83 research outputs found
Higgs characterisation via vector-boson fusion and associated production: NLO and parton-shower effects
No full textVector-boson fusion and associated production at the LHC can provide key information on the strength and structure of the Higgs couplings to the Standard Model particles. Using an effective field theory approach, we study the effects of next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD corrections matched to parton shower on selected observables for various spin-0 hypotheses. We find that inclusion of NLO corrections is needed to reduce the theoretical uncertainties on total rates as well as to reliably predict the shapes of the distributions. Our results are obtained in a fully automatic way via FeynRules and MadGraph5_aMC@NLO
Signals of a superlight gravitino at the LHC
No full textVery light gravitinos could be produced at a sizeable rate at colliders and have been searched for in the mono-photon or mono-jet plus missing momentum signature. Strategies for enhancing the signal over background and interpretations of the experimental results are typically obtained within an effective field theory approach where all SUSY particles except the gravitino are heavy and are not produced resonantly. We extend this approach to a simplified model that includes squarks and gluinos in the TeV range. In such a case, the jet(s)-plus-missing-momentum signature can be generated through three different concurring mechanisms: gravitino-pair production with an extra jet, associated gravitino production with a squark or a gluino, or squark/gluino pair production with their subsequent decay to a gravitino and a jet. By using a matrix-element parton-shower merging procedure, we take into account all the relevant production processes consistently, explore the SUSY parameter space with the LHC Run-I data set, and give prospects for the Run II. We also consider the reach of other signatures involving electroweak particles, e.g., the mono-photon, -Z, or -W plus missing momentum. The current mono-jet and mono-photon LHC analyses are interpreted to set a lower bound on the gravitino mass. We show how the limit of m 3/2 > 1.7 × 10−13 GeV obtained in the effective field theory hypothesis is modified when the squarks and/or the gluino are in the TeV range
tWH associated production at the LHC
No full textWe study Higgs boson production in association with a top quark and a W boson at the LHC. At NLO in QCD, tWH interferes with tt¯ H and a procedure to meaningfully separate the two processes needs to be employed. In order to define tWH production for both total rates and differential distributions, we consider the diagram removal and diagram subtraction techniques that have been previously proposed for treating intermediate resonances at NLO, in particular in the context of tW production. These techniques feature approximations that need to be carefully taken into account when theoretical predictions are compared to experimental measurements. To this aim, we first critically revisit the tW process, for which an extensive literature exists and where an analogous interference with tt¯ production takes place. We then provide robust results for total and differential cross sections for tW and tWH at 13 TeV, also matching short-distance events to a parton shower. We formulate a reliable prescription to estimate the theoretical uncertainties, including those associated to the very definition of the process at NLO. Finally, we study the sensitivity to a non-Standard-Model relative phase between the Higgs couplings to the top quark and to the W boson in tWH production
Higgs characterisation at NLO in QCD: CP properties of the top-quark Yukawa interaction
No full textAt the LHC the CP properties of the top-quark Yukawa interaction can be probed through Higgs production in gluon fusion or in association with top quarks. We consider the possibility for both CP-even and CP-odd couplings to the top quark to be present, and study CP-sensitive observables at next-to-leading order (NLO) in QCD, including parton-shower effects. We show that the inclusion of NLO corrections sizeably reduces the theoretical uncertainties, and confirm that di-jet correlations in H+2 jet production through gluon fusion and correlations of the top-quark decay products in tt¯H production can provide sensitive probes of the CP nature of the Higgs interactions
Higher-order QCD predictions for dark matter production at the LHC in simplified models with s-channel mediators
No full textWeakly interacting dark matter particles can be pair-produced at colliders and detected through signatures featuring missing energy in association with either QCD/EW radiation or heavy quarks. In order to constrain the mass and the couplings to standard model particles, accurate and precise predictions for production cross sections and distributions are of prime importance. In this work, we consider various simplified models with s-channel mediators. We implement such models in the FeynRules/MadGraph5_aMC@NLO framework, which allows to include higher-order QCD corrections in realistic simulations and to study their effect systematically. As a first phenomenological application, we present predictions for dark matter production in association with jets and with a top-quark pair at the LHC, at next-to-leading order accuracy in QCD, including matching/merging to parton showers. Our study shows that higher-order QCD corrections to dark matter production via s-channel mediators have a significant impact not only on total production rates, but also on shapes of distributions. We also show that the inclusion of next-to-leading order effects results in a sizeable reduction of the theoretical uncertainties
Dark matter study from Lagrangian to data: in the FeynRules/MadGraph5_aMC@NLO framework
No full textInternational audienceWe present recent development of simulation tools to study dark matter at colliders as well as for astrophysical and cosmological observables in the F EYN R ULES /M AD G RAPH 5_ A MC@NLO framework. We show some results for simplified dark matter models with s-channel spin-1 mediators as an example
Higgs production in association with a single top quark at the LHC
No full textWe present a detailed study of Higgs boson production in association with a single top quark at the LHC, at next-to-leading order accuracy in QCD. We consider total and differential cross sections, at the parton level as well as by matching short distance events to parton showers, for both t-channel and s-channel production. We provide predictions relevant for the LHC at 13 TeV together with a thorough evaluation of the residual uncertainties coming from scale variation, parton distributions, strong coupling constant and heavy quark masses. In addition, for t-channel production, we compare results as obtained in the 4-flavour and 5-flavour schemes, pinning down the most relevant differences between them. Finally, we study the sensitivity to a non-standard-model relative phase between the Higgs couplings to the top quark and to the weak bosons
Light gravitino production in association with gluinos at the LHC
No full textWe study the jets plus missing energy signature at the LHC in a scenario where the gravitino is very light and the gluino is the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle and promptly decays into a gluon and a gravitino. We consider both associated gravitino production with a gluino and gluino pair production. By merging matrix elements with parton showers, we generate inclusive signal and background samples and show how information on the gluino and gravitino masses can be obtained by simple final state observables
Quantum information and CP measurement in at future lepton colliders
No full textInternational audienceWe introduce a methodology and investigate the feasibility of measuring quantum properties of tau lepton pairs in the decay at future lepton colliders. In particular, observation of entanglement, steerability and violation of Bell inequalities are examined for the ILC and FCC-ee. We find that detecting quantum correlation crucially relies on precise reconstruction of the tau leptons rest frame and a simple kinematics reconstruction does not suffice due to the finite energy resolution of the colliding beams and detectors. To correct for energy mismeasurements, a log-likelihood method is developed that incorporates the information of impact parameters of tau lepton decays. We demonstrate that an accurate measurement of quantum properties is possible with this method. As a by-product, we show that a novel model-independent test of CP violation can be performed and the CP-phase of interaction can be constrained with an accuracy comparable to dedicated analyses, i.e., up to and at ILC and FCC-ee, respectively
Monophoton signals in light gravitino production at e + e - colliders
No full textWe revisit the monophoton plus missing energy signature at colliders in supersymmetric (SUSY) models where the gravitino is very light. There are two possible processes which provide the signal: gravitino pair production and associated gravitino production with a neutralino, leading the monophoton final state via an additional photon radiation and via the neutralino decay, respectively. By using the superspace formalism, we construct a model that allows us to study the parameter space for the both processes. We show that the signal cross section and the photon spectra provide information on the masses of the SUSY particles as well as the SUSY breaking scale
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