Triple-Top Signal of New Physics at the LHC

Abstract

We present leading-order (LO) cross sections for the production of three top quarks ($tt\tb$,$t\tb\tb$) at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). We find a total LO cross section for triple-top production in the Standard Model of $\sigma \approx 2 $ fb at $\sqrt{s}=14$ TeV and we give examples of two new physics models which have a significant enhancement to this channel. In the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM), there are regions of parameter space where the decays of gluino pairs into final states including three tops has a cross section $\sigma \approx 41$ fb. In a leptophobic $Z'$ model featuring right-handed couplings of the $u$-quark to the top, we find $\sigma \approx 28$ fb. With efficient identification and reconstruction of the top quarks, the triple-top signal could potentially provide evidence for new physics at the LHC.