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Main Authors: Silva, Marta, Barrué, Ricardo, Ochoa, Inês, Muíño, Patricia Conde
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.03307
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author Silva, Marta
Barrué, Ricardo
Ochoa, Inês
Muíño, Patricia Conde
author_facet Silva, Marta
Barrué, Ricardo
Ochoa, Inês
Muíño, Patricia Conde
contents Understanding the source of the universe's asymmetry between matter and antimatter is one of the major open questions in particle physics. In this work, the sensitivity of novel machine-learning-based inference techniques to CP-odd and CP-even $HWW$ anomalous couplings is studied in the $\\WH \rightarrow \ell νb\bar{b}$ channel ($\ell = e, μ$), within the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT) framework. Two machine-learning simulation-based inference (SBI) methods are explored: a per-event likelihood-ratio estimator, which directly approximates the ratio of probability densities between competing hypotheses, is benchmarked against a per-event optimal-observable estimator optimized for sensitivity to the parameters of interest. Both approaches are also compared to traditional summary statistics, in this case histograms of kinematic and angular observables, as commonly used in experimental analyses. SBI methods provide tighter constraints than one-dimensional summary statistics, though their performance is comparable to two-dimensional histogram analysis. The optimal-observable approach remains promising for its ability to probe multiple couplings simultaneously. Restricting the analysis to a region of high $S/B$ also enhances sensitivity to CP-odd operators while preserving sensitivity to CP-even operators, which histogram analyses often lose. Although the likelihood-ratio estimator sometimes struggles with likelihood minima and shapes, optimisations that target its robustness could make it more sensitive than both the optimal-observable estimator and the histogram method. These results underscore the potential of advanced simulation-based inference techniques, encouraging further exploration with LHC Run 3 data to surpass current ATLAS and CMS sensitivities.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_03307
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Searching for HWW Anomalous Couplings with Simulation-Based Inference
Silva, Marta
Barrué, Ricardo
Ochoa, Inês
Muíño, Patricia Conde
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Experiment
Understanding the source of the universe's asymmetry between matter and antimatter is one of the major open questions in particle physics. In this work, the sensitivity of novel machine-learning-based inference techniques to CP-odd and CP-even $HWW$ anomalous couplings is studied in the $\\WH \rightarrow \ell νb\bar{b}$ channel ($\ell = e, μ$), within the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT) framework. Two machine-learning simulation-based inference (SBI) methods are explored: a per-event likelihood-ratio estimator, which directly approximates the ratio of probability densities between competing hypotheses, is benchmarked against a per-event optimal-observable estimator optimized for sensitivity to the parameters of interest. Both approaches are also compared to traditional summary statistics, in this case histograms of kinematic and angular observables, as commonly used in experimental analyses. SBI methods provide tighter constraints than one-dimensional summary statistics, though their performance is comparable to two-dimensional histogram analysis. The optimal-observable approach remains promising for its ability to probe multiple couplings simultaneously. Restricting the analysis to a region of high $S/B$ also enhances sensitivity to CP-odd operators while preserving sensitivity to CP-even operators, which histogram analyses often lose. Although the likelihood-ratio estimator sometimes struggles with likelihood minima and shapes, optimisations that target its robustness could make it more sensitive than both the optimal-observable estimator and the histogram method. These results underscore the potential of advanced simulation-based inference techniques, encouraging further exploration with LHC Run 3 data to surpass current ATLAS and CMS sensitivities.
title Searching for HWW Anomalous Couplings with Simulation-Based Inference
topic High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
High Energy Physics - Experiment
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.03307