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At least 415 records · Page 23

Higgs Searches Beyond the Standard Model

While the existence of a Higgs boson with a mass near 125 GeV has been clearly established, the detailed structure of the entire Higgs sector is yet unclear. Besides the Standard Model interpretation, various possibilities for extended Higgs sectors are being considered. The minimal supersymmetric extension (MSSM) features two Higgs doublets resulting in five physical Higgs bosons, which are subject to direct searches. Alternatively, more generic Two-Higgs Doublet models (2HDM) are used for the interpretation of results. The Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Model (NMSSM) has a more complex Higgs sector with seven physical states. Also exotic Higgs bosons decaying to invisible final states are considered. This article summarizes recent findings based on results from collider experiments.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Constraints on Models for the Higgs Boson with Exotic Spin and Parity

The production of a Higgs boson in association with a vector boson at the Tevatron offers a unique opportunity to study models for the Higgs boson with exotic spin J and parity P assignments. At the Tevatron the V H system is produced near threshold. Different JP assignments of the Higgs boson can be distinguished by examining the behavior of the cross section near threshold. The relatively low backgrounds at the Tevatron compared to the LHC put us in a unique position to study the direct decay of the Higgs boson to fermions. If the Higgs sector is more complex than predicted, studying the spin and parity of the Higgs boson in all decay modes is important. In this Thesis we will examine the WH → ℓνb¯b production and decay mode using 9.7 fb -1 of data collected by the D0 experiment in an attempt to derive constraints on models containing exotic values for the spin and parity of the Higgs boson. In particular, we will examine models for a Higgs boson with JP = 0- and JP = 2+. We use a likelihood ratio to quantify the degree to which our data are incompatible with exotic JP predictions for a range of possible production rates. Assuming the production cross section times branching ratio of the signals in the models considered is equal to the standard model prediction, the WH → ℓνb¯b mode alone is unable to reject either exotic model considered. We will also discuss the combination of the ZH → ℓℓb¯b, WH → ℓνb¯b, and V H → ννb¯b production modes at the D0 experiment and with the CDF experiment. When combining all three production modes at the D0 experiment we reject the JP = 0- and JP = 2+ hypotheses at the 97.6% CL and at the 99.0% CL, respectively, when assuming the signal production cross section times branching ratio is equal to the standard model predicted value. When combining with the CDF experiment we reject the JP = 0- and JP = 2+ hypotheses with significances of 5.0 standard deviations and 4.9 standard deviations, respectively.abstract

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Improving Di-Higgs Sensitivity at Future Colliders in Hadronic Final States with Machine Learning

One of the central goals of the physics program at the future colliders is to elucidate the origin of electroweak symmetry breaking, including precision measurements of the Higgs sector. This includes a detailed study of Higgs boson (H) pair production, which can reveal the H self-coupling. Since the discovery of the Higgs boson, a large campaign of measurements of the properties of the Higgs boson has begun and many new ideas have emerged during the completion of this program. One such idea is the use of highly boosted and merged hadronic decays of the Higgs boson ($\mathrm{H}\to\mathrm{b}\bar{\mathrm{b}}$, $\mathrm{H}\to\mathrm{W}\mathrm{W}\to\mathrm{q}\bar{\mathrm{q}}\mathrm{q}\bar{\mathrm{q}}$) with machine learning methods to improve the signal-to-background discrimination. In this white paper, we champion the use of these modes to boost the sensitivity of future collider physics programs to Higgs boson pair production, the Higgs self-coupling, and Higgs-vector boson couplings. We demonstrate the potential improvement possible at the Future Circular Collider in hadron mode, especially with the use of graph neural networks.

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Postinflationary vacuum instability and Higgs-inflaton couplings

The Higgs-inflaton coupling plays an important role in the Higgs field dynamics in the early Universe. Even a tiny coupling generated at loop level can have a dramatic effect on the fate of the electroweak vacuum. Such Higgs-inflaton interaction is present both at the trilinear and quartic levels in realistic reheating models. In this work, we examine the Higgs dynamics during the preheating epoch, focusing on the effects of the parametric and tachyonic resonances. We use lattice simulations and other numerical tools in our studies. We find that the resonances can induce large fluctuations of the Higgs field which destabilize the electroweak vacuum. Our considerations thus provide an upper bound on quartic and trilinear interactions between the Higgs and the inflaton. We conclude that there exists a favorable range of the couplings within which the Higgs field is stabilized during both inflation and preheating epochs.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Supersymmetric leptophilic Higgs model

In the leptophilic model, one Higgs doublet couples to quarks and another couples to leptons. We study the supersymmetric version of this model, concentrating on the tightly constrained Higgs sector, which has four doublets. Constraints from perturbativity, unitarity, and LEP bounds are considered. It is found that the lightest Higgs, h, can have a mass well below 114 GeV, and for masses below 100 GeV will have a substantially enhanced branching ratio into {tau} pairs. For this region of parameter space, traditional production mechanisms (Higgs-strahlung, W fusion, and gluon fusion) are suppressed, but it may be produced in the decay of heavier particles. The second lightest Higgs has a mass of approximately 110 GeV for virtually all of parameter space, with standard model couplings, and thus an increase of a few GeV in the current lower bound on the standard model Higgs mass would rule out the model. The two heavier Higgs are both gauge phobic, one decays almost entirely into bb and can be produced via gluon fusion while the other decays almost entirely into {tau}{sup +}{tau}{sup -} but cannot be easily produced.

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W{sup {+-}H{+-}} associated production at the LHC in the general two-Higgs-doublet model with spontaneous CP violation

Spontaneous CP violation motivates the introduction of two Higgs doublets in the electroweak theory. Such a simple extension of the standard model has three neutral Higgs bosons and a pair of charged Higgs; it especially leads to rich CP-violating sources, including the induced Kobayashi-Maskawa CP-violating phase, the mixing of the neutral Higgs bosons due to the CP-odd Higgs, and the effective complex Yukawa couplings of the charged and neutral Higgs bosons. Within this model, we present the production of a charged Higgs boson in association with a W boson at the LHC, and calculate in detail the cross section and the transverse momentum distribution of the associated W boson.

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Model-independent Higgs coupling measurements at the LHC using the H{yields}ZZ{yields}4l lineshape

We show that combining a direct measurement of the Higgs total width from the H{yields}ZZ{yields}4l lineshape with Higgs signal rate measurements allows Higgs couplings to be extracted in a model-independent way from CERN LHC data. Using existing experimental studies with 30 fb{sup -1} at one detector of the 14 TeV LHC, we show that the couplings squared of a 190 GeV Higgs to WW, ZZ, and gg can be extracted with statistical precisions of about 10%, and a 95% confidence level upper limit on an unobserved component of the Higgs decay width of about 22% of the standard model Higgs width can be set. The method can also be applied for heavier Higgs masses.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Higgs potential in the type II seesaw model

The standard model Higgs sector, extended by one weak gauge triplet of scalar fields with a very small vacuum expectation value, is a very promising setting to account for neutrino masses through the so-called type II seesaw mechanism. In this paper we consider the general renormalizable doublet/triplet Higgs potential of this model. We perform a detailed study of its main dynamical features that depend on five dimensionless couplings and two mass parameters after spontaneous symmetry breaking, and highlight the implications for the Higgs phenomenology. In particular, we determine (i) the complete set of tree-level unitarity constraints on the couplings of the potential and (ii) the exact tree-level boundedness from below constraints on these couplings, valid for all directions. When combined, these constraints delineate precisely the theoretically allowed parameter space domain within our perturbative approximation. Among the seven physical Higgs states of this model, the mass of the lighter (heavier) CP{sub even} state h{sup 0} (H{sup 0}) will always satisfy a theoretical upper (lower) bound that is reached for a critical value {mu}{sub c} of {mu} (the mass parameter controlling triple couplings among the doublet/triplet Higgses). Saturating the unitarity bounds, we find an upper bound m{sub h}{sup 0}<O(0.7-1 TeV), while the upper bound for the remaining Higgses lies in the range of several tens of TeV. However, the actual masses can be much lighter. We identify two regimes corresponding to {mu} > or approx. {mu}{sub c} and {mu} < or approx. {mu}{sub c}. In the first regime the Higgs sector is typically very heavy, and only h{sup 0} that becomes SM-like could be accessible to the LHC. In contrast, in the second regime, somewhat overlooked in the literature, most of the Higgs sector is light. In particular, the heaviest state H{sup 0} becomes SM-like, the lighter states being the CP{sub odd} Higgs, the (doubly) charged Higgses, and a decoupled h{sup 0}, possibly leading to a distinctive phenomenology at the colliders.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Precision Higgs Boson Physics and Implications for Beyond the Standard Model Physics Theories

The discovery of the Higgs boson is one of science's most impressive recent achievements. We have taken a leap forward in understanding what is at the heart of elementary particle mass generation. We now have a significant opportunity to develop even deeper understanding of how the fundamental laws of nature are constructed. As such, we need intense focus from the scientific community to put this discovery in its proper context, to realign and narrow our understanding of viable theory based on this positive discovery, and to detail the implications the discovery has for theories that attempt to answer questions beyond what the Standard Model can explain. This project's first main object is to develop a state-of-the-art analysis of precision Higgs boson physics. This is to be done in the tradition of the electroweak precision measurements of the LEP/SLC era. Indeed, the electroweak precision studies of the past are necessary inputs to the full precision Higgs program. Calculations will be presented to the community of Higgs boson observables that detail just how well various couplings of the Higgs boson can be measured, and more. These will be carried out using state-of-the-art theory computations coupled with the new experimental results coming in from the LHC. The project's second main objective is to utilize the results obtained from LHC Higgs boson experiments and the precision analysis, along with the direct search studies at LHC, and discern viable theories of physics beyond the Standard Model that unify physics to a deeper level. Studies will be performed on supersymmetric theories, theories of extra spatial dimensions (and related theories, such as compositeness), and theories that contain hidden sector states uniquely accessible to the Higgs boson. In addition, if data becomes incompatible with the Standard Model's low-energy effective lagrangian, new physics theories will be developed that explain the anomaly and put it into a more unified framework beyond the Standard Model.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Vacuum stability bounds on Higgs coupling deviations in the absence of new bosons

We analyze the constraints imposed by Higgs vacuum stability on models with new fermions beyond the Standard Model. We focus on the phenomenology of Higgs couplings accessible at the Large Hadron Collider. New fermions that affect Higgs couplings lead to vacuum instability of the Higgs potential. Above the scale of vacuum instability, bosonic states must stabilize the potential, implying a cut-off to the pure fermion model. Conservatively tuning the models to produce the maximal cut-off for a given Higgs coupling effect, we show that observing a deviation in the Htt, H-diphoton, or H-digluon coupling, larger than 20%, would require that new bosons exist in order to stabilize the Higgs potential below about 100 TeV. For generic parameter configurations, and unless the new fermions are made as light as they can possibly be given current experimental constraints, observing a 10% deviation in any of these couplings would suggest an instability cut-off below 10-100 TeV. Similarly, if new bosons are absent up to a high scale, then a deviation in the Hbb or Hττ coupling, larger than about 20%, should be accompanied by a sizable deviation in the Zbb or Zττ couplings that can be conclusively tested with electroweak precision measurements at planned lepton colliders.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Nonstandard Yukawa couplings and Higgs portal dark matter

We study the implications of non-standard Higgs Yukawa couplings to light quarks on Higgs-portal dark matter phenomenology. Saturating the present experimental bounds on up-quark, down-quark, or strange-quark Yukawa couplings, the predicted direct dark matter detection scattering rate can increase by up to four orders of magnitude. The effect on the dark matter annihilation cross-section, on the other hand, is subleading unless the dark matter is very light — a scenario that is already excluded by measurements of the Higgs invisible decay width. We investigate the expected size of corrections in multi-Higgs-doublet models with natural flavor conservation, the type-II two-Higgs-doublet model, the Giudice-Lebedev model of light quark masses, minimal flavor violation new physics models, Randall-Sundrum, and composite Higgs models. We find that an enhancement in the dark matter scattering rate of an order of magnitude is possible. In conclusion, we point out that a discovery of Higgs-portal dark matter could lead to interesting bounds on the light-quark Yukawa couplings.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Experimental constraints on the coupling of the Higgs boson to electrons

In the standard model (SM), the coupling of the Higgs boson to electrons is real and very small, proportional to the electron mass. New physics could significantly modify both real and imaginary parts of this coupling. We discuss experiments which are sensitive to the Higgs-electron coupling and derive the current bounds on new physics contributing to this coupling. The strongest constraint follows from the ACME bound on the electron electric dipole moment (EDM). We calculate the full analytic two-loop result for the electron EDM and show that it bounds the imaginary part of the Higgs-electron coupling to be less than 1.7×10 -2 times the SM electron Yukawa coupling. Deviations of the real part are much less constrained. We discuss bounds from Higgs decays, resonant Higgs production at electron colliders, Higgs mediated B → e + e - decays, and the anomalous magnetic moment of the electron. Currently, the strongest constraint comes from h → e + e - at the LHC, bounding the coupling to be less than ~ 600 times the SM Yukawa coupling. Important improvements can be expected from future EDM measurements as well as from resonant Higgs production at a next-generation high-luminosity electron-positron collider.

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Searches for Higgs boson production through decays of heavy resonances

The discovery of the Higgs boson has led to new possible signatures for heavy resonance searches at the LHC. Since then, search channels including at least one Higgs boson plus another particle have formed an important part of the program of new physics searches. In this report, the status of these searches by the CMS Collaboration is reviewed. Searches are discussed for resonances decaying to two Higgs bosons, a Higgs and a vector boson, or a Higgs boson and another new resonance. All analyses use proton–proton collision data collected at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV in the years 2016–2018. A combination of the results of these searches is presented together with constraints on different beyond-the-standard model scenarios, including scenarios with extended Higgs sectors, heavy vector bosons and extra dimensions. Studies are shown for the first time by CMS on the validity of the narrow-width approximation in searches for the resonant production of a pair of Higgs bosons. The potential for a discovery at the High Luminosity LHC is also discussed.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Effective Yukawa couplings and flavor-changing Higgs boson decays at linear colliders

We analyze the advantages of a linear-collider program for testing a recent theoretical proposal where the Higgs boson Yukawa couplings are radiatively generated, keeping unchanged the standard-model mechanism for electroweak-gauge-symmetry breaking. Fermion masses arise at a large energy scale through an unknown mechanism, and the standard model at the electroweak scale is regarded as an effective field theory. In this scenario, Higgs boson decays into photons and electroweak gauge-boson pairs are considerably enhanced for a light Higgs boson, which makes a signal observation at the LHC straightforward. On the other hand, the clean environment of a linear collider is required to directly probe the radiative fermionic sector of the Higgs boson couplings. Also, we show that the flavor-changing Higgs boson decays are dramatically enhanced with respect to the standard model. In particular, we find a measurable branching ratio in the range (10{sup -4}-10{sup -3}) for the decay H{yields}bs for a Higgs boson lighter than 140 GeV, depending on the high-energy scale where Yukawa couplings vanish. We present a detailed analysis of the Higgs boson production cross sections at linear colliders for interesting decay signatures, as well as branching-ratio correlations for different flavor-conserving/nonconserving fermionic decays.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Electroweak Baryogenesis and Higgs Properties

We explore the connection between the strength of the electroweak phase transition and the properties of the Higgs boson. Our interest is in regions of parameter space that can realize electroweak baryogenesis. We do so in a simplified framework in which a single Higgs field couples to new scalar fields charged under SU(3) c by way of the Higgs portal. Such new scalars can make the electroweak phase transition more strongly first-order, while contributing to the effective Higgs boson couplings to gluons and photons through loop effects. For Higgs boson masses in the range 115 ~< m h ~< 130 GeV, whenever the phase transition becomes strong enough for successful electroweak baryogenesis, we find that Higgs boson properties are modified by an amount observable by the LHC. We also discuss the baryogenesis window of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), which appears to be under tension. Furthermore, we argue that the discovery of a Higgs boson with standard model-like couplings to gluons and photons will rule out electroweak baryogenesis in the MSSM.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Using Tau Leptons as a Tool for Studying the Higgs in the SM and Beyond

In the Standard Model, the mass generation of fermions is achieved through the Higgs Yukawa coupling. There exists several more fundamental theories, such as super- symmetry, that could imply deviations of the couplings of the observed Higgs boson to down-type fermions, such as the τ lepton. Therefore, it is necessary to demonstrate the direct coupling of the Higgs boson to the fundamental fermions and to demonstrate the proportionality of the Higgs boson coupling strength to their mass. Furthermore, any deviations from Standard Model expectation could hint at beyond the Standard Model physics. We summarize a measurement of Higgs to Tau leptons at CMS using a simplified template cross section scheme as well as a differential measurement as a function of Higgs transverse momentum, leading jet transverse momentum and the number of jets present in the event. We also summarize recent calorimeter trigger related activities which will help to improve Higgs to fermion measurements in the future runs at the LHC.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Combined CDF and D0 Upper Limits on Standard Model Higgs Boson Production with up to 8.2 fb$^{-1}$ of Data

We combine results from CDF and D0's direct searches for the standard model (SM) Higgs boson (H) produced in p{bar p} collisions at the Fermilab Tevatron at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV. The results presented here include those channels which are most sensitive to Higgs bosons with mass between 130 and 200 GeV/c{sup 2}, namely searches targeted at Higgs boson decays to W{sup +}W{sup -}, although acceptance for decays into {tau}{sup |+} {tau}{sup -} and {gamma}{gamma} is included. Compared to the previous Tevatron Higgs search combination, more data have been added and the analyses have been improved to gain sensitivity. We use the MSTW08 parton distribution functions and the latest gg {yields} H theoretical cross section predictions when testing for the presence of a SM Higgs boson. With up to 7.1 fb{sup -1} of data analyzed at CDF, and up to 8.2 fb{sup -1} at D0, the 95% C.L. upper limits on Higgs boson production is a factor of 0.54 times the SM cross section for a Higgs boson mass of 165 GeV/c{sup 2}. We exclude at the 95% C.L. the region 158 < m{sub H} < 173 GeV/c{sup 2}.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Combined upper limit on Standard Model Higgs boson production at CDF

The Higgs boson is the only elementary particle predicted by the Standard Model (SM) that has neither been confirmed nor refuted. The CDF collaboration has performed SM Higgs searches in many channels using p{bar p} collisions at a centre-of-mass energy {radical}s = 1.96 TeV. We present the latest combined Higgs boson search at CDF. Since the previous year's combination, the sensitivity is increased through the addition of new channels, the improvement of existing channels and the addition of new data samples. We also use the latest parton distribution functions and gg {yields} H theoretical cross sections when modelling the signal event yields. Using integrated luminosities of up to 8.2 fb{sup -1}, we observe a good agreement between data and the background prediction. Since we do not see a Higgs boson excess, we set 95% CL upper limits on the Higgs boson cross section in the range between 100 and 200 GeV/c{sup 2}, with 5 GeV/c{sup 2} increments. The observed (expected) limits for a 115 and a 165 GeV/c{sup 2} Higgs boson are 1.55 (1.49) and 0.75 (0.79) x SM, respectively. Since last year, the Higgs boson excluded range by CDF is extended to 156.5 - 173.7 and 100 - 104.5 GeV/c{sup 2}.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗