LEP Data Research Articles

Constraint on the branching ratio of Bc−→τν¯ from LEP1 data and consequences for R(D(*)) anomaly

Recently there has been interest in the correlation between R(D*) and the branching ratio (BR) of $B_c \to \tau \nu$ in models with a charged scalar H^\pm. Any enhancement of R(D*) by $H^\pm$ alone (in order to agree with current data) also enhances $BR(B_c \to \tau \nu$), for which there has been no direct search at hadron colliders. We show that LEP data taken at the Z peak requires BR($B_c \to \tau \nu$) < 10%, and this constraint is significantly stronger than the recent constraint BR($B_c \to \tau \nu$) < 30% from considering the lifetime of B_c. In order to respect this new constraint, any explanation of the R(D) and R(D*) anomaly in terms of $H^\pm$ alone would require the future measurements of R(D*) to be even closer to the Standard Model prediction. A stronger limit on BR($B_c \to \tau \nu$) (or its first measurement) would be obtained if the L3 collaboration used all its data taken at the Z peak.

The Z decay width in the SMEFT: yt and \u03bb corrections at one loop

We calculate one loop yt and λ dependent corrections to {overline{Gamma}}_{mathrm{Z}},{overline{R}}_f^0 and the partial Z widths due to dimension six operators in the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT), including finite terms. We assume CP symmetry and a U(3)5 symmetry in the UV matching onto the dimension six operators, dominantly broken by the Standard Model Yukawa matrices. Corrections to these observables are predicted using the input parameters left{{widehat{alpha}}_{mathrm{ew}},{widehat{M}}_Z,{widehat{G}}_F,{widehat{m}}_t,{widehat{m}}_hright} extracted with one loop corrections in the same limit. We show that at one loop the number of SMEFT parameters contributing to the precise LEPI pseudo-observables exceeds the number of measurements. As a result the SMEFT parameters contributing to LEP data are formally unbounded when the size of loop corrections are reached until other data is considered in a global analysis. The size of these loop effects is generically a correction of order ∼ % to leading effects in the SMEFT, but we find multiple large numerical coefficients in our calculation at this order. We use a overline{mathrm{MS}} scheme, modified for the SMEFT, for renormalization. Some subtleties involving novel evanescent scheme dependence present in this result are explained.

Anomalous triple gauge couplings in the effective field theory approach at the LHC

We discuss how to perform consistent extractions of anomalous triple gauge couplings (aTGC) from electroweak boson pair production at the LHC in the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT). After recasting recent ATLAS and CMS searches in pp → W Z(W W ) → ℓ′νℓ+ℓ−(νℓ) channels, we find that: (a) working consistently at order Λ−2 in the SMEFT expansion the existing aTGC bounds from Higgs and LEP-2 data are not improved, (b) the strong limits quoted by the experimental collaborations are due to the partial Λ−4 corrections (dimension-6 squared contributions). Using helicity selection rule arguments we are able to explain the suppression in some of the interference terms, and discuss conditions on New Physics (NP) models that can benefit from such LHC analyses. Furthermore, standard analyses assume implicitly a quite large NP scale, an assumption that can be relaxed by imposing cuts on the underlying scale of the process ( sqrt{widehat{s}} ). In practice, we find almost no correlation between sqrt{widehat{s}} and the experimentally accessible quantities, which complicates the SMEFT interpretation. Nevertheless, we provide a method to set (conservative) aTGC bounds in this situation, and recast the present searches accordingly. Finally, we introduce a simple NP model for aTGC to compare the bounds obtained directly in the model with those from the SMEFT analysis.

Higher Order Corrections in the CoLoRFulNNLO Framework

We discuss the CoLoRFulNNLO method for computing higher order radiative corrections to jet cross sections in perturbative QCD. We apply our method to the calculation of event shapes and jet rates in three-jet production in electron-positron annihilation. We validate our code by comparing our predictions to previous results in the literature and present the jet cone energy fraction distribution at NNLO accuracy. We also present preliminary NNLO results for the three-jet rate using the Durham jet clustering algorithm matched to resummed predictions at NLL accuracy, and a comparison to LEP data.

Two-Jet Rate in e^{+}e^{-} at Next-to-Next-to-Leading-Logarithmic Order.

We present the first next-to-next-to-leading-logarithmic resummation for the two-jet rate in e^{+}e^{-} annihilation in the Durham and Cambridge algorithms. The results are obtained by extending the ares method to observables involving any global, recursively infrared and collinear safe jet algorithm in e^{+}e^{-} collisions. As opposed to other methods, this approach does not require a factorization theorem for the observables. We present predictions matched to next-to-next-to-leading order and a comparison to LEP data.

Incorporating doubly resonant W ± data in a global fit of SMEFT parameters to lift flat directions

We calculate the double pole contribution to two to four fermion scattering through $W^{\pm}$ currents at tree level in the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT). We assume all fermions to be massless, $\rm U(3)^5$ flavour and $\rm CP$ symmetry. Using this result, we update the global constraint picture on SMEFT parameters including LEPII data on these charged current processes, and also include modifications to our fit procedure motivated by a companion paper focused on $W^{\pm}$ mass extractions. The fit reported is now to 177 observables and emphasises the need for a consistent inclusion of theoretical errors, and a consistent treatment of observables. Including charged current data lifts the two-fold degeneracy previously encountered in LEP (and lower energy) data, and allows us to set simultaneous constraints on 20 of 53 Wilson coefficients in the SMEFT, consistent with our assumptions. This allows the model independent inclusion of LEP data in SMEFT studies at LHC, which are projected into the SMEFT in a consistent fashion. We show how stronger constraints can be obtained by using some combinations of Wilson coefficients, when making assumptions on the UV completion of the Standard Model, or in an inconsistent analysis. We explain why strong bounds at the per-mille or sub-per-mille level on some combinations of Wilson coefficients in the Effective Lagrangian can be artificially enhanced in fits of this form in detail. This explains some of the different claims present in the literature.

Near-threshold incoherentϕphotoproduction on the deuteron: Searching for traces of a resonance

We study the near-threshold incoherent $\phi$ photoproduction on the deuteron based on a model of $\gamma N \to \phi N$, consisting of Pomeron, $(\pi, \eta)$ exchanges, and a $J^P = 3/2^-$ resonance, which describes the low energy $\gamma p \to \phi p$ LEPS data well, including the peak in the forward differential cross section. The calculation is done up to double rescatterings, with the spin dependence of the elementary $\gamma N \to \phi N$ amplitude retained throughout the calculation. The Fermi motion and final-state interactions (FSI) are all properly treated as prescribed by realistic nucleon-nucleon interaction. The couplings of the resonance to $\gamma n$ and $\phi n$ channels are estimated with the help of a constituent quark model. The main features of the LEPS and CLAS data are described reasonably well except for some quantitative discrepancies at very low energies and low momentum transfers regions. It is found that contributions of Fermi motion, $pn$ FSI, and resonance are all indispensable in bridging the differences between the single-scattering results and the data. The off-shell rescattering is found to be important as it cancels out a large portion of the on-shell contribution. The discrepancies at low momentum transfer region might be related to the binning size of the data. No peak is found to be associated with the weak resonance as it gets smeared out by the Fermi motion and FSI with deuterium target. The problem at very low energy region hints at the possible contributions from other mechanisms and should be investigated in depth with the use of recent high statistics $\gamma p \to \phi p$ data from CLAS.

Precision Drell-Yan measurements at the LHC and implications for the diphoton excess

Precision measurements of the Drell-Yan (DY) cross section at the LHC constrain new physics scenarios that involve new states with electroweak (EW) charges. We analyze these constraints and apply them to models that can address the LHC diphoton excess at 750 GeV. We confront these findings with LEP EW precision tests and show that DY provides stronger constraints than the LEP data. While 8 TeV data can already probe some parts of the interesting region of parameter space, LHC14 results are expected to cover a substantial part of the relevant terrain. We derive the bounds from the existing data, estimate LHC14 reach and compare them to the bounds one gets from LEP and future FCC-ee precision measurements.

The gauge-Higgs legacy of the LHC Run I

The effective Lagrangian expansion provides a framework to study effects of new physics at the electroweak scale. To make full use of LHC data in constraining higher-dimensional operators we need to include both the Higgs and the electroweak gauge sector in our study. We first present an analysis of the relevant di-boson production LHC results to update constraints on triple gauge boson couplings. Our bounds are several times stronger than those obtained from LEP data. Next, we show how in combination with Higgs measurements the triple gauge vertices lead to a significant improvement in the entire set of operators, including operators describing Higgs couplings.

Probing MeV to 90 GeV axion-like particles with LEP and LHC

Axion-like particles (ALPs), relatively light (pseudo-)scalars coupled to two gauge bosons, are a common feature of many extensions of the Standard Model. Up to now there has been a gap in the sensitivity to such particles in the MeV to 10 GeV range. In this note we show that LEP data on Z→γγ decays provides significant constraints in this range (and indeed up to the Z-mass). We also discuss the sensitivities of LHC and future colliders. Particularly the LHC shows promising sensitivity in searching for a pseudo-scalar with 4≲ma≲60 GeV in the channel pp→3γ with m3γ≈mZ.

Constraining parameter space of the little Higgs model using data from tera-Z factory and ILC**Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (11275036, 11047002, 11375128), Fund of Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province(A2011201118) and Natural Science Fund of Hebei University (2011JQ05, 2007113)

The Standard Model (SM) prediction on the forward-backward asymmetry for bb̄ production (AbFB)is well consistent with the data of LEP I at the Z-pole, but deviates from the data at √s = 89.55 and 92.95 GeV which are slightly away from the pole. This deviation implies that there is still room for new physics. We calculate the AbFB at the vicinity of the Z-pole in the little Higgs model as well as other measurable parameters such as Rb and Rc, by which we may constrain the parameter space of the little Higgs model. This can be further tested in the newly proposed tera-Z factory. With the fitted parameters we further make predictions on AbFB and AtFB for tt̄ production at the International Linear Collider (ILC).

The γ * γ * total cross section in next-to-leading order BFKL and LEP2 data

We study the total cross section for the collision of two highly-virtual photons at large energies, taking into account the BFKL resummation of energy logarithms with full next-to-leading accuracy. A necessary ingredient of the calculation, the next-to-leading order impact factor for the photon to photon transition, has been calculated by Balitsky and Chirilli using an approach based on the operator expansion in Wilson lines. We extracted the result for the photon impact factor in the original BFKL calculation scheme comparing the expression for the photon-photon total cross section obtained in BFKL with the one recently derived by Chirilli and Kovchegov in the Wilson-line operator expansion scheme. We perform a detailed numerical analysis, combining different, but equivalent in next-to-leading accuracy, representations of the cross section with various optimization methods of the perturbative series. We compare our results with previous determinations in the literature and with the LEP2 experimental data. We find that the account of Balitsky and Chirilli expression for the photon impact factor reduces the BFKL contribution to the cross section to very small values, making it impossible to describe LEP2 data as the sum of BFKL and leading-order QED quark box contributions.

Determination of the mixing between active neutrinos and sterile neutrino through the quark-lepton complementarity and self-complementarity

It is suggested that there is an underlying symmetry which relates the quark and lepton sectors. Namely, among the mixing matrix elements of CKM for quarks and PMNS for leptons there exist complementarity relations at a high energy scale (such as the see-saw or even the GUT scales). Assuming that the relations would remain during the matrix elements running down to the EW scale. Observable breaking of the rational relation is attributed to existence of sterile neutrinos which mix with the active neutrino to result in the observable PMNS matrix. We show that involvement of a sterile in the (3+1) model, induces that $|U_{e4}|^2= 0.040$, $|U_{\mu4}|^2= 0.009$ and $\sin^2 2\alpha=0.067$. We also find a new self-complementarity $\vartheta_{12}+\vartheta_{23}+\vartheta_{13}+\alpha\approx90^\circ$. The numbers are generally consistent with those obtained by fitting recent measurements, especially in this scenario, the existence of a sterile neutrino does not upset the LEP data i.e. the number of neutrino types is very close to 3.

The ZFITTER project

The ZFITTER project is aimed at the computation of high-precision theoretical predictions for various observables in high-energy electron-positron annihilation and other processes. The stages of the project development are described. Accent is made on applications to the analysis of LEP data. The present status of the project and perspectives are given as well.

Vector meson fragmentation using a model with broken SU(3) at the next-to-leading order

A detailed study of fragmentation of vector mesons at the next-to-leading order (NLO) in QCD is given for e+e- scattering. A model with broken SU(3) symmetry using three input fragmentation functions α(x, Q2), β(x, Q2) and γ(x, Q2) and a strangeness suppression parameter λ describes all the light quark fragmentation functions for the entire vector meson octet. At a starting low energy scale of [Formula: see text] for three light quarks (u, d, s) along with initial parametrization, the fragmentation functions are evolved through DGLAP evolution equations at NLO and the cross-section is calculated. The heavy quarks contribution are added in appropriate thresholds during evolution. The results obtained are fitted at the momentum scale of [Formula: see text] for LEP and SLD data. Good-quality fits are obtained for ρ, K*, ω and ϕ mesons, implying the consistency and efficiency of this model. Strangeness suppression in this model is understood both in terms of ratios of quark fragmentation functions alone as well as in terms of observables; the latter yield a suppression through the K*/ρ multiplicity ratio of about 0.23 while the x dependence of this suppression is also parametrized through the cross-section ratios.

Re-analysis of theΛ(1520)photoproduction reaction

Based on previous studies that support the important role of the $N^*(2120) D_{13}$ resonance in the $\gamma p \to K^+ \Lambda(1520)$ reaction, we make a re-analysis of this $\Lambda(1520)$ photoproduction reaction taking into account the recent CLAS differential cross-section data. In addition to the contact, $t-$channel $\bar K$ exchange, $s-$channel nucleon pole and $N^*(2120)$ [previously called $N^*(2080)$] resonance contributions, which have been already considered in previous works, we also study the $u-$channel $\Lambda(1115)$ hyperon pole term. The latter mechanism has always been ignored in all theoretical analysis, which has mostly relied on the very forward $K^+$ angular LEPS data. It is shown that when the contributions from the $N^*(2120)$ resonance and the $\Lambda(1115)$ hyperon are taken into account, both the new CLAS and the previous LEPS data can be simultaneously described. We also show that the contribution from the $u-$channel $\Lambda(1115)$ pole term produces an enhancement for large $K^+$ angles, and it becomes more and more relevant as the photon energy increases, being essential to describe the CLAS differential cross sections at backward angles. Furthermore, we find that the new CLAS data also favor the existence of the $N^*(2120)$ resonance, and that these measurements can be used to further constrain its properties.

Erratum: LHC explores what LEP hinted at: CP-violating type-I 2HDM

The Large Hadron Collider is shown to have great scope for a light charged Higgs discovery, in the context of the CP-violating type-I two Higgs doublet model. This scenario with similar masses of $H^\pm$ and W was suggested by the puzzling departure from charged current lepton universality found in the LEP data. With the lightest neutral Higgs mass set to 125 GeV, the charged-neutral Higgs associated production mechanism can cause a significant excess in the $\tau \nu b \bar{b}$ events over a vast range of tan beta as long as the Higgs mixing pattern avoids a few limiting cases. Thanks to the low $H^\pm$ mass, the charged Higgs loop can play a striking role in neutral Higgs decays into $\gamma \gamma$, thereby compensating for a suppressed gluon-gluon fusion rate. The effect of scalar-pseudo-scalar mixing on loop-induced Higgs signals is also discussed.

Incoherent photoproduction ofϕ-meson from deuteron at low energies

The LEPS and CLAS data of the incoherent photoproduction of $\phi$ meson from deuteron at low energies are studied with a model for $\phi$ meson photoproduction from nucleon consisting of Pomeron, $\pi$, and $\eta$ meson exchanges in the t-channel, and a postulated resonance, with parameters fitted to recent LEPS data on $\phi$ production from proton near threshold. The resonance was introduced to explain an observed bump in the forward differential cross section. Within impulse approximation, we find that the Fermi motion, final state interaction, and the resonance excitation all give important contributions to improve the agreement with data. However, discrepancies remain. Contributions from $\phi$ production via spectator nucleon by other mesons like $\pi, \rho,$ and $\phi$ produced from the first nucleon need to be calculated in order to gain insight on the medium effects as well as the existence of the postulated nucleon resonance.

Combining higher-order resummation with multiple NLO calculations and parton showers in GENEVA

Abstract We extend the lowest-order matching of tree-level matrix elements with parton showers to give a complete description at the next higher perturbative accuracy in α s at both small and large jet resolutions, which has not been achieved so far. This requires the combination of the higher-order resummation of large Sudakov logarithms at small values of the jet resolution variable with the full next-to-leading-order (NLO) matrix-element corrections at large values. As a by-product, this combination naturally leads to a smooth connection of the NLO calculations for different jet multiplicities. In this paper, we focus on the general construction of our method and discuss its application to e + e − and pp collisions. We present first results of the implementation in the Geneva Monte Carlo framework. We employ N-jettiness as the jet resolution variable, combining its next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic resummation with fully exclusive NLO matrix elements, and Pythia 8 as the backend for further parton showering and hadronization. For hadronic collisions, we take Drell-Yan production as an example to apply our construction. For e + e − → jets, taking α s (m Z) = 0.1135 from fits to LEP thrust data, together with the Pythia 8 hadronization model, we obtain good agreement with LEP data for a variety of 2-jet observables.

Calculating track thrust with track functions

In e+e- event shapes studies at LEP, two different measurements were sometimes performed: a "calorimetric" measurement using both charged and neutral particles, and a "track-based" measurement using just charged particles. Whereas calorimetric measurements are infrared and collinear safe and therefore calculable in perturbative QCD, track-based measurements necessarily depend on non-perturbative hadronization effects. On the other hand, track-based measurements typically have smaller experimental uncertainties. In this paper, we present the first calculation of the event shape track thrust and compare to measurements performed at ALEPH and DELPHI. This calculation is made possible through the recently developed formalism of track functions, which are non-perturbative objects describing how energetic partons fragment into charged hadrons. By incorporating track functions into soft-collinear effective theory, we calculate the distribution for track thrust with next-to-leading logarithmic resummation. Due to a partial cancellation between non-perturbative parameters, the distributions for calorimeter thrust and track thrust are remarkably similar, a feature also seen in LEP data.