LHC dijet angular distributions as a probe for the dimension-six triple gluon vertex

In the absence of a concrete discovery of new physics at the LHC, global analyses of the standard model effective field theory (SMEFT) are important to find and describe the impact of new physics beyond the energy reach of the LHC. Among the SMEFT operators that can be constrained via various measurements, the dimension six triple gluon operator involves neither the Higgs boson nor the top quark, yet its variation can have measurable effects on top and Higgs production. Without independent constraints on its impact, the sensitivity of measurements in the top and Higgs sectors to new physics is reduced. We show that the dijet angular distribution is a powerful observable for probing the triple gluon operator. We set the most stringent limit on the triple gluon effective coupling by reinterpreting the results of a search for new phenomena in dijet events using 35.9 fb$^{-1}$ of pp collision data collected at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV performed by the CMS collaboration. The obtained limit on the strength of the triple gluon operator is far below the sensitivity of that which can be derived from top quark and Higgs measurements and thus this operator can be neglected in global SMEFT analyses.