Recent studies of top quark properties and decays at hadron colliders

Abstract

The top quark is the heaviest known elementary particle. Observed for the first time in 1995 at the Tevatron by the CDF and D0 experiments, it has become object of several studies aimed at fully characterize its properties and decays. Precise determinations of top quark characteristics verify the internal consistency of the standard model and are sensitive to new physics phenomena. With the advent of the large top quark production rates generated at the LHC, top quark studies have reached unprecedented statistical precision. This review summarizes the recent measurements of top quark properties and studies of its decays performed at the LHC and Tevatron.