University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Search for flavor changing neutral currents in top quark decays using a two-leptons+track selection

Cortes Gonzalez, Arely

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/42249

Description

Title
Search for flavor changing neutral currents in top quark decays using a two-leptons+track selection
Author(s)
Cortes Gonzalez, Arely
Issue Date
2013-02-03T19:29:11Z
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Liss, Tony M.
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Pitts, Kevin T.
Committee Member(s)
  • Liss, Tony M.
  • Eckstein, James N.
  • Willenbrock, Scott S.
Department of Study
Physics
Discipline
Physics
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • Top Quark
  • Flavor changing neutral currents (FCNC)
  • Top Quark Decays
  • A Toroidal LHC Apparatus (ATLAS)
  • European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
Abstract
A search for flavor-changing neutral currents in top quark decays is described. Data collected at a center- of-mass energy of √s = 7 TeV during 2011 corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.1 fb^{-1} are used. A cut-based analysis is used on top quark pair production events, where one top quark is assumed to follow the dominant Standard Model decay t->Wb, and the other the flavor changing neutral current decay t->Zq. Only the decays of the Z-boson to charged leptons and leptonic W-boson decays are considered signal. The search uses an event selection with two identified leptons (electrons and/or muons) and one lepton selected via inner-detector track requirements only (track lepton). Backgrounds to the search are evaluated using almost entirely data-driven techniques. An orthogonal channel, with three identified leptons is also described, and used in the final result. No significant excess is observed in the signal region. An upper limit on the t->qZ branching ratio of BR(t->Zq) <0.73% is set at the 95% confidence level, compatible with the expected limit.
Graduation Semester
2012-12
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/42249
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2012 Arely Cortes Gonzalez

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