Magnetized Einstein–Maxwell-dilaton model under an external electric field

We employ an analytic solution of a magnetized Einstein–Maxwell-dilaton gravity model whose parameters have been determined so that its holographic dual has the most similarity to the confining QCD-like theories. Analyzing the total potential of a quark–antiquark pair, we are able to investigate the effect of an electric field on different phases of the background which are the thermal AdS and black hole phases. This is helpful for better understanding of the confining character and the phases of the system. We find out that the field theory dual to the black hole solution is always deconfined, as expected. However, although the thermal AdS phase generally describes the confining phase, for quark pairs parallel to B (longitudinal case) with $$B>B_{\mathrm {critical}}$$ B > B critical the response of the system mimics the deconfinement, since there is no IR wall in the bulk and the critical field $$E_s=0$$ E s = 0 , as is the case for the deconfined phase. We moreover observe that in the black hole phase with sufficiently small values of $$\mu $$ μ and in the thermal AdS phase, for both longitudinal and transverse cases, the magnetic field enhances the Schwinger effect, which can be termed as the inverse magnetic catalysis (IMC). This is deduced both from the decrease of critical electric fields and decreasing the height and width of the total potential barrier the quarks are facing with. However, by increasing $$\mu $$ μ to higher values, IMC turns into magnetic catalysis, as also observed from the diagram of the Hawking–Page phase transition temperature versus B for the background geometry.

The colour matrix at next-to-leading-colour accuracy for tree-level multi-parton processes

We investigate the next-to-leading-colour (NLC) contributions to the colour matrix in the fundamental and the colour-flow decompositions for tree-level processes with all gluons, one quark pair and two quark pairs. By analytical examination of the colour factors, we find the non-zero elements in the colour matrix at NLC. At this colour order, together with the symmetry of the phase-space, it is reduced from factorial to polynomial the scaling of the contributing dual amplitudes as the number of partons participating in the scattering process is increased. This opens a path to an accurate tree-level matrix element generator of which all factorial complexity is removed, without resulting to Monte Carlo sampling over colour.

Entanglement and quantum tomography with top quarks at the LHC

Entanglement is a central subject in quantum mechanics. Due to its genuine relativistic behavior and fundamental nature, high-energy colliders are attractive systems for the experimental study of fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics. We propose the detection of entanglement between the spins of top–antitop–quark pairs at the LHC, representing the first proposal of entanglement detection in a pair of quarks, and also the entanglement observation at the highest energy scale so far. We show that entanglement can be observed by direct measurement of the angular separation between the leptons arising from the decay of the top–antitop pair. The detection can be achieved with high statistical significance, using the current data recorded during Run 2 at the LHC. In addition, we develop a simple protocol for the quantum tomography of the top–antitop pair. This experimental technique reconstructs the quantum state of the system, providing a new experimental tool to test theoretical predictions. Our work explicitly implements canonical experimental techniques in quantum information in a two-qubit high-energy system, paving the way to use high-energy colliders to also study quantum information aspects.

Top-philic heavy resonances in four-top final states and their EFT interpretation

With an expected rate of about one event per 100,000 top-quark pairs, four top-quark final states very rarely arise at the LHC. Though scarce, they offer a unique window onto top-quark compositeness, self-interactions and more generically, onto any top-philic new physics. By employing simplified models featuring heavy resonances, we study the range of validity of effective theory interpretations of current four top-quark analyses at the LHC and establish their future reach at the HL-LHC. We find that for the class of models under consideration, the effective field theory interpretations are not applicable. We therefore present the most up-to-date limits obtained from public CMS analyses using simplified models. Finally, we put forward a novel recasting strategy for the experimental results based on the production of top quarks with large transverse momentum.

Measurements of Higgs bosons decaying to bottom quarks from vector boson fusion production with the ATLAS experiment at $$\sqrt{s}=13\,\text {TeV}$$

The paper presents a measurement of the Standard Model Higgs Boson decaying to b-quark pairs in the vector boson fusion (VBF) production mode. A sample corresponding to 126 $$\hbox {fb}^{-1}$$ fb - 1 of $$\sqrt{s} = 13\,\text {TeV}$$ s = 13 TeV proton–proton collision data, collected with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, is analyzed utilizing an adversarial neural network for event classification. The signal strength, defined as the ratio of the measured signal yield to that predicted by the Standard Model for VBF Higgs production, is measured to be $$0.95^{+0.38}_{-0.36}$$ 0 . 95 - 0.36 + 0.38 , corresponding to an observed (expected) significance of 2.6 (2.8) standard deviations from the background only hypothesis. The results are additionally combined with an analysis of Higgs bosons decaying to b-quarks, produced via VBF in association with a photon.

Triple Higgs boson production at the Large Hadron Collider with Two Real Singlet scalars

We investigate the production of three Higgs bosons in the Two Real Singlet extension of the Standard Model, where the scalar sector is augmented by two additional real scalar fields which are singlets under the Standard Model gauge group. The model contains three neutral CP-even scalars, allowing for resonant production and asymmetric decay chains. We focus on the signature pp → h3→ h1h2→ h1h1h1, where we identify h3 as the heaviest scalar state, h2 as the second heaviest and the lightest, h1, as the Standard Model-like Higgs boson discovered by the Large Hadron Collider experiments. The dominant final state occurs when all three Higgs bosons decay to bottom-anti-bottom quark pairs, h1→$$ b\overline{b} $$ b b ¯ , leading to 6 b-jets. Taking into account all current theoretical and experimental constraints, we determine the discovery prospects for this channel in future runs of the Large Hadron Collider, as well as in the high-luminosity phase.

Search for new phenomena with top quark pairs in final states with one lepton, jets, and missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at $$ \sqrt{s} $$ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for new phenomena with top quark pairs in final states with one isolated electron or muon, multiple jets, and large missing transverse momentum is performed. Signal regions are designed to search for two-, three-, and four-body decays of the directly pair-produced supersymmetric partner of the top quark (stop). Additional signal regions are designed specifically to search for spin-0 mediators that are produced in association with a pair of top quarks and decay into a pair of dark-matter particles. The search is performed using the Large Hadron Collider proton-proton collision dataset at a centre-of-mass energy of $$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector from 2015 to 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1. No significant excess above the Standard Model background is observed, and limits at 95% confidence level are set in the stop-neutralino mass plane and as a function of the mediator mass or the dark-matter particle mass. Stops are excluded up to 1200 GeV (710 GeV) in the two-body (three-body) decay scenario. In the four-body scenario stops up to 640 GeV are excluded for a stop-neutralino mass difference of 60 GeV. Scalar and pseudoscalar dark-matter mediators are excluded up to 200 GeV when the coupling strengths of the mediator to Standard Model and dark-matter particles are both equal to one and when the mass of the dark-matter particle is 1 GeV.

Light Higgs searches in $$ t\overline{t}\phi $$ production at the LHC

In this paper we propose a new reconstruction method to explore the low mass region in the associated production of top-quark pairs ($$ t\overline{t} $$ t t ¯ ) with a generic scalar boson (ϕ) at the LHC. The new method of mass reconstruction shows an improved resolution of at least a factor of two in the low mass region when compared to previous methods, without the loss of sensitivity of previous analyses. It turns out that it also leads to an improvement of the mass reconstruction of the 125 GeV Higgs for the same production process. We use an effective Lagrangian to describe a scalar with a generic Yukawa coupling to the top quarks. A full phenomenological analysis was performed, using Standard Model background and signal events generated with MadGraph5_aMC@NLO and reconstructed using a kinematic fit. The use of CP-sensitive variables allows then to maximize the distinction between CP-even and CP-odd components of the Yukawa couplings. Confidence Levels (CLs) for the exclusion of ϕ bosons with mixed CP (both CP-even and CP-odd components) were determined as a function of the top Yukawa couplings to the ϕ boson. The mass range analysed starts slightly above the ϒΥ mass up to 40 GeV, although the analysis can be used for an arbitrary mass. If no new light scalar is found, exclusion limits at 95% CL for the absolute value of the CP-even and CP-odd Yukawa are derived. Finally, we analyse how these limits constrain the parameter space of the complex two-Higgs doublet model (C2HDM).

Search for Higgs boson production in association with a high-energy photon via vector-boson fusion with decay into bottom quark pairs at $$ \sqrt{s} $$ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search is presented for the production of the Standard Model Higgs boson in association with a high-energy photon. With a focus on the vector-boson fusion process and the dominant Higgs boson decay into b-quark pairs, the search benefits from a large reduction of multijet background compared to more inclusive searches. Results are reported from the analysis of 132 fb−1 of pp collision data at $$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 13 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measured Higgs boson signal yield in this final-state signature is 1.3 ± 1.0 times the Standard Model prediction. The observed significance of the Higgs boson signal above the background is 1.3 standard deviations, compared to an expected significance of 1.0 standard deviations.

Bottom-quark production at hadron colliders: fully differential predictions in NNLO QCD

We report on the first fully differential calculation of the next-to-next-to-leading-order (NNLO) QCD radiative corrections to the production of bottom-quark pairs at hadron colliders. The calculation is performed by using the qT subtraction formalism to handle and cancel infrared singularities in real and virtual contributions. The computation is implemented in the Matrix framework, thereby allowing us to efficiently compute arbitrary infrared-safe observables in the four-flavour scheme. We present selected predictions for bottom-quark production at the Tevatron and at the LHC at different collider energies, and we perform some comparisons with available experimental results. We find that the NNLO corrections are sizeable, typically of the order of 25–35%, and they lead to a significant reduction of the perturbative uncertainties. Therefore, their inclusion is crucial for an accurate theoretical description of this process.