Neutralino Cascades in the (M+1)SSM

In the (M+1)SSM an additional gauge singlet Weyl spinor appears in the neutralino sector. For a large part of the parameter space this approximative eigenstate is the true LSP. Then most sparticle decays proceed via an additional cascade involving the NLSP LSP transition, where the NLSP is the non-singlet next-to-lightest neutralino. We present a comprehensive list of all processes, which contribute to the NLSP LSP transition, the partial widths and the total NLSP decay rate. We perform a scan of the parameters of the model compatible with universal soft terms, and find that the NLSP life time can be quite large, leading to macroscopically displaced vertices. Our results imply that the signatures for sparticle production in the (M+1)SSM can be very different from the MSSM, and are important for calculations of the abundance of dark matter in this model. Received: 10 December 1997 / Revised version: 26 January 1998 / Published online: 30 March 1998     

The couplings of Higgs bosons to two vector mesons in multi-Higgs models

We calculate the (induced) couplings of neutral Higgs scalars to two photons and to one photon and one Z-boson in a two-doublet model. We give the generalization to more scalar multiplets and investigate the case when Higgs → γγ is a substantial mode. Then we give conditions for the existence of a W⁺ ZH⁺ coupling (H⁺ is a charged scalar). Some aspects of non-linear gauges are elaborated on.     

Constraints from charge and colour breaking minima in the (M+1)SSM

We study the constraints on the parameter space of the supersymmetric standard model extended by a gauge singlet, which arise from the absence of global minima of the effective potential with slepton or squark vevs. Particular attention is paid to the so-called “UFB” directions in field space, which are F-flat in the MSSM. Although these directions are no longer F-flat in the (M+1)SSM, we show that the corresponding MSSM-like constraints on m₀/M_1/2 apply also to the (M+1)SSM. The net effect of all constraints on the parameter space are more dramatic than in the MSSM. We discuss the phenomenological implications of these constraints.     

Higgs bosons in supersymmetric models (I)

We describe the properties of Higgs bosons in a class of supersymmetric theories. We consider models in which the low-energy sector contains two weak complex doublets and perhaps one complex gauge-singlet Higgs field. Supersymmetry is assumed to be either softly or spontaneously broken, thereby imposing a number of restrictions on the Higgs boson parameters. We elucidate the Higgs boson masses and present Feynman rules for their couplings to the gauge bosons, fermions and scalars of the theory. We also present Feynman rules for vertices which are related by supersymmetry to the above couplings. Exact analytic expressions are given in two useful limits — one corresponding to the absence of the gauge-singlet Higgs field and the other corresponding to the absence of a supersymmetric Higgs mass term.     

Induced Higgs couplings to neutral bosons in e+e− collisions

We calculate induced couplings of the type HV_γ in the standard model, where H is a Higgs meson and V is a virtual or real neutral gauge boson (Z⁰ or photon). Numerous applications are given for e⁺e^? collisions and various Higgs meson decays. The calculated rates are in general somewhat too low to make these processed an attractive way to search for the Higgs boson. However, once it has been found, it is argued that these processes should be studied experimentally since the induced couplings probe the structure of the gauge theory in an interesting way. In particular, it may be possible to infer the existence of one or more heavy fermion generations (of mass ?m_Z) by observing their virtual effects in radiative decays into Higgs particles. We also briefly treat the related coupling HV_γ with V a heavy quarkonium vector state.     

Charged Higgs bosons in the next-to MSSM (NMSSM)

The charged Higgs boson decays H^±→W^±A₁ and H^±→W^±H_i are studied in the framework of the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model (NMSSM). It is found that the decay rate for H^±→W^±A₁ can exceed the rates for the τ^±ν and tb channels both below and above the top–bottom threshold. The dominance of H^±→W^±A₁ is most readily achieved when A₁ has a large doublet component and small mass. We also study the production process pp→H^±A₁ at the LHC followed by the decay H^±→W^±A₁, which leads to the signature W^±A₁A₁. We suggest that pp→H^±A₁ is a promising discovery channel for a light charged Higgs boson in the NMSSM with small or moderate tanβ and dominant decay mode H^±→W^±A₁. This W^±A₁A₁ signature can also arise from the Higgsstrahlung process pp→W^±H₁ followed by the decay H₁→A₁A₁. It is shown that there exist regions of parameter space where these processes can have comparable cross sections and we suggest that their respective signals can be distinguished at the LHC by using appropriate reconstruction methods. PACS  12.60.Fr; 14.80.Cp     

Higgs bosons in SO(10) and partial unification

The implications of the existence of a partial unification, previous to the grand unification into SO(10) are studied. Special emphasis is given to the influence of the Higgs bosons in the theory. We calculate their contribution to the β-functions of the partialunification roups of most phenomenological interest and it is found that the results previously calculated for the partial and grand unification masses are in general drastically changed. After making an extended “survival hypothesis” about the masses of the Higgses, we find that the partial unification mass (PUM) should be typically 10^10?11 GeV. The masses of the neutrinos are related to the PUM and we obtain m_ντ ～ 1–10 eV. Neutron oscillations can appear, but at a negligible rate. Proton decay may occur at the expected rate, although in some models it is highly suppressed. The result for the ratio m_b/m_τ is smaller than in SU(5) and the simplest SO(10) version.     

Topologies of the (M+1)SSM with a singlino LSP at LEP2

We study the possible signals of the (M+1)SSM with a singlino LSP at LEP2. First we identify regions of the parameter space which are ruled out by negative results of sparticle searches in the context of the MSSM. In the remaining kinematically accessible regions we present total event rates for topologies which require further studies, i.e. estimations of the corresponding efficiencies: various four charged fermion final states with missing energy, possibly with displaced vertices due to a long life time of the NLSP, the second lightest neutralino. Searches for these unconventional signatures are essential in order to cover the entire kinematically accessible parameter space of the (M+1)SSM with a singlino LSP at LEP2. Received: 15 January 1999 / Revised version: 20 May 1999 / Published online: 17 March 2000     

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.     

Upper limit to the lightest Higgs mass in supersymmetric models

Consider all models in which the effective low-energy theory has an SU(3) × SU(2) × U(1) gauge group, softly or spontaneously broken supersymmetry, and Higgs doublets. Even though, in general, mass terms in such models are arbitrary (thus “ino” masses can be pushed up to higher and higher values), one can derive mass relations between ordinary Higgs particles. The most crucial relation gives an upper bound of 93 GeV on the mass of the lightest Higgs scalar. We discuss these relations and calculate radiative corrections to them. It is shown that the upper bound can not exceed 95 GeV, and the lower limit to the mass of charged scalar is 78 GeV. Corrections to other relations are also discussed. These relations may provide the first definitive test of low-energy supersymmetry.     

Higgs bosons in the simplest SUSY models

Nowadays, in the MSSM, the moderate values of tan β are almost excluded by the LEP II lower bound on the mass of the lightest Higgs boson. In the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model (NMSSM), the theoretical upper bound on it increases and reaches a maximal value in the limit of strong Yukawa coupling, where all solutions to renormalization-group equations are concentrated near the quasifixed point. For a calculation of the Higgs boson spectrum, the perturbation-theory method can be applied. We investigate the particle spectrum within the modified NMSSM, which leads to the self-consistent solution in the limit of strong Yukawa coupling. This model allows one to get m _h～125 GeV at tan β≥1.9. In the model under investigation, the mass of the lightest Higgs boson does not exceed 130.5±3.5 GeV. The upper bound on the mass of the lightest CP-even Higgs boson in more complicated supersymmetric models is also discussed.     

Higgs bosons and neutrinos in the left-right model

The left-right asymmetric model featuring the bidoublet and two triplets of Higgs fields is investigated. It was established that, from an analysis of the reaction l ^?γ → W ^?ν_l, it is possible to deduce not only information about the properties of the singly charged Higgs bosons $\tilde \delta ^{( - )} $ and h ^(?) but also an answer to the question of whether the neutrino is a Majorana or a Dirac particle. The processes $f_i \bar f_j \to \Delta _1^{( - - )} \tilde \delta ^{( + )} $ and e^?μ^? → Δ _1,2 ^(—) γ leading to the production of doubly charged Higgs bosons are investigated. It is shown that information about the properties of singly charged Higgs bosons can also be obtained by studying the ultrahighenergy cosmic neutrinos from the reaction e ^?ν _e →μ^?ν_μ.     

On the decays of heavy Higgs bosons

The decay of a neutral heavy Higgs bosonH to a weak vector bosonV+lepton pair is discussed and found to be relevant. Its width is strongly growing with increasingm _H and fromm _H≈200 GeV it exceeds ≈10 MeV.