118013034
Searching for $t \to c h$ with Multi-Leptons
The results of a multi-lepton search conducted by the CMS collaboration with 5 fb$^{-1}$ of data collected from 7 TeV $pp$ collisions are used to place the first bound on the rare flavor-changing decay of the top quark to a Higgs boson and charm quark. Combining results from a number of exclusive three- and four-lepton search channels yields an estimated upper limit of ${\rm Br}(t \to ch) < 2.7%$ for a Higgs boson mass of 125 GeV. The sensitivity of future dedicated searches for $t \to c h$ could be improved by adding exclusive same sign di-lepton channels, as well as by sub-dividing channels based on $b$-quark tagging and partial kinematic top quark and Higgs boson tagging. This bound may be interpreted more widely within a range of new physics processes that yield final states with a $W$-boson in association with a Higgs boson. For such processes with kinematics that are similar to top--anti-top production and decay, the estimated limit on cross section times branching ratio corresponds to roughly $\sigma \cdot {\rm Br}(pp \to WhX) < 9$ pb.
118380500
Simplified Models for LHC New Physics Searches
This document proposes a collection of simplified models relevant to the design of new-physics searches at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the characterization of their results. Both ATLAS and CMS have already presented some results in terms of simplified models, and we encourage them to continue and expand this effort, which supplements both signature-based results and benchmark model interpretations. A simplified model is defined by an effective Lagrangian describing the interactions of a small number of new particles. Simplified models can equally well be described by a small number of masses and cross-sections. These parameters are directly related to collider physics observables, making simplified models a particularly effective framework for evaluating searches and a useful starting point for characterizing positive signals of new physics. This document serves as an official summary of the results from the 'Topologies for Early LHC Searches' workshop, held at SLAC in September of 2010, the purpose of which was to develop a set of representative models that can be used to cover all relevant phase space in experimental searches. Particular emphasis is placed on searches relevant for the first similar to 50-500 pb(-1) of data and those motivated by supersymmetric models. This note largely summarizes material posted at http://lhcnewphysics.org/, which includes simplified model definitions, Monte Carlo material, and supporting contacts within the theory community. We also comment on future developments that may be useful as more data is gathered and analyzed by the experiments.
126165393
Backgrounds To Higgs Boson Searches from $W \gamma^* -> l \nu l (l)$ Asymmetric Internal Conversion
119239023
Multi-lepton signals of the Higgs boson
A bstractThe possibility of searching for the Higgs boson in channels with multiple non-resonant leptons is evaluated in light of recent advances in multi-lepton search techniques at the LHC. The total multi-lepton Higgs signal exceeds the four lepton gold-plated resonant mode, but is spread over many channels with same-sign di-lepton, tri-lepton, and four lepton final states. While any individual channel alone is not significant, the exclusive combination across multiple channels is shown to provide a sensitivity nearly comparable to other discovery level searches for the Higgs boson. We estimate that with 5 fb−1 of data, existing non-optimized multi-lepton searches at the LHC could exclude the Higgs boson to 95 % CL at a few times the predicted Standard Model cross section in the mass range 120 − 150 GeV. Refinements focused specifically on the Higgs boson signal are suggested that would further increase sensitivity. We illustrate the possibility of discerning patterns in production and decay modes using correlations across multiple channels by comparing sensitivities to Standard Model, Fermi-phobic, and b-phobic Higgs bosons.
118628340
Recovering Particle Masses from Missing Energy Signatures with Displaced Tracks
If physics beyond the Standard Model contains metastable new particle states, its signatures may manifest themselves at the LHC through the presence of displaced vertices or displaced tracks. Such signatures are common in low-scale supersymmetry breaking scenarios as well as a host of other well-studied new physics models. Here we analyze the kinematics of dual cascade decays with missing energy resulting from a stable non-interacting new particle state at the bottom of the decay chain. We find that if the final step of the decay chain involves a metastable particle, the resulting presence of displaced tracks provides strong constraints with which to solve for the unknown kinematic quantities lost through missing energy. In addition we develop techniques with which to recover all kinematic unknowns, even in situations where the unknown quantities outnumber the constraints. These techniques can all be performed using a very small number of events and can thus be applied to very early discovery level searches at the LHC.
53975683
Geolocating the Higgs Boson Candidate at the LHC
The latest results from the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) unequivocally confirm the existence of a resonance, X, with mass near 125 GeV which could be the Higgs boson of the Standard Model. Measuring the properties (quantum numbers and couplings) of this resonance is of paramount importance. Initial analyses by the LHC collaborations disfavor specific alternative benchmark hypotheses, e.g. pure pseudoscalars or gravitons. However, this is just the first step in a long-term program of detailed measurements. We consider the most general set of operators in the decay channels X → ZZ,WW,Zγ, γγ and derive the constraint implied by the measured rate. This allows us to provide a useful parametrization of the orthogonal independent Higgs coupling degrees of freedom as coordinates on a suitably defined sphere.
119252321
Rigorous approach to gravitational lensing
We revisit a weak gravitational lensing problem by constructing a setup which describes the actual system as accurately as possible and solving the null geodesic equations. Details are given for the case of a universe driven only by a cosmological constant, {lambda}, which confirm the conventional results: The conventional lensing analysis is correct as it is, without any need for correction of O({lambda}). We also treat the cases of the lensing in generic Friedmann-Robertson-Walker backgrounds.
18060494
Using kinematic boundary lines for particle mass measurements and disambiguation in SUSY-like events with missing energy
We revisit the method of kinematical endpoints for particle mass determination, applied to the popular SUSY decay chain ? 02 ? ? 01. We analyze the uniqueness of the solutions for the mass spectrum in terms of the measured endpoints in the observable invariant mass distributions. We provide simple analytical inversion formulas for the masses in terms of the measured endpoints. We show that in a sizable portion of the SUSY mass parameter space the solutions always suffer from a two-fold ambiguity, due to the fact that the original relations between the masses and the endpoints are piecewise-defined functions. The ambiguity persists even in the ideal case of a perfect detector and infinite statistics. We delineate the corresponding dangerous regions of parameter space and identify the sets of ``twin'' mass spectra. In order to resolve the ambiguity, we propose a generalization of the endpoint method, from single-variable distributions to two-variable distributions. In particular, we study analytically the boundaries of the {mj?(lo),mj?(hi)} and {m??,mj??} distributions and prove that their shapes are in principle sufficient to resolve the ambiguity in the mass determination. We identify several additional independent measurements which can be obtained from the boundary lines of these bivariate distributions. The purely kinematical nature of our method makes it generally applicable to any model that exhibits a SUSY-like cascade decay.
119191013
The role of interference in unraveling the ZZ-couplings of the newly discovered boson at the LHC
We present a general procedure for measuring the tensor structure of the coupling of the scalar Higgs-like boson recently discovered at the LHC to two Z bosons, including the effects of interference among different operators. To motivate our concern with this interference, we explore the parameter space of the couplings in the effective theory describing these interactions and illustrate the effects of interference on the differential dilepton mass distributions. Kinematic discriminants for performing coupling measurements that utilize the effects of interference are developed and described. We present projections for the sensitivity of coupling measurements that use these discriminants in future LHC operation in a variety of physics scenarios.
26327559
Quantum aspects of massive gravity
We consider the effect of quantum interactions on Pauli–Fierz massive gravity. With generic graviton cubic interactions, we observe that the 1-loop counterterms do not conform to the tree level structure of Pauli–Fierz action, resulting in the reappearance of the sixth mode ghost. Then to explore the quantum effects to the full extent, we calculate the resummed graviton propagator with an arbitrary interaction and analyze its complete structure, from which a minimal condition for the absence of the ghost is obtained.