CP3-14-23
CERN-PH-TH-2014-102
LPN14-075
arXiv:1406.3262
Phys.Lett. B736 (2014) 252-260

by: Maltoni, F. (Louvain U., CP3) et al.

Abstract:
We study the charge asymmetry between the t and t¯ quarks at the LHC, when they are produced in association with a W boson. Though sizably reducing the cross section with respect to the inclusive production, requiring a W boson in the final state has two important implications. First, at leading order in QCD, tt¯W± production can only occur via qq¯ annihilation. As a result, the asymmetry between the t and t¯ generated at NLO in QCD is significantly larger than that of inclusive tt¯ production, which is dominated by gluon fusion. Second, the top quarks tend to inherit the polarization of the initial-state quarks as induced by the W -boson emission. Hence, the decay products of the top quarks display a sizable asymmetry already at the leading order in QCD. We study the relevant distributions and their uncertainties in the standard model, compare them to those obtained in a simple axigluon model and discuss prospects for measurements at the LHC and beyond.