Search for flavour-changing neutral current top-quark decays $t\to qZ$ in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

• Main Author: ATLAS collaboration (2869 authors)
• Publication Date: 2018
• Other Authors: Aguilar-Saavedra, Juan Antonio, Amor Dos Santos, Susana Patricia, Araque, Juan Pedro, Castro, Nuno Filipe, Conde Muiño, Patricia, Da Cunha Sargedas De Sousa, Mario Jose, Fiolhais, Miguel, Galhardo, Bruno, Gomes, Agostinho, Gonçalo, Ricardo, Jorge, Pedro, Machado Miguens, Joana, Maio, Amélia, Maneira, José, Oleiro Seabra, Luis Filipe, Onofre, António, Pedro, Rute, Santos, Helena, Saraiva, João, Silva, José, Tavares Delgado, Ademar, Veloso, Filipe, Wolters, Helmut
• Format: Article
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Download full: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/JHEP07(2018)176; http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/27604

A search for flavour-changing neutral-current processes in top-quark decays is presented. Data collected with the ATLAS detector from proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb$^{-1}$, are analysed. The search is performed using top-quark pair events, with one top quark decaying through the $t\rightarrow qZ$ $(q = u, c)$ flavour-changing neutral-current channel, and the other through the dominant Standard Model mode $t\rightarrow bW$. Only $Z$ boson decays into charged leptons and leptonic $W$ boson decays are considered as signal. Consequently, the final-state topology is characterized by the presence of three isolated charged leptons (electrons or muons) and at least two jets, one of the jets originating from a $b$-quark. The data are consistent with Standard Model background contributions, and at 95% confidence level the search sets observed (expected) upper limits of $1.7\times10^{-4}$ ($2.4\times10^{-4}$) on the $t\to uZ$ branching ratio and $2.4\times10^{-4}$ ($3.2\times10^{-4}$) on the $t\to cZ$ branching ratio, constituting the most stringent limits to date.