We study the phenomenology of heavy neutral leptons (HNLs) at the LHC in effective field theory, concentrating on $\textit{d}$ = 6 operators with top quarks. Depending on the operator choice and HNL mass, the HNLs will be produced either from proton-proton collisions in association with a single top, or via non-standard decays of top quarks. For long-lived HNLs we estimate the sensitivity reach of different detectors to various operators with top quarks and the HNLs for the high-luminosity phase of the LHC. For certain operators, ATLAS and some far detectors (MATHUSLA and ANUBIS) will be able to probe the associated new-physics scale as large as 12 TeV and 4.5 TeV, respectively, covering complementary HNL-mass ranges.

Spain

Rebeca Beltrán

Chile

Giovanna Cottin

Germany

Julian Günther

Martin Hirsch

Italy

Arsenii Titov

China

Zeren Wang

Heavy neutral leptons and top quarks in effective field theory

<p>We present analytical expressions for the transverse momentum dependent (unintegrated) gluon and quark densities in a proton derived at leading order of QCD running coupling and valid at both small and large <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>x</mi></math>. The calculations are performed using the Kimber-Martin-Ryskin/Watt-Martin-Ryskin prescription (in both differential and integral formulations) with different treatment of kinematical constraint, which reflects the angular and strong ordering conditions for parton emissions. As an input, the analytical solution of QCD evolution equations for conventional (collinear) parton distributions is applied, where the valence and nonsinglet quark parts obey the Gross-Llewellyn-Smith and Gottfried sum rules, and momentum conservation for the singlet quark and gluon densities is taken into account. Several phenomenological parameters are extracted from the combined fit to precision data on the proton structure function <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><msub><mi>F</mi><mn>2</mn></msub><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mi>x</mi><mo>,</mo><msup><mi>Q</mi><mn>2</mn></msup><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></math> collected by the BCDMS, H1, and ZEUS Collaborations, comprising a total of 933 points from 5 datasets. Comparison with the numerical results obtained by other groups is presented, and the phenomenological application to the inclusive <math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mi>b</mi></math>-jet production at the LHC is given.</p>

JINR

A.V. Kotikov

Russia

A.V. Lipatov

Updating TMD parton densities in a proton within the Kimber-Martin-Ryskin approach

We discuss an extension of the standard model with a real scalar triplet, $\textit{T}$, including non-renormalizable operators (NROs) up to $\textit{d}$ = 6. If $\textit{T}$ is odd under a $\textit{Z}$ symmetry, the neutral component of $\textit{T}$ is a good candidate for the dark matter (DM) of the universe. We calculate the relic density and constraints from direct and indirect detection on such a setup, concentrating on the differences with respect to the simple model for a DM $\textit{T}$ with only renormalizable interactions. Bosonic operators can change the relic density of the triplet drastically, opening up new parameter space for the model. Indirect detection constraints, on the other hand, rule out an interesting part of the allowed parameter space already today and future CTA data will, very likely, provide a decisive test for this setup.

Carolina Arbeláez

Marcela González

Nicolás Neill

Colombia

Diego Restrepo

Effective field theory and scalar triplet dark matter

Romania

Victor E. Ambrus

France

Maxim N. Chernodub

Corrigendum to “Acceleration as a circular motion along an imaginary circle: Kubo-Martin-Schwinger condition for accelerating field theories in imaginary-time formalism” [Physics Letters B 855 (2024) 138757/PLB 138795]

Neutrino masses and dark matter (DM) might have a common origin. The model can be considered the proto-type model realizing this idea, but many other variants exist. In this paper we explore the phenomemology of a particular DM neutrino mass model, containing a triplet scalar. We calculate the relic density and check for constraints from direct detection experiments. The parameter space of the model, allowed by these constraints, contains typically a long-lived or quasi-stable doubly charged scalar, that can be searched for at the LHC. We reinterpret existing searches to derive limits on the masses of the scalars of the model and estimate future sensitivities in the high-luminosity phase of the LHC. The searches we discuss can serve to constrain also many other 1-loop neutrino mass models.

Juan Helo

Téssio Melo

Long-lived particle phenomenology in one-loop neutrino mass models with dark matter

Searches for anomalous neutral triple gauge boson couplings (NTGCs) provide important tests for the gauge structure of the standard model. At the LHC, NTGCs are searched for via the process pp → ZZ → 4l, where the two Z-bosons are on-shell. In this paper, we discuss how the same process can occur through tree-level diagrams just adding a vector-like quark (VLQ) to the standard model. Since NTGCs are generated in standard model effective theory (SMEFT) only at 1-loop order, vector like quarks could be an important alternative interpretation to, and background for, NTGC searches. Here, we construct a simple example model, discuss low-energy constraints and estimate current and future sensitivities on the model parameters from pp → ZZ → 4l searches.

Ricardo Cepedello

Fabian Esser

Veronica Sanz

Faking ZZZ vertices at the LHC

A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP07(2024)275

United Kingdom

Erratum to: Fermionic UV models for neutral triple gauge boson vertices

In this paper, we address the reduced beauty cross section [<math><msubsup><mi>σ</mi><mi>red</mi><mrow><mi>b</mi><mover><mi>b</mi><mo>¯</mo></mover></mrow></msubsup><mo>(</mo><mi>x</mi><mo>,</mo><msup><mi>Q</mi><mn>2</mn></msup><mo>)</mo></math>] and the beauty structure function [<math><msubsup><mi>F</mi><mn>2</mn><mrow><mi>b</mi><mover><mi>b</mi><mo>¯</mo></mover></mrow></msubsup><mo>(</mo><mi>x</mi><mo>,</mo><msup><mi>Q</mi><mn>2</mn></msup><mo>)</mo></math>], to study the beauty content of a proton. We calculate <math><msubsup><mi>σ</mi><mi>red</mi><mrow><mi>b</mi><mover><mi>b</mi><mo>¯</mo></mover></mrow></msubsup></math> and <math><msubsup><mi>F</mi><mn>2</mn><mrow><mi>b</mi><mover><mi>b</mi><mo>¯</mo></mover></mrow></msubsup></math> in the <math><msub><mi>k</mi><mi>t</mi></msub></math>-factorization formalism by using the integral form of the Kimber-Martin-Ryskin and Martin-Ryskin-Watt unintegrated parton distribution function (KMR and MRW-UPDF) with the angular ordering constraint (AOC) and the <math><mi>M</mi><mi>M</mi><mi>H</mi><mi>T</mi><mn>2014</mn></math> <math><mi>P</mi><mi>D</mi><mi>F</mi></math> set as the input. Recently Guiot and van Hameren demonstrated that the upper limit, <math><msub><mi>k</mi><mi>max</mi></msub></math>, of the transverse-momentum integration performed in the <math><msub><mi>k</mi><mi>t</mi></msub></math>-factorization formalism should be almost equal to <math><mi>Q</mi></math>, where <math><mi>Q</mi></math> is the hard scale, otherwise it leads to an overestimation of the proton structure function [<math><msub><mi>F</mi><mn>2</mn></msub><mo>(</mo><mi>x</mi><mo>,</mo><msup><mi>Q</mi><mn>2</mn></msup><mo>)</mo></math>]. In the present work, we show that <math><msub><mi>k</mi><mi>max</mi></msub></math> cannot be equal to <math><mi>Q</mi></math> at low and moderate energy region, and also by considering the gluon and quark contributions to the same perturbative order and a physical gauge for the gluon, i.e., <math><msup><mi>A</mi><mi>μ</mi></msup><msubsup><mi>q</mi><mi>μ</mi><mo>′</mo></msubsup><mo>=</mo><mn>0</mn></math> in the calculation of <math><msubsup><mi>F</mi><mn>2</mn><mrow><mi>b</mi><mover><mi>b</mi><mo>¯</mo></mover></mrow></msubsup></math> in the <math><msub><mi>k</mi><mi>t</mi></msub></math>-factorization formalism, we do not encounter any overestimation of the theoretical predictions due to different choices of <math><msub><mi>k</mi><mi>max</mi></msub><mo>&gt;</mo><mi>Q</mi></math>. Finally, the resulted <math><msubsup><mi>σ</mi><mi>red</mi><mrow><mi>b</mi><mover><mi>b</mi><mo>¯</mo></mover></mrow></msubsup></math> and <math><msubsup><mi>F</mi><mn>2</mn><mrow><mi>b</mi><mover><mi>b</mi><mo>¯</mo></mover></mrow></msubsup></math> are compared to the experimental data and the theoretical predictions. In general, the extracted <math><msubsup><mi>σ</mi><mi>red</mi><mrow><mi>b</mi><mover><mi>b</mi><mo>¯</mo></mover></mrow></msubsup></math> and <math><msubsup><mi>F</mi><mn>2</mn><mrow><mi>b</mi><mover><mi>b</mi><mo>¯</mo></mover></mrow></msubsup></math> based on the KMR and MRW approaches are in perfect agreement with the experimental data and theoretical predictions at high energies, but at low and moderate energies, the one developed from the KMR approach has better consistency than that of the MRW approach.

Iran

N. Olanj

Phenomenological investigation of the beauty content of a proton in the framework of <math><msub><mi>k</mi><mi>t</mi></msub></math>-factorization using Kimber-Martin-Ryskin and Martin-Ryskin-Watt unintegrated parton distributions

Searches for anomalous neutral triple gauge boson couplings (NTGCs) provide important tests for the gauge structure of the standard model. In SMEFT (“standard model effective field theory”) NTGCs appear only at the level of dimension-8 operators. While the phenomenology of these operators has been discussed extensively in the literature, renormalizable UV models that can generate these operators are scarce. In this work, we study a variety of extensions of the SM with heavy fermions and calculate their matching to d = 8 NTGC operators. We point out that the complete matching of UV models requires four different CP-conserving d = 8 operators and that the single CPC d = 8 operator, most commonly used by the experimental collaborations, does not describe all possible NTGC form factors. Despite stringent experimental constraints on NTGCs, limits on the scale of UV models are relatively weak, because their contributions are doubly suppressed (being d = 8 and 1-loop). We suggest a series of benchmark UV scenarios suitable for interpreting searches for NTGCs in the upcoming LHC runs, obtain their current limits and provide estimates for the expected sensitivity of the high-luminosity LHC.

Fermionic UV models for neutral triple gauge boson vertices

We explore long-lived particle (LLP) searches using non-pointing photons at the LHC as a probe for sterile-to-sterile and active-to-sterile transition magnetic dipole moments of sterile neutrinos. We consider heavy sterile neutrinos with masses ranging from a few GeV to several hundreds of GeV. We discuss transition magnetic dipole moments using the Standard Model effective field theory and low-energy effective field theory extended by sterile neutrinos (N R SMEFT and N R LEFT) and also provide a simplified UV-complete model example. LLP searches at the LHC using non-pointing photons will probe sterile-to-sterile dipole moments two orders of magnitude below the current best constraints from LEP, while an unprecedented sensitivity to sterile neutrino mass of about 700 GeV is expected for active-to-sterile dipole moments. For the UV model example with one-loop transition magnetic moments, the searches for charged lepton flavour violating processes in synergy with LLP searches at the LHC can probe new physics at several TeV mass scales and provide valuable insights into the lepton flavour structure of new physics couplings.

Slovenia

Patrick Bolton

Frank Deppisch

Chandan Hati

Probing heavy neutrino magnetic moments at the LHC using long-lived particle searches