Search for Yukawa Production of a light neutral Higgs Boson at LEP

Within a Two-Higgs-Doublet Model (2HDM) a search for a light Higgs boson in the mass range of 4–12 GeV has been performed in the Yukawa process , using the data collected by the OPAL detector at LEP between 1992 and 1995 in collisions at about 91 GeV centre-of-mass energy. A likelihood selection is applied to separate background and signal. The number of observed events is in good agreement with the expected background. Within a CP-conserving 2HDM type II model the cross-section for Yukawa production depends on and for the production of the CP-odd A and the CP-even h, respectively, where is the ratio of the vacuum expectation values of the Higgs doublets and is the mixing angle between the neutral CP-even Higgs bosons. From our data 95% C.L. upper limits are derived for within the range of 8.5 to 13.6 and for between 8.2 to 13.7, depending on the mass of the Higgs boson, assuming a branching fraction into of 100%. An interpretation of the limits within a 2HDM type II model with Standard Model particle content is given. These results impose constraints on several models that have been proposed to explain the recent BNL measurement of the muon anomalous magnetic moment. Received: 1 November 2001 / Published online: 22 February 2002     

Implications of the precision data for very light Higgs Boson scenarios in 2HDM(II)

We present an up-to-date analysis of the constraints the precision data impose on the (CP-conserving) Two Higgs Doublet Model of type II with emphasis on the possible existence of very light neutral (pseudo)scalar Higgs boson with mass below 20–30 GeV. We show that even in the presence of such light particles, the 2HDM(II) can describe the electroweak data with the precision comparable to that given by the SM. Particularly interesting lower limits on the mass of the lighter neutral CP-even scalar are obtained in the scenario with light CP-odd Higgs boson and large . Received: 8 June 1999 / Published online: 14 October 1999     

Charged Higgs Pair Production in a General Two Higgs Doublet Model at e^＋e^- and μ^＋μ^- Linear Colliders

In this paper, charged Higgs pair production through l^＋l^- → H^＋ H^-, where l = e or μ, is studied within the framework of a general Two Higgs Doublet Model （2HDM）. The analysis is relevant to a future e^＋e^- or μ^＋ μ^- collider operating at center of mass energy of √s = 500 GeV. Two different scenarios of small and large a values are studied. Here a is the parameter, which diagonMizes the neutral CP-even Higgs boson mass matrix. Within the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model （MSSM）, cross section of this process is almost the same at e＋ e- and #＋#- colliders. It is shown that at e^＋e^- eolliders within a general 2HDM, cross section is not sensitive to the mass of neutral Higgs bosons, however, it can acquire large values up to several picobarn at μ^＋μ^- colliders with the presence of heavy neutral Higgs bosons. A scan over Higgs boson mass parameter space is performed to analyze the effect of large masses of neutral Higgs bosons involved in the s-channel propagator and thus in the total cross section of this process.     

Search for anomalous production of acoplanar di-lepton events in {\rm e^+e^-} collisions at \sqrt{s} = 183 and 189 GeV

A selection of di-lepton events with significant missing transverse momentum has been performed using a total data sample of 237.4 pb at centre-of-mass energies of approximately 183 GeV and 189 GeV. The observed numbers of events – 78 at 183 GeV and 301 at 189 GeV – are consistent with the numbers expected from Standard Model processes, which arise predominantly from production with both W bosons decaying leptonically. This topology is also an experimental signature for the pair production of new particles that decay to a charged lepton accompanied by one or more invisible particles. Discrimination techniques are described that optimise the sensitivity to particular new physics channels. No evidence for new phenomena is apparent. Upper limits on the production cross-section times branching ratio squared for sleptons and for leptonically decaying charginos and charged Higgs are presented in a manner intended to minimise the number of model assumptions. Assuming a 100% branching ratio for the decay , where is the lightest neutralino, we exclude at 95% CL: right-handed smuons with masses below 82.3 GeV for GeV and right-handed staus with masses below 81.0 GeV for GeV. Right-handed selectrons are excluded at 95% CL for masses below 87.1 GeV for GeV, within the framework of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model assuming GeV and . Charged Higgs bosons, H, are excluded at 95% CL for masses below 82.8 GeV, assuming a 100% branching ratio for the decay . Received: 6 September 1999 / Published online: 6 April 2000     

Higgs boson searches in CP-conserving and CP-violating MSSM scenarios with the DELPHI detector

This paper presents the final interpretation of the results from DELPHI on the searches for Higgs bosons in the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (MSSM). A few representative scenarios are considered, that include CP conservation and explicit CP violation in the Higgs sector. The experimental results encompass the searches for neutral Higgs bosons at LEP1 and LEP2 in final states as expected in the MSSM, as well as LEP2 searches for charged Higgs bosons and for neutral Higgs bosons decaying into hadrons independent of the quark flavour. The data reveal no significant excess with respect to background expectations. The results are translated into excluded regions of the parameter space in the various scenarios. In the CP-conserving case, these lead to limits on the masses of the lightest scalar and pseudoscalar Higgs bosons, h and A, and on tanβ. The dependence of these limits on the top quark mass is discussed. Allowing for CP violation reduces the experimental sensitivity to Higgs bosons. It is shown that this effect depends strongly on the values of the parameters responsible for CP violation in the Higgs sector.     

The light Higgs window in the 2HDM at GigaZ

The sensitivity to a light Higgs boson in the general 2HDM (II), with a mass below 40 GeV, is estimated for a future Linear Collider operating with a very high luminosity at the Z peak (GigaZ). We consider possible Higgs boson production via the Bjorken process, the (hA) pair production, the Yukawa process , and the decay . Although the discovery potential is considerably extended compared to the current sensitivities, mainly from LEP, the existence of a h or A even with a mass of a few GeV cannot be excluded with two billion Z decays. The need to study the very light Higgs scenario at a Linear Collider running at several hundred GeV and the LHC is emphasized. Received: 18 September 2000 / Revised version: 22 December 2000 / Published online: 15 March 2001     

Search for Higgs bosons in {\rm e^+e^-} collisions at 183 GeV

The data collected by the OPAL experiment at GeV were used to search for Higgs bosons which are predicted by the Standard Model and various extensions, such as general models with two Higgs field doublets and the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of approximately 54 pb. None of the searches for neutral and charged Higgs bosons have revealed an excess of events beyond the expected background. This negative outcome, in combination with similar results from searches at lower energies, leads to new limits for the Higgs boson masses and other model parameters. In particular, the 95% confidence level lower limit for the mass of the Standard Model Higgs boson is 88.3 GeV. Charged Higgs bosons can be excluded for masses up to 59.5 GeV. In the MSSM, GeV and GeV are obtained for , no and maximal scalar top mixing and soft SUSY-breaking masses of 1 TeV. The range is excluded for minimal scalar top mixing and GeV. More general scans of the MSSM parameter space are also considered. Received: 27 October 1998 / Published online: 19 February 1999     

Three-body decays of Higgs bosons at LEP2 and application to a hidden fermiophobic Higgs

We study the decays of Higgs bosons to a lighter Higgs boson and a virtual gauge boson in the context of the non-supersymmetric two-Higgs doublet model (2HDM). We consider the phenomenological impact at LEP2 and find that such decays, when open, may be dominant in regions of parameter space and thus affect current Higgs boson search techniques. Three-body decays would be a way of producing light neutral Higgs bosons which have so far escaped detection at LEP due to suppressed couplings to the Z, and are of particular importance in the 2HDM (Model I) which allows both a light fermiophobic Higgs and a light charged scalar.     

Flavour independent searchesfor hadronically decaying neutral Higgs bosons

This paper describes flavour independent searches for hadronically decaying neutral Higgs bosons in the data collected by the DELPHI experiment at LEP, at centre-of-mass energies between 189 and 209 GeV. The collected data-set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of around 610 pb^-1. The and processes are considered, with direct Higgs boson decays into hadrons. No evidence for Higgs boson production is found, and cross-section limits are set as a function of the Higgs boson masses. No explicit assumptions are made on the underlying physics beyond the Standard Model, allowing interpretation of the data in a large class of models. Received: 11 January 2005, Revised: 24 June 2005, Published online: 20 September 2005     

LEP Higgs boson searches beyond the standard model and minimum supersymmetric standard model

Ever since the center-of-mass energy was increased in 1995 above the Zℴ resonance, the four LEP experiments (ALEPH, DELPHI, OPAL and L3) have renewed their effort to search for the Higgs boson. Data taking ended in the year 2000 with about 130 pb⁻¹ of data collected per experiment above 206 GeV ine ⁺ e ⁻¹ collisions but the data analysis is still very active. Most recently, the wealth of theoretical models and predictions has stimulated new analyses and model interpretations which go beyond the standard model and minimal supersymmetric standard model. These include the searches for charged Higgs bosons, models with two Higgs field doublets, searches for ‘fermiophobic’ Higgs decay, invisible Higgs boson decays, decay-mode independent searches, and limits on Yukawa and anomalous Higgs couplings. I review the searches done by the four LEP experiments and present the LEP combined results when they exist.     

Higgs bosons in the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model at the LHC

We review possible properties of Higgs bosons in the NMSSM, which allow to discriminate this model from the MSSM: masses of mostly Standard-Model-like Higgs bosons at or above 140 GeV, or enhanced branching fractions into two photons, or Higgs-to-Higgs decays. In the case of a Standard-Model-like Higgs boson above 140 GeV, it is necessarily accompanied by a lighter state with a large gauge singlet component. Examples for such scenarios are presented. Available studies on Higgs-to-Higgs decays are discussed according to the various Higgs production modes, light Higgs masses and decay channels.     

Search for neutral supersymmetric Higgs Bosons in multijet events at sqrt[s]=1.96 TeV

We have performed a search for neutral Higgs bosons produced in association with bottom quarks in pp collisions, using 260 pb-1 of data collected with the D0 detector in Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The cross sections for these processes are enhanced in many extensions of the standard model (SM), such as in its minimal supersymmetric extension at large tanbeta. The results of our analysis agree with expectations from the SM, and we use our measurements to set upper limits on the production of neutral Higgs bosons in the mass range of 90 to 150 GeV.     

Search for neutral MSSM Higgs bosons at LEP

The four LEP collaborations, ALEPH, DELPHI, L3 and OPAL, have searched for the neutral Higgs bosons which are predicted by the Minimal Supersymmetric standard model (MSSM). The data of the four collaborations are statistically combined and examined for their consistency with the background hypothesis and with a possible Higgs boson signal. The combined LEP data show no significant excess of events which would indicate the production of Higgs bosons. The search results are used to set upper bounds on the cross-sections of various Higgs-like event topologies. The results are interpreted within the MSSM in a number of “benchmark” models, including CP-conserving and CP-violating scenarios. These interpretations lead in all cases to large exclusions in the MSSM parameter space. Absolute limits are set on the parameter cosβ and, in some scenarios, on the masses of neutral Higgs bosons.     

Implications of direct dark matter constraints for minimal supersymmetric standard model Higgs boson searches at the Tevatron

In regions of large tanbeta and small mAlpha, searches for heavy neutral minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) Higgs bosons at the Tevatron are promising. At the same time, rates in direct dark matter experiments, such as CDMS, are enhanced in the case of large tanbeta and small mAlpha. As a result, there is a natural interplay between the heavy, neutral Higgs searches at the Tevatron and the region of parameter space explored by CDMS. We show that if the lightest neutralino makes up the dark matter of our universe, current limits from CDMS strongly constrain the prospects of heavy, neutral MSSM Higgs discovery at the Tevatron unless |mu| greater or approximately 400 GeV. The limits of CDMS projected for 2007 will increase this constraint to |mu| greater or approximately 800 GeV. If CDMS does observe neutralinos in the near future, however, it will make the discovery of Higgs bosons at the Tevatron far more likely.     

Final results from DELPHI on the searches for SM and MSSM neutral Higgs bosons

These final results from DELPHI searches for the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson, together with benchmark scans of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) neutral Higgs bosons, used data taken at centre-of-mass energies between 200 and 209 GeV with a total integrated luminosity of 224 pb^-1. The data from 192 to 202 GeV are reanalysed with improved b-tagging for MSSM final states decaying to four b-quarks. The 95% confidence level lower mass bound on the Standard Model Higgs boson is 114.1 GeV/c ². Limits are also given on the lightest scalar and pseudo-scalar Higgs bosons of the MSSM.Received: 7 March 2003, Revised: 30 September 2003, Published online: 3 December 2003     

Flavour-independent h<Superscript>0</Superscript>A<Superscript>0</Superscript> search and two Higgs doublet model interpretation of neutral Higgs boson searches at LEP

Upper limits on the cross-section of the pair-production process , assuming 100 branching fraction to hadrons, are derived from a new search for the hadrons final state, independently of the hadronic flavour of the decay products. This study, combined with previously published searches for the neutral Higgs bosons h⁰ and A⁰, is used to constrain the Type II Two Higgs Doublet Model (2HDM(II)) with no CP violation in the Higgs sector and no additional non-Standard Model particles besides the five Higgs bosons. The analysis combines LEP1 and LEP2 data collected with the OPAL detector up to the highest available centre-of-mass energies. The searches are sensitive to the and decay modes of the Higgs bosons. A benchmark scan of the 2HDM(II) parameter space is performed. Large regions of the 2HDM(II) parameter space explored are excluded at the 95% CL in the ( and planes, using both direct neutral Higgs boson searches and indirect limits derived from Standard Model high precision measurements. The region GeV and GeV is excluded at 95 % CL, independently of and for selected values of which are representative of a complete -scan.Received: 28 July 2004, Revised: 4 January 2005, Published online: 3 March 2005     

Search for invisibly decaying Higgs bosons with large decay width using the OPAL detector at LEP

This paper describes a topological search for an invisibly decaying Higgs boson, H, produced via the Bjorken process (e⁺e^-→HZ). The analysis is based on data recorded using the OPAL detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies from 183 to 209 GeV corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 629 pb^-1. In the analysis only hadronic decays of the Z boson are considered. A scan over Higgs boson masses from 1 to 120 GeV and decay widths from 1 to 3000 GeV revealed no indication for a signal in the data. From a likelihood ratio of expected signal and standard model background we determine upper limits on cross-section times branching ratio to an invisible final state. For moderate Higgs boson decay widths, these range from about 0.07 pb (M_H=60 GeV) to 0.57 pb (M_H=114 GeV). For decay widths above 200 GeV the upper limits are of the order of 0.15 pb. The results can be interpreted in general scenarios predicting a large invisible decay width of the Higgs boson. As an example we interpret the results in the so-called stealthy Higgs scenario. The limits from this analysis exclude a large part of the parameter range of this scenario experimentally accessible at LEP 2.     

MSSM Higgs boson searches at the Tevatron and the LHC: Impact of different benchmark scenarios

The Higgs boson search has shifted from LEP2 to the Tevatron and will subsequently move to the LHC. The current limits from the Tevatron and the prospective sensitivities at the LHC are often interpreted in specific MSSM scenarios. For heavy Higgs boson production and subsequent decay into or τ⁺τ^–, the present Tevatron data allow one to set limits in the M_A–tan β plane for small M_A and large tan β values. Similar channels have been explored for the LHC, where the discovery reach extends to higher values of M_A and smaller tan β. Searches for MSSM charged Higgs bosons, produced in top decays or in association with top quarks, have also been investigated at the Tevatron and the LHC. We analyze the current Tevatron limits and prospective LHC sensitivities. We discuss how robust they are with respect to variations of the other MSSM parameters and possible improvements of the theoretical predictions for Higgs boson production and decay. It is shown that the inclusion of supersymmetric radiative corrections to the production cross sections and decay widths leads to important modifications of the present limits on the MSSM parameter space. The impact on the region where only the lightest MSSM Higgs boson can be detected at the LHC is also analyzed. We propose to extend the existing benchmark scenarios by including additional values of the higgsino mass parameter μ. This affects only slightly the search channels for a SM-like Higgs boson, while having a major impact on the searches for non-standard MSSM Higgs bosons.     

Search for Higgs Bosons at LEP2 and Hadron Colliders

The search for the Higgs boson was one of the most relevant issues of the final years of LEP running at high energies. An excess of 3σ beyond the background expectation has been found, consistent with the production of the Higgs boson with a mass near 115 GeV/c². At the upgraded TeVatron and at LHC the search for the Higgs boson will continue. At TeVatron Higgs bosons can be detected with masses up to 180 GeV with an assumed total integrated luminosity of 20 fb^—1. LHC has the potential to discover the Higgs boson in many different decay channels for Higgs masses up to 1 TeV. It will be possible to measure Higgs boson parameters, such as mass, width, and couplings to fermions and bosons. The results from Higgs searches at LEP2 and the possibilities for searches at hadron colliders will be reviewed.     

Search for heavy neutral MSSM Higgs bosons with CMS: reach and Higgs mass precision

The search for MSSM Higgs bosons will be an important goal at the LHC. We analyze the search reach of the CMS experiment for the heavy neutral MSSM Higgs bosons with an integrated luminosity of 30 or 60 fb^-1. This is done by combining the latest results for the CMS experimental sensitivities based on full simulation studies with state-of-the-art theoretical predictions of the MSSM Higgs-boson properties. The results are interpreted in MSSM benchmark scenarios in terms of the parameters tan β and the Higgs-boson mass scale, M_A. We study the dependence of the 5σ discovery contours in the M_A–tan β plane on variations of the other supersymmetric parameters. The largest effects arise from a change in the higgsino mass parameter μ, which enters both via higher-order radiative corrections and via the kinematics of Higgs decays into supersymmetric particles. While the variation of μ can shift the prospective discovery reach (and correspondingly the ”LHC wedge” region) by about Δtan β=10, we find that the discovery reach is rather stable with respect to the impact of other supersymmetric parameters. Within the discovery region we analyze the accuracy with which the masses of the heavy neutral Higgs bosons can be determined. We find that an accuracy of 1–4% should be achievable, which could make it possible in favorable regions of the MSSM parameter space to experimentally resolve the signals of the two heavy MSSM Higgs bosons at the LHC.