A New Paradigm for Precision Top Physics: Weighing the Top with Energy Correlators

Final states in collider experiments are characterized by correlation functions, $\langle \mathcal{E}(\vec n_1) \cdots \mathcal{E}(\vec n_k) \rangle$, of the energy flow operator $ \mathcal{E}(\vec n_i)$. These correlation functions typically exhibit a power-law scaling characteristic of asymptotically free Quantum Chromodynamics. In this Letter, we show that the top quark imprints itself as a peak in the three-point correlation function at an angle $\zeta \sim m_t^2/p_T^2$, with $m_t$ the top quark mass and $p_T$ its transverse momentum. This provides direct access to one of the most important parameters of the Standard Model in one of the field theoretically simplest observables. We show that the three-point correlator allows us to simultaneously achieve high sensitivity to the top mass and high insensitivity to soft physics and underlying event contamination. We find it an amusing turn of fate that correlation functions which have received the most interest in the context of conformal field theories, in fact hold the key to understanding the heaviest known particle.