Varying gauge couplings and collider phenomenology

Abstract

In this paper we investigate a natural extension of the Standard Model that involves varying coupling constants. This is a general expectation in any fundamental theory such as string theory, and there are good reasons for why new physics could appear at reachable energy scales. We investigate the collider phenomenology of models with varying gauge couplings where the variations are associated with real singlet scalar fields. We introduce three different heavy scalar fields that are responsible for the variations of the three gauge couplings of the Standard Model. This gives rise to many interesting collider signatures that we explore, resulting in exclusion limits based on the most recent LHC data, and predictions of the future discovery potential at the high-luminosity LHC.