UC Santa Cruz

If new heavy particles are discovered at the Large Hadron

Collider (LHC), we will need a way to distinguish among various

theoretical interpretations for the new physics beyond the Standard

Model (BSM). Models of BSM physics often predict specific relations

that must be satisfied by the couplings of the new particles. For

example, the coupling of the quark, Kaluza-Klein quark and

Kaluza-Klein gluon of the minimal Universal Extra Dimensions (mUED)

model must equal the strong coupling constant of QCD up to small

symmetry-breaking corrections that are radiatively generated. Using

computer simulations, I investigate the possible precision with which

one can measure this coupling at the LHC by examining like-sign dilepton

events that include additional hadronic jets and missing transverse

energy. To set bounds on the precision of a measurement of

the mUED strong coupling constant, I vary this constant away from

its predicted value and investigate the resulting change to the

number of events expected at the LHC. I show that a

measurement of the mUED strong coupling constant can be constrained

to ~5 - 25% provided the systematic uncertainty of the mUED

signal can be reduced.