Measuring Top-Quark Polarization in Top-Pair + Missing Energy Events

Abstract

The polarization of a top-quark can be sensitive to new physics beyond the standard model. We propose a novel method to measure top-quark polarization, based on the charged lepton energy fraction in top-quark decay, and illustrate the method with a detailed simulation of top-quark pairs produced in supersymmetric top squark pair production. We show that the lepton energy ratio distribution that we define is very sensitive to the top-quark polarization but insensitive to the precise measurement of the top-quark energy.

4 pages, 4 figures, to be published in the Proceedings of the 48th Rencontres de Moriond "QCD and High Energy Interactions", La Thuile, Italy, March 9-16, 2013