Speaker
Description
Data collected during Run 3 of the LHC will allow more precise studies of VBS processes and calculation of new limits on anomalous Quartic Gauge Couplings within the framework of SMEFT with dimension-8 operators. Within the SMEFT framework, the total cross section can be expressed as a sum of three components: the purely SM term, the interference between SM and EFT amplitudes, and the purely quadratic EFT term. From dimensional considerations one generally expects interference effects play the dominant role in BSM signal in order to ensure an accurate SMEFT description without invoking higher order corrections. This however may not necessarily be the case within the range of Wilson coefficients the LHC is currently able to probe. This issue has not been properly addressed in studies carried out so far, where no distinction was made between BSM signals originating from the interference and from the quadratic terms. We will present preliminary studies of possible BMS effects induced by SMEFT dimension-8 operators, using the same-sign WW VBS process as an example, where the relative contributions of interference and quadratic terms are examined separately. Using private samples of MadGraph generated VBS events with different dimension-8 operators, we study possible ways to enhance the sensitivity to the respective interference terms in the calculation of limits on aQGCs by exploring the observed BSM effects in the distributions of many kinematic variables. Preliminary studies done at the generator level may be extended to incorporate detector simulation in the future.
