6533b854fe1ef96bd12afbd1

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Universal extra dimensions and Z -> b(b)over-bar

subject

description

We study, at the one loop level, the dominant contributions from a single universal extra dimension to the process (Z\to b\bar{b}). By resorting to the gaugeless limit of the theory we explain why the result is expected to display a strong dependence on the mass of the top-quark, not identified in the early literature. A detailed calculation corroborates this expectation, giving rise to a lower bound for the compactification scale which is comparable to that obtained from the ρ parameter. An estimate of the subleading corrections is furnished, together with a qualitative discussion on the difference between the present results and those derived previously for the non-universal case.