Search for the production of a leptonically decaying Maverick Top in pp collisions collected by the ATLAS detector

We present a search for the Maverick Top Partner (T ), a hypothetical vector-like quark with the capacity to decay into a dark photon and standard model top quark ( T→γ_dt ). This search utilizes data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC during Run 2 and Run 3. The decay of a Maverick Top provides a unique event signature due to it being a heavy quark that decays to a dark photon, resulting in a highly boosted lepton-jet. The unique kinematics and topology of the signal are exploited to significantly reduce the background from Standard Model processes, allowing for the identification of signal-like events. Through a comprehensive approach including signal and background discrimination, validation, and hypothesis testing, we aim to explore a beyond the standard model framework by searching for a Maverick Top particle with coupling to the dark sector, which may provide further insight into the interaction of dark matter with the standard model particles.