Probing new physics from top quark FCNC processes at linear colliders: a mini review

We briefly review the studies on the top quark FCNC processes at a next-generation linear collider. Such processes, including various FCNC top quark rare decays and top-charm associated productions, are extremely suppressed in the standard model (SM) but could be significantly enhanced in some extensions. We compared the predictions from different typical new physics models: the SM, the minimal supersymmetric model (MSSM), the general two-higgs-doublet model (2HDM), and the topcolor-assisted technicolor (TC2) model. Our conclusion is: (1) While all the new physics models can enhance the rates by several orders relative to the SM predictions, the TC2 model predicts much larger rates than other models; (2) The optimal channel for probing the top quark FCNC is the top-charm associated production in γγ collision, which occurs at a much higher rate than e⁺e⁻ or e⁻γ collision and can reach the detectable level for a large part of the parameter space.     

Top quark production from black holes at the CERN LHC

LHC is expected to be a top quark factory. If the fundamental Planck scale is near a TeV, then we also expect the top quarks to be produced from black holes via Hawking radiation. In this Letter we calculate the cross sections for top quark production from black holes at the LHC and compare it with the direct top quark cross section via parton fusion processes at next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO). We find that the top quark production from black holes can be larger or smaller than the pQCD predictions at NNLO depending upon the Planck mass and black hole mass. Hence the observation of very high rates for massive particle production (top quarks, Higgs or supersymmetry) at the LHC may be an useful signature for black hole production.     

Fermionic contributions to the three-loop static potential

We consider the three-loop corrections to the static potential which are induced by a closed fermion loop. For the reduction of the occurring integrals a combination of the Gröbner and Laporta algorithm has been used and the evaluation of the master integrals has been performed with the help of the Mellin–Barnes technique. The fermionic three-loop corrections amount to 2% of the tree-level result for top quarks, 8% for bottom quarks and 27% for the charm quark system.     

Single Production of Vector-Like Top Quark in the Littlest Higgs Model at TeV Energy e-γ Colliders

The existence of a new coloured vector-like heavy fermion T is a crucial prediction in little Higgs models, which play a key role in breaking the electroweak symmetry. The littlest Higgs model is the most economical one among various little Higgs models. In the context of the littlest Higgs model, we study single production of the new heavy vector-like quark and discuss the possibility of detecting this new particle in the future LC experiment. It is found thai, the production cross section is in the range of 1.7× 10^-3 - 30 fb at TeV energy electron-photon collider with √s- 3 TeV and a yearly integrated luminosity of ,￡ = 500 fb^-1.     

Effect of top quark spin on the unparticle couplings in $\gamma\gamma \to t\bar{t}$

We investigate the potential of γ γ collisions to probe scalar unparticle couplings via top–antitop quark pair production. We find 95% confidence level limits on the unparticle couplings with an integrated luminosity of 500 fb⁻¹ and an energy of  TeV. We investigate the effect of the top quark spin polarization on the unparticle couplings. It is shown that spin polarization of the top quark leads to a significant improvement in the sensitivity limits.     

Charged Top-Pion Production Associated with a Gluon Jet at the LHC

The charged top-pions have been predicted by the topcolour-assisted technicolour （TC2） model and the observation of the charged top-pions can be regarded as the robust evidence of the model. We study the charged top-pion and gluon associated production at the LHC, i.e., pp → gIIe^＋. The cross section of this process can reach tens of pb, even hundreds ofpb, and there will be enough gIIt^＋ events produced at the LHC. Because the gIIt^＋ production is a flavour-changing （FC） process, the SM background can be greatly depressed. Furthermore, there exists an FC decay mode cb for the charged top-pions, and such decay mode can provide us with the typical signals to detect the charged top-pions. Therefore, it is hopeful to find the charged top-pions via the gIIe^＋ production at the LHC.     

Probing the TC2 model via Production of Top Quark Pairs at Tevatron and LHC

The topcolour-assisted technicolour （TC2） model is an interesting dynamical theory among the various new physics models. We cMculate the total tt cross section and the relative correction of the TC2 model to the cross section at Tevatron Run Ⅱ and LHC. At the Tevatron Run Ⅱ, the cross section predicted by the standard model （SM） is consistent with the experimental data, and in most parameter spaces of the TC2 model, the relative correction of the TC2 model to the cross section is too small to be detectable. We find that the tt cross section is more sensitive to the parameters of the TC2 model at the LHC and the relative correction of the TC2 model to the cross section is over 10% in general. Such a value of the relative correction should be large enough to be detectable at the LHC. Therefore, it is promising to find the clue of the TC2 model via the tt production at the LHC.     

Completely automated computation of the heavy-fermion corrections to the three-loop matching coefficient of the vector current

We evaluate the corrections to the matching coefficient of the vector current between Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) and Non-Relativistic QCD (NRQCD) to three-loop order containing a closed heavy-fermion loop. The result constitutes a building block both for the bottom- and top-quark system at threshold. Strong emphasis is put on our completely automated approach of the calculation including the generation of the Feynman diagrams, the identification of the topologies, the reduction to master integrals and the automated numerical computation of the latter.     

Ultrasoft contribution to heavy-quark pair production near threshold

We compute the third-order correction to the heavy-quark current correlation function due to the emission and absorption of an ultrasoft gluon. Our result supplies a missing contribution to top-quark pair production near threshold and the determination of the bottom quark mass from QCD sum rules.     

Charm quark energy loss in QCD matter

The energy loss of heavy quarks in a quark-gluon plasma of finite size is studied within the light-cone path integral approach. A simple analytical formulation of the radiative energy loss of heavy quarks is derived. This provides a convenient way to quantitatively estimate the quark energy loss. Our results show that if the energy of a heavy quark is much larger than its mass, the radiative energy loss approaches the radiative energy loss of light quarks.     

Measurement of helicity parameters in top quark decay

It is important to be able to quantitatively assay future measurements of competing observables consistent with the coupling predictions for decay, so plots of the values of these helicity parameters are given in terms of a “ + Additional Lorentz Structure”. Three phase-type ambiguities are shown to exist, but measurement of the sign of the large interference between the W longitudinal/transverse amplitudes will resolve two of them. The large effects in both and amplitudes from some couplings demonstrate that it is less model dependent to measure helicity parameters, instead of setting limits on some arbitrary subset of coupling constants. Received: 12 November 1998 / Published online: 27 April 1999     

Measurement of the top quark p(T) distribution

We have measured the p(T) distribution of top quarks that are pair produced in pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.8 TeV using a sample of tt decays in which we observe a single high- p(T) charged lepton, a neutrino, and four or more jets. We use a likelihood technique that corrects for the experimental bias introduced due to event reconstruction and detector resolution effects. The observed distribution is consistent with the standard model prediction. We use these data to place limits on the production of high- p(T) top quarks suggested in some models of anomalous top quark pair production.     

Probing the top quark flavor-changing couplings at CEPC

We propose to study the flavor properties of the top quark at the future Circular Electron Positron Collider(CEPC) in China.We systematically consider the full set of 56 real parameters that characterize the flavor-changing neutral interactions of the top quark,which can be tested at CEPC in the single top production channel.Compared with the current bounds from the LEP2 data and the projected limits at the high-luminosity LHC,we find that CEPC could improve the limits of the four-fermion flavor-changing coefficients by one to two orders of magnitude,and would also provide similar sensitivity for the two-fermion flavor-changing coefficients.Overall,CEPC could explore a large fraction of currently allowed parameter space that will not be covered by the LHC upgrade.We show that the c-jet tagging capacity at CEPC could further improve its sensitivity to top-charm flavor-changing couplings.If a signal is observed,the kinematic distribution as well as the c-jet tagging could be exploited to pinpoint the various flavor-changing couplings,providing valuable information about the flavor properties of the top quark.     

Top-quark pair production near threshold at LHC

The next-to-leading order analysis for the cross section for hadroproduction of top-quark pairs close to threshold is presented. Within the framework of non-relativistic QCD a significant enhancement compared to fixed-order perturbation theory is observed which originates from the characteristic remnant of the 1S peak below production threshold of top-quark pairs. The analysis includes all color-singlet and color-octet configurations of top-quark pairs in S-wave states and, for the dominant configurations, it employs all-order soft-gluon resummation for the hard parton cross section. Numerical results for the Large Hadron Collider at TeV and TeV and also for the Tevatron are presented. The possibility of a top-quark mass measurement from the invariant-mass distribution of top-quark pairs is discussed.     

Measurement of the helicity of W bosons in top quark decays

We use the transverse momentum spectrum of leptons in the decay chain t-->bW with W-->lnu to measure the helicity of the W bosons in the top quark rest frame. Our measurement uses a t&tmacr; sample isolated in 106+/-4 pb(-1) of data collected in p&pmacr; collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.8 TeV with the CDF detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. Assuming a standard V-A weak decay, we find that the fraction of W's with zero helicity in the top rest frame is F0 = 0.91+/-0. 37(stat)+/-0.13(syst), consistent with the standard model prediction of F0 = 0.70 for a top mass of 175 GeV/c(2).     

Experimental discrimination between charge 2e/3 top quark and charge 4e/3 exotic quark production scenarios

We present the first experimental discrimination between the 2e/3 and 4e/3 top quark electric charge scenarios, using top quark pairs (tt) produced in pp collisions at (square root) s = 1.96 TeV by the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. We use 370 pb;{-1} of data collected by the D0 experiment and select events with at least one high transverse momentum electron or muon, high transverse energy imbalance, and four or more jets. We discriminate between b- and b-quark jets by using the charge and momenta of tracks within the jet cones. The data are consistent with the expected electric charge, |q|=2e/3. We exclude, at the 92% C.L., that the sample is solely due to the production of exotic quark pairs QQ with |q|=4e/3. We place an upper limit on the fraction of QQ pairs rho<0.80 at the 90% C.L.