Higgs physics at LHC

The large hadron collider (LHC) and its detectors, ATLAS and CMS, are being built to study TeV scale physics, and to fully understand the electroweak symmetry breaking mechanism. The Monte-Carlo simulation results for the standard model and minimal super symmetric standard model Higgs boson searches and parameter measurements are discussed. Emphasis is placed on recent investigations of Higgs produced in association with top quarks and in vector boson fusion channels. These results indicate that Higgs sector can be explored in many channels within a couple of years of LHC operation, i.e.,L = 30 fb⁻¹. Complete coverage including measurements of Higgs parameters can be carried out with full LHC program.     

Measurement of the top-Higgs Yukawa coupling at a linear e<Superscript>+</Superscript>e<Superscript>-</Superscript> collider

Understanding the mechanism of electroweak symmetry breaking and the origin of boson and fermion masses is among the most pressing questions raised in contemporary particle physics. If these issues involve one (several) Higgs boson(s), a precise measurement of all its (their) properties will be of prime importance. Among those, the Higgs coupling to matter fermions (the Yukawa coupling). At a linear collider, the process e⁺e^-→tt̄H will allow a direct measurement of the top-Higgs Yukawa coupling. We present a realistic feasibility study of the measurement in the context of the TESLA collider. Four channels are studied and the analysis is repeated for several Higgs mass values within the range 120–200 GeV/c ². PACS 13.66.Jn; 14.65.Ha; 14.80.Bn     

Integrating out the standard Higgs field in the path integral

We integrate out the Higgs boson in the electroweak standard model at one loop and construct a low-energy effective Lagrangian assuming that the Higgs mass is much larger than the gauge-boson masses. Instead of applying diagrammatical techniques, we integrate out the Higgs boson directly in the path integral, which turns out to be much simpler. By using the background-field method and the Stueckelberg formalism, we directly find a manifestly gauge-invariant result. The heavy-Higgs effects on fermionic couplings are derived, too. At one loop the log M_H terms of the heavy-Higgs limit of the electroweak standard model coincide with the UV-divergent terms in the gauged non-linear σ-model, but vertex functions differ in addition by finite constant terms. Finally, the leading Higgs effects to some physical processes are calculated from the effective Lagrangian.     

First-order electroweak phase transition powered by additional F-term loop effects in an extended supersymmetric Higgs sector

We investigate the one-loop effect of new charged scalar bosons on the Higgs potential at finite temperatures in the supersymmetric standard model with four Higgs doublet chiral superfields as well as a pair of charged singlet chiral superfields. In this model, the mass of the lightest Higgs boson h is determined only by the D-term in the Higgs potential at the tree-level, while the triple Higgs boson coupling for hhh can receive a significant radiative correction due to nondecoupling one-loop contributions of the additional charged scalar bosons. We find that the same nondecoupling mechanism can also contribute to realize stronger first order electroweak phase transition than that in the minimal supersymmetric standard model, which is definitely required for a successful scenario of electroweak baryogenesis. Therefore, this model can be a new candidate for a model in which the baryon asymmetry of the Universe is explained at the electroweak scale.     

A dual resonance model for high energy electroweak reactions

We derive a dual resonance model for two body electroweak reactions at a few TeV. This model depends on one non standard free parameter, the “weak interaction Regge slope”α _w ^′ , and implies towers of resonances in all non-exotic channels at massesm _n=√n/α _w ^′ . Whenα _w ^′ goes to zero, we require, by explicit matching, consistency of our model at the tree level with the standard model with Higgs boson graphs removed. To derive this model, we have transposed in the electroweak domain an equivalent model suited to hadronic interactions at a few GeV which gives a good agreement with experimental data. This article was processed by the author using the LAT_EX style filepljour2 from Springer-Verlag.     

Higgs as a pseudo-Goldstone boson, the mu problem and gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking

We study the interplay between the spontaneous breaking of a global symmetry of the Higgs sector and gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking, in the framework of a supersymmetric model with global SU(3) symmetry. In addition to solving the supersymmetric flavor problem and alleviating the little hierarchy problem, this scenario automatically triggers the breaking of the global symmetry and provides an elegant solution to the μ/Bμ problem of gauge mediation. We study in detail the processes of global symmetry and electroweak symmetry breaking, including the contributions of the top/stop and gauge-Higgs sectors to the one-loop effective potential of the pseudo-Goldstone Higgs boson. While the joint effect of supersymmetry and of the global symmetry allows in principle the electroweak symmetry to be broken with little fine-tuning, the simplest version of the model fails to bring the Higgs mass above the LEP bound due to a suppressed tree-level quartic coupling. To cure this problem, we consider the possibility of additional SU(3)-breaking contributions to the Higgs potential, which results in a moderate fine-tuning. The model predicts a rather low messenger scale, a small tanβ value, a light Higgs boson with Standard Model-like properties, and heavy higgsinos.     

Meson-lepton interaction in the spinor strong interaction theory

The recently developed spinor strong interaction theory, which successfully accounts for linear confinement and classification of mesons as well as unmixed meson spectra, is applied to semileptonic decays of the π,K, D, andB mesons. These mesons themselves generate massM _w for the mediating gauge boson; no Higgs boson is needed. The theory is also applied to purely leptonic interactions. It is shown that the results of the standard electroweak model can be taken over with the Higgs boson replaced by the above mesons. The Cabbibo angle ϑ_C is given by tan ϑ_C=(pion mass)/(kaon mass), in agreement with data. The pion decay constantF is essentially a ratio between two large constants introduced to make certain infinite integrals finite.M _w is also related to a similar cutoff constant. Dragarbrunnsg. 9B.     

The holographic composite Higgs

Theories where the Higgs boson is a composite particle elegantly solve the hierarchy problem. This idea has been recently investigated in the framework of 5-dimensional warped models that, according to the AdS/CFT correspondence, have a 4-dimensional holographic interpretation in terms of strongly coupled field theories. We present a minimal model in which the Higgs arises as a pseudo-Goldstone boson and the electroweak symmetry is dynamically broken. This model can successfully solve the flavor problem and pass all the electroweak precision tests. To cite this article: R. Contino, A. Pomarol, C. R. Physique 8 (2007).     

Direct search for the Standard Model Higgs boson

For twelve years, LEP revolutionized the knowledge of electroweak symmetry breaking within the standard model, and the direct discovery of the Higgs boson would have been the crowning achievement. Searches at the Z resonance and above the W⁺W⁻ threshold allowed an unambiguous lower limit on the mass of the standard model Higgs boson to set be at 114.1 GeV·c⁻². After years of efforts to push the LEP performance far beyond the design limits, hints of what could be the first signs of the existence of a 115 GeV·c⁻² Higgs boson appeared in June 2000, were confirmed in September, and were then confirmed again in November. An additional six-month period of LEP operation was enough to provide a definite answer, with an opportunity to make a fundamental discovery of prime importance. To cite this article: P. Janot, M. Kado, C. R. Physique 3 (2002) 1193–1202.     

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 a low mass CP-odd Higgs boson in $\mathrm{e^+e^-}$ collisions with the OPAL detector at LEP2

We have analysed the data collected by OPAL at centre-of-mass energies between 189 and 209 GeV searching for Higgs boson candidates from the process followed by the decay of where is the CP-odd Higgs boson. The search is done in the region where the mass, , is below the production threshold for , and the CP-even Higgs boson mass is within the range 45-86 GeV/c ² . In this kinematic range, the decay of may be dominant and previous Higgs boson searches have very small sensitivities. This search can be interpreted within any model that predicts the existence of at least one scalar and one pseudoscalar Higgs boson. No excess of events is observed above the expected Standard Model backgrounds. Model-independent limits on the cross-section for the process are derived assuming 100% decays of the into and 100% decays of the into each of the following final states: , , , , and . The results are also interpreted in the CP-conserving no-mixing MSSM scenario, where the region and is excluded. Received: 13 March 2002 / Published online: 26 February 2003     

Remarks on Higgs inflation

We discuss models where the Higgs boson of the electroweak standard model plays the role of the inflaton. We focus on the question of the violation of perturbative unitarity due to the coupling of the Higgs boson either to the Ricci scalar or to the Einstein tensor and discuss the background dependence of the unitarity bounds. Our conclusion is that the simplest model which restricts itself to the standard model Higgs boson without introducing further degrees of freedom has a serious problem. However, in the asymptotically safe gravity scenario, the Higgs boson of the standard model could be the inflaton and no physics beyond the standard model is required to explain both inflation and the spontaneous breaking of the electroweak symmetry of the standard model.     

Searches for invisibly decaying Higgs bosonswith the DELPHI detector at LEP

Searches for H Z production with the Higgs boson decaying into an invisible final state were performed using the data collected by the DELPHI experiment at centre-of-mass energies between 188 GeV and 209 GeV. Both hadronic and leptonic final states of the Z boson were analysed. In addition to the search for a heavy Higgs boson, a dedicated search for a light Higgs boson down to 40 GeV/c² was performed. No signal was found. Assuming the Standard Model HZ production cross-section, the mass limit for invisibly decaying Higgs bosons is 112.1 GeV/c² at 95% confidence level. An interpretation in the Minimal Supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (MSSM) and in a Majoron model is also given.Received: 2 September 2003, Revised: 10 November 2003, Published online: 15 January 2004     

TeV‐ and MeV‐Physics Out of an Model

The standard electroweak interaction is here re‐assessed to accommodate two different situations in Particle Physics. The first one is a ‐model at the TeV‐scale physics. The second one tackles the recent discussion of a possible fifth force mediated by a 17‐MeV X‐boson associated with an electron‐positron emission in the transition of an excited 8‐Beryllium to its ground state. The anomaly‐free model that provides these two scenarios is based on an ‐symmetry. It yields a new massive neutral boson, an exotic massive neutral fermion, right‐neutrinos and an additional neutral Higgs particle, which stems from a supplementary Higgs field, introduced along with the usual Higgs doublet responsible for the electroweak breaking and the masses of and Z⁰. Yukawa interactions of the two scalars generate the masses of the Standard Model leptons, neutrinos and a new exotic fermion of the model. The vacuum expectation values of the Higgses fix up two independent energy scales. One of them is the well‐confirmed electroweak scale, 246 GeV, whereas the other one is set up by adopting an experimental estimate for the ‐mass.     

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     

Non-minimal Coupling of the Higgs Boson to Curvature in an Inflationary Universe

In the absence of new physics around \(10^{10}\) GeV, the electroweak vacuum is at best metastable. This represents a major challenge for high scale inflationary models as, during the early rapid expansion of the universe, it seems difficult to understand how the Higgs vacuum would not decay to the true lower vacuum of the theory with catastrophic consequences if inflation took place at a scale above \(10^{10}\) GeV. In this paper we show that the non-minimal coupling of the Higgs boson to curvature could solve this problem by generating a direct coupling of the Higgs boson to the inflationary potential thereby stabilizing the electroweak vacuum. For specific values of the Higgs field initial condition and of its non-minimal coupling, inflation can drive the Higgs field to the electroweak vacuum quickly during inflation.     

Minimal and two-doublet Higgs production in heavy quarkonium decays

The decay of a heavy vector toponium state into a photon or Z boson and a Higgs particle is investigated in both the minimal standard model and in a two Higgs doublet model. The decay into a minimal model Higgs boson and a Z is found to be suppressed due to a cancellation of different contributions. However, in the two-doublet case the rates are shown to sometimes be enhanced making this mode an interesting complement to the Wilczek process of the vector particle decaying into a photon and a Higgs boson. It is argued that the combined measurement of these processes would give valuable information on the structure of the Higgs sector of the electroweak interactions. In particular, two-doublet models with restrictions given by supersymmetry are shown to imply a specific pattern for these decays. If there would be a fourth generation, the quarkonium system built from the new b-like quark could decay quite frequently to a Higgs and a Z boson.     

Upper bounds on higgs boson masses

The low energy perturbative consistency of various models of electroweak interactions is discussed in the limit of large Higgs boson massesM _H . In each case an upper bound onM _H is found.     

Triple and quartic interactions of Higgs bosons in the two-Higgs-doublet model with <Emphasis Type="Italic">CP</Emphasis>-violation

We consider the two-Higgs-doublet model with explicit CP-violation, where the effective Higgs potential is not CP-invariant at the tree level. The three neutral Higgs bosons of the model are the mixtures of CP-even and CP-odd bosons which exist in the CP-conserving limit of the theory. The mass spectrum and tree-level couplings of the neutral Higgs bosons to gauge bosons and fermions are significantly dependent on the parameters of the Higgs boson mixing matrix. We calculate the Higgs-gauge boson, Higgs-fermion, triple and quartic Higgs self-interactions in the MSSM with explicit CP-violation in the Higgs sector and CP-violating Yukawa interactions of the third generation scalar quarks. In some regions of the MSSM parameter space substantial changes of the self-interaction vertices take place, leading to significant suppression or enhancement of the multiple Higgs boson production cross sections. Received: 13 June 2002 / Revised version: 20 November 2002 / Published online: 14 March 2003     

Prospects for the measurement of the Higgs boson masswith a linear <Emphasis Type="Italic">e</Emphasis><Superscript> + </Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">e</Emphasis><Superscript>-</Superscript> collider

The potential of a linear e ⁺ e^- collider operated at a centre-of-mass energy of 350 GeV is studied for the measurement of the Higgs boson mass. An integrated luminosity of 500 fb^-1 is assumed. For Higgs boson masses of 120, 150 and 180 GeV the uncertainty on the Higgs boson mass measurement is estimated to be 40, 65 and 70 MeV, respectively. The effects of beam related systematics, namely a bias in the beam energy measurement, the beam energy spread and the luminosity spectrum due to beamstrahlung, on the precision of the Higgs boson mass measurement are investigated. In order to keep the systematic uncertainty on the Higgs boson mass well below the level of the statistical error, the beam energy measurement must be controlled with a relative precision better than 10^-4. Received: 30 May 2005, Revised: 6 July 2005, Published online: 6 October 2005