Search

Abstract Extrapolations of sensitivity to new interactions and standard model parameters critically inform the programme at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and potential future collider cases. To this end, statistical considerations based on inclusive quantities and established analysis strategies typically give rise to a sensitivity scaling with the square root of the luminosity, $$\sqrt{\mathcal {L}}$$ L . This suggests only a mild sensitivity improvement for LHC’s high-luminosity phase, compared to the collected data up to the year 2025. We discuss representative analyses in top quark, Higgs boson and electroweak gauge boson phenomenology and provide clear evidence that the assumption that the sensitivity in searches and measurement scales only with $$\sqrt{\mathcal {L}}$$ L at the High-Luminosity LHC is overly conservative at best, and unrealistic in practice. As kinematic coverage enables more targeted search strategies with sufficient statistical sensitivity, employing a multitude of features in data dispels the scaling based on more inclusive selections.

Abstract This study introduces a novel Graph Neural Network (GNN) architecture that leverages infrared and collinear (IRC) safety and equivariance to enhance the analysis of collider data for Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) discoveries. By integrating equivariance in the rapidity-azimuth plane with IRC-safe principles, our model significantly reduces computational overhead while ensuring theoretical consistency in identifying BSM scenarios amidst Quantum Chromodynamics backgrounds. The proposed GNN architecture demonstrates superior performance in tagging semi-visible jets, highlighting its potential as a robust tool for advancing BSM search strategies at high-energy colliders.

Abstract The Shower Deconstruction methodology is pivotal in distinguishing signal and background jets, leveraging the detailed information from perturbative parton showers. Rooted in the Neyman-Pearson lemma, this method is theoretically designed to differentiate between signal and background processes optimally in high-energy physics experiments. A key challenge, however, arises from the combinatorial growth associated with increasing jet constituents, which hampers its computational feasibility. We address this by demonstrating that the likelihood derived from comparing the most probable signal and background shower histories is equally effective for discrimination as the conventional approach of summing over all potential histories in top quark versus Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) scenarios. We propose a novel approach by conceptualising the identification of the most probable shower history as a Markov Decision Process (MDP). Utilising a sophisticated modular point-transformer architecture, our method efficiently learns the optimal policy for this task. The developed neural agent excels in constructing the most likely shower history and demonstrates robust generalisation capabilities on unencountered test data. Remarkably, our approach mitigates the complexity inherent in the inference process, achieving a linear scaling relationship with the number of jet constituents. This offers a computationally viable and theoretically sound method for signal-background differentiation, paving the way for more effective data analysis in particle physics.

Abstract In this study, we critically evaluate the approximation capabilities of existing infra-red and collinear (IRC) safe feature extraction algorithms, namely Energy Flow Networks (EFNs) and Energy-weighted Message Passing Networks (EMPNs). Our analysis reveals that these algorithms fall short in extracting features from any N-point correlation that isn’t a power of two, based on the complete basis of IRC safe observables, specifically C-correlators. To address this limitation, we introduce the Hypergraph Energy-weighted Message Passing Networks (H-EMPNs), designed to capture any N-point correlation among particles efficiently. Using the case study of top vs. QCD jets, which holds significant information in its 3-point correlations, we demonstrate that H-EMPNs targeting up to N=3 correlations exhibit superior performance compared to EMPNs focusing on up to N=4 correlations within jet constituents.

Abstract Time and space translation invariance, giving rise to energy and momentum conservation, are not only amongst the most fundamental but also the most generally accepted symmetry assumptions in physics. It is nevertheless prudent to put such assumptions to experimental and observational tests. In this note, we take the first step in this direction, specifying a simple periodic time dependence that violates time translation invariance in QED, and setting phenomenological constraints on it. In addition to observational and experimental constraints on time varying couplings, we focus on probes of violation of energy conservation such as spontaneous production of photon and electron pairs and the e → eγ process. We discuss similarities and differences to the discussion of time varying fundamental constants and to the case of a light bosonic dark matter field that usually also causes oscillating effects.

The training of neural networks (NNs) is a computationally intensive task requiring significant time and resources. This article presents a novel approach to NN training using adiabatic quantum computing (AQC), a paradigm that leverages the principles of adiabatic evolution to solve optimization problems. We propose a universal AQC method that can be implemented on gate quantum computers, allowing for a broad range of Hamiltonians and thus enabling the training of expressive neural networks. We apply this approach to various neural networks with continuous, discrete, and binary weights. The study results indicate that AQC can very efficiently evaluate the global minimum of the loss function, offering a promising alternative to classical training methods.

In high-energy particle collisions, charged track finding is a complex yet crucial endeavor. We propose a quantum algorithm, specifically quantum template matching, to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of track finding. Abstracting the Quantum Amplitude Amplification routine by introducing a data register, and utilizing a novel oracle construction, allows data to be parsed to the circuit and matched with a hit-pattern template, without prior knowledge of the input data. Furthermore, we address the challenges posed by missing hit data, demonstrating the ability of the quantum template matching algorithm to successfully identify charged-particle tracks from hit patterns with missing hits. Our findings therefore propose quantum methodologies tailored for real-world applications and underline the potential of quantum computing in collider physics.

Abstract Magnetic skyrmions are meta-stable spin structures that naturally emerge in magnetic materials. While a vast amount of effort has gone into the study of their properties, their counterpart of opposite topological charge, the anti-skyrmion, has not received as much attention. We aim to close this gap by deploying Monte Carlo simulations of spin-lattice systems in order to investigate which interactions support anti-skyrmions, as well as skyrmions of Bloch and Néel type. We find that the combination of ferromagnetic exchange and Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya (DM) interactions is able to stabilize each of the three types, depending on the specific structure of the DM interactions. Considering a three-dimensional spin lattice model, we provide a finite-temperature phase diagram featuring a stable anti-skyrmion lattice phase for a large range of temperatures. In addition, we also shed light on the creation and annihilation processes of these anti-skyrmion tubes and study the effects of the DM interaction strength on their typical size.

Abstract High-quality simulated data is crucial for particle physics discoveries. Therefore, parton shower algorithms are a major building block of the data synthesis in event generator programs. However, the core algorithms used to generate parton showers have barely changed since the 1980s. With quantum computers’ rapid and continuous development, dedicated algorithms are required to exploit the potential that quantum computers provide to address problems in high-energy physics. This paper presents a novel approach to synthesising parton showers using the Discrete QCD method. The algorithm benefits from an elegant quantum walk implementation which can be embedded into the classical toolchain. We use the ibm_algiers device to sample parton shower configurations and generate data that we compare against measurements taken at the ALEPH, DELPHI and OPAL experiments. This is the first time a Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) device has been used to simulate realistic high-energy particle collision events.

Abstract We consider the gauged B − L model which is extended with a secluded dark sector, comprising of two dark sector particles. In this framework the lightest Z $$ \mathcal{Z} $$ 2-odd particle is the dark matter candidate, having a feeble interaction with all other SM and BSM states. The next-to-lightest Z $$ \mathcal{Z} $$ 2-odd particle in the dark sector is a super-wimp, with large interaction strength with the SM and BSM states. We analyse all the relevant production processes that contribute to the dark matter relic abundance, and broadly classify them in two different scenarios, a) dark matter is primarily produced via the non-thermal production process, b) dark matter is produced mostly from the late decay of the next-to-lightest Z $$ \mathcal{Z} $$ 2-odd particle. We discuss the dependency of the relic abundance of the dark matter on various model parameters. Furthermore, we also analyse the discovery prospect of the BSM Higgs via invisible Higgs decay searches.

Abstract Hadronic signals of new-physics origin at the Large Hadron Collider can remain hidden within the copiously produced hadronic jets. Unveiling such signatures require highly performant deep-learning algorithms. We construct a class of Graph Neural Networks (GNN) in the message-passing formalism that makes the network output infra-red and collinear (IRC) safe, an important criterion satisfied within perturbative QCD calculations. Including IRC safety of the network output as a requirement in the construction of the GNN improves its explainability and robustness against theoretical uncertainties in the data. We generalise Energy Flow Networks (EFN), an IRC safe deep-learning algorithm on a point cloud, defining energy weighted local and global readouts on GNNs. Applying the simplest of such networks to identify top quarks, W bosons and quark/gluon jets, we find that it outperforms state-of-the-art EFNs. Additionally, we obtain a general class of graph construction algorithms that give structurally invariant graphs in the IRC limit, a necessary criterion for the IRC safety of the GNN output.

Abstract We study standard electroweak/Higgs processes at the high-energy lepton colliders ILC and CLIC. We identify a subset of three operators in the SMEFT that give leading contributions to these processes at high energies. We then perform a ‘high-energy fit’ including these operators. Our final bounds surpass existing LEP bounds and HL-LHC projections by orders of magnitude. Furthermore, we find that these colliders can probe scales up to tens of TeV, corresponding to the highest scales explored in electroweak/Higgs physics.

Abstract We study the existence of skyrmions in the presence of all the electroweak degrees of freedom, including a dynamical Higgs boson, with the electroweak symmetry being non-linearly realized in the scalar sector. For this, we use the formulation of the Higgs Effective Field Theory (HEFT). In contrast with the linear realization, a well-defined winding number exists in HEFT for all scalar field configurations. We classify the effective operators that can potentially stabilize the skyrmions and numerically find the region in parameter spaces that support them. We do so by minimizing the static energy functional using neural networks. This method allows us to obtain the minimal-energy path connecting the vacuum to the skyrmion configuration and calculate its mass and radius. Since skyrmions are not expected to be produced at colliders, we explore the experimental and theoretical bounds on the operators that generate them. Finally, we briefly consider the possibility of skyrmions being dark matter candidates.

We investigate the interactions of a light scalar with the Higgs boson and second-generation fermions, which trigger new rare decays of the Higgs boson into 4μ, 2μ2γ, 6μ and 4μ2j. We recast current LHC searches to constrain these decays and develop new collider analyses for those channels which are only poorly tested by existing studies. With the currently collected data we can probe branching ratios as small as 1.5×10−5, 8.7×10−5, 5.7×10−8 and 1.6×10−7, respectively. For the High-Luminosity LHC run, considered here to involve 3 ab−1 of integrated luminosity, these numbers go down to 1.3×10−5, 2.0×10−6, 3.0×10−9 and 5.4×10−9, respectively. We also comment on other channels that remain still unexplored.

Abstract Gravitational wave astronomy has recently emerged as a new way to study our Universe. In this work, we survey the potential of gravitational wave interferometers to detect macroscopic astrophysical objects comprising the dark matter. Starting from the well-known case of clumps we expand to cosmic strings and domain walls. We also consider the sensitivity to measure the dark matter power spectrum on small scales. Our analysis is based on the fact that these objects, when traversing the vicinity of the detector, will exert a gravitational pull on each node of the interferometer, in turn leading to a differential acceleration and corresponding Doppler signal, that can be measured. As a prototypical example of a gravitational wave interferometer, we consider signals induced at LISA. We further extrapolate our results to gravitational wave experiments sensitive in other frequency bands, including ground-based interferometers, such as LIGO, and pulsar timing arrays, e.g. ones based on the Square Kilometer Array. Assuming moderate sensitivity improvements beyond the current designs, clumps, strings and domain walls may be within reach of these experiments.

Abstract We devise an autoencoder based strategy to facilitate anomaly detection for boosted jets, employing Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) to do so. To overcome known limitations of GNN autoencoders, we design a symmetric decoder capable of simultaneously reconstructing edge features and node features. Focusing on latent space based discriminators, we find that such setups provide a promising avenue to isolate new physics and competing SM signatures from sensitivity-limiting QCD jet contributions. We demonstrate the flexibility and broad applicability of this approach using examples of W bosons, top quarks, and exotic hadronically-decaying exotic scalar bosons.

Abstract Photonic Quantum Computers provide several benefits over the discrete qubit-based paradigm of quantum computing. By using the power of continuous-variable computing we build an anomaly detection model to use on searches for New Physics. Our model uses Gaussian Boson Sampling, a #P-hard problem and thus not efficiently accessible to classical devices. This is used to create feature vectors from graph data, a natural format for representing data of high-energy collision events. A simple K-means clustering algorithm is used to provide a baseline method of classification. We then present a novel method of anomaly detection, combining the use of Gaussian Boson Sampling and a quantum extension to K-means known as Q-means. This is found to give equivalent results compared to the classical clustering version while also reducing the O $$ \mathcal{O} $$ complexity, with respect to the sample’s feature-vector length, from O N $$ \mathcal{O}(N) $$ to O log N $$ \mathcal{O}\left(\log (N)\right) $$ .

Abstract We study the prospects for probing the CP structure of hqq interactions using the decays of the lightest baryon Λ q formed in the quark’s hadronization. The low yields of reconstructible events make it unlikely for tests to be performed with the next generation of colliders. In h → b b ¯ $$ \overline{b} $$ → Λ b Λ ¯ $$ \overline{\Lambda} $$ b decays a CP-sensitive distribution could be measured with a high-luminosity e + e − collider, while in both h → b b ¯ $$ \overline{b} $$ → Λ b Λ ¯ $$ \overline{\Lambda} $$ b and h → c c ¯ $$ \overline{c} $$ → Λ c Λ ¯ $$ \overline{\Lambda} $$ c decays such a distribution could be measured with a very high luminosity μ + μ − collider. However, we find that only the μ + μ − collider can produce enough h → b b ¯ $$ \overline{b} $$ → Λ b Λ ¯ $$ \overline{\Lambda} $$ b decays to probe a physical CP asymmetry in the hbb vertex.

Abstract Tensor Networks are non-trivial representations of high-dimensional tensors, originally designed to describe quantum many-body systems. We show that Tensor Networks are ideal vehicles to connect quantum mechanical concepts to machine learning techniques, thereby facilitating an improved interpretability of neural networks. This study presents the discrimination of top quark signal over QCD background processes using a Matrix Product State classifier. We show that entanglement entropy can be used to interpret what a network learns, which can be used to reduce the complexity of the network and feature space without loss of generality or performance. For the optimisation of the network, we compare the Density Matrix Renormalization Group (DMRG) algorithm to stochastic gradient descent (SGD) and propose a joined training algorithm to harness the explainability of DMRG with the efficiency of SGD.

Abstract The Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT) is an established theoretical framework that parametrises the impact a UV theory has on low-energy observables. Such parametrization is achieved by studying the interactions of SM fields encapsulated within higher mass dimensional (≥ 5) operators. Through judicious employment of the tools of EFTs, SMEFT has become a source of new predictions as well as a platform for conducting a coherent comparison of new physics (beyond Standard Model) scenarios. We, for the first time, are proposing a diagrammatic approach to establish selection criteria for the allowed heavy field representations corresponding to each SMEFT operator. We have elucidated the links of a chain connecting specific CP conserving dimension-6 SMEFT operators with unique sets of heavy field representations. The contact interactions representing each effective operator have been unfolded into tree- and (or) one-loop-level diagrams to reveal unique embeddings of heavy fields within them. For each case, the renormalizable vertices of a UV model serve as the building blocks for all possible unfolded diagrams. Based on this, we have laid the groundwork to construct observable-driven new physics models. This in turn also prevents us from making redundant analyses of similar models. While we have taken a predominantly minimalistic approach, we have also highlighted the necessity for non-minimal interactions for certain operators.

Abstract The Method of Moments is a powerful framework to disentangle the relative contributions of amplitudes of a specific process to its various phase space regions. We apply this method to carry out a fully differential analysis of the Higgs decay channel h → 4ℓ and constrain gauge-Higgs coupling modifications parametrised by dimension-six effective operators. We find that this analysis approach provides very good constraints and minimises degeneracies in the parameter space of the effective theory. By combining the decay h → 4ℓ with Higgs-associated production processes, Wh and Zh, we obtain the strongest reported bounds on anomalous gauge-Higgs couplings.

Abstract Ensemble learning is a technique where multiple component learners are combined through a protocol. We propose an Ensemble Neural Network (ENN) that uses the combined latent-feature space of multiple neural network classifiers to improve the representation of the network hypothesis. We apply this approach to construct an ENN from Convolutional and Recurrent Neural Networks to discriminate top-quark jets from QCD jets. Such ENN provides the flexibility to improve the classification beyond simple prediction combining methods by linking different sources of error correlations, hence improving the representation between data and hypothesis. In combination with Bayesian techniques, we show that it can reduce epistemic uncertainties and the entropy of the hypothesis by simultaneously exploiting various kinematic correlations of the system, which also makes the network less susceptible to a limitation in training sample size.

Abstract We study the production of Higgs bosons at high transverse momenta via vector-boson fusion (VBF) in the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT). We find that contributions from four independent operator combinations dominate in this limit. These are the same ‘high energy primaries’ that control high energy diboson processes, including Higgs-strahlung. We perform detailed collider simulations for the diphoton decay mode of the Higgs boson as well as the three final states arising from the ditau channel. Using the quadratic growth of the SMEFT contributions relative to the Standard Model (SM) contribution, we project very stringent bounds on these operators that far surpass the corresponding bounds from the LEP experiment.

Anomaly detection through employing machine learning techniques has emerged as a novel powerful tool in the search for new physics beyond the Standard Model. Historically similar to the development of jet observables, theoretical consistency has not always assumed a central role in the fast development of algorithms and neural network architectures. In this work, we construct an infrared and collinear safe autoencoder based on graph neural networks by employing energy-weighted message passing. We demonstrate that whilst this approach has theoretically favorable properties, it also exhibits formidable sensitivity to non-QCD structures.

Abstract Skyrmions are extended field configurations, initially proposed to describe baryons as topological solitons in an effective field theory of mesons. We investigate and confirm the existence of skyrmions within the electroweak sector of the Standard Model and study their properties. We find that the interplay of the electroweak sector with a dynamical Higgs field and the Skyrme term leads to a non-trivial vacuum structure with the skyrmion and perturbative vacuum sectors separated by a finite energy barrier. We identify dimension-8 operators that stabilise the electroweak skyrmion as a spatially localised soliton field configuration with finite size. Such operators are induced generically by a wide class of UV models. To calculate the skyrmion energy and radius we use a neural network method. Electroweak skyrmions are non-topological solitons but are exponentially long lived, and we find that the electroweak skyrmion is a viable dark matter candidate. While the skyrmion production cross section at collider experiments is suppressed, measuring the size of the Skyrme term in multi-Higgs-production processes at high-energy colliders is a promising avenue to probe the existence of electroweak skyrmions.

Abstract It is not only conceivable but likely that the spectrum of physics beyond the Standard Model (SM) is non-degenerate. The lightest non-SM particle may reside close enough to the electroweak scale that it can be kinematically probed at high-energy experiments and on account of this, it must be included as an infrared (IR) degree of freedom (DOF) along with the SM ones. The rest of the non-SM particles are heavy enough to be directly experimentally inaccessible and can be integrated out. Now, to capture the effects of the complete theory, one must take into account the higher dimensional operators constituted of the SM DOFs and the minimal extension. This construction, BSMEFT, is in the same spirit as SMEFT but now with extra IR DOFs. Constructing a BSMEFT is in general the first step after establishing experimental evidence for a new particle. We have investigated three different scenarios where the SM is extended by additional (i) uncolored, (ii) colored particles, and (iii) abelian gauge symmetries. For each such scenario, we have included the most-anticipated and phenomenologically motivated models to demonstrate the concept of BSMEFT. In this paper, we have provided the full EFT Lagrangian for each such model up to mass dimension 6. We have also identified the CP, baryon (B), and lepton (L) number violating effective operators.

Abstract Measuring the Higgs trilinear self-coupling λ hhh is experimentally demanding but fundamental for understanding the shape of the Higgs potential. We present a comprehensive analysis strategy for the HL-LHC using di-Higgs events in the four b-quark channel (hh → 4b), extending current methods in several directions. We perform deep learning to suppress the formidable multijet background with dedicated optimisation for BSM λ hhh scenarios. We compare the λ hhh constraining power of events using different multiplicities of large radius jets with a two-prong structure that reconstruct boosted h → bb decays. We show that current uncertainties in the SM top Yukawa coupling y t can modify λ hhh constraints by ∼ 20%. For SM y t , we find prospects of −0.8 < λ hhh / λ hhh SM $$ {\lambda}_{hhh}/{\lambda}_{hhh}^{\mathrm{SM}} $$ < 6.6 at 68% CL under simplified assumptions for 3000 fb −1 of HL-LHC data. Our results provide a careful assessment of di-Higgs identification and machine learning techniques for all-hadronic measurements of the Higgs self-coupling and sharpens the requirements for future improvement.

Abstract We obtain SMEFT bounds using an approach that utilises the complete multi-dimensional differential information of a process. This approach is based on the fact that at a given EFT order, the full angular distribution in the most important electroweak processes can be expressed as a sum of a fixed number of basis functions. The coefficients of these basis functions — the so-called angular moments — and their energy dependance, thus form an ideal set of experimental observables that encapsulates the complete multi-dimensional differential information of the process. This approach is generic and the observables constructed allow to avoid blind directions in the SMEFT parameter space. While this method is applicable to many of the important electroweak processes, as a first example we study the pp → V(ℓℓ)h(bb) process (V ≡ Z/W ± , ℓℓ ≡ ℓ + ℓ −/ℓ ± ν), including QCD NLO effects, differentially. We show that using the full differential data in this way plays a crucial role in simultaneously and maximally constraining the different vertex structures of the Higgs coupling to gauge bosons. In particular, our method yields bounds on the hV μν V μν , hV μν V ˜ μν $$ {hV}_{\mu \nu}{V}^{\mu \nu},{hV}_{\mu \nu}{\tilde{V}}^{\mu \nu} $$ and hVff ff ≡ f f ¯ / f f ¯ ′ $$ hVff\left( ff\equiv f\overline{f}/f\overline{f}^{\prime}\right) $$ couplings, stronger than projected bounds reported in any other process. This matrix-element-based method can provide a transparent alternative to complement machine learning techniques that also aim to disentangle correlations in the SMEFT parameter space.

Abstract We study the Standard Model effective field theory ($$\nu $$ ν SMEFT) extended with operators involving right-handed neutrinos, focussing on the regime where the right-handed neutrinos decay promptly on collider scales to a photon and a Standard Model neutrino. This scenario arises naturally for right-handed neutrinos with masses of the order $$m_N \sim 0.1 \dots 10\, \,\text {GeV}$$ mN∼0.1⋯10GeV . We limit the relevant dimension-six operator coefficients using LEP and LHC searches with photons and missing energy in the final state as well as pion and tau decays. While bounds on new physics contributions are generally in the TeV scale for order one operator coefficients, some coefficients, however, remain very poorly constrained or even entirely evade bounds from current data. Consequently, we identify such weakly constrained scenarios and propose new searches for rare top and tau decays involving photons to probe potential new physics in the $$\nu $$ ν SMEFT parameter space. Our analysis highlights the importance of performing dedicated searches for new rare tau and top decays.

We consider a wide range of UV scenarios with the aim of informing searches for CP violation at the TeV scale using effective field theory techniques. We demonstrate that broad theoretical assumptions about the nature of UV dynamics responsible for CP violation map out a small subset of relevant operators at the TeV scale. Concretely, this will allow us to reduce the number of free parameters that need to be considered in experimental investigations, thus enhancing analyses' sensitivities. In parallel, reflecting the UV dynamics' Wilson coefficient hierarchy will enable a streamlined theoretical interpretation of such analyses in the future. We demonstrate a minimal approach to analysing CP violation in this context using a Monte Carlo study of a combination of weak boson fusion Higgs and electroweak diboson production, which provide complementary information on the relevant EFT operators.

Abstract Machine learning techniques in particle physics are most powerful when they are trained directly on data, to avoid sensitivity to theoretical uncertainties or an underlying bias on the expected signal. To be able to train on data in searches for new physics, anomaly detection methods are imperative, which can be realised by an autoencoder acting as an unsupervised classifier. The last source of uncertainties affecting the classifier are then experimental uncertainties in the reconstruction of the final-state objects. To mitigate their effect on the classifier and to allow for a realistic assessment of the method, we propose to combine the autoencoder with an adversarial neural network to remove its sensitivity to the smearing of the final-state objects. We quantify its effect and show that one can achieve a robust anomaly detection in resonance-induced t t ¯ $$ t\overline{t} $$ final states.

A significant number of high power proton beams are available or will go online in the near future. This provides exciting opportunities for new fixed target experiments and the search for new physics in particular. In this note we will survey these beams and consider their potential to discover new physics in the form of axion-like particles, identifying promising locations and set ups. To achieve this, we present a significantly improved calculation of the production of axion-like particles in the coherent scattering of protons on nuclei, valid for lower ALP masses and/or beam energies. We also provide a new publicly available tool for this process: the Alpaca Monte Carlo generator. This will impact ongoing and planned searches based on this process.

Abstract We present a new way of performing hypothesis tests on scattering data, by means of a perturbatively calculable classifier. This classifier exploits the “history tree” of how the measured data point might have evolved out of any simpler (reconstructed) points along classical paths, while explicitly keeping quantum–mechanical interference effects by copiously employing complete leading-order matrix elements. This approach extends the standard Matrix Element Method to an arbitrary number of final state objects and to exclusive final states where reconstructed objects can be collinear or soft. We have implemented this method into the standalone package hytrees and have applied it to Higgs boson production in association with two jets, with subsequent decay into photons. hytrees allows to construct an optimal classifier to discriminate this process from large Standard Model backgrounds. It further allows to find the most sensitive kinematic regions that contribute to the classification.

Abstract New heavy vector bosons and light scalars are predicted in a plethora of models of new physics. In particular, in new strongly interacting sectors they play the role of the $$\rho $$ ρ and $$\pi $$ π mesons in QCD. We show that some of their interactions, for example those required for the explanation of the B anomalies and the $$g-2$$ g-2 of the muon, can be only probed in B meson decays. We highlight new golden channels not yet studied experimentally, including $$B^+ \rightarrow K^+(D^+)\mu ^+\mu ^-\mu ^+\mu ^-$$ B+→K+(D+)μ+μ-μ+μ- and $$B^0\rightarrow K^{*0}\mu ^+\mu ^-\mu ^+\mu ^-$$ B0→K∗0μ+μ-μ+μ- . Relying on generator level simulations for data taking with the LHCb detector, we determine the reach of this facility to the aforementioned processes. We show that branching ratios as small as $$9\times 10^{-12}$$ 9×10-12 ($$3.2\times 10^{-10}$$ 3.2×10-10 ) and $$2.7\times 10^{-11}$$ 2.7×10-11 can be tested at the 95% CL respectively.

Abstract New physics can manifest itself by an appreciable increase of the decay rate of top quarks in rare flavour-changing final states. Exploiting the large top quark production rate at the LHC, we bound four-fermion operators contributing to non-resonant t → ℓ + ℓ − j using different signal regions of the latest LHC searches for t → Zj. We also provide prospects for the high-luminosity LHC to test these as well as four-fermion operators contributing to t → b b ¯ j $$ t\to b\overline{b}j $$ , based on improved analysis strategies of existing searches. We single out all weakly-coupled ultraviolet completions inducing such contact interactions at tree level and translate the previous bounds to the parameter space of specific complete models. Being above the TeV, LHC bounds from rare top decays improve over those from flavour physics, electroweak precision data and other LHC searches in several cases.

We perform a comprehensive study of collider aspects of a Higgs portal scenario that is protected by an unbroken Z2 symmetry. If the mass of the Higgs portal scalar is larger than half the Higgs mass, this scenario becomes very difficult to detect. We provide a detailed investigation of the model's parameter space based on analyses of the direct collider sensitivity at the LHC as well as at future lepton and hadron collider concepts and analyse the importance of these searches for this scenario in the context of expected precision Higgs and electroweak measurements. In particular we also consider the associated electroweak oblique corrections that we obtain in a first dedicated two-loop calculation for comparisons with the potential of, e.g., GigaZ. The currently available collider projections corroborate an FCC-hh 100 TeV as a very sensitive tool to search for such a weakly-coupled Higgs sector extension, driven by small statistical uncertainties over a large range of energy coverage. Crucially, however, this requires good theoretical control. Alternatively, Higgs signal-strength measurements at an optimal FCC-ee sensitivity level could yield comparable constraints.

CP-violation in the Higgs sector remains a possible source of the baryon asymmetry of the universe. Recent differential measurements of signed angular distributions in Higgs boson production provide a general experimental probe of the CP structure of Higgs boson interactions. We interpret these measurements using the Standard Model Effective Field Theory and show that they do not distinguish the various CP-violating operators that couple the Higgs and gauge fields. However, the constraints can be sharpened by measuring additional CP-sensitive observables and exploiting phase-space-dependent effects. Using these observables, we demonstrate that perturbatively meaningful constraints on CP-violating operators can be obtained at the LHC with luminosities of O(100/fb). Our results provide a roadmap to a global Higgs boson coupling analysis that includes CP-violating effects. Keywords: Higgs boson, Effective field theory, CP-violation, LHC

We show that large n-particle production rates derived in the semiclassical Higgsplosion limit of scalar field theoretical models with spontaneous symmetry breaking, are consistent with general principles of localizable quantum field theory.The strict localizability criteria of Jaffe defines quantum fields as operator-valued distributions acting on test functions that are localized in finite regions of space–time. The requirement of finite support of test functions in space–time ensures the causality property of QFT. The corresponding localizable fields need not be tempered distributions, and they fit well into the framework of local quantum field theory. Keywords: Higgs particle, Multi-particle production, Higgsplosion, Semiclassical methods

Abstract We study the scalar triplet extension of the standard model with a low cutoff, preventing large corrections to the quadratic masses that would otherwise worsen the hierarchy problem. We explore the reach of LISA to test the parameter space region of the scalar potential (not yet excluded by Higgs to diphoton measurements) in which the electroweak phase transition is strongly first-order and produces sizeable gravitational waves. We also demonstrate that the collider phenomenology of the model is drastically different from its renormalizable counterpart. We study the reach of the LHC in ongoing searches and project bounds for the HL-LHC. Likewise, we develop a dedicated analysis to test the key but still unexplored signature of pair-production of charged scalars decaying to third-generation quarks: $$pp\rightarrow t\overline{b} (\overline{t}b), b\overline{b}$$ pp→tb¯(t¯b),bb¯ . These results apply straightforwardly to other extensions of the Higgs sector such as the 2HDM/MSSM.

Abstract Machine Learning is a powerful tool to reveal and exploit correlations in a multi-dimensional parameter space. Making predictions from such correlations is a highly non-trivial task, in particular when the details of the underlying dynamics of a theoretical model are not fully understood. Using adversarial networks, we include a priori known sources of systematic and theoretical uncertainties during the training. This paves the way to a more reliable event classification on an event-by-event basis, as well as novel approaches to perform parameter fits of particle physics data. We demonstrate the benefits of the method explicitly in an example considering effective field theory extensions of Higgs boson production in association with jets.

We propose a fully flexible method to discriminate between signal and background using a matrix element-based method in the presence of multiple invisible particles. The proposed method performs a mapping of the measured final state onto an observable which improves the separation between signal and background using their matrix elements. To show how performant this generic method is in separating signal from background, we apply it to the prominent partly invisible decay of a Higgs boson into a muon–antimuon pair and two muon-neutrinos via two W bosons.

Abstract The large number of top quarks produced at the LHC and possible future hadron colliders allows to study rare decays of this particle. In many well motivated models of new physics, for example in non-minimal composite-Higgs models, the existence of scalar singlets can induce new flavor-violating top decays surpassing the Higgs contribution by orders of magnitude. We study the discovery prospects of rare top decays within such models and develop new search strategies to test these interactions in top pair-produced events at the LHC. We demonstrate that scales as large as 10–50 TeV can be probed. Improvements by factors of $$\sim 1.5$$ ∼1.5 and $$\sim 3$$ ∼3 can be obtained at $$\sqrt{s} = 27$$ s=27 TeV and $$\sqrt{s} = 100$$ s=100 TeV colliders respectively.

Abstract Higgs pair production is a crucial phenomenological process in deciphering the nature of the TeV scale and the mechanism underlying electroweak symmetry breaking. At the Large Hadron Collider, this process is statistically limited. Pushing the energy frontier beyond the LHC’s reach will create new opportunities to exploit the rich phenomenology at higher centre-of-mass energies and luminosities. In this work, we perform a comparative analysis of the $$hh+\text {jet}$$ hh+jet channel at a future 100 TeV hadron collider. We focus on the $$hh\rightarrow b\bar{b} b\bar{b}$$ hh→bb¯bb¯ and $$hh \rightarrow b\bar{b} \tau ^+\tau ^-$$ hh→bb¯τ+τ- channels and employ a range of analysis techniques to estimate the sensitivity potential that can be gained by including this jet-associated Higgs pair production to the list of sensitive collider processes in such an environment. In particular, we observe that $$hh \rightarrow b\bar{b} \tau ^+\tau ^-$$ hh→bb¯τ+τ- in the boosted regime exhibits a large sensitivity to the Higgs boson self-coupling and the Higgs self-coupling could be constrained at the 8% level in this channel alone.

Abstract Many composite Higgs models predict the existence of vector-like quarks with masses outside the reach of the LHC, e.g. m Q ≳ 2 TeV, in particular if these models contain a dark matter candidate. In such models the mass of the new resonances is bounded from above to satisfy the constraint from the observed relic density. We therefore develop new strategies to search for vector-like quarks at a future 100 TeV collider and evaluate what masses and interactions can be probed. We find that masses as large as ∼ 6.4 (∼9) TeV can be tested if the fermionic resonances decay into Standard Model (dark matter) particles. We also discuss the complementarity of dark matter searches, showing that most of the parameter space can be closed. On balance, this study motivates further the consideration of a higher-energy hadron collider for a next generation of facilities.

We introduce and discuss two inter-related mechanisms operative in the electroweak sector of the Standard Model at high energies. Higgsplosion, the first mechanism, occurs at some critical energy in the 25 to 103 TeV range, and leads to an exponentially growing decay rate of highly energetic particles into multiple Higgs bosons. We argue that this is a well-controlled non-perturbative phenomenon in the Higgs-sector which involves the final state Higgs multiplicities n in the regime nλ≫1 where λ is the Higgs self-coupling. If this mechanism is realised in nature, the cross-sections for producing ultra-high multiplicities of Higgs bosons are likely to become observable and even dominant in this energy range. At the same time, however, the apparent exponential growth of these cross-sections at even higher energies will be tamed and automatically cut-off by a related Higgspersion mechanism. As a result, and in contrast to previous studies, multi-Higgs production does not violate perturbative unitarity. Building on this approach, we then argue that the effects of Higgsplosion alter quantum corrections from very heavy states to the Higgs boson mass. Above a certain energy, which is much smaller than their masses, these states would rapidly decay into multiple Higgs bosons. The heavy states become unrealised as they decay much faster than they are formed. The loop integrals contributing to the Higgs mass will be cut off not by the masses of the heavy states, but by the characteristic loop momenta where their decay widths become comparable to their masses. Hence, the cut-off scale would be many orders of magnitude lower than the heavy mass scales themselves, thus suppressing their quantum corrections to the Higgs boson mass.

Abstract We present a model-independent study aimed at characterising the nature of possible resonances in the jet-photon or jet-Z final state at hadron colliders. Such resonances are expected in many models of compositeness and would be a clear indication of new physics. At leading order, in the narrow width approximation, the matrix elements are parameterised by just a few constants describing the coupling of the various helicities to the resonance. We present the full structure of such amplitudes up to spin 2 and use them to simulate relevant kinematic distributions that could serve to constrain the coupling structure. This also generalises the signal generation strategy that is currently pursued by ATLAS and CMS to the most general case in the considered channels. While the determination of the P/CP properties of the interaction seems to be out of reach within this framework, there is a wealth of information to be gained about the spin of the resonance and the relative couplings of the helicities.

Abstract In order to answer the question on how much the trilinear Higgs self-coupling could deviate from its Standard Model value in weakly coupled models, we study both theoretical and phenomenological constraints. As a first step, we discuss this question by modifying the Standard Model using effective operators. Considering constraints from vacuum stability and perturbativity, we show that only the latter can be reliably assessed in a model-independent way. We then focus on UV models which receive constraints from Higgs coupling measurements, electroweak precision tests, vacuum stability and perturbativity. We find that the interplay of current measurements with perturbativity already excludes self-coupling modifications above a factor of a few with respect to the Standard Model value.

Abstract While the Higgs characterisation programme is well under way, direct signs for new physics beyond the Standard Model remain elusive. Performing a fit of fully differential Higgs production cross sections at the LHC to a subset of Higgs-relevant effective operators, we discuss the extent to which theoretical uncertainties can limit the sensitivity in such a new physics search programme. Extending the dimension-6 Higgs Effective Field Theory framework by introducing new light degrees of freedom that can contribute to an invisible (or undetectable) Higgs decay width $$h\rightarrow \phi \phi $$ h → ϕ ϕ , we show how differential coupling fits can disentangle effects from non-Standard Model couplings and an invisible decay width, as present in many new physics scenarios, such as Higgs-portal dark matter. Including the so-called off-shell measurement that has been advocated as a sensitive determination of the Higgs width in the $$\kappa $$ κ framework, we show explicitly that this method does not provide complementary sensitivity for scale-separated new physics $$\Lambda \gg m_h \gg m_\phi $$ Λ ≫ m h ≫ m ϕ , which is favoured in beyond the Standard Model scenarios that relate astrophysics and collider phenomenology in the light of non-observation of new physics during run 1 of the LHC.

Abstract The discovery of lepton flavour violating interactions will be striking evidence for physics beyond the Standard Model. Focusing on the three decays τ ∓ → μ ± μ ∓ μ ∓, τ ∓ → e ± μ ∓ μ ∓ and τ∓ → e ∓ μ ∓ μ ±, we evaluate the discovery potential of current and future high-energy colliders to probe lepton flavour violation in the τ sector. Based on this potential we determine the expected constraints on parameters of new physics in the context of the Type-II Seesaw Model, the Left-Right Symmetric Model, and the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. The existing and ongoing 13 TeV run of the Large Hadron Collider has the potential to produce constraints that outperform the existing e + e − collider limits for the τ ∓ → μ ± μ ∓ μ ∓ decay and achieve a branching fraction limit of ≲ 10−8. With a future circular e + e − collider, constraints on the τ → lμμ branching fractions could reach as low as a few times 10−12.

The discovery of the Higgs boson marks a key ingredient to establish the electroweak structure of the Standard Model. Its non-abelian gauge structure gives rise to, yet unobserved, non-perturbative baryon and lepton number violating processes. We propose to use cosmic ray air showers, as measured, for example, at the Pierre Auger Observatory, to set a limit on the hadronic production cross section of sphalerons. We identify several observables to discriminate between sphaleron and QCD induced air showers.