Search for pair-produced vector-like top and bottom partners in events with large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions with the ATLAS detector
G. Aad, B. Abbott, D. C. Abbott, K. Abeling, S. H. Abidi, A. Aboulhorma, H. Abramowicz, H. Abreu, Y. Abulaiti, A. C. Abusleme Hoffman, B. S. Acharya, C. Adam Bourdarios, L. Adamczyk, L. Adámek, S. V. Addepalli, J. Adelman, A. Adıgüzel, S. Adorni, T. Adye, A. A. Affolder, Y. Afik, M. N. Agaras, J. Agarwala, A. Aggarwal, C. Agheorghiesei, J. A. Aguilar–Saavedra, A. Ahmad, F. Ahmadov, W. S. Ahmed, S. Ahuja, X. Ai, G. Aielli, I. Aizenberg, M. Akbiyik, T. P. A. Åkesson, A. V. Akimov, K. Al Khoury, G. L. Alberghi, J. Albert, P. Albicocco, S. Alderweireldt, M. Aleksa, I. N. Aleksandrov, C. Alexa, T. Alexopoulos, A. Alfonsi, F. Alfonsi, M. Alhroob, B. Ali, S. Ali, M. Aliev, G. Alimonti, W. Alkakhi, C. Allaire, B. M. M. Allbrooke, C. Flores, P. P. Allport, A. Aloisio, F. Alonso, C. Alpigiani, E. Alunno Camelia, M. Alvarez Estevez, M. G. Alviggi, M. Aly, Y. Amaral Coutinho, A. Ambler, C. Amelung, M. Amerl, C. G. Ames, D. Amidei, S. P. Amor Dos Santos, S. Amoroso, K. R. Amos, V. Ananiev, C. Anastopoulos, T. Andeen, J. K. Anders, S. Y. Andrean, A. Andreazza, S. Angelidakis, A. Angerami, A. V. Anisenkov, A. Annovi, C. Antel, M. T. Anthony, E. Antipov, M. Antonelli, D. J. A. Antrim, F. Anulli, M. Aoki, T. Aoki, J. A. Aparisi Pozo, M. A. Aparo, L. Aperio Bella, C. Appelt, N. Aranzabal, V. Araujo Ferraz, C. Arcangeletti, A. T. H. Arce, E. Arena
Abstract
Abstract A search for pair-produced vector-like quarks using events with exactly one lepton ( e or $$\mu $$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mi>μ</mml:mi> </mml:math> ), at least four jets including at least one b -tagged jet, and large missing transverse momentum is presented. Data from proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $$\sqrt{s}=$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msqrt> <mml:mi>s</mml:mi> </mml:msqrt> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> 13 $$\text {TeV}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mtext>TeV</mml:mtext> </mml:math> , recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC from 2015 to 2018 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb $$^{-1}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:msup> <mml:mrow/> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>-</mml:mo> <mml:mn>1</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> </mml:math> , are analysed. Vector-like partners T and B of the top and bottom quarks are considered, as is a vector-like X with charge $$+5/3$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>+</mml:mo> <mml:mn>5</mml:mn> <mml:mo>/</mml:mo> <mml:mn>3</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> , assuming their decay into a W , Z , or Higgs boson and a third-generation quark. No significant deviations from the Standard Model expectation are observed. Upper limits on the production cross-section of T and B quark pairs as a function of their mass are derived for various decay branching ratio scenarios. The strongest lower limits on the masses are 1.59 $$\text {TeV}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mtext>TeV</mml:mtext> </mml:math> assuming mass-degenerate vector-like quarks and branching ratios corresponding to the weak-isospin doublet model, and 1.47 $$\text {TeV}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mtext>TeV</mml:mtext> </mml:math> (1.46 $$\text {TeV}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mtext>TeV</mml:mtext> </mml:math> ) for exclusive $$T \rightarrow Zt$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>T</mml:mi> <mml:mo>→</mml:mo> <mml:mi>Z</mml:mi> <mml:mi>t</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> ( $$B/X \rightarrow Wt$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>B</mml:mi> <mml:mo>/</mml:mo> <mml:mi>X</mml:mi> <mml:mo>→</mml:mo> <mml:mi>W</mml:mi> <mml:mi>t</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> ) decays. In addition, lower limits on the T and B quark masses are derived for all possible branching ratios.