tt charge asymmetry, family and friends

We present the current status of the Tevatron charge asymmetry and its sister asymmetry at the LHC. The relation between both is elucidated, using as framework the collider-independent asymmetries they originate from. Other related observables, such as the t tbar differential distribution and top polarisation, are also discussed.This work has been supported by MICINN by projects FPA2006-05294 and FPA2010-17915, Junta de Andalucía (FQM 101, FQM 03048 and FQM 6552) and Fundaçao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT) project CERN/FP/123619/2011

Multi-muon events at the Tevatron: a hidden sector from hadronic collisions

Intrigued by some features of a small but significant fraction of the multi-muon events recently published by the CDF collaboration, we show an explicit attempt to describe them in terms of a light scalar singlet $\phi$ which communicates with the standard quarks either through a heavy scalar or a heavy fermion exchange. As suggested in arXiv:0810.7530, the singlet $\phi$ has a chain decay into a final state made of four $\tau\bar{\tau}$ pairs. We can simulate most of the muon properties of the selected sample of events. Some of these properties adhere rather well to the already published data; others should allow a decisive test of the proposed interpretation. Assuming that the test is positively passed, we show how the PAMELA excess can be fitted by the annihilation of a TeV Dark Matter particle that communicates with the Standard Model via the new light singlet(s).Comment: 19 pp, v2: small changes, agrees with the published versio

Precision measurements of the top quark mass from the Tevatron in the pre-LHC era

The top quark is the heaviest of the six quarks of the Standard Model. Precise knowledge of its mass is important for imposing constraints on a number of physics processes, including interactions of the as yet unobserved Higgs boson. The Higgs boson is the only missing particle of the Standard Model, central to the electroweak symmetry breaking mechanism and generation of particle masses. In this Review, experimental measurements of the top quark mass accomplished at the Tevatron, a proton-antiproton collider located at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, are described. Topologies of top quark events and methods used to separate signal events from background sources are discussed. Data analysis techniques used to extract information about the top mass value are reviewed. The combination of several most precise measurements performed with the two Tevatron particle detectors, CDF and \D0, yields a value of \Mt = 173.2 \pm 0.9 GeV/$c^2$.Comment: This version contains the most up-to-date top quark mass averag

Measurement of differential production cross section for Z/γ∗Z/\gamma^* bosons in association with jets in ppˉp\bar{p} collisions at s=1.96\sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV

Differential cross sections for the production of $Z$ bosons or off-shell photons $\gamma^*$ in association with jets are measured in proton-antiproton collisions at center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}=1.96$ TeV using the full data set collected with the Collider Detector at Fermilab in Tevatron Run II, and corresponding to 9.6 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity. Results include first measurements at CDF of differential cross sections in events with a $Z/\gamma^*$ boson and three or more jets, the inclusive cross section for production of $Z/\gamma^*$ and four or more jets, and cross sections as functions of various angular observables in lower jet-multiplicity final states. Measured cross sections are compared to several theoretical predictions

Top quark decay t -> cb\bar{b} in topcolor-assisted technicolor models

Topcolor-assisted technicolor (TC2) model predicts the existence of the top-pions and the CP-even top-Higgs with large flavor-changing couplings to the top quark, which at tree-level can mediate the top quark three-body decay t -> cb\bar{b}. In this work we study this decay, showing the dependence of the decay rate on the relevant TC2 parameters and comparing the results with the predictions in the minimal supersymmetric model. We find that the decay rate in the TC2 model is much larger than in the minimal supersymmetric model and, in a large part of the parameter space, the TC2 prediction may reach the detectable level of the LHC.Comment: 5 pages and 4 figure

Dark Matter in the MSSM

We have recently examined a large number of points in the parameter space of the phenomenological MSSM, the 19-dimensional parameter space of the CP-conserving MSSM with Minimal Flavor Violation. We determined whether each of these points satisfied existing experimental and theoretical constraints. This analysis provides insight into general features of the MSSM without reference to a particular SUSY breaking scenario or any other assumptions at the GUT scale. This study opens up new possibilities for SUSY phenomenology both in colliders and in astrophysical experiments. Here we shall discuss the implications of this analysis relevant to the study of dark matter.Comment: 27 pages, 19 figs; Journal version in NJP issue "Focus on Dark Matter and Particle Physics". Previous version had 26 pages, 19 figures. Text and some figures have been update

Jet Substructure at the Tevatron and LHC: New results, new tools, new benchmarks

In this report we review recent theoretical progress and the latest experimental results in jet substructure from the Tevatron and the LHC. We review the status of and outlook for calculation and simulation tools for studying jet substructure. Following up on the report of the Boost 2010 workshop, we present a new set of benchmark comparisons of substructure techniques, focusing on the set of variables and grooming methods that are collectively known as "top taggers". To facilitate further exploration, we have attempted to collect, harmonise, and publish software implementations of these techniques.Comment: 53 pages, 17 figures. L. Asquith, S. Rappoccio, C. K. Vermilion, editors; v2: minor edits from journal revision

Rare B decays and Tevatron top-pair asymmetry

The recent Tevatron result on the top quark forward-backward asymmetry, which deviates from its standard model prediction by 3.4$\sigma$, has prompted many authors to build new models to account for this anomaly. Among the various proposals, we find that those mechanisms which produce $t\bar t$ via $t$- or $u$-channel can have a strong correlation to the rare B decays. We demonstrate this link by studying a model with a new charged gauge boson, $W'$. In terms of the current measurements on $B\to \pi K$ decays, we conclude that the branching ratio for $B^-\to \pi^- \bar K^0$ is affected most by the new effects. Furthermore, using the world average branching ratio for the exclusive B decays at $2\sigma$ level, we discuss the allowed values for the new parameters. Finally, we point out that the influence of the new physics effects on the direct CP asymmetry in B decays is insignificant.Comment: 15 page, 6 figures, typos corrected and references added, final version to appear journa

Observation and Mass Measurement of the Baryon Ξb−\Xi^-_b

We report the observation and measurement of the mass of the bottom, strange baryon $\Xi^-_b$ through the decay chain $\Xi^-_b \to J/\psi \Xi^-$, where $J/\psi \to \mu^+ \mu^-$, $\Xi^- \to \Lambda \pi^-$, and $\Lambda \to p \pi^-$. Evidence for observation is based on a signal whose probability of arising from the estimated background is 6.6 x 10^{-15}, or 7.7 Gaussian standard deviations. The $\Xi^-_b$ mass is measured to be $5792.9\pm 2.5$ (stat.) $\pm 1.7$ (syst.) MeV/$c^2$.Comment: Minor text changes for the second version. Accepted by Phys. Rev. Let