Abstract
The Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) is a proposed future high-luminosity linear electron-positron collider operating at three energy stages, with nominal centre-of-mass energies sqrt{s} = 380 GeV, 1.5 TeV, and 3 TeV. Its aim is to explore the energy frontier, providing sensitivity to physics beyond the Standard Model (BSM) and precision measurements of Standard Model processes with an emphasis on Higgs boson and top-quark physics. The opportunities for top-quark physics at CLIC are discussed in this paper. The initial stage of operation focuses on top-quark pair production measurements, as well as the search for rare flavour-changing neutral current (FCNC) top-quark decays. It also includes a top-quark pair production threshold scan around 350 GeV which provides a precise measurement of the top-quark mass in a well-defined theoretical framework. At the higher-energy stages, studies are made of top-quark pairs produced in association with other particles. A study of t̄tH production including the extraction of the top Yukawa coupling is presented as well as a study of vector boson fusion (VBF) production, which gives direct access to high-energy electroweak interactions. Operation above 1 TeV leads to more highly collimated jet environments where dedicated methods are used to analyse the jet constituents. These techniques enable studies of the top-quark pair production, and hence the sensitivity to BSM physics, to be extended to higher energies. This paper also includes phenomenological interpretations that may be performed using the results from the extensive top-quark physics programme at CLIC.
Highlights
As the heaviest known fundamental particle, the top quark provides a unique probe of the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics and occupies an important role in many theories of new physics beyond the SM (BSM)
For example: a top-quark pair production threshold scan would provide a precise measurement of the top-quark mass, which is a fundamental SM parameter; precise measurements of top-quark production observables could give unique sensitivity to new physics effects, as could the search for rare top-quark decays; new particles could be observed that couple preferentially to top quarks; and improved measurements of the top Yukawa coupling could further illuminate the Higgs sector
The results reported here are based on detailed Monte Carlo (MC) simulation studies with Geant4 [61, 62] based simulations of the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) detector concepts and a full event reconstruction, unless indicated otherwise
Summary
As the heaviest known fundamental particle, the top quark provides a unique probe of the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics and occupies an important role in many theories of new physics beyond the SM (BSM). The Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) is a proposed multi-TeV high-luminosity linear e+e− collider that is currently under development as a possible large-scale installation at CERN. It is based on a unique and innovative two-beam acceleration technique that can reach accelerating gradients of 100 MV/m. To demonstrate the wider implications of the CLIC top-quark physics programme, the final section is dedicated to phenomenological interpretations. These are based on the study of top pair-production in full simulation and consider a variety of different observables, including so-called “statistically optimal observables”. The work is carried out in the context of the CLIC Detector and Physics (CLICdp) collaboration
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