Testing right-handed currents at the LHC

Abstract

The CMS Collaboration has published two different searches for new physics that contain possible hints for excesses in $$eejj$$ and $$e\nu jj$$ final states. Interpreting those hints as a possible signal of a right-handed gauge boson $$W_R$$ with mass 2–2.5 TeV may have profound implications for our understanding of the gauge structure of nature and Grand Unification, the scalar sector accessible at the LHC, neutrino physics, and the baryon asymmetry of the Universe. We show that this interpretation is, indeed, consistent with all existing constraints. However, before making premature claims we propose a number of cross-checks at the LHC14 that could confirm or falsify this scenario. Those include searches for a $$Z_R$$ resonance and the related new scalar sector around 6–7 TeV. Additionally, large effects in top-quark spin-asymmetries in single top production are possible.