Constraining Gluonic Quartic Gauge Coupling Operators with gg→γγ.

Area of Science:

• High Energy Physics
• Particle Physics
• Quantum Field Theory

Background:

• The Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT) extends the Standard Model by incorporating higher-dimensional operators.
• Dimension-8 operators, quadratic in field-strength tensors, probe new physics beyond the Standard Model.
• The Born-Infeld extension is a theoretical framework that can generate such operators.

Purpose of the Study:

• To utilize gluon-gluon to photon-photon scattering (gg→γγ) as a probe for dimension-8 operators in SMEFT.
• To set experimental limits on the energy scale of these operators using LHC data.
• To explore the future sensitivity of hadron colliders to these phenomena.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 13-TeV ATLAS data focusing on the production of isolated photon pairs.
• Comparison of experimental results with theoretical predictions for gg→γγ scattering.
• Calculation of lower limits on the mass scale (M) of dimension-8 operators.

Main Results:

• Lower limits on the scales of dimension-8 operators are established at M≳1 TeV.
• The gg→γγ process is confirmed as a sensitive probe for new physics at the TeV scale.
• The study provides a baseline for future precision measurements.

Conclusions:

• The ATLAS experiment has constrained new physics scenarios involving dimension-8 operators.
• Future hadron colliders hold significant potential for improving these constraints.
• This research contributes to the ongoing search for physics beyond the Standard Model.