Top pair invariant mass distribution: A Window on new physics

Abstract

We explore in detail the physics potential of a measurement of the ttbar\ninvariant mass distribution. First, we assess the accuracy of the best\navailable predictions for this observable and find that in the low invariant\nmass region, the shape is very well predicted and could be used to perform a\ntop mass measurement. Second, we study the effects of a heavy s-channel\nresonance on the ttbar invariant mass distribution, in a model independent way.\nWe provide the necessary Monte Carlo tools to perform the search and outline a\nsimple three-step analysis.\n Comment: 32 pages, 18 figures; Improvements on the section about the top quark\n mass dependence, including one more figure