model. They could lead to a gravitational wave signature in the milli-Hertz frequency, which is precisely the peak sensitivity of LISA. We also show that the signal coming from phase transitions taking place at T ~ 1-100 TeV could entirely screen the relic gravitational wave signal expected from standard inflationary models.

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arXiv2006

Disguising the Oblique Parameters

We point out a set of operator identities that relate the operators corresponding to the oblique corrections to operators that modify fermion couplings to the gauge bosons as well as operators that modify triple gauge boson couplings. Such identities are simple consequences of the equations of motion. Therefore the contributions from new physics to the oblique parameters can be disguised as modifications of triple gauge boson couplings provided the fermion couplings to the gauge bosons are suitably modified by higher dimensional operators. Since the experimental constraints on triple gauge boson couplings are much weaker than the constraints on the oblique parameters this observation allows extra room for model building. We derive operator relations in effective theories of the Standard Model with the electroweak symmetry either linearly or nonlinearly realized and discuss applications of our results.

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arXiv2006

Field Theory on Multi-throat Backgrounds

We consider extra dimensional field theory descriptions of backgrounds with N different throats where one of the extra dimensions in each throat is much larger than the others. Such backgrounds can be described by field theory on N 5D warped spaces which intersect on a ultraviolet (UV) brane. Given a field that propagates in all N throats there are N boundary conditions on the UV brane (which are determined by the effective Lagrangian on the UV brane) in addition to the boundary conditions on the N infrared branes. We derive a general set of UV boundary conditions and give examples of how they are applied to particular situations. Three simple example applications are given: in the first the number of families is determined by the number of throats and the SUSY flavor problem is solved via an S_3 symmetry of the throats; in the second we embed this scenario in a SUSY GUT with a solution of the doublet-triplet splitting problem based on the product group approach; while in the final example we show a simple geometric implementation of a SUSY trinification model on three throats.

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arXiv2005

Top and Bottom: a Brane of Their Own

We consider extra dimensional descriptions of models where there are two separate strongly interacting sectors contributing to electroweak symmetry breaking (``topcolor'' type models). In the extra dimensional picture there would be two separate (anti-de Sitter) bulks meeting on the Planck brane, with each bulk having its own corresponding IR (TeV) brane. Sources for electroweak symmetry breaking can then be localized on both of these IR branes, while the different generations of fermions may be separated from each other. We describe the modes propagating in such a setup, and consider the cases where the electroweak symmetry breaking on either of the two IR branes come either from a higgsless scenario (via boundary conditions) or a (top-)Higgs. We show that the tension that exists between obtaining a large top quark mass and the correct value of the Zb\bar{b} couplings in ordinary higgsless models can be largely relieved in the higgsless--top-Higgs versions of the two IR brane models. This may also be true in the purely higgsless--higgsless case, however since that model is necessarily in the strongly coupled regime the tree-level results for the properties of the third generation may get large corrections. A necessary consequence of such models is the appearance of additional pseudo-Goldstone bosons (``top-pions''), which would be strongly coupled to the third generation.

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arXiv2004

Curing the Ills of Higgsless Models: the S Parameter and Unitarity

We consider various constraints on Higgsless models of electroweak symmetry breaking based on a bulk SU(2)_L x SU(2)_R x U(1)_{B-L} gauge group in warped space. First we show that the S parameter which is positive if fermions are localized on the Planck brane can be lowered (or made vanishing) by changing the localization of the light fermions. If the wave function of the light fermions is almost flat their coupling to the gauge boson KK modes will be close to vanishing, and therefore contributions to the S parameter will be suppressed. At the same time the experimental bounds on such Z' and W' gauge bosons become very weak, and their masses can be lowered to make sure that perturbative unitarity is not violated in this theory before reaching energies of several TeV. The biggest difficulty of these models is to incorporate a heavy top quark mass without violating any of the experimental bounds on bottom quark gauge couplings. In the simplest models of fermion masses a sufficiently heavy top quark also implies an unacceptably large correction to the Zb\bar{b} vertex and a large splitting between the KK modes of the top and bottom quarks, yielding large loop corrections to the T-parameter. We present possible directions for model building where perhaps these constraints could be obeyed as well.

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