Search for single production of a Maverick Top partner using the ATLAS detector*

Searches for vector-like quarks (VLQs), in particular, vector-like top quarks (VLTs), provide an avenue for exploring physics beyond the standard model. The ATLAS collaboration has a robust physics program that has searched for VLTs under the assumption that they will decay to a third-generation quark and a heavy SM boson. To date, these searches have not resulted in the discovery of new physics. Considering new scenarios where it is no longer assumed the VLT will only decay to known SM particles, but rather a SM top quark and a BSM particle, provides a new paradigm in the search for VLTs. This talk will discuss the search for a hypothetical VLT, referred to as a Maverick Top partner (MavTop), decaying to a SM top quark and a dark photon. Not only does the search for a MavTop open a new realm in the search for VLTs, but it also provides a probe of the dark sector. The unique signal topology is characterized by a so-called lepton jet, a highly collimated pair of leptons resulting from the decay of the dark photon. Work related to this search will be presented.