Using t -> b anti-b c to Search for New Physics

KEN KIERS; TAL KNIGHTON; DAVID LONDON; MATTHEW RUSSELL; ALEJANDRO SZYNKMAN; KARI WEBSTER

PHYSICAL REVIEW D

AMER PHYSICAL SOC

Año: 2011 p. 1 - 13

1550-7998

We consider new-physics (NP) contributions to the decay t -> b anti-b c. We parameterize the NP couplings by an effective Lagrangian consisting of 10 Lorentz structures. We show that the presence of NP can be detected through the measurement of the partial width. A partial identification of the NP can be achieved through the measurements of a forward-backward-like asymmetry, a top-quark-spin-dependent asymmetry, the partial rate asymmetry, and a triple-product asymmetry. These observables, which vanish in the standard model, can all take values in the 10-20% range in the presence of NP. Since |Vtb Vcb|  ~ |Vts Vcs|, most of our results also hold, with small changes, for t -> s anti-s c.