What is the top quark mass?

Author(s)
André H. Hoang
Abstract

This review provides an overview of the conceptual issues regarding the interpretation of so-called direct top quark mass measurements, which are based on the kinematic reconstruction of top quark decay products at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). These measurements quote the top mass parameter mMC t of Monte Carlo event generators with current uncertainties of around 0.5 GeV. The problem of finding a rigorous relation between mMC t and top mass renormalization schemes defined in field theory is unresolved to date and touches perturbative as well as nonperturbative aspects and the limitations of state-of-the-art Monte Carlo event generators. I review the status of LHC top mass measurements, illustrate how conceptual limitations enter the picture, and explain a controversy that has permeated the community in the context of the interpretation problem related to mMC t . I then summarize recent advances in acquiring first principles insights and outline what else has to be understood to fully resolve the issue. I conclude with recommendations on how to deal with the interpretation problem for the time being when making top mass-dependent theoretical predictions.

Organisation(s)
Research Platform Erwin Schrödinger International Institute for Mathematics and Physics, Particle Physics
Journal
Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science
Volume
70
Pages
225-255
No. of pages
31
ISSN
0163-8998
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-nucl-101918-023530
Publication date
10-2020
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
103034 Particle physics
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/what-is-the-top-quark-mass(5e320f4e-da5e-47eb-85f8-6bfd5add9331).html