Separating Dijet Resonances Using the Color Discriminant Variable

Abstract

Color-singlet and color-octet vector bosons predicted in theories beyond the Standard Model have the potential to be discovered as dijet resonances at the LHC. A color-singlet resonance that has leptophobic couplings needs further investigation to be distinguished from a color-octet one. In previous work, we introduced a method for discriminating between the two kinds of resonances when their couplings are flavor-universal, using measurements of the dijet resonance mass, total decay width and production cross-section. Here, we describe two extensions of that work. First, we broaden the method to the case where the vector resonances have flavor non-universal couplings, by incorporating measurements of the heavy-flavor decays of the resonance. Second, we apply the method to separating vector bosons from color-octet scalars and excited quarks.