PreprintCC BY 4.0arXiv
Minimal cascade decay of the top quark through a new scalar
Abstract
We explore a possible decay of the top quark into a new scalar ϕt plus a charm quark. The decay is mediated by a dimension-5 operator that may be generated by the exchange of a heavy vectorlike quark, χ, and can have a branching fraction close to a percent. In a minimal model, ϕt decays due to the same operator that allows the nonstandard top decay, leading to a final state involving a c jet, a b jet and a W boson. Hence, the top quark would undergo a nonstandard cascade decay through ϕt and then through an off-shell top quark. The main nonstandard collider signal is a t t̅ → c c̅ b b̅ W+ W- process. In addition, production of the vectorlike quark at the LHC would lead to a signal of the type χϕt j → 3c + b b̅ W W j.
Related
- Testing Minimal U(2)3 Right-Handed Flavor Breaking in a Singlet-Scalar Vector-Like Quark Portal
- Scalar diquark mass and quark–diquark potential from lattice QCD using the potential method with a static quark
- Scalar diquark mass and quark--diquark potential from lattice QCD using the potential method with a static quark
- Neutrino lines and photon continua from cascade dark matter decay
- Top-Quark Pair Production and Decay in Extended Higgs Sectors
BibTeX
@misc{dobrescu2026minimal,
title = {{Minimal cascade decay of the top quark through a new scalar}},
author = {Bogdan A. Dobrescu and Max H. Fieg and Alessandro Russo},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.07136},
eprint = {2610.07136},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.07136},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Minimal cascade decay of the top quark through a new scalar
AU - Bogdan A. Dobrescu
AU - Max H. Fieg
AU - Alessandro Russo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.07136
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.07136
AB - We explore a possible decay of the top quark into a new scalar ϕ_t plus a charm quark. The decay is mediated by a dimension-5 operator that may be generated by the exchange of a heavy vectorlike quark, χ, and can have a branching fraction close to a percent. In a minimal model, ϕ_t decays due to the same operator that allows the nonstandard top decay, leading to a final state involving a c jet, a b jet and a W boson. Hence, the top quark would undergo a nonstandard cascade decay through ϕ_t and then through an off-shell top quark. The main nonstandard collider signal is a t t̅ → c c̅ b b̅ W^+ W^- process. In addition, production of the vectorlike quark at the LHC would lead to a signal of the type χϕ_t j → 3c + b b̅ W W j.
ER -