TheW-boson width

The analytic formulae for the partial decay widthW ⁺→ \(f_1 \bar f_2 \) are presented including the 1-loop electroweak and QCD corrections for arbitrary masses of the fermions. Numerical results are discussed for the physically interesting cases \(W^ + \to t\bar b\) and for the decay into a heavy leptonl ⁺ and a neutrino of a fourth fermion generation. Also the results for the totalW width and the partial width into light fermion pairs are listed.     

Higher-order corrections to Higgs boson decays in the MSSM with complex parameters

We discuss Higgs boson decays in the CP-violating MSSM, and examine their phenomenological impact using cross section limits from the LEP Higgs searches. This includes a discussion of the full 1-loop results for the partial decay widths of neutral Higgs bosons into lighter neutral Higgs bosons (h _a →h _b h _c ) and of neutral Higgs bosons into fermions (\(h_{a} \to f \bar{f}\)). In calculating the genuine vertex corrections, we take into account the full spectrum of supersymmetric particles and all complex phases of the supersymmetric parameters. These genuine vertex corrections are supplemented with Higgs propagator corrections incorporating the full 1-loop and the dominant 2-loop contributions, and we illustrate a method of consistently treating diagrams involving mixing with Goldstone and Z bosons. In particular, the genuine vertex corrections to the process h _a →h _b h _c are found to be very large and, where this process is kinematically allowed, can have a significant effect on the regions of the CPX benchmark scenario which can be excluded by the results of the Higgs searches at LEP. However, there remains an unexcluded region of CPX parameter space at a lightest neutral Higgs boson mass of ～45 GeV. In the analysis, we pay particular attention to the conversion between parameters defined in different renormalisation schemes and are therefore able to make a comparison to the results found using renormalisation group improved/effective potential calculations.     

TheZ-width in the two Higgs doublet model

Effects from an extended Higgs sector on the partial widths \(\Gamma _{{\rm Z} \to b\bar b} \) and \(\Gamma _{{\rm Z} \to \tau ^ + \tau ^ - } \) are analysed with emphasis on enhanced Yukawa couplings to the fermions with the weak isospinT ₃=?1/2. Contributions from charged and neutral Higgs bosons are incorporated. Vertex corrections from a heavy top quark and from charged Higgs bosons are always negative. One can however find regions in the parameter space where neutral Higgs bosons lead to positive vertex corrections. The charged Higgs bosons decouple from the ratio \(\Gamma ^{_{{\rm Z} \to \tau ^ + \tau ^ - } } /\Gamma ^{_{{\rm Z} \to \mu ^ + \mu ^ - } } \) if their mass is beyond 80 GeV. This ratio is then sensitive to the neutral sector only.     

Dominant three-body decays of a heavy higgs and top quark

We calculate the dominant three body Higgs decays,HW ⁺ W ^–(Z ⁰, ) and , in the Standard Model. We find that the branching ratios of these decays are of the order of few percent for large Higgs masses. We comment on the behaviour of the partial decay width below the threshold. Numerical results of the following three body top decays,tW ⁺ b(,g, Z ⁰) andtW ⁺ bH, are also given. We discuss the feasibility of observing these Higgs and top decays at future high energy colliders.     

Chargino decays in the complex MSSM: a full one-loop analysis

We evaluate two-body decay modes of charginos in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model with complex parameters (cMSSM). Assuming heavy scalar quarks we take into account all decay channels involving charginos, neutralinos, (scalar) leptons, Higgs bosons and Standard Model gauge bosons. The evaluation of the decay widths is based on a full one-loop calculation including hard and soft QED radiation. Special attention is paid to decays involving the Lightest Supersymmetric Particle (LSP), i.e. the lightest neutralino, or a neutral or charged Higgs boson. The higher-order corrections of the chargino decay widths involving the LSP can easily reach a level of about ±10%, while the corrections to the decays to Higgs bosons are slightly smaller, translating into corrections of similar size in the respective branching ratios. These corrections are important for the correct interpretation of LSP and Higgs production at the LHC and at a future linear e ⁺ e ⁻ collider. The results will be implemented into the Fortran code FeynHiggs.     

On the 1-Loop Renormalization of the Electroweak Standard Model and its Application to Leptonic Processes

A renormalization scheme for the electroweak standard model is presented in which the electric charge and the masses of the gauge bosons, Higgs particle and fermions are used as physical parameters. The photon is treated such that quantum electrodynamics is contained as a simple substructure. Field renormalization respecting the gauge symmetry gives finite propagators and vertex functions. The Ward identities between the Green functions of the unphysical sector allow a renormalization that maintains the simple pole structure of the propagators in the t'Hooft-Feynman gauge. We give a complete list of self energies and all renormalization constants also in the unphysical Higgs and ghost sector. Explicit results are given for the renormalized self energies, vertex functions and boxes that enter the evaluation of 1-loop radiative corrections to fermionic processes. We calculate the 1-loop radiative corrections to purely leptonic reactions like μ decay, vμ_μe scattering and μ pair production in e⁺e⁻annihilation. A test of the standard model is performed by comparing these low energy data with the results of the PP collider experiments for the W and Z boson masses.     

Effective gauge theory and the effect of heavy quarks in Higgs boson decays

A general framework is given for evaluating the contributions of as yet undiscovered heavy quarks to the gluonic decay rate of the Weinberg-Salam type Higgs boson. Since the Yukawa coupling of the Higgs boson to a quark pair is proportional to the quark mass, loop graphs involving heavy quarks have a non-vanishing effect on the gluonic decay width of the Higgs boson. This effect of heavy quarks with massesM _j(j=t,...) much greater than the Higgs boson massm _H is calculated in an effective gauge theory. The effects of two different kinds of large logarithms, lnM _j ² /μ m _h ² /μ ² are separated and summed up by the renormalization group method. It is found that the higher order QCD corrections are large and that the gluonic contribution to the hadronic decay width is significant if there are more than three generations. The Higgs decay width can therefore be used to probe the number of generations of heavy quarks.     

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.     

Probing neutrino and Higgs sectors in $$\text{ SU(2) }_1 \times \text{ SU(2) }_2 \times \text{ U(1) }_Y $$ model with lepton-flavor non-universality

The neutrino and Higgs sectors in the \(\text{ SU(2) }_1 \times \text{ SU(2) }_2 \times \text{ U(1) }_Y \) model with lepton-flavor non-universality are discussed. We show that active neutrinos can get Majorana masses from radiative corrections, after adding only new singly charged Higgs bosons. The mechanism for the generation of neutrino masses is the same as in the Zee models. This also gives a hint to solving the dark matter problem based on similar ways discussed recently in many radiative neutrino mass models with dark matter. Except the active neutrinos, the appearance of singly charged Higgs bosons and dark matter does not affect significantly the physical spectrum of all particles in the original model. We indicate this point by investigating the Higgs sector in both cases before and after singly charged scalars are added into it. Many interesting properties of physical Higgs bosons, which were not shown previously, are explored. In particular, the mass matrices of charged and CP-odd Higgs fields are proportional to the coefficient of triple Higgs coupling \(\mu \). The mass eigenstates and eigenvalues in the CP-even Higgs sector are also presented. All couplings of the SM-like Higgs boson to normal fermions and gauge bosons are different from the SM predictions by a factor \(c_h\), which must satisfy the recent global fit of experimental data, namely \(0.995<|c_h|<1\). We have analyzed a more general diagonalization of gauge boson mass matrices, then we show that the ratio of the tangents of the W–\(W'\) and Z–\(Z'\) mixing angles is exactly the cosine of the Weinberg angle, implying that number of parameters is reduced by 1. Signals of new physics from decays of new heavy fermions and Higgs bosons at LHC and constraints of their masses are also discussed.     

Characteristics of leptonic signals forZ boson pairs at hadron colliders

We study the production ofZ boson pairs at hadron colliders followed by their subsequent decay into muons or electrons. We take into account the processes andgg ZZ. The calculation incorporates all effects of the polarization of theZ bosons. Particular emphasis is put on the Higgs-signal where we study the angular distribution of the decay leptons, in order to determine the longitudinal polarisation fraction of theZ bosons. We also study the correlation of the decay planes of the leptons from the twoZ bosons. This correlation may be significant for light Higgs bosons.Supported by LAA, CERN, Geneva     

The decay of theZ boson into four massive fermions

We calculate, the partial width for the tree level decay of theZ boson into four massive fermions atO(α²) and \(O(\alpha _s^2 )\) . Analytic expressions for the helicity amplitudes are presented. We also present ‘observable’ widths for the case when the fermions are energetic and well separated, and make a comparison between the massive and massless matrix elements in this region. We make a direct comparison between the four fermion decay and the production and decay of the Higgs boson via the Bjorken mechanism, \(Z \to H\mu ^ + \mu ^ - \to q\bar q\mu ^ + \mu ^ - \) . Provided the detector resolution is good, \(\Delta m_{q\bar q} \) ～ few GeV, the Higgs signal stands clearly above the four fermion background for all Higgs boson masses considered.     

Two-and three-body decay modes of SUSY Higgs particles

We summarize the dominant decay modes of the neutral and charged Higgs bosons in the Minimal Supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model. While two-body decays are in general dominating, the branching ratios for three-body decays of the heavy scalar, pseudoscalar and charged Higgs bosons can be large below the thresholds if top quarks, W/Z bosons or heavy scalar bosons are involved. Analytical expressions have been derived for the partial decay widths and the physical implications of these decay modes are discussed.     

Higgs radiation off top quarks in high-energye + e − colliders

Higgs particles can be radiated off heavy top quarks which will be produced copiously in high energye ⁺ e ^? colliders. This process can be used to measure the Higgs-top quark coupling. We present the cross section for the production of Higgs bosons in the Standard Model. In addition we have studied the production of neutral and charged Higgs particles in association with heavy fermions in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model.     

Strangephilic Higgs bosons in the MSSM

We suggest a new CPX-derived scenario for the search for strangephilic MSSM Higgs bosons at the Tevatron and the LHC, in which all neutral and charged Higgs bosons decay predominantly into pairs of strange quarks and into a strange and a charm quark, respectively. The proposed scenario is realized within a particular region of the MSSM parameter space and requires large values of tan?β, where threshold radiative corrections are significant to render the effective strange-quark Yukawa coupling dominant. Experimental searches for neutral Higgs bosons based on the identification of b-quark jets or τ leptons may miss a strangephilic Higgs boson and its existence could be inferred indirectly by searching for hadronically decaying charged Higgs bosons. Potential strategies and experimental challenges to search for strangephilic Higgs bosons at the Tevatron and the LHC are discussed.     

On the Standard Model prediction for \mathcal{B}(B_{s,d} \to \mu^{+} \mu^{-})

The decay B _s →μ ⁺ μ ^? is one of the milestones of the flavor program at the LHC. We reappraise its Standard Model prediction. First, by analyzing the theoretical rate in the light of its main parametric dependence, we highlight the importance of a complete evaluation of higher-order electroweak corrections, at present known only in the large-m _t limit, and leaving sizable dependence on the definition of electroweak parameters. Using insights from a complete calculation of such corrections for $K\to\pi\nu\bar{\nu}We present O(?? _s ) results on the decays of polarized W ^± and Z bosons into massive quark pairs. The NLO QCD corrections to the polarized decay functions are given up to the second order in the quark mass expansion. We find a surprisingly strong dependence of the NLO polarized decay functions on finite quark mass effects even at the relatively large mass scale of the W ^± and Z bosons. As a main application we consider the decay t??b+W ⁺ involving the helicity fractions ?? _mm of the W ⁺ boson followed by the polarized decay $W^{+}(\uparrow)\to q_{1}\bar{q}_{2}$ for which we determine the O(?? _s ) polar angle decay distribution. We also discuss NLO polarization effects in the production/decay process $e^{+}e^{-}\to Z(\uparrow)\to q\bar{q}$ .     

Model-independent analysis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">CP</Emphasis> violation effects in decays of the Higgs boson into a Pair of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">W</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Z</Emphasis> bosons

Effects of CP and T invariance violation are studied in the most general interaction of the Higgs boson with the intermediate vector W ^± and Z bosons. Various angular distributions of the cascade decay Φ → W ⁺ W ^?/ZZ → 4 of fermions in the transversity and helicity systems are calculated, and asymmetries are constructed and evaluated. It is shown that studying the azimuthal angle distribution of the process Φ → ZZ → (e ^? e ⁺)(μ^?μ⁺) in the transversity system is effective for measuring the spatial parity of the Higgs boson.     

Testing the Higgs system at a photon-photon collider

The level of sensitivity of the processes ZZ, W ⁺ W ^– and to the Higgs sector of the Standard Model Lagrangian in the energy region between 200 GeV and 1 TeV is examined. The elementary Higgs boson is taken to have a mass less than 1 TeV. Sizeable effects are found in theZZ and channels if the incoming photons have the same helicity. Also the possibility that the elementary Higgs boson does not exist is examined. Assuming new physics to show up in the TeV energy region the cross sections are evaluated according to the heavy Higgs model. For center of mass energy values close to 1 TeV interesting effects are found in the channel if the photons have the same helicity. The limit of large Higgs mass is not unique. The parametrization of this arbitrariness may be interpreted as a representation of the new physics. The effects for the processes ZZ and are investigated. These effects may be correlated to a possible resonance inWW scattering in the TeV region.     

Leptonic decays of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">W</Emphasis> boson in a strong electromagnetic field

The probability of W-boson decay into a lepton and a neutrino, \(W^ \pm \to \ell ^ \pm \bar \nu _\ell \), in a strong electromagnetic field is calculated. On the basis of the method for deriving exact solutions to relativistic wave equations for charged particles, an exact analytic expression is obtained for the partial decay width \(\Gamma () = \Gamma (W^ + \to \ell ^ + \bar \upsilon _\ell )\) at an arbitrary value of the external-field-strength parameter \( = eM_W^{ - 3} \sqrt { - (F_{\mu \upsilon } q^\upsilon )^2 } \). It is found that, in the region of comparatively weak fields (??1), field-induced corrections to the standard decay width of theW boson in a vacuum are about a few percent. As the external-field-strength parameter is increased, the partial width with respect to W-boson decay through the channel in question, Γ(?), first decreases, the absolute minimum of Γ_min=0.926Γ(0) being reached at ?=0.6116. A further increase in the external-field strength leads to a monotonic growth of the decay width of the W boson. In superstrong fields (??1), the partial width with respect to W boson decay is greater than the corresponding partial width \(\Gamma ^{(0)} (W^ \pm \to \ell ^ \pm \bar \upsilon _\ell )\) in a vacuum by a factor of a few tens.     

The couplings of the Higgs boson and its CP properties from fits of the signal strengths and their ratios at the 7+8 TeV LHC

Using the full set of the LHC Higgs data from the runs at 7 and 8 TeV center of mass energies that have been released by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations, we determine the couplings of the Higgs particle to fermions and gauge bosons as well as its parity or CP composition. We consider ratios of production cross sections times decay branching fractions in which the theoretical (and some experimental) uncertainties as well as some ambiguities from new physics cancel out. A fit of both the signal strengths in the various search channels that have been conducted, H→ZZ,WW,γγ,ττ and $b\bar{b}$ , and their ratios shows that the observed ～126 GeV particle has couplings to fermions and gauge bosons that are Standard Model-like already at the 68 % confidence level (CL). From the signal strengths in which the theoretical uncertainty is taken to be a bias, the particle is shown to be at most 68 % CP-odd at the 99 %CL and the possibility that it is a pure pseudoscalar state is excluded at the 4σ level when including both the experimental and theoretical uncertainties. The signal strengths also measure the invisible Higgs decay width which, with the same type of uncertainty analysis, is shown to be $\varGamma_{H}^{\mathrm{inv}}/ \varGamma_{H}^{\mathrm{SM}} \leq0.52$ at the 68 %CL.