The masses of the neutral {\cal CP}-even Higgs bosons in the MSSM: Accurate analysis at the two-loop level

We present detailed results of a diagrammatic calculation of the leading two-loop QCD corrections to the masses of the neutral -even Higgs bosons in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The two-loop corrections are incorporated into the full diagrammatic one-loop result and supplemented with refinement terms that take into account leading electroweak two-loop and higher-order QCD contributions. The dependence of the results for the Higgs-boson masses on the various MSSM parameters is analyzed in detail, with a particular focus on the part of the parameter space accessible at LEP2 and the upgraded Tevatron. For the mass of the lightest Higgs boson, , a parameter scan has been performed, yielding an upper limit on which depends only on . The results for the Higgs-boson masses are compared with results obtained by renormalization group methods. Good agreement is found in the case of vanishing mixing in the scalar quark sector, while sizable deviations occur if squark mixing is taken into account. Received: 11 January 1999 / Published online: 28 May 1999     

Leading Supersymmetric Electroweak Corrections to Top Quark Decay into a Neutralino and Light Stop

We calculate the leading supersymmetric electroweak corrections to t → t₁x_j0 using dimensional reduction scheme within an approximation of low tan β, which can easily be extended to t→x_jb_i. The numerical results show that such corrections can exceed -12% for tan β = 2 and -6% for tan β = 11, respectively. And these corrections vary insensitively with mi, in the region allowed by the kinematics except for ones near the threshold.     

Higher-order constraints on the Higgs production rate from fixed-target DIS data

The constraints of fixed-target DIS data in fits of parton distributions including QCD corrections to next-to-next-to leading order are studied. We point out a potential problem in the analysis of the NMC data which can lead to inconsistencies in the extracted value for α _s (M _Z ) and the gluon distribution at higher orders in QCD. The implications for predictions of rates for Standard Model Higgs boson production at hadron colliders are investigated. We conclude that the current range of excluded Higgs boson masses at the Tevatron appears to be much too large.     

NLO electroweak corrections to Higgs boson production at hadron colliders

Results for the complete NLO electroweak corrections to Standard Model Higgs production via gluon fusion are included in the total cross section for hadronic collisions. Artificially large threshold effects are avoided working in the complex-mass scheme. The numerical impact at LHC (Tevatron) energies is explored for Higgs mass values up to 500 GeV (200 GeV). Assuming a complete factorization of the electroweak corrections, one finds a +5% shift with respect to the NNLO QCD cross section for a Higgs mass of 120 GeV both at the LHC and the Tevatron. Adopting two different factorization schemes for the electroweak effects, an estimate of the corresponding total theoretical uncertainty is computed.     

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.     

Associated Higgs-W-boson production at hadron colliders: a fully exclusive QCD calculation at NNLO

We consider QCD radiative corrections to standard model Higgs-boson production in association with a W boson in hadron collisions. We present a fully exclusive calculation up to next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in QCD perturbation theory. To perform this NNLO computation, we use a recently proposed version of the subtraction formalism. Our calculation includes finite-width effects, the leptonic decay of the W boson with its spin correlations, and the decay of the Higgs boson into a bb pair. We present selected numerical results at the Tevatron and the LHC.     

Strong and electroweak corrections to the production of a Higgs boson+2 jets via weak interactions at the Large Hadron Collider

Radiative corrections of strong and electroweak interactions are presented at next-to-leading order for the production of a Higgs boson plus two hard jets via weak interactions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The calculation includes all weak-boson fusion and quark-antiquark annihilation diagrams as well as the corresponding interferences. The electroweak corrections, which are discussed here for the first time, reduce the cross sections by 5% and thus are of the same order of magnitude as the QCD corrections.     

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.     

Higgs production cross-section in a Standard Model with four generations at the LHC

We present theoretical predictions for the Higgs boson production cross-section via gluon fusion at the LHC in a Standard Model with four generations. We include QCD corrections through NLO retaining the full dependence on the quark masses, and the NNLO corrections in the heavy quark effective theory approximation. We also include electroweak corrections through three loops. Electroweak and bottom-quark contributions are suppressed in comparison to the Standard Model with three generations.     

Search for neutral minimal supersymmetric standard model Higgs bosons decaying to tau pairs produced in association with b quarks in pp collisions at √s = 1.96 TeV

We report results from a search for neutral Higgs bosons produced in association with b quarks using data recorded by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 7.3 fb(-1). This production mode can be enhanced in several extensions of the standard model (SM) such as in its minimal supersymmetric extension (MSSM) at high tanβ. We search for Higgs bosons decaying to tau pairs with one tau decaying to a muon and neutrinos and the other to hadrons. The data are found to be consistent with SM expectations, and we set upper limits on the cross section times branching ratio in the Higgs boson mass range from 90 to 320 GeV/c(2). We interpret our result in the MSSM parameter space, excluding tanβ values down to 25 for Higgs boson masses below 170 GeV/c(2).     

Higgs-boson production with one bottom-quark jet at hadron colliders

We present total rates and kinematic distributions for the associated production of a single bottom quark and a Higgs boson at the Fermilab Tevatron and CERN Large Hardon Collider. We include next-to-leading order QCD corrections and compare the results obtained in the four and five flavor number schemes for parton distribution functions.     

Next-to-leading-order QCD corrections to WW + jet production at hadron colliders

We report on the calculation of the next-to-leading-order QCD corrections to the production of W-boson pairs in association with a hard jet at the Fermilab Tevatron and CERN Large Hadron Collider, which is an important source of background for Higgs boson and new-physics searches. The corrections stabilize the leading-order prediction for the cross section considerably, in particular, if a veto against the emission of a second hard jet is applied.     

Search for the Higgs boson in events with missing transverse energy and b quark jets produced in pp collisions at square root(s)=1.96 TeV

We search for the standard model Higgs boson produced in association with an electroweak vector boson in events with no identified charged leptons, large imbalance in transverse momentum, and two jets where at least one contains a secondary vertex consistent with the decay of b hadrons. We use approximately 1 fb(-1) integrated luminosity of pp collisions at square root(s)=1.96 TeV recorded by the Collider Detector at Fermilab II experiment at the Tevatron. We find 268 (16) single (double) b-tagged candidate events, where 248+/-43 (14.4+/-2.7) are expected from standard model background processes. We observe no significant excess over the expected background and thus set 95% confidence level upper limits on the Higgs boson production cross section for several Higgs boson masses ranging from 110 to 140 GeV/c(2). For a mass of 115 GeV/c(2), the observed (expected) limit is 20.4 (14.2) times the standard model prediction.     

Precise prediction for the mass of the lightest Higgs boson in the MSSM

The leading diagrammatic two-loop corrections are incorporated into the prediction for the mass of the lightest Higgs boson, m_h, in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The results, containing the complete diagrammatic one-loop corrections, the new two-loop result and refinement terms incorporating leading electroweak two-loop and higher-order QCD contributions, are discussed and compared with results obtained by renormalization group calculations. Good agreement is found in the case of vanishing mixing in the scalar quark sector, while sizable deviations occur if squark mixing is taken into account.     

Quantum chromodynamics effects in electroweak and Higgs physics

Several examples of the often intricate effects of higher-order quantum chromodynamics (QCD) corrections on predictions for hadron-collider observables, are discussed, using the production of electroweak gauge boson and the Standard Model Higgs boson as examples. Particular attention is given to the interplay of QCD effects and experimental cuts, and to the use of scale variations as estimates of theoretical uncertainties.     

Associate Higgs and gauge boson production at hadron colliders in a model with vector resonances

Motivated by new models of dynamical electroweak symmetry breaking that predict a light composite Higgs boson, we build an effective Lagrangian which describes the standard model (with a light Higgs) and vector resonances. We compute the cross section for the associate production of a Higgs and a gauge boson. For some values of model parameters we find that the cross section is significantly enhanced with respect to the standard model. This enhancement is similar at the LHC (large hadron collider) and the Tevatron for the same range of resonance mass. PACS 12.60.Nz     

Renormalization group estimate of the hadronic decay width of the Higgs boson

The total hadronic decay width of the Weinberg-Salam type Higgs boson is estimated in QCD for the Higgs boson mass much larger than the ordinary hadronic mass scale, by use of the operator product expansion and renormalization group equation. We give an explicit formula for the decay width in terms of quark masses including strong interaction corrections up to the next-to-leading order. A numerical analysis of the hadronic decay width of the Higgs boson is made in the six-quark model. The next-to-leading order correction is found to be significant, e.g., 30-20% of the leading term for m_H of oue interest, m_H ? 1 TeV. Application of our scheme to the decay rates of heavy Higgs bosons of other types is also discussed.     

Yukawa corrections to the charged Higgs boson production in association with the top quark at hadron colliders

We calculate the Yukawa corrections of order to charged Higgs boson production in association with a top quark at the Tevatron and the LHC. The corrections are not very sensitive to the mass of the charged Higgs boson and can exceed for low values of , where the contribution of the top quark is large, and high values of where the contribution of the bottom quark becomes large. These Yukawa corrections could be significant for charged Higgs boson searches based on this production process, particularly at the LHC where the cross section is relatively large. Received: 12 October 1999 / Revised version: 3 December 1999 / Published online: 6 April 2000     

QCD corrections to electroweak vector boson scattering at small scattering angles

We investigate the role of a certain class of QCD corrections to electroweak vector boson scattering at small scattering angles and large energies. These are present since, from the perturbative analysis, the vector bosons may dissociate into quark-antiquark pairs giving rise to color dipoles interacting through gluon exchanges. After the computation of the vector boson impact factors, we present expressions for the lowest order QCD scattering amplitude and for the leading logarithmic BFKL amplitude. Particularly we discuss numerical results for the process . The QCD corrections to the cross section resulting from the interference with the electroweak ones are estimated and compared with the leading pure electroweak part. Corrections resulting from the leading log BFKL amplitude are of the order of a few percent already at the 0.5-1 TeV energy range.Received: 21 May 2003, Published online: 29 August 2003     

Light minimal supersymmetric standard model Higgs boson scenario and its test at hadron colliders

We show that, in the minimal supersymmetric standard model, the possibility for the lightest CP-even Higgs boson to be lighter than Z boson (as low as about 60 GeV) is, contrary to the usual belief, not yet excluded by the CERN LEP2 Higgs search nor any direct searches for supersymmetric particles at high energy colliders. The characteristic of the light Higgs boson scenario (LHS) is that the ZZh coupling and the decay branching ratio Br(h/A-->bb) are simultaneously suppressed as a result of generic supersymmetric loop corrections. Consequently, the W(+/-)H(-/+)h coupling has to be large due to the sum rule of Higgs couplings to weak gauge bosons. We discuss the potential of the Fermilab Tevatron and B factories to test the LHS, and show that the associated neutral and charged Higgs boson production process, pp-->H(+/-)h(A), can completely probe the LHS at the CERN Large Hadron Collider.