Top Partners Research Articles

Pushing Higgs effective theory to its limits

At the LHC, an effective theory of the Higgs sector allows us to analyze kinematic distributions in addition to inclusive rates, although there is no clear hierarchy of scales. We systematically analyze how well dimension-6 operators describe LHC observables in comparison to the full theory, and in a range where the LHC will be sensitive. The key question is how the breakdown of the dimension-6 description affects Higgs measurements during the upcoming LHC run for weakly interacting models. We cover modified Higgs sectors with a singlet and doublet extension, new top partners, and a vector triplet. First, weakly interacting models only generate small relevant subsets of dimension-6 operators. Second, the dimension-6 description tends to be justified at the LHC. Scanning over model parameters, significant discrepancies can nevertheless arise; their main source is the matching procedure in the absence of a well-defined hierarchy of scales. This purely theoretical problem should not affect future LHC analyses.

Odd top partners at the LHC

LHC searches for fermionic top partners $T$ focus on three decay topologies: $T\to bW$, $T\to tZ$, and $T\to th$. However, top partners may carry new conserved quantum numbers that forbid these decays. The simplest possibility is a conserved parity, under which the top partner is odd and all SM states are even. In this case, decays of top partners may involve new particle-odd scalars, leading to signal topologies more commonly associated with supersymmetry, either with or without R-parity conservation. We study a simplified model in which this possibility is realized, and estimate the bounds on the top partner mass in this model implied by LHC searches for supersymmetry. We find that the bounds can be significantly weaker than in the conventional top partner decay scenario. For example, if the new parity is exact, a 500 GeV top partner is allowed as long as the lightest parity-odd scalar mass is between 325 and 500 GeV. The lower allowed top partner mass reduces the need for fine-tuning in the Higgs mass parameter, compared to the conventional decay scenario. We also present an explicit model, the Oddest Little Higgs, which exhibits this phenomenology.

Light ’t Hooft top partners

Vector-like quarks, usually dubbed top partners, are a common presence in composite Higgs models. Being composite objects, their mass is expected to be of the order of their inverse size, that is the condensation scale of the new strong interactions. Light top partners, while not being a generic prediction, are however often considered in phenomenological models. We suggest that their lightness may be due to the matching of global 't Hooft anomalies of the underlying theory. We check this mechanism in explicit models showing that, in one case, composite fermions with the quantum numbers of the top quark obtain a mass which is controlled by a soft breaking term and can be made parametrically small.

Quark flavour observables in the Littlest Higgs model with T-parity after LHC Run 1.

The Littlest Higgs model with T-parity (LHT) belongs to the simplest new physics scenarios with new sources of flavour and CP violation. The latter originate in the interactions of ordinary quarks and leptons with heavy mirror quarks and leptons that are mediated by new heavy gauge bosons. Also a heavy fermionic top partner is present in this model which communicates with the SM fermions by means of standard W^pm and Z^0 gauge bosons. We present a new analysis of quark flavour observables in the LHT model in view of the oncoming flavour precision era. We use all available information on the CKM parameters, lattice QCD input and experimental data on quark flavour observables and corresponding theoretical calculations, taking into account new lower bounds on the symmetry breaking scale and the mirror quark masses from the LHC. We investigate by how much the branching ratios for a number of rare K and B decays are still allowed to depart from their SM values. This includes K^+rightarrow pi ^+nu bar{nu }, K_{L}rightarrow pi ^0nu bar{nu }, K_Lrightarrow mu ^+mu ^-, Brightarrow X_sgamma , B_{s,d}rightarrow mu ^+mu ^-, Brightarrow K^{(*)}ell ^+ell ^-, Brightarrow K^{(*)}nu bar{nu }, and varepsilon '/varepsilon . Taking into account the constraints from Delta F=2 processes, significant departures from the SM predictions for K^+rightarrow pi ^+nu bar{nu } and K_{L}rightarrow pi ^0nu bar{nu } are possible, while the effects in B decays are much smaller. In particular, the LHT model favours mathcal {B}(B_{s}rightarrow mu ^+mu ^-) ge mathcal {B}(B_{s}rightarrow mu ^+mu ^-)_mathrm{SM}, which is not supported by the data, and the present anomalies in Brightarrow K^{(*)}ell ^+ell ^- decays cannot be explained in this model. With the recent lattice and large N input the imposition of the varepsilon '/varepsilon constraint implies a significant suppression of the branching ratio for K_{L}rightarrow pi ^0nu bar{nu } with respect to its SM value while allowing only for small modifications of K^+rightarrow pi ^+nu bar{nu }. Finally, we investigate how the LHT physics could be distinguished from other models by means of indirect measurements and discuss the consequences for quark flavour observables of not finding any LHT state in the coming years.

Search strategies for TeV scale fermionic top partners with charge 2/3

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 $\sigma_{T'} \sim 70 -140 \, (30 -65)$ 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 $\sigma_{T'} \sim 27 -60\, (13 - 24)$ 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 $\Gamma_{T'} \ll M_{T'}$.

Kinematic reconstruction of vectorlike tops from fully hadronic events

We investigate the potential to search for the vectorlike top partner in fully hadronic final states at the LHC. An algorithm is developed which kinematically reconstructs the vectorlike top. We show that for moderate masses and a large branching fraction into top quark and Higgs boson, the reconstruction works with good quality.

Light stop mass limits from Higgs rate measurements in the MSSM: is MSSM electroweak baryogenesis still alive after all?

We investigate the implications of the Higgs rate measurements from Run 1 of the LHC for the mass of the light scalar top partner (stop) in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). We focus on light stop masses, and we decouple the second, heavy stop and the gluino to the multi-TeV range in order to obtain a Higgs mass of around 125 GeV. We derive lower mass limits for the light stop within various scenarios, taking into account the effects of a possibly light scalar tau partner (stau) or chargino on the Higgs rates, of additional Higgs decays to undetectable new physics, as well as of non-decoupling of the heavy Higgs sector. Under conservative assumptions, the stop can be as light as 123 GeV. Relaxing certain theoretical and experimental constraints, such as vacuum stability and model-dependent bounds on sparticle masses from LEP, we find that the light stop mass can be as light as 116 GeV. Our indirect limits are complementary to direct limits on the light stop mass from collider searches and have important implications for electroweak baryogenesis in the MSSM as a possible explanation for the observed matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe.

Top partners searches and composite Higgs models

Colored fermionic partners of the top quark are well-known signatures of the Composite Higgs scenario and for this reason they have been and will be subject of an intensive experimental study at the LHC. Performing an assessment of the theoretical implications of this experimental effort is the goal of the present paper. We proceed by analyzing a set of simple benchmark models, characterized by simple two-dimensional parameter spaces where the results of the searches are conveniently visualized and their impact quantified. We only draw exclusion contours, in the hypothesis of no signal, but of course our formalism could equally well be used to report discoveries in a theoretically useful format.

Towards a no-lose theorem for naturalness

We derive a phenomenological no-lose theorem for naturalness up to the TeV scale, which applies when quantum corrections to the Higgs mass from top quarks are canceled by perturbative BSM particles (top partners) of similar multiplicity due to to some symmetry. Null results from LHC searches already seem to disfavor such partners if they are colored. Any partners with SM charges and ~TeV masses will be exhaustively probed by the LHC and a future 100 TeV collider. Therefore, we focus on neutral top partners. While these arise in Twin Higgs theories, we analyze neutral top partners as model-independently as possible using EFT and Simplified Model methods. We classify all perturbative neutral top partner structures in order to compute their irreducible low-energy signatures at proposed future lepton and hadron colliders, as well as the irreducible tunings suffered in each scenario. Central to our theorem is the assumption that SM-charged BSM states appear in the UV completion of neutral naturalness, which is the case in all known examples. Direct production at the 100 TeV collider then allows this scale to be probed at the ~10 TeV level. We find that proposed future colliders probe any such scenario of naturalness with tuning of 10% or better. This provides very strong model-independent motivation for both new lepton and hadron colliders, which in tandem act as discovery machines for general naturalness. We put our results in context by discussing other possibilities for naturalness, including "swarms" of top partners, inherently non-perturbative or exotic physics, or theories without SM-charged states in the UV completion. Realizing a concrete scenario which avoids our arguments while still lacking experimental signatures remains an open model-building challenge.

Explaining 750 GeV diphoton excess from top/bottom partner cascade decay in two-Higgs-doublet model extension

In this paper, we interpret the 750 GeV diphoton excess in the Zee-Babu extension of the two-Higgs-doublet model by introducing a top partner ($T$)/bottom partner ($B$). In the alignment limit, the 750 GeV resonance is identified as the heavy CP-even Higgs boson ($H$), which can be sizably produced via the QCD process $pp \to T\bar{T}$ or $pp \to B\bar{B}$ followed by the decay $T\to Ht$ or $B \to Hb$. The diphoton decay rate of $H$ is greatly enhanced by the charged singlet scalars predicted in the Zee-Babu extension and the total width of $H$ can be as large as 7 GeV. Under the current LHC constraints, we scan the parameter space and find that such an extension can account for the observed diphoton excess.

Beautiful mirrors for a pNGB Higgs

We consider one of the most significant deviations from the Standard Model: the forward-backward asymmetry of the b-quark measured at leptonic colliders. We investigate the possibility to solve this discrepancy by introducing new physics at the TeV scale. We focus on models where the Higgs is a pseudo Nambu-Goldstone boson of a new strongly coupled sector with a global SO(5) symmetry broken spontaneously to SO(4). Besides the usual top partners, we introduce bottom partners in the representations 16 and 4 of SO(5) and show that they can improve significantly the fit by correcting the Zbb couplings. We also estimate the corrections to the couplings at one-loop and obtain that the tree-level ones dominate and can give a reliable estimation. We find that the large shift required for Zb_Rb_R leads to light custodians associated to the b-quark, similar to the top partners, as well as a rich phenomenology involving neutral interactions in the bottom-sector.

Beyond Higgs couplings: probing the Higgs with angular observables at future e + e − colliders

We study angular observables in the $e^+e^-\to Z H\to \ell^+ \ell^-\,b\bar{b}$ channel at future circular $e^+ e^-$ colliders such as CEPC and FCC-ee. Taking into account the impact of realistic cut acceptance and detector effects, we forecast the precision of six angular asymmetries at CEPC (FCC-ee) with center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s} =$ 240 GeV and 5 (30) ${\rm ab}^{-1}$ integrated luminosity. We then determine the projected sensitivity to a range of operators relevant for the Higgs-strahlung process in the dimension-6 Higgs EFT. Our results show that angular observables provide complementary sensitivity to rate measurements when constraining various tensor structures arising from new physics. We further find that angular asymmetries provide a novel means of both probing BSM corrections to the $H Z \gamma$ coupling and constraining the "blind spot" in indirect limits on supersymmetric scalar top partners.

Bounding wide composite vector resonances at the LHC

In composite Higgs models (CHMs), electroweak precision data generically push colourless composite vector resonances to a regime where they dominantly decay into pairs of light top partners. This greatly attenuates their traces in canonical collider searches, tailored for narrow resonances promptly decaying into Standard Model final states. By reinterpreting the CMS same-sign dilepton (SS2$\ell$) analysis at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), originally designed to search for top partners with electric charge $5/3$, we demonstrate its significant coverage over this kinematical regime. We also show the reach of the 13 TeV run of the LHC, with various integrated luminosity options, for a possible upgrade of the SS2$\ell$ search. The top sector of CHMs is found to be more fine-tuned in the presence of colourless composite resonances in the few TeV range.

Vector-like top/bottom-quark partners and Higgs physics at the LHC.

Vector-like quarks (VLQ) that are partners of the heavy top and bottom quarks are predicted in many extensions of the standard model (SM). We explore the possibility that these states could explain not only the long-standing anomaly in the forward–backward asymmetry in b-quark production at LEP, A_mathrm{FB}^b , but also the more recent sim 2sigma deviation of the cross section for the associated Higgs production with top-quark pairs at the LHC, sigma (pprightarrow tbar{t} H). Introducing three illustrative models for VLQs with different representations under the SM gauge group, we show that the two anomalies can be resolved while satisfying all other theoretical and experimental constraints. In this case, the three different models predict VLQ states in the 1–2 TeV mass range that can be soon probed at the LHC. In a second step, we discuss the sensitivity on the VLQ masses and couplings that could be obtained by means of a percent level accuracy in the measurement of ratios of partial Higgs decay widths, in particular Gamma (H rightarrow gamma gamma )/Gamma (H rightarrow ZZ^*) and Gamma (H rightarrow bbar{b})/Gamma (H rightarrow WW^*). We show that top and bottom VL partners with masses up to sim 5 TeV and exotic VLQs with masses in the 10 TeV range can be probed at the high-luminosity LHC.

Strong, equitable and long-term social bonds in the dispersing sex in Assamese macaques

In multimale multifemale primate groups, the strength and stability of affiliative relationships have been shown to affect an individual's long-term fitness such as offspring survival and longevity. Studies investigating the fitness benefits of close social relationships and the underlying mechanisms have mainly focused on the philopatric sex. The strong relationships of philopatric chimpanzee males and baboon females share important characteristics with human friendships in that increased strength of affiliative relationships is associated with increased equitability in service exchanges and relationship stability. So far, it has remained unclear whether the strong relationships of dispersing males share these characteristics as well and can thus be labelled as social bonds. Here we provide results on the variation in affiliative relationship strength and its relation to equitability and relationship stability from two wild groups of male Assamese macaques, Macaca assamensis, at Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand collected over 2 and 7 years, respectively. Our analyses of almost 9000 h of focal animal data show that males formed differentiated affiliative relationships and that the strength of a relationship affected how likely males returned a grooming service within a single bout and how equally males were responsible for the maintenance of close proximity. Partner stability among the three strongest relationships was higher than among weaker relationships which suggests that top partners were not retained simply because of a lack of alternatives. Together, these results suggest that dispersing male Assamese macaques form differentiated affiliative relationships that increase in equitability and stability with increasing relationship strength. This is the first study showing long-term partner stability in males as the dispersing sex. Our results thus add to the growing body of literature indicating that nonhuman animals form close social relationships similar to human friendships.

Search for vectorlike charge2/3 Tquarks in proton-proton collisions at(s)=8 TeV

A search for fermionic top quark partners T of charge 2/3 is presented. The search is carried out in proton-proton collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns collected at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 8 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The T quarks are assumed to be produced strongly in pairs and can decay into tH, tZ, and bW. The search is performed in five exclusive channels: a single-lepton channel, a multilepton channel, two all-hadronic channels optimized either for the bW or the tH decay, and one channel in which the Higgs boson decays into two photons. The results are found to be compatible with the standard model expectations in all the investigated final states. A statistical combination of these results is performed and lower limits on the T quark mass are set. Depending on the branching fractions, lower mass limits between 720 and 920 GeV at 95% confidence level are found. These are among the strongest limits on vector-like T quarks obtained to date.

China’s Evolving Approach to Economic Diplomacy

Although theorists of international relations have long regarded trade interdependence as pacifying,1 recent scholarship has arrived at a more ambivalent conclusion. In Transition Scenarios: China and the United States in the Twenty-First Century, David Rapkin and William Thompson cautioned against the expectation that trade interdependence would necessarily restrain between two great powers. They pointed out that in past instances in which an established system-leading power faced from a rising challenger, competition and tensions have prevailed over the desire to prevent interruptions of commerce.2 The authors further noted that many of these tensions have stemmed from strategies employed by rising powers to catch up to the established powers. Rising powers have frequently adopted centralized strategies, including government intervention and protection, subsidies, and industrial policies, which countries favoring the status quo resent as unfair. Economic development has historically resulted in greater convergence in similar sectors and industries, fueling for markets. Convergence has also heightened for energy and other key resources.The deterioration in the U.S.-China relationship despite deep economic interdependence appears to conform to the pattern of interactions between rising and system-leading status quo powers outlined by Thompson and Rapkin. Tensions have risen sharply in recent years, despite the United States being China's top trade partner and China remaining the second-largest trade partner for the United States (after only Canada). Noting these trends, Thompson and Rapkin argue that economic interdependence will have mixed effects on the U.S.-China rivalry. While such interdependence may produce a pacifying process at the bilateral level, it will likely increase and tension at both the bilateral and systemic levels.3This article explores the role that changes to China's economic foreign policy may have played in exacerbating strategic with the United States. The inspiration for this research project drew from the observation that a general deterioration in relations between China and the United States starting around 2010 coincided with continued increases in bilateral trade and investment. In fact, some of China's economic policies, such as the creation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in 2013, appear to have heightened tensions. This development is striking when one considers the fact that economic relations have long been regarded as a stabilizing, constructive influence on the U.S.-China relationship.4To understand this paradox, this article traces official and academic treatment of three key Chinese terms related to the intersection of economics and foreign policy: economic diplomacy (jingji waijiao), strong trading power (maoyi qiangguo), and economic security (jingji anquan). Economic diplomacy concerns both the economic dimension of foreign policy and the strategic dimension of economic policy. China's effort to transform itself into a strong trading power capable of greater international economic leadership requires the implementation of tools and ideas associated with economic diplomacy. Finally, the increasing importance placed by senior leaders on the idea of economic security reflects, in part, Chinese anxieties about the political and strategic perils that threaten China's development into a strong trading power.Analysis of these ideas and their associated policies reveals a fundamental ambivalence on the part of Chinese authorities regarding the existing international economic order, an ambivalence that appears to be growing over time. Chinese thinkers and officials appreciate the opportunities offered by the global system of trade, but they have also long regarded this system as unfairly privileging Western countries and thus in need of reform. While initially designed to facilitate the country's integration into the existing economic order, China's approach to economic diplomacy evolved as its power grew and its needs diverged from those of its chief competitor, the United States. …

Optimal currency area and anchor currency in Southeast Asia

This study examines the feasibility of the OCA formation and the selection of optimal anchor currency in ASEAN. Following the generalised purchasing power parity (G-PPP) framework, modern cointegration tests are employed on bilateral exchange rates involving ASEAN-5 currencies against four currencies of ASEAN's top trading partners during 2003-2014. The findings reveal that ASEAN members are not ready to form an OCA, as only a few significant bivariate and inconclusive multivariate cointegrating relationships can be found. With the eventual goal of forming a currency union, ASEAN policy makers may need to initially pursue bilateral economic and monetary integration led by Malaysia before extending the effort to the whole region. Significant long-run multivariate linkages among ASEAN currencies reveal no dominant anchor currency within the region, possibly due to the indifferent levels of trades and investments between ASEAN and each major trading partner. Lastly, endogenously determined break dates coincide with the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC) and reveal that ASEAN members may be affected by and may respond to the crisis at different timings, suggesting that past studies regarding ASEAN OCA may suffer from break-date selection bias.

Factors affecting cloud computing adoption: perspectives of IT professionals

The purpose of this research is to study the factors affecting cloud computing adoption. This study used the technology-organisation-environment (TOE) framework as a baseline for the factors affecting cloud computing adoption. The specific factors in the TOE framework are relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, organisational readiness, top management support, competitive pressure, and business partner pressure. An online-based survey was employed to collect data from 106 IT managers, IT consultants, and IT professionals working in Saudi organisations. Using binary logistic regression analysis, the results revealed that top management is positively and significantly associated with the likelihood of cloud computing adoption. The findings offer organisations and cloud computing service providers with better understanding of factors affecting the adoption of cloud computing.

Application of the Nash Nonlinear Grey Bernoulli Model for Forecasting Foreign Exchange Rate of Taiwan’s Top Two Trading Partners

The precise prediction of foreign exchange rate is very important for international traders and investors. This study adopts nonlinear grey Bernoulli model (NGBM) and Nash NGBM (NNGBM) to predict the currency exchange rate of Taiwan’s two top trading partners, America and China. The simulation results show that Taiwan’s currency will appreciate against USD and CNY from the fourth quarter of 2015 to the second quarter of 2016. The conclusions can act as reference for international traders and investors.