Single production of vectorlike X quarks at the HL-LHC

Abstract

Based on a model-independent framework, we study single production of exotic vectorlike X quark with electric charge |QX|=5/3 and its subsequent decay at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). We calculate the cross sections of signal (for different couplings and mass values) and relevant Standard Model backgrounds, and further estimate the sensitivity to the parameters (coupling strength κ and mass MX) in the channel X→tW+ using final states with same-sign dileptons (electrons or muons), one b-tagged jet and missing energy. After a rapid simulation of signal and background events, the 95% CL exclusion limits and the 5σ discovery reach in the parameter plane of κ−MX are respectively obtained at the 14 TeV LHC with an integrated luminosity of 3000 fb−1.