Abstract
Abstract:
A search for W t-boson production in the W t → tb¯
→ qq¯tbb¯ decay channel is presented
using 36.1 fb−1 of 13 TeV proton–proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large
Hadron Collider in 2015 and 2016. The search is interpreted in terms of both a left-handed and a
right-handed chiral W t boson within the mass range 1–5 TeV. Identification of the hadronically
decaying top quark is performed using jet substructure tagging techniques based on a shower
deconstruction algorithm. No significant deviation from the Standard Model prediction is observed
and the results are expressed as upper limits on the W t → tb¯ production cross-section times
branching ratio as a function of the W t-boson mass. These limits exclude W t bosons with
right-handed couplings with masses below 3.0 TeV and W t bosons with left-handed couplings with
masses below 2.9 TeV, at the 95% confidence level.