Colorphilic spin-2 resonances in the LHC dijet channel

Experiments at the LHC may yet discover a dijet resonance indicative of beyond the standard model (BSM) physics. In this case, the question becomes: what BSM theories are consistent with the unexpected resonance? One possibility would be a spin-2 object called the 'colorphilic graviton'—a spin-2 color-singlet particle which couples exclusively to the quark and gluon stress-energy tensors. We assess the possibility of this state's discovery in the dijet channel as an s-channel resonance, and report the regions of parameter space where colorphilic gravitons have not yet been excluded by LHC-13 data but still may be discovered in the dijet channel at LHC-14 for integrated luminosities of 0.3, 1, and 3 ab−1. We then delineate which of those regions remain accessible to future collider searches, once one accounts for applicability of the narrow-width approximation, mass resolution of the detector, and self-consistency according to tree-level partial-wave unitarity. We discover that–despite the strong constraints unitarity imposes on collider searches–the colorphilic graviton remains potentially discoverable in the LHC dijet channel. A means of investigation would be to apply the color discriminant variable, a dimensionless combination of quantities (production cross-section, total decay width, and invariant mass) that can be quickly measured after the discovery of a dijet resonance. Previous publications have demonstrated the color discriminant variable's utility when applied to theories containing vector bosons (colorons, ), excited quarks, and diquarks. We extend this analysis to the case of the colorphilic graviton by applying the color discriminant variable to the appropriate region of parameter space. We conclude that resolvable, discoverable dijet resonances consistent with colorphilic gravitons span a narrower range of masses than those consistent with leptophobic models, and can be distinguished from those originating from coloron, excited quark, and diquark models.