Abstract
In top quark production, the polarization of top quarks, decided by the chiral structure of couplings, is likely to be modified in the presence of any new physics contribution to the production. Hence the same is a good discriminator for those new physics models wherein the couplings have a chiral structure different than that in the Standard Model (SM). In this note we construct probes of the polarization of a top quark decaying hadronically, using easily accessible kinematic variables such as the energy fraction or angular correlations of the decay products. Tagging the boosted top quark using the usual jet sub structure technique we study robustness of these observables for a benchmark process, $W^{\prime} \to tb$. We demonstrate that the energy fraction of b-jet in the laboratory frame and a new angular variable, constructed by us in the top rest frame, are both very powerful tools to discriminate between the left and right polarized top quarks. Based on the polarization sensitive angular variables, we construct asymmetries which reflect the polarization. We study the efficiency of these variables for two new physics processes where which give rise to boosted top quarks: (i) decay of the top squark in the context of supersymmetry searches, and (ii) decays of the Kaluza-Klein(KK) graviton and KK gluon, in Randall Sundrum(RS) model. Remarkably, it is found that the asymmetry can vary over a wide range about +20\% to -20\%. The dependence of asymmetry on top quark couplings of the new particles present in these models beyond the SM (BSM) is also investigated in detail.
Highlights
The top quark is an interesting object in the standard model (SM), since it is the heaviest known fermion and it has the strongest coupling with the Higgs boson, close to unity
We demonstrate that the energy fraction of b jet in the laboratory frame and a new angular variable, constructed by us in the top rest frame, are both very powerful tools to discriminate between the left and right polarized top quarks
Probing the coupling of the top quark through the measurement of its polarization could indicate the presence of new physics
Summary
The top quark is an interesting object in the standard model (SM), since it is the heaviest known fermion and it has the strongest coupling with the Higgs boson, close to unity It decays before hadronization, and soft QCD effects do not wash out its spin information, and the decay product kinematic distributions reflect the same. There are observables [28] that could discriminate left and right polarized boosted hadronically decaying top quarks without requiring W reconstruction or b-jet identification In this case, subjets with good spin-analyzing power are identified by requiring the corresponding pair of subjets with the minimum kT distance.
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