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  • Open Access

Distorting the top resonance with effective interactions

Felix Egle1,*, Christoph Englert2,†, Margarete Mühlleitner3,‡, and Michael Spannowsky4,§

  • *Contact author: felix.egle@desy.de
  • †Contact author: christoph.englert@manchester.ac.uk
  • ‡Contact author: margarete.muehlleitner@kit.edu
  • §Contact author: michael.spannowsky@durham.ac.uk
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Phys. Rev. D 112, 115002 – Published 1 December, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/2rz1-55f5

Abstract

Interference effects in effective field theory (EFT) analyses can significantly distort sensitivity expectations, leaving subtle yet distinct signatures in the reconstruction of final states crucial for limit setting around Standard Model predictions. Using the specific example of four-fermion operators in top-quark pair production at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), we provide a detailed quantitative assessment of these resonance distortions. We explore how continuum four-fermion interactions affect the resonance shapes, creating potential tensions between the high-statistics resonance regions and rare, high momentum-transfer continuum excesses. Our findings indicate that, although four-fermion interactions do modify the on-shell region comparably to continuum enhancements, current experimental strategies at the high-luminosity LHC are unlikely to capture these subtle interference-induced distortions. Nonetheless, such effects could become critical for precision analyses at future lepton colliders, such as the FCC-ee. Our work underscores the importance of resonance-shape measurements as complementary probes in global EFT approaches, guiding robust and self-consistent experimental strategies in ongoing and future high-energy physics programs.

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Phys. Rev. D 112, 115002– Published 1 December, 2025
  • Received 9 May 2025
  • Accepted 31 October 2025
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