arXiv subjects

Susanne Westhoff

Publications and source records attributed to Susanne Westhoff.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Probing dark sectors with long-lived particles at BELLE II

We propose a new search for light scalar singlets in rare meson decays. For tiny interactions, the scalar is long-lived at detector scales and decays into displaced pairs of leptons or light mesons. We show that Belle II has a remarkable potential to probe scalars in the GeV range with couplings as small as $10^{-5}$. The predicted sensitivity is higher than at the long-baseline experiments FASER and NA62. We also investigate signatures of invisibly decaying scalars in rare meson decays with missing energy.

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arXiv2020

Measuring the top energy asymmetry at the LHC: QCD and SMEFT interpretations

The energy asymmetry in top-antitop-jet production is an observable of the top charge asymmetry designed for the LHC. We perform a realistic analysis in the boosted kinematic regime, including effects of the parton shower, hadronization and expected experimental uncertainties. Our predictions at particle level show that the energy asymmetry in the Standard Model can be measured with a significance of $3σ$ during Run 3, and with more than $5σ$ significance at the HL-LHC. Beyond the Standard Model the energy asymmetry is a sensitive probe of new physics with couplings to top quarks. In the framework of the Standard Model Effective Field Theory, we show that the sensitivity of the energy asymmetry to effective four-quark interactions is higher or comparable to other top observables and resolves blind directions in current LHC fits. We suggest to include the energy asymmetry as an important observable in global searches for new physics in the top sector.

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arXiv2019

New physics searches with top quarks

This is a brief pedagogic introduction to searches for new physics with top quarks. It covers indirect searches for heavy new particles based on standard model effective theory and direct searches for new signatures of a light hidden sector. LHC and flavor observables complement and strengthen each other in this endeavor.

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arXiv2019

Long live the Higgs portal!

In Higgs portal models of fermion dark matter, scalar couplings are unavoidably suppressed by strong bounds from direct detection experiments. As a consequence, thermal dark matter relics must coexist with mediators in a compressed spectrum of dark particles. Small couplings and small mass splittings lead to slow mediator decays, leaving signatures with displaced vertices or disappearing tracks at colliders. We perform a comprehensive analysis of long-lived mediators at the LHC in the context of a minimal dark matter model with a naturally small Higgs portal, also known as the wino-bino scenario in supersymmetry. Existing searches for disappearing charged tracks and displaced hard leptons already exclude tiny portal couplings that cannot be probed by current direct and indirect detection experiments. For larger portal couplings, we predict new signatures with displaced soft leptons, which are accessible with run-II data. Searches for displaced particles are sensitive to weakly coupling mediators with masses up to the TeV scale, well beyond the reach of prompt signals.

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arXiv2019

Spotting hidden sectors with Higgs binoculars

We explore signals of new physics with two Higgs bosons and large missing transverse energy at the LHC. Such a signature is characteristic of models for dark matter or other secluded particles that couple to the standard model through an extended scalar sector. Our goal is to provide search strategies and an interpretation framework for this new signature that are applicable to a large class of models. To this end, we define simplified models of hidden sectors leading to two different event topologies: symmetric decay, i.e., pair-produced mediators decaying each into a Higgs plus invisible final state; and di-Higgs resonance, i.e., resonant Higgs-pair production recoiling against a pair of invisible particles. For both scenarios, we optimize the discovery potential by performing a multi-variate analysis of final states with four bottom quarks and missing energy, employing state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms for signal-background discrimination. We determine the parameter space that the LHC can test in both scenarios, thus facilitating an interpretation of our results in terms of complete models. Di-Higgs production with missing energy is competitive with other missing energy searches and thus provides a new opportunity to find hidden particles at the LHC.

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arXiv2018

Tau Polarimetry in B Meson Decays

This article summarizes recent developments in $B\to D^{(\ast)}τν$ decays. We explain how to extract the tau lepton's production properties from the kinematics of its decay products. The focus is on hadronic tau decays, which are most sensitive to the tau polarizations. We present new results for effects of new physics in tau polarization observables and quantify the observation prospects at BELLE II.

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arXiv2017

Dark Matter from Electroweak Single Top Production

Dark matter scenarios with spin-0 mediators in the $s$-channel have be tested in well-established processes with missing energy, such as top-pair- and mono-jet-associated production. We suggest electroweak single top production in association with a dark matter pair as an alternative channel. Based on a realistic analysis for the LHC at 13 TeV, we demonstrate how to efficiently discriminate between the signal and Standard-Model background using event kinematics. With $300\,\text{fb}^{-1}\,(3\,\text{ab}^{-1})$ of data luminosity, on-shell scalar mediators with a coupling strength $g_S^t=1$ to top quarks can be probed up to masses of $180\,(360)\,\text{GeV}$. Single-top-associated dark matter production should thus be included as an independent search channel in the LHC dark matter program.

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arXiv2017

Virtual signatures of dark sectors in Higgs couplings

Where collider searches for resonant invisible particles loose steam, dark sectors might leave their trace as virtual effects in precision observables. Here we explore this option in the framework of Higgs portal models, where a sector of dark fermions interacts with the standard model through a strong renormalizable coupling to the Higgs boson. We show that precise measurements of Higgs-gauge and triple Higgs interactions can probe dark fermions up to the TeV scale through virtual corrections. Observation prospects at the LHC and future lepton colliders are discussed for the so-called singlet-doublet model of Majorana fermions, a generalization of the bino-higgsino scenario in supersymmetry. We advocate a two-fold search strategy for dark sectors through direct and indirect observables.

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arXiv2017

Review of top charge asymmetries for LHC run II

This is a brief review of charge asymmetries in top-antitop quark production at the LHC. Proposed asymmetry observables in processes of associated top-pair production $t\bar t$ + jet, $t\bar t + W$, and $t\bar t + γ$ are analyzed and compared. While the focus is on standard-model predictions, we also comment on the sensitivity to possible new physics and observation prospects during the second runtime of the LHC.

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arXiv2017

Observing the Top Energy Asymmetry at the LHC

The top-antitop energy asymmetry is a promising observable of the charge asymmetry in jet-associated top-quark pair production at the LHC. We present new predictions of the energy asymmetry in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV, including QCD corrections at the next-to-leading perturbative order. The effect of QCD corrections on the observable is moderate. With suitable phase-space cuts, the asymmetry can be enhanced at the cost of reducing the cross section. For instance, for a cross section of $1\,\text{pb}$ after cuts, we predict an energy asymmetry of $-6.5^{\,+0.1}_{\,-0.2}\%$ at the next-to-leading order in QCD. We also investigate scale uncertainties and parton-shower effects, which partially cancel in the normalized asymmetry. Our results provide a sound basis for a measurement of the energy asymmetry at the LHC during run II.

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arXiv2017

Tau properties in $B\to Dτν$ from visible final-state kinematics

In semi-leptonic $B$ decays with a tau lepton, features of the production process are imprinted on the tau helicity states. Since the tau momentum cannot be fully reconstructed experimentally, the available information on the tau properties is encoded in its visible decay products. Focusing on the process $B\to Dτν$, we find explicit relations between the tau properties and the kinematics of the charged particles in the decays $τ\toπν$, $τ\toρν$, and $τ\to\ellν\barν$. In particular, we show that the perpendicular polarization, $P_\perp$, and the forward-backward asymmetry, $A_τ$, of the tau lepton can simultaneously be extracted from an angular asymmetry of the charged particle against the $D$ meson. For the most sensitive decay channel, $τ\toπν$, we expect a relative statistical precision of about $10\%$ for $P_\perp$ and $A_τ$ in a measurement based on $50\,$ab$^{-1}$ of data at BELLE II.

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arXiv2016

Probing Higgs-Portal Dark Matter with Weakly Interacting Mediators

The hypothesis of dark matter interacting with the standard model uniquely via the Higgs portal is severely challenged by experiments. However, if dark matter is a fermion, the Higgs-portal interaction implies the presence of mediators, which can change the phenomenology significantly. This article discusses the impact of weakly-interacting mediators on the dark-matter relic abundance, direct detection, and collider searches. At the LHC, a typical signature of Higgs-portal fermion dark matter features soft leptons and missing energy, similarly to gaugino production in models with supersymmetry. We suggest to re-interpret existing gaugino searches in the context of Higgs-portal models and to extend future searches to the broader class of dark sectors with weakly-interacting fermions.

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arXiv2015

A Dark Matter Relic From Muon Anomalies

We show that the recently reported anomalies in $b\to sμ^+μ^-$ transitions, as well as the long-standing $g_μ-2$ discrepancy, can be addressed simultaneously by a new massive abelian gauge boson with loop-induced coupling to muons. Such a scenario typically leads to a stable dark matter candidate with a thermal relic density close to the observed value. Dark matter in our model couples dominantly to leptons, hence signals in direct detection experiments lie well below the current sensitivity. The LHC, in combination with indirect detection searches, can test this scenario through distinctive signatures with muon pairs and missing energy.

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arXiv2015

Integrating in the Higgs Portal to Fermion Dark Matter

Fermion dark matter (DM) interacting with the standard model through a Higgs portal requires non-renormalizable operators, signaling the presence of new mediator states at the electroweak scale. Collider signatures that involve the mediators are a powerful tool to experimentally probe the Higgs portal interactions, providing complementary information to strong constraints set by direct DM detection searches. Indirect detection experiments are less sensitive to this scenario. We investigate the collider reach for the mediators using three minimal renormalizable models as examples, and requiring the fermion DM to be a thermal relic. The Large Hadron Collider in its high-energy, high-luminosity phase can probe most scenarios if DM is lighter than about 200 GeV. Beyond this scale, future high-energy experiments such as an electron-positron collider or a 100-TeV proton-proton collider, combined with future direct detection experiments, are indispensable to conclusively test these models.

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arXiv2015

Top-Quark Initiated Processes at High-Energy Hadron Colliders

In hadronic collisions at high energies, the top-quark may be treated as a parton inside a hadron. Top-quark initiated processes become increasingly important since the top-quark luminosity can reach a few percent of the bottom-quark luminosity. In the production of a heavy particle $H$ with mass $m_H > m_t$, treating the top-quark as a parton allows us to resum large logarithms $\log(m_{H}^{2}/m_{t}^{2}$) arising from collinear splitting in the initial state. We quantify the effect of collinear resummation at the 14-TeV LHC and a future 100-TeV hadron collider, focusing on the top-quark open-flavor process $gg\to t\bar t H$ in comparison with $t\bar t \to H$ and $tg\rightarrow tH$ at the leading order (LO) in QCD. We employ top-quark parton distribution functions with appropriate collinear subtraction and power counting. We find that (1) Collinear resummation enhances the inclusive production of a heavy particle with $m_H\approx$ 5 TeV (0.5 TeV) by more than a factor of two compared to the open-flavor process at a 100-TeV (14-TeV) collider; (2) Top-quark mass effects are important for scales $m_H$ near the top-quark threshold, where the cross section is largest. We advocate a modification of the ACOT factorization scheme, dubbed m-ACOT, to consistently treat heavy-quark masses in hadronic collisions; (3) The scale uncertainty of the total cross section in m-ACOT is of about 20 percent at the LO. While a higher-order calculation is indispensable for a precise prediction, the LO cross section is well described by the process $t\bar t\to H$ using an effective factorization scale significantly lower than $m_H$. We illustrate our results by the example of a heavy spin-0 particle. Our main results also apply to the production of particles with spin-1 and 2.

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arXiv2015

LHC Prospects for Asymmetric Top-Antitop Production

The charge asymmetry in hadronic top-antitop-quark production is a powerful test observable of perturbative quantum chromodynamics. Since its origin in terms of Feynman diagrams is distinct from charge-symmetric top-antitop production, probing the charge asymmetry provides complementary information to cross section measurements. Furthermore, asymmetric observables offer new ways to distinguish new physics beyond the standard model. This article summarizes prospects to investigate the top-quark charge asymmetry at the LHC in and beyond the standard model. Particular attention is given to observables in top-antitop production in association with a jet, a photon or a W boson.

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arXiv2014

Testing the Muon g-2 Anomaly at the LHC

The long-standing difference between the experimental measurement and the standard-model prediction for the muon's anomalous magnetic moment, $a_μ = (g_μ-2)/2$, may be explained by the presence of new weakly interacting particles with masses of a few 100 GeV. Particles of this kind can generally be directly produced at the LHC, and thus they may already be constrained by existing data. In this work, we investigate this connection between $a_μ$ and the LHC in a model-independent approach, by introducing one or two new fields beyond the standard model with spin and weak isospin up to one. For each case, we identify the preferred parameter space for explaining the discrepancy of a_mu and derive bounds using data from LEP and the 8-TeV LHC run. Furthermore, we estimate how these limits could be improved with the 14-TeV LHC. We find that the 8-TeV results already rule out a subset of our simplified models, while almost all viable scenarios can be tested conclusively with 14-TeV data.

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arXiv2014

Leptophilic Dark Matter in Lepton Interactions at LEP and ILC

Dark matter particles that couple primarily to leptons are only weakly constrained by data from direct detection experiments and the LHC. However, models of this kind necessarily generate effective four-lepton contact interactions at the tree- or one-loop-level, which can be probed in $e^+e^-$ collisions. In this work, precise data from LEP is used to derive limits on leptophilic dark matter in a model-independent framework. The bounds turn out to be competitive with, and in some cases exceed, limits from mono-photon events. We also extrapolate our results to ILC energies and luminosities. We show that ILC data for contact interactions may be able to set the strongest limits on TeV-scale leptophilic dark matter for couplings $g\gtrsim 1$ of the mediators.

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