arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Thomas Flacke.
A light pseudo-scalar that is copiously produced at the LHC may still be allowed by present searches. While masses above 65 GeV are effectively covered by di-photon searches, the lower mass window can be tested by a new search for boosted di-tau resonances. We test this strategy on a set of composite Higgs models with top partial compositeness, where most models can be probed with an integrated luminosity below 300 fb$^{-1}$.
Many standard model extensions that address the hierarchy problem contain Dirac-fermion partners of the top quark, which are typically expected around the TeV scale. Searches for these vector-like quarks mostly focus on their decay into electroweak gauge bosons and Higgs plus a standard model quark. In this article, backed by models of composite Higgs, we propose a set of simplified scenarios, with effective Lagrangians and benchmarks, that include more exotic decay channels, which modify the search strategies and affect the bounds. Analysing several classes of underlying models, we show that exotic decays are the norm and commonly appear with significant rates. All these models contain light new scalars that couple to top partners with charge $5/3$, $2/3$, and $-1/3$.
Composite Higgs Models are often constructed including fermionic top partners with a mass around the TeV scale, with the top partners playing the role of stabilizing the Higgs potential and enforcing partial compositeness for the top quark. A class of models of this kind can be formulated in terms of fermionic strongly coupled gauge theories. A common feature they all share is the presence of specific additional scalar resonances, namely two neutral singlets and a colored octet, described by a simple effective Lagrangian. We study the phenomenology of these scalars, both in a model independent and model dependent way, including the bounds from all the available searches in the relevant channels with di-boson and di-top final states. We develop a generic framework which can be used to constrain any model containing pseudo-scalar singlets or octets. Using it, we find that such signatures provide strong bounds on the compositeness scale complementary to the traditional EWPT and Higgs couplings deviations. In many cases a relatively light scalar can be on the verge of discovery as a first sign of new physics.
Extensions of the Standard Model which address the hierarchy problem and dark matter (DM) often contain top partners and additional resonances at the TeV scale. We explore the phenomenology of a simplified effective model with a vector resonance $Z'$, a fermionic vector-like coloured partner of the top quark $T'$ as well as a scalar DM candidate $ϕ$ and provide publicly available implementations in CalcHEP and MadGraph. We study the $pp \to Z' \to T'\overline{T'} \to t\bar{t}\,ϕϕ$ process at the LHC and find that it plays an important role in addition to the $T'\overline{T'}$ production via strong interactions. It turns out that the presence of the $Z'$ can provide a dominant contribution to the $t\bar{t}+E_T^{\text{miss}}$ signature without conflicting with existing bounds from $Z'$ searches in di-jet and di-lepton final states. We find that through this process, the LHC is already probing DM masses up to about 900 GeV and top partner masses up to about 1.5 TeV, thus exceeding the current bounds from QCD production alone almost by a factor of two for both particles.
We investigate Higgs-boson pair production at the LHC when the final state system arises from decays of vector-like quarks coupling to the Higgs boson and the Standard Model quarks. Our phenomenological study includes next-to-leading-order QCD corrections, which are important to guarantee accurate predictions, and focuses on a detailed analysis of a di-Higgs signal in the four $b$-jet channel. Whereas existing Run II CMS and ATLAS analyses are not specifically designed for probing non-resonant, vector-like-quark induced, di-Higgs production, we show that they nevertheless offer some potential for these modes. We then investigate the possibility of distinguishing between the various di-Higgs production mechanisms by exploiting the kinematic properties of the signal.
We show that the relaxion generically stops its rolling at a point that breaks CP leading to relaxion-Higgs mixing. This opens the door to a variety of observational probes since the possible relaxion mass spans a broad range from sub-eV to the GeV scale. We derive constraints from current experiments (fifth force, astrophysical and cosmological probes, beam dump, flavour, LEP and LHC) and present projections from future experiments such as NA62, SHiP and PIXIE. We find that a large region of the parameter space is already under the experimental scrutiny. All the experimental constraints we derive are equally applicable for general Higgs portal models. In addition, we show that simple multiaxion (clockwork) UV completions suffer from a mild fine tuning problem, which increases with the number of sites. These results favour a cut-off scale lower than the existing theoretical bounds.
In this letter, we present LHC limits on the minimal universal extra dimension (MUED) model from LHC Run 1 data and current limits from searches of the ongoing Run 2. Typical collider signals of the Kaluza-Klein (KK) states mimic generic degenerate supersymmetry (SUSY) missing transverse momentum signatures since the excited KK particles cascade decay to jets, leptons and the lightest KK particle which is stable due to KK parity and thus evades detection. We test the parameter space against a large number of supersymmetry based missing energy searches implemented in the public code CheckMATE. We demonstrate the complementarity of employing various searches which target a large number of final state signatures, and we derive the most up to date limits on the MUED parameter space from 13 TeV SUSY searches.
In models with universal extra dimensions (UED), the lightest Kaluza-Klein excitation of neutral electroweak gauge bosons is a stable, weakly interacting massive particle and thus is a candidate for dark matter thanks to Kaluza-Klein parity. We examine concrete model realizations of such dark matter in the context of non-minimal UED extensions. The boundary localized kinetic terms for the electroweak gauge bosons lead to a non-trivial mixing among the first Kaluza-Klein excitations of the ${\rm SU}(2)_W$ and ${\rm U}(1)_Y$ gauge bosons and the resultant low energy phenomenology is rich. We investigate implications of various experiments including low energy electroweak precision measurements, direct and indirect detection of dark matter particles and direct collider searches at the LHC. Notably, we show that the electroweak Kaluza-Klein dark matter can be as heavy as 2.4 TeV, which is significantly higher than $1.3$ TeV as is indicated as an upper bound in the minimal UED model.
LHC searches for BSM resonances in $l^+ l^-, \, jj, \, t\bar{t}, γγ$ and $VV$ final states have so far not resulted in discovery of new physics. Current results set lower limits on mass scales of new physics resonances well into the $\mathcal{O}(1)$ TeV range, assuming that the new resonance decays dominantly to a pair of Standard Model particles. While the SM pair searches are a vital probe of possible new physics, it is important to re-examine the scope of new physics scenarios probed with such final states. Scenarios where new resonances decay dominantly to final states other than SM pairs, even though well theoretically motivated, lie beyond the scope of SM pair searches. In this paper we argue that LHC searches for (vector) resonances beyond two particle final states would be useful complementary probes of new physics scenarios. As an example, we consider a class of composite Higgs models, and identify specific model parameter points where the color singlet, electrically neutral vector resonance $ρ_0$ decays dominantly not to a pair of SM particles, but to a fermionic top partner $T_{f1}$ and a top quark, with $T_{f1} \rightarrow tZ$. We show that dominant decays of $ρ_0 \rightarrow T_{f1} t$ in the context of Composite Higgs models are possible even when the decay channel to a pair of $T_{f1}$ is kinematically open. Our analysis deals with scenarios where both $m_ρ$ and $m_{T_{f1}}$ are of $\mathcal{O}(1)$ TeV, leading to highly boosted $t\bar{t}Z$ final state topologies. We show that the particular composite Higgs scenario we consider is discoverable at the LHC13 with as little as 30 fb$^{-1}$, while being allowed by other existing experimental constraints.
Models of compositeness can successfully address the origin of the Higgs boson, as a pseudo Nambu Goldstone boson (pNGB) of a spontaneously broken global symmetry, and flavour physics via the partial compositeness mechanism. If the dynamics is generated by a confining gauge group with fermionic matter content, there exists only a finite set of models that have the correct properties to account for the Higgs and top partners at the same time. In this letter we explore the theory space of this class of models: remarkably, all of them contain - beyond the pNGB Higgs - a pNGB singlet, $a$, which couples to Standard Model gauge bosons via Wess-Zumino-Witten interactions, thus providing naturally a resonance in di-boson at the LHC. With the assumption that the recently reported di-photon excess at 750 GeV at the LHC arises from the a-resonance, we propose a generic approach on how to delineate the best candidate for composite Higgs models with top-partners. We find that constraints from other di-boson searches severely reduce the theory space of the models under consideration. For the models which can explain the di-photon excess, we make precise and testable predictions for the width and other di-boson resonance searches.
Hadrons have finite interaction size with dense material, a basic feature common to known forms of hadronic calorimeters (HCAL). We argue that substructure variables cannot use HCAL information to access the microscopic nature of jets much narrower than the hadronic shower size, which we call superboosted massive jets. It implies that roughly 15% of their transverse energy profile remains inaccessible due to the presence of long-lived neutral hadrons. This part of the jet substructure is also subject to order-one fluctuations. We demonstrate that the effects of the fluctuations are not reduced when a global correction to jet variables is applied. The above leads to fundamental limitations in the ability to extract intrinsic information from jets in the superboosted regime. The neutral fraction of a jet is correlated with its flavor. This leads to an interesting and possibly useful difference between superboosted W/Z/h/t jets and their corresponding backgrounds. The QCD jets that form the background to the signal superboosted jets might also be qualitatively different in their substructure as their mass might lie at or below the Sudakov mass peak. Finally, we introduce a set of zero-cone longitudinal jet substructure variables and show that while they carry information that might be useful in certain situations, they are not in general sensitive to the jet substructure.
We present a phenomenological theory of scalar particles that transform as a sextet and an octet of QCD interactions. These particles may arise as light bound states of a fundamental dynamics giving rise to a composite Higgs boson and partial compositeness for the top. As a concrete example, we discuss an explicit UV completion based on the SU(4)/Sp(4) coset, where QCD colour is carried by additional fundamental fermions charged under the confining gauge group. Top partners, as well as potentially even lighter coloured scalars, arise as bound states of the coloured fermions. We study production and detection at LHC Run I and II of the octet and sextet, setting lower limits on masses and couplings to Standard Model particles using existing 8 TeV analyses. We finally explore prospects for the ongoing 13 TeV Run II: we focus on final states with two same sign leptons, that have the potential to discriminate the sextet.
We study the light scalar resonance sector of a composite Higgs model UV embedding based on the coset $SU(4)/Sp(4)$. Beyond the Higgs multiplet, the pseudo Nambu-Goldstone sector of this model contains Standard Model singlets which couple to the Standard Model gauge bosons through Wess-Zumino-Witten anomaly terms. They can thus be produced in gluon fusion and decay into either gluons or pairs of electroweak gauge bosons $WW$, $ZZ$, $Zγ$, or $γγ$. In this letter we show that one of the pseudo Nambu-Goldstone boson states has appropriate couplings in order to explain a di-boson excess in the $WW$ channel whilst not being excluded by LHC run I bounds on the di-jet, $Zγ$ and $γγ$ decay channels. A di-boson resonance production cross section of $\sim$ 10 fb at LHC run I is not a prediction of the model, but can be obtained if the confining gauge group is of high rank.
We propose a strategy for new physics searches in channels which contain a boosted $Z$ boson in the final state. Our proposal exploits the previously overlooked advantages of boosted $Z\rightarrow ν\barν$ topologies, where collimated neutrinos result in signals with large missing energy. We illustrate the advantage of this channel in a case study of singly produced TeV scale charge 2/3 fermionic top partners ($T'$) which decay to $t+Z$. A comparison with the di-leptonic channel reveals that signals with missing energy offer superior probes of new physics at TeV scales, despite the large $t\bar{t}$ backgrounds. The effect can be attributed to a factor of $\sim 3$ enhancement in the signal cross section, coming from the branching ratio of $Z\rightarrow ν\barν$. We exploit the unique event topology of singly produced top partners to suppress the $t\bar{t}$ background, as well as further improve on the existing proposals to detect $T'$ in the boosted di-lepton channel. Our conclusions on advantages of $Z\rightarrow ν\barν$ can be extended to most physics searches which utilize a boosted $Z$ boson in the final state.
Searches for fermionic top partners at the TeV scale will bring forward a new final state kinematic regime and event topologies, where Run I search strategies will inevitably fail. We propose concrete search strategies for singly produced charge 2/3 fermionic top partners ($T'$) adequate for LHC Run II. Our analysis spans over all of the $T'$ decay modes ($i.e.$ $tZ$, $th$ and $Wb$) where we present detailed discussion of the search performances, signal efficiencies and backgrounds rates. Our LHC Run II search proposals utilize signatures with large missing energy and leptons, as well as jet substructure observables for tagging of boosted heavy SM states, customized $b$-tagging tactics and forward jet tagging. We analyze the prospects for discovery and exclusion of $T'$ models within the framework of partially composite quarks at the LHC Run II. Our results show that the LHC Run II has good prospects for observing $T'$ models which predict single production cross section of $σ_{T'} \sim 70 -140 \, (30 -65)$ fb for $M_{T'} = 1\, (1.5)$~TeV respectively with 100 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity, depending on the branching ratios of the $T'$. Similarly, we find that cross sections of $σ_{T'} \sim 27 -60\, (13 - 24)$ fb for $M_{T'} = 1\, (1.5)$ TeV respectively can be excluded with the same amount of data. Our results are minimally model dependent and can be applied to most $T'$ models where $Γ_{T'} \ll M_{T'}$.
We propose a new search strategy for quark partners which decay into a boosted Higgs and a light quark. As an example, we consider phenomenologically viable right handed up-type quark partners of mass $\sim 1$ TeV in composite pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone-boson Higgs models within the context of flavorful naturalness. Our results show that $S/B > 1$ and signal significance of $\sim 7σ$ is achievable at $\sqrt{s} = 14$ TeV LHC with 35 $fb^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity, sufficient to claim discovery of a new particle. A combination of a multi-dimensional boosted Higgs tagging technique, kinematics of pair produced heavy objects and $b$-tagging serves to efficiently diminish the large QCD backgrounds while maintaining adequate levels of signal efficiency. We present the analysis in the context of effective field theory, such that our results can be applied to any future search for pair produced vector-like quarks with decay modes to Higgs and a light jet.
The top quark can be naturally singled out from other fermions in the Standard Model due to its large mass, of the order of the electroweak scale. We follow this reasoning in models of pseudo Nambu Goldstone Boson composite Higgs, which may derive from an underlying confining dynamics. We consider a new class of flavour models, where the top quark obtains its mass via partial compositeness, while the lighter fermions acquire their masses by a deformation of the dynamics generated at a high flavour scale. One interesting feature of such scenario is that it can avoid all the flavour constraints without the need of flavour symmetries, since the flavour scale can be pushed high enough. We show that both flavour conserving and violating constraints can be satisfied with top partial compositeness without invoking any flavour symmetry for the up-type sector, in the case of the minimal SO(5)/SO(4) coset with top partners in the four-plet and singlet of SO(4). In the down-type sector, some degree of alignment is required if all down-type quarks are elementary. We show that taking the bottom quark partially composite provides a dynamical explanation for the hierarchy causing this alignment. We present explicit realisations of this mechanism which do not require to include additional bottom partner fields. Finally, these conclusions are generalised to scenarios with non-minimal cosets and top partners in larger representations.
We propose a new search strategy for heavy top partners at the early stages of the LHC run-II, based on lepton-jet final states. Our results show that final states containing a boosted massive jet and a hard lepton, in addition to a top quark and possibly a forward jet, offer a new window to both detecting and measuring top partners of mass $\sim 2$ TeV. Our resulting signal significance is comparable or superior to the same sign di-lepton channels for top partner masses heavier than roughly 1 TeV. Unlike the di-lepton channel, the selection criteria we propose are sensitive both to $5/3$ and $1/3$ charge top partners and allow for full reconstruction of the resonance mass peak. Our search strategy utilizes a simplified $b$-tagging procedure and the Template Overlap Method to tag the massive boosted objects and reject the corresponding backgrounds. In addition, we propose a new, pileup insensitive method, to tag forward jets which characterize our signal events. We consider full effects of pileup contamination at 50 interactions per bunch crossing. We demonstrate that even in the most pessimistic pileup scenarios, the significance we obtain is sufficient to claim a discovery over a wide range of top partner parameters. While we focus on the minimal natural composite Higgs model, the results of this paper can be easily translated into bounds on any heavy partner with a $t\bar{t}Wj$ final state topology.