Top Quark Research Articles

Top-quark rare decays with flavor violation* *This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (12075074), the Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province, China (A2020201002, A2022201022, A2022201017, A2023201040), the Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Education Department, China (QN2022173), the Post-graduate's Innovation Fund Project of Hebei University (HBU2024SS042), and the Youth Top-notch Talent Support Program of the Hebei

In the present study, we investigated the decays of the top quark: , , , and . They are extremely rare processes in the standard model (SM). As the extension of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), the SSM features new superfields such as the right-handed neutrinos and three Higgs singlets. We analyzed the effects of different sensitive parameters on the results and made reasonable theoretical predictions, thereby providing a useful reference for future experimental development. Considering the constraint set by the updated experimental data, the numerical results show that the branching ratios of the four processes, i.e., , can reach the same order of magnitude as their experimental upper limits. Among them, has the most evident effect on these processes and is the main parameter; , , , , , , and are also important parameters for the processes, and have effects on the numerical results.

Using Artificial Neural Networks to Search for the Production of the Higgs Boson Together with a Single Top Quark

Using Artificial Neural Networks to Search for the Production of the Higgs Boson Together with a Single Top Quark

Constraint for a light charged Higgs boson and its neutral partners from top quark pairs at the LHC

Constraint for a light charged Higgs boson and its neutral partners from top quark pairs at the LHC

The rise and fall of the Standard-Model Higgs: electroweak vacuum stability during kination

In this paper we investigate the vacuum stability of the non-minimally coupled Standard-Model Higgs during a phase of kinetic domination following the end of inflation. The non-minimal coupling to curvature stabilises the Higgs fluctuations during inflation while driving them towards the instability scale during kination, when they can classically overcome the potential barrier separating the false electroweak vacuum from the true one at super-Planckian field values. Avoiding the instability of the Standard-Model vacuum sets an upper bound on the inflationary scale that depends both on the strength of the non-minimal interaction and on the top quark Yukawa coupling. Classical vacuum stability is guaranteed if the gravitationally-produced energy density is smaller than the height of barrier in the effective potential. Interestingly enough, thanks to the explosive particle production in the tachyonic phase, the Higgs itself can be also appointed to the role of reheaton field responsible for the onset of the hot Big Bang era, setting an additional lower bound on the inflationary scale Hinf\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {\\mathcal{H}}_{\ extrm{inf}} $$\\end{document} ≳ 105.5 GeV. Overall, these constraints favour lower masses for the top quark, in agreement with the current measurements of the top quark pole mass. We perform our analysis semi-analytically in terms of the one-loop and three-loop running of the Standard-Model Higgs self-coupling and make use of lattice-based parametric formulas for studying the (re)heating phase derived in arXiv:2307.03774. For a specific choice of mt = 171.3 GeV we perform also an extensive numerical scanning of the parameter space via classical lattice simulations, identifying stable/unstable regions and supporting the previous analytical arguments. For this fiducial value, the heating of the Universe is achieved at temperatures in the range 10−2–109 GeV.

Rare top quark decays in the minimal R-symmetric supersymmetric standard model

The one-loop contributions to the flavor-changing neutral current decays of the top quark into a light quark and a gauge boson or Higgs boson, namely, [Formula: see text], with q being u or c, and V being [Formula: see text], g, or Z, are analyzed in this study within the framework of the minimal R-symmetric supersymmetric standard model. The charginos in this model have been separated into two sets, i.e. [Formula: see text]-chargino and [Formula: see text]-chargino. The numerical results reveal that gluino or [Formula: see text]-chargino predominantly dictate the predictions for BR ([Formula: see text]), while the impact of neutralino or [Formula: see text]-chargino contributions is insignificant. By incorporating the constraints imposed by the squark mixing parameters from [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], the theoretical predictions for BR([Formula: see text]) can be significantly augmented to approximately [Formula: see text]. On the other hand, the values of BR([Formula: see text]) are predicted to be at least four orders of magnitude below the current experimental limits.

Measurement of t-channel production of single top quarks and antiquarks in pp collisions at 13 TeV using the full ATLAS Run 2 data sample

The production of single top quarks and top antiquarks via the t-channel exchange of a virtual W boson is measured in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV at the LHC using 140 fb−1 of ATLAS data. The total cross-sections are determined to be σtq=137−8+8\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\sigma (tq)={137}_{-8}^{+8} $$\\end{document} pb and σt¯q=84−5+6\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\sigma \\left(\\overline{t}q\\right)={84}_{-5}^{+6} $$\\end{document} pb for top-quark and top-antiquark production, respectively. The combined cross-section is found to be σtq+t¯q=221−13+13\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\sigma \\left( tq+\\overline{t}q\\right)={221}_{-13}^{+13} $$\\end{document} pb and the cross-section ratio is Rt=σtq/σt¯q=1.636−0.034+0.036\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {R}_t=\\sigma (tq)/\\sigma \\left(\\overline{t}q\\right)={1.636}_{-0.034}^{+0.036} $$\\end{document}. The predictions at next-to-next-to-leading-order in quantum chromodynamics are in good agreement with these measurements. The predicted value of Rt using different sets of parton distribution functions is compared with the measured value, demonstrating the potential to further constrain the functions when using this result in global fits. The measured cross-sections are interpreted in an effective field theory approach, setting limits at the 95% confidence level on the strength of a four-quark operator and an operator coupling the third quark generation to the Higgs boson doublet: −0.37<CQq3,1/Λ2<0.06\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ -0.37<{C}_{Qq}^{3,1}/{\\Lambda}^2<0.06 $$\\end{document} and −0.87<CϕQ3/Λ2<1.42\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ -0.87<{C}_{\\phi Q}^3/{\\Lambda}^2<1.42 $$\\end{document}. The constraint |Vtb| > 0.95 at the 95% confidence level is derived from the measured value of σtq+t¯q\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\sigma \\left( tq+\\overline{t}q\\right) $$\\end{document}, assuming that the Wtb interaction is a left-handed weak coupling and that |Vtb| ≫ |Vtd|, |Vts|. In a more general approach, pairs of CKM matrix elements involving top quarks are simultaneously constrained, leading to confidence contours in the corresponding two-dimensional parameter spaces.

Accessing CKM suppressed top decays at the LHC

We propose an extension of the existing experimental strategy for measuring branching fractions of top quark decays, targeting specifically t\to j_q Wt→jqW, where j_qjq is a light quark jet. The improved strategy uses orthogonal bb- and qq-taggers, and adds a new observable, the number of light-quark-tagged jets, to the already commonly used observable, the fraction of bb-tagged jets in an event. Careful inclusion of the additional complementary observable significantly increases the expected statistical power of the analysis, with the possibility of excluding |V_{tb}|=1|Vtb|=1 at 95\%95% C.L. at the HL-LHC, and accessing directly the standard model value of |V_{td}|^2+|V_{ts}|^2|Vtd|2+|Vts|2.

Search for new particles in final states with a boosted top quark and missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at s\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\sqrt{s} $$\\end{document} = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for events with one top quark and missing transverse momentum in the final state is presented. The fully hadronic decay of the top quark is explored by selecting events with a reconstructed boosted top-quark topology produced in association with large missing transverse momentum. The analysis uses 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of s\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\sqrt{s} $$\\end{document} = 13 TeV recorded during 2015-2018 by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The results are interpreted in the context of simplified models for Dark Matter particle production and the single production of a vector-like T quark. Without significant excess relative to the Standard Model expectations, 95% confidence-level upper limits on the corresponding cross-sections are obtained. The production of Dark Matter particles in association with a single top quark is excluded for masses of a scalar (vector) mediator up to 4.3 (2.3) TeV, assuming mχ = 1 GeV and the model couplings λq = 0.6 and λχ = 0.4 (a = 0.5 and gχ = 1). The production of a single vector-like T quark is excluded for masses below 1.8 TeV assuming a coupling to the top quark κT = 0.5 and a branching ratio for T → Zt of 25%.

Unveiling Novel Dark Matter Particles: Insights from Fractal Quantum Gravity Theory

As a promising quantum gravity theory, the newly developed fractal quantum gravity theory (FQG) has introduced the smallest constant of the product of space, time and energy of STQAs (Space-Time Quantum of Action).The product of space, time and energy of every particle is integer times of this smallest constant-STQA. Based on the FQG equation, we have deduced that every physical parameter of existing or possibly existing particle takes some special or limited extrem a values. With the calculation of the minimum value of electric charge that a particle can carry, its magnetic moment, mass, inherent speed, the space size and spin angular momentum, we have discovered a very intriguing brand-new type of particles. Its electric charge is about 1/10 of electrons’, and the magnetic moment is 1.18×10-9 of electrons’. Its mass is 324 times of the mass of the known existing heaviest particle, the top quark. Its inherent speed is about 10-3 of electrons’, space size is about 10-10 of electrons’and its spin is 1.38 times of the spin of electrons. According to the popular thinking about the characteristics of dark matter that are electromagnetically neutral, heavy, slow-moving particles, we believe that this newly discovered particle should be the weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), a most promising type of the dark matter particles (DMPs). This is the first time that the specific physical parameters of DMPs have been calculated. These predictions not only provide much insight into the understanding of dark matter, it also makes it possible to explore the experimental verification, possibly using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the future.

Measurement of t-channel single-top-quark production in pp collisions at [formula omitted] TeV with the ATLAS detector

The observation of the electroweak production of single-top-quarks is made using 255 pb−1 of proton-proton collision data recorded at s=5.02 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. An event selection is used to identify single-top-quark candidates arising from t-channel production with the top quark decaying semi-leptonically. Events passing the selection are then used to measure the inclusive cross-section for the combined production of single-top-quarks and antiquarks, σ(tq+t¯q), and the ratio Rt between these two. They are measured to be σ(tq+t¯q)=27.1−4.1+4.4(stat.)−3.7+4.4(syst.) pb and Rt=2.73−0.82+1.43(stat.)−0.29+1.01(syst.). The individual single-top-quark (tq) and single-top-antiquark (t¯q) production cross-sections are measured to be σ(tq)=19.8−3.1+3.9(stat.)−2.2+2.9(syst.) pb and σ(t¯q)=7.3−2.1+3.2(stat.)−1.5+2.8(syst.) pb. All measurements are in good agreement with the Standard Model predictions.

Probing the CP structure of the top quark Yukawa at the future muon collider

We study the top-Higgs coupling with a CP violating phase ξ at a future multi-TeV muon collider. We focus on processes that are directly sensitive to the top quark Yukawa coupling: tt¯h\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ t\\overline{t}h $$\\end{document}, tbhμν, and tt¯hνν¯\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ t\\overline{t} h\ u \\overline{\ u} $$\\end{document} with h→bb¯\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ h\ o b\\overline{b} $$\\end{document} and semileptonic top decays. At different energies, different processes dominate the cross section, providing complementary information. At and above an energy of O10\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\mathcal{O}(10) $$\\end{document} TeV, vector boson fusion processes dominate. As we show, in the Standard Model there is destructive interference in the vector boson fusion processes tt¯hνν¯\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ t\\overline{t} h\ u \\overline{\ u} $$\\end{document} and tbhμν between the top quark Yukawa and Higgs-gauge boson couplings. A CP-violating phase changes this interference, and the cross section measurement is very sensitive to the size of the CP-violating angle. Although we find that the cross sections are measured to O50%\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\mathcal{O}\\left(50\\%\\right) $$\\end{document} statistical uncertainty at 1σ, a 10 and 30 TeV muon collider can bound the CP-violating angle |ξ| ≲ 9.0° and |ξ| ≲ 5.4°, respectively. However, cross section measurements are insensitive to the sign of the CP-violating angle. To determine that the coupling is truly CP violating, observables sensitive to CP-violation must be measured. We find in the tt¯h\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ t\\overline{t}h $$\\end{document} process the azimuthal angle between the t+t¯\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ t+\\overline{t} $$\\end{document} plane and the initial state muon+Higgs plane shows good discrimination for ξ = ±0.1π. For the tbhμν and tt¯hνν¯\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ t\\overline{t} h\ u \\overline{\ u} $$\\end{document} processes, the operator proportional to p→μ×p→h\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\left({\\overrightarrow{p}}_{\\mu}\ imes {\\overrightarrow{p}}_h\\right) $$\\end{document} · p→t\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {\\overrightarrow{p}}_t $$\\end{document} is sensitive to the sign of CP phase ξ. From these observables, we construct asymmetry parameters that show good distinction between different values and signs of the CP violating angle.

Naturalness-motivated composite Higgs model for generating the top Yukawa coupling

The large top Yukawa coupling results in the top quark contributing significantly to the quantum correction of the Higgs mass term. Traditionally, this effect is canceled by the presence of top partners in symmetry-based models. However, the absence of light top partners poses a challenge to the naturalness of these models. In this paper, we study a model based on composite Higgs with the top Yukawa coupling originating from dimension-six four-fermion operators. The low cutoff scale of the top quark loop required by the naturalness principle can be realized with a light gauge boson Eμ that connects the hyperfermions and top quarks. A scalarless dynamical model with weakly coupled extended SU(4)EC gauge group is presented. The model features an Eμ boson and a ZE′ boson both at the sub-TeV scale, which lead to a rich phenomenology, especially in the top quark physics. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Impact of new experimental data on the C2HDM: the strong interdependence between LHC Higgs data and the electron EDM

The complex two-Higgs doublet model (C2HDM) is one of the simplest extensions of the Standard Model with a source of CP-violation in the scalar sector. It has a \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$${\\mathbb{Z}}_{2}$$\\end{document} symmetry, softly broken by a complex coefficient. There are four ways to implement this symmetry in the fermion sector, leading to models known as Type-I, Type-II, Lepton-Specific and Flipped. In the latter three models, there is a priori the surprising possibility that the 125 GeV Higgs boson couples mostly as a scalar to top quarks, while it couples mostly as a pseudoscalar to bottom quarks. This “maximal” scenario was still possible with the data available in 2017. Since then, there have been more data on the 125 GeV Higgs boson, direct searches for CP-violation in angular correlations of τ-leptons produced in Higgs boson decays, new results on the electron electric dipole moment, new constraints from LHC searches for additional Higgs bosons and new results on b → sγ transitions. Highlighting the crucial importance of the physics results of LHC’s Run 2, we combine all these experiments and show that the “maximal” scenario is now excluded in all models. Still, one can have a pseudoscalar component in \\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$h\ au \\overline{\ au }$$\\end{document} couplings in the Lepton-Specific case as large as 87% of the scalar component for all mass orderings of the neutral scalar bosons.

Precise tests of the axion coupling to tops

We present an in-depth analysis of axions and axion-like particles in top-pair production at the LHC. Our main goal is to probe the axion coupling to top quarks at high energies. To this end, we calculate the top-antitop cross section and differential distributions including ALP effects up to one-loop level. By comparing these predictions with LHC precision measurements, we constrain the top coupling of axion-like particles with masses below the top-antitop threshold. Our results apply to all UV completions of the ALP effective theory with dominant couplings to top quarks, in particular to DFSZ-like axion models.

Inclusive and differential cross section measurements of tt¯bb¯\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \ extrm{t}\\overline{\ extrm{t}}\ extrm{b}\\overline{\ extrm{b}} $$\\end{document} production in the lepton+jets channel at s\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\sqrt{s} $$\\end{document} = 13 TeV

Measurements of inclusive and normalized differential cross sections of the associated production of top quark-antiquark and bottom quark-antiquark pairs, tt¯bb¯\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \ extrm{t}\\overline{\ extrm{t}}\ extrm{b}\\overline{\ extrm{b}} $$\\end{document}, are presented. The results are based on data from proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS detector at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1. The cross sections are measured in the lepton+jets decay channel of the top quark pair, using events containing exactly one isolated electron or muon and at least five jets. Measurements are made in four fiducial phase space regions, targeting different aspects of the tt¯bb¯\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \ extrm{t}\\overline{\ extrm{t}}\ extrm{b}\\overline{\ extrm{b}} $$\\end{document} process. Distributions are unfolded to the particle level through maximum likelihood fits, and compared with predictions from several event generators. The inclusive cross section measurements of this process in the fiducial phase space regions are the most precise to date. In most cases, the measured inclusive cross sections exceed the predictions with the chosen generator settings. The only exception is when using a particular choice of dynamic renormalization scale, μR=12∏i=t,t¯,b,b¯mT,i1/4\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {\\mu}_{\ extrm{R}}=\\frac{1}{2}{\\prod}_{i=\ extrm{t},\\overline{\ extrm{t}},\ extrm{b},\\overline{\ extrm{b}}}{m}_{\ extrm{T},i}^{1/4} $$\\end{document}, where mT,i2=mi2+pT,i2\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {m}_{\ extrm{T},i}^2={m}_i^2+{p}_{\ extrm{T},i}^2 $$\\end{document} are the transverse masses of top and bottom quarks. The differential cross sections show varying degrees of compatibility with the theoretical predictions, and none of the tested generators with the chosen settings simultaneously describe all the measured distributions.

Interpretable deep learning models for the inference and classification of LHC data

The Shower Deconstruction methodology is pivotal in distinguishing signal and background jets, leveraging the detailed information from perturbative parton showers. Rooted in the Neyman-Pearson lemma, this method is theoretically designed to differentiate between signal and background processes optimally in high-energy physics experiments. A key challenge, however, arises from the combinatorial growth associated with increasing jet constituents, which hampers its computational feasibility. We address this by demonstrating that the likelihood derived from comparing the most probable signal and background shower histories is equally effective for discrimination as the conventional approach of summing over all potential histories in top quark versus Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) scenarios. We propose a novel approach by conceptualising the identification of the most probable shower history as a Markov Decision Process (MDP). Utilising a sophisticated modular point-transformer architecture, our method efficiently learns the optimal policy for this task. The developed neural agent excels in constructing the most likely shower history and demonstrates robust generalisation capabilities on unencountered test data. Remarkably, our approach mitigates the complexity inherent in the inference process, achieving a linear scaling relationship with the number of jet constituents. This offers a computationally viable and theoretically sound method for signal-background differentiation, paving the way for more effective data analysis in particle physics.

Two-loop amplitudes for tt¯H\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ t\\overline{t}H $$\\end{document} production: the quark-initiated Nf-part

We present numerical results for the two-loop virtual amplitude entering the NNLO corrections to Higgs boson production in association with a top quark pair at the LHC, focusing, as a proof of concept of our method, on the part of the quark-initiated channel containing loops of massless or massive quarks. Results for the UV renormalised and IR subtracted two-loop amplitude for each colour structure are given at selected phase-space points and visualised in terms of surfaces as a function of two-dimensional slices of the full phase space.

Muon beamtest results of high-density glass scintillator tiles

To achieve the physics goal of precisely measure the Higgs, Z, W bosons and the top quark, future electron-positron colliders require that their detector system has excellent jet energy resolution. One feasible technical option is the high granular calorimetery based on the particle flow algorithm (PFA). A new high-granularity hadronic calorimeter with glass scintillator tiles (GSHCAL) has been proposed, which focus on the significant improvement of hadronic energy resolution with a notable increase of the energy sampling fraction by using high-density glass scintillator tiles. The minimum ionizing particle (MIP) response of a glass scintillator tile is crucial to the hadronic calorimeter, so a dedicated beamtest setup was developed for testing the first batch of large-size glass scintillators. The maximum MIP response of the first batch of glass scintillator tiles can reach up to 107 p.e./MIP, which essentially meets the design requirements of the CEPC GSHCAL. An optical simulation model of a single glass scintillator tile has been established, and the simulation results are consistent with the beamtest results.

Reconstruction of unstable heavy particles using deep symmetry-preserving attention networks

Reconstructing unstable heavy particles requires sophisticated techniques to sift through the large number of possible permutations for assignment of detector objects to the underlying partons. An approach based on a generalized attention mechanism, symmetry preserving attention networks (SPA-NET), has been previously applied to top quark pair decays at the Large Hadron Collider which produce only hadronic jets. Here we extend the SPA-NET architecture to consider multiple input object types, such as leptons, as well as global event features, such as the missing transverse momentum. In addition, we provide regression and classification outputs to supplement the parton assignment. We explore the performance of the extended capability of SPA-NET in the context of semi-leptonic decays of top quark pairs as well as top quark pairs produced in association with a Higgs boson. We find significant improvements in the power of three representative studies: a search for tt¯H\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$t\\bar{t}H$$\\end{document}, a measurement of the top quark mass, and a search for a heavy Z′\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$${Z}^{{\\prime} }$$\\end{document} decaying to top quark pairs. We present ablation studies to provide insight on what the network has learned in each case.

A mechanism relating the fermionic mass hierarchy to the flavor mixing

Considering the hierarchical structure of fermionic masses and the fermionic flavor mixing puzzles in the Standard Model, we propose to relate them by the see-saw mechanism, i.e. only the third generation of quarks and charged leptons achieves the masses at the tree level, the first two generations achieve masses through the mixings with the third generation, and the neutrinos achieve tiny Majorana masses by the so-called Type-I see-saw mechanism. This new picture at the fermion sector can explain simultaneously the flavor mixing puzzle and mass hierarchy puzzle in the SM. In addition, a flavor-dependent model (FDM) is proposed to realize the new mechanism, and observing the top quark rare decay processes t→ch, t→uh and the lepton flavor violation processes μ→3e,τ→3e,μ→3μ is effective to test the proposed FDM.