0000000000420175
AUTHOR
Felix Yu
Long-lived particles at the energy frontier: the MATHUSLA physics case
We examine the theoretical motivations for long-lived particle (LLP) signals at the LHC in a comprehensive survey of Standard Model (SM) extensions. LLPs are a common prediction of a wide range of theories that address unsolved fundamental mysteries such as naturalness, dark matter, baryogenesis and neutrino masses, and represent a natural and generic possibility for physics beyond the SM (BSM). In most cases the LLP lifetime can be treated as a free parameter from the $\mu$m scale up to the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis limit of $\sim 10^7$m. Neutral LLPs with lifetimes above $\sim$ 100m are particularly difficult to probe, as the sensitivity of the LHC main detectors is limited by challenging …
Light Quark Yukawa Couplings and the W ± h Charge Asymmetry
Abstract I review the recent theory progress on possibly measuring the light quark couplings, emphasizing the distinction between direct and indirect measurements. I highlight the importance of the W ± h charge asymmetry measurement as a direct probe of enhanced light quark Yukawa couplings. I propose the W ± h → l ± l ± q q ′ ν ν final state as a promising channel for measuring the charge asymmetry. This clean, same-sign dilepton final state should reach statistical discovery sensitivity in each W ± h charge mode with 300 fb -1 of Large Hadron Collider luminosity, and affords an impressive sub-percent statistical accuracy with the anticipated 3 ab -1 high luminosity upgrade. After accounti…
Angular observables for spin discrimination in boosted diboson final states
We investigate the prospects for spin determination of a heavy diboson resonance using angular observables. Focusing in particular on boosted fully hadronic final states, we detail both the differences in signal efficiencies and distortions of differential distributions resulting from various jet substructure techniques. We treat the 2 TeV diboson excess as a case study, but our results are generally applicable to any future discovery in the diboson channel. Scrutinizing ATLAS and CMS analyses at 8 TeV and 13 TeV, we find that the specific cuts employed in these analyses have a tremendous impact on the discrimination power between different signal hypotheses. We discuss modified cuts that c…
Phenomenology of enhanced light quark Yukawa couplings and the W±h charge asymmetry
I propose the measurement of the $W^\pm h$ charge asymmetry as a consistency test for the Standard Model (SM) Higgs, which is sensitive to enhanced Yukawa couplings of the first and second generation quarks. I present a collider analysis for the charge asymmetry in the same-sign lepton final state, $p p \to W^\pm h \to (\ell^\pm \nu) (\ell^\pm \nu jj)$, aimed at discovery significance for the SM $W^\pm h$ production mode in each charge channel with 300 fb$^{-1}$ of 14 TeV LHC data. Using this decay mode, I estimate the statistical precision on the charge asymmetry should reach 0.4\% with 3 ab$^{-1}$ luminosity, enabling a strong consistency test of the SM Higgs hypothesis. I also discuss di…
The coannihilation codex
We present a general classification of simplified models that lead to dark matter (DM) coannihilation processes of the form DM + X $\rightarrow$ SM$_1$ + SM$_2$, where X is a coannihilation partner for the DM particle and SM$_1$, SM$_2$ are Standard Model fields. Our classification also encompasses regular DM pair annihilation scenarios if DM and X are identical. Each coannhilation scenario motivates the introduction of a mediating particle M that can either belong to the Standard Model or be a new field, whereby the resulting interactions between the dark sector and the Standard Model are realized as tree-level and dimension-four couplings. We construct a basis of coannihilation models, cl…
A tale of two portals: testing light, hidden new physics at future e + e − colliders
We investigate the prospects for producing new, light, hidden states at a future $e^+ e^-$ collider in a Higgsed dark $U(1)_D$ model, which we call the Double Dark Portal model. The simultaneous presence of both vector and scalar portal couplings immediately modifies the Standard Model Higgsstrahlung channel, $e^+ e^- \to Zh$, at leading order in each coupling. In addition, each portal leads to complementary signals which can be probed at direct and indirect detection dark matter experiments. After accounting for current constraints from LEP and LHC, we demonstrate that a future $e^+ e^-$ Higgs factory will have unique and leading sensitivity to the two portal couplings by studying a host o…