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.     

With four standard model families, the LHC could discover the Higgs boson with a few fb-1

The existence of a 4th SM family would produce a large enhancement of the gluon fusion channel of Higgs boson production at hadron colliders. In this case, the SM Higgs boson could be seen at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) via the golden mode () with an integral luminosity of only a few fb^-1. Received: 26 February 2002 / Published online: 18 October 2002     

Search for invisibly decaying Higgs boson at Large Hadron Collider

In several scenarios of Beyond Standard Model physics, the invisible decay mode of the Higgs boson is an interesting possibility. The search strategy for an invisible Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), using weak boson fusion process, has been studied in detail, by taking into account all possible backgrounds. Realistic simulations have been used in the context of CMS experiment to devise a set of event selection criteria which eventually enhances the signal contribution compared to the background processes in characteristic distributions. In cut-based analysis, multi-jet background is found to overwhelm the signal in the finally selected sample. With an integrated luminosity of 10 fb⁻¹, an upper limit of 36% on the branching ratio can be obtained for Higgs boson with a mass of 120 GeV/c² for LHC energy of 14 TeV. Since the analysis essentially depends on the background estimation, detailed studies have been done to determine the background rates from real data.     

The fourth Standard Model family and the competition in Standard Model Higgs boson search at Tevatron and LHC

The impact of the fourth Standard Model family on Higgs boson search at Tevatron and LHC is reviewed. The enhancement due to a fourth SM family in the production of Higgs boson via gluon fusion already enables the Tevatron experiments to become sensitive to Higgs masses between 140 and 200 GeV and could increase this sensitivity up to about 300 GeV until the LHC is in shape. The same effect could enable the LHC running even at 7 TeV center of mass energy to scan Higgs masses between 200 and 300 GeV only with a few hundred pb^?1 of integrated luminosity.     

Review of searches for Higgs bosons and beyond the Standard Model Physics at the Tevatron

The energy frontier is currently at the Fermilab Tevatron accelerator, which collides protons and antiprotons at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV. The luminosity delivered to the CDF and DØ experiments has now surpassed the 4 fb^?1. This paper reviews the most recent direct searches for Higgs bosons and beyond-the-standard-model (BSM) physics at the Tevatron. The results reported correspond to an integrated luminosity of up to 2.5 fb^?1 of Run II data collected by the two Collaborations. Searches covered include the standard model (SM) Higgs boson (including sensitivity projections), the neutral Higgs bosons in the minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model (MSSM), charged Higgs bosons and extended Higgs models, supersymmetric decays that conserve or violate R-parity, gauge-mediated supersymmetric breaking models, long-lived particles, leptoquarks, compositeness, extra gauge bosons, extra dimensions, and finally signature-based searches. Given the excellent performance of the collider and the continued productivity of the experiments, the Tevatron physics potential looks promising for discovery with the coming larger data sets. In particular, evidence for the SM Higgs boson could be obtained if its mass is light or near 160 GeV. The observed (expected) upper limits are currently a factor of 3.7 (3.3) higher than the expected SM Higgs boson cross section at m _H =115 GeV and 1.1 (1.6) at m _H =160 GeV at 95% C.L.     

Search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the CMS detector

A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented. The analysis is performed on a dataset corresponding to 1.66 fb^?1 of data recorded in 2011 by the CMS experiment. Limits are set on the cross-section of a Standard Model Higgs boson decaying into two photons, and on the cross-section of a fermiophobic Higgs boson decaying into two photons.     

Single scale factor for the universe from the creation of radiation and matter till the present

For a long time, global fits of the electroweak sector of the standard model (SM) have been used to exploit measurements of electroweak precision observables at lepton colliders (LEP, SLC), together with measurements at hadron colliders (Tevatron, LHC) and accurate theoretical predictions at multi-loop level, to constrain free parameters of the SM, such as the Higgs and top masses. Today, all fundamental SM parameters entering these fits are experimentally determined, including information on the Higgs couplings, and the global fits are used as powerful tools to assess the validity of the theory and to constrain scenarios for new physics. Future measurements at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the International Linear Collider (ILC) promise to improve the experimental precision of key observables used in the fits. This paper presents updated electroweak fit results using the latest NNLO theoretical predictions and prospects for the LHC and ILC. The impact of experimental and theoretical uncertainties is analysed in detail. We compare constraints from the electroweak fit on the Higgs couplings with direct LHC measurements, and we examine present and future prospects of these constraints using a model with modified couplings of the Higgs boson to fermions and bosons.     

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.     

Further investigation of the model-independent probe of heavy neutral Higgs bosons at LHC Run 2

In one of our previous papers,we provided general,effective Higgs interactions for the lightest Higgs boson h(SM-like) and a heavier neutral Higgs boson H based on the effective Lagrangian formulation up to the dim-6 interactions,and then proposed two sensitive processes for probing H.We showed in several examples that the resonance peak of H and its dim-6 effective coupling constants(ECC) can be detected at LHC Run 2 with reasonable integrated luminosity.In this paper,we further perform a more thorough study of the most sensitive process,pp →VH*→VVV,providing information about the relations between the 1σ,3σ,5σ statistical significance and the corresponding ranges of the Higgs ECC for an integrated luminosity of 100 fb~(-1).These results have two useful applications in LHC Run 2:(A) realizing the experimental determination of the ECC in the dim-6 interactions if H is found and,(B) obtaining the theoretical exclusion bounds if H is not found.Some alternative processes sensitive for certain ranges of the ECC are also analyzed.     

Conclusions and perspectives

LEP1 precision measurements, combined with LEP2 searches for the Higgs boson, define the framework for future investigations in subatomic physics. In particular they define the energy and the luminosity which are needed at a future e⁺e⁻ collider to settle the issue of the origin of mass and to complement the LHC on the various scenarios proposed beyond the Standard Model. To cite this article: F. Richard, P. Zerwas, C. R. Physique 3 (2002) 1245–1253.     

Visible cascade Higgs decays to four photons at hadron colliders

The presence of a new singlet scalar particle a can open up new decay channels for the Higgs boson, through cascades of the form h --> 2a --> X, possibly making discovery through standard model channels impossible. If a is CP odd, its decays are particularly sensitive to new physics. Quantum effects from heavy fields can naturally make h --> 4 g the dominant decay which is difficult to observe at hadron colliders, and is allowed by CERN LEP for m(h) > 82 GeV. However, there are usually associated decays, either h --> 2g2gamma or h --> 4gamma, which are more promising. The decay h-->4gamma is a clean channel that can discover both a and h. At the CERN LHC with 300 fb(-1) of luminosity, a branching ratio of order 10(-4) is sufficient for discovery for a large range of Higgs boson masses. With total luminosity of approximately 8 fb(-1), discovery at the Fermilab Tevatron requires more than 5 x 10(-3) in branching ratio.     

Experimental verification of the standard model of particle physics

The history concerning an experimental verification of the standard model of particle physics is reviewed with special emphasis on results from experiments using the highest-energy particle colliders, namely, PETRA, LEP and LHC. This article covers physics subjects from discovering the gluon and precise measurements at LEP, to discovering the Higgs boson. It also covers some searches for physics beyond the standard model, particularly supersymmetry, as well as recent developments of some particle detectors that were used in those experiments.     

Searches for new physics at Tevatron: Most recent results

The most recent results obtained from searches of particles and phenomena beyond the Standard Model (new physics) in the D0 and CDF experiments at the Tevatron accelerator (FNAL, USA) on the basis of statistics corresponding to the integrated luminosity of up to 4 fb⁻¹ in 2009 are considered. Particular attention is given to the most recent results on searches for a supersymmetric Higgs boson.     

Physics prospects at the hadron colliders

I start with a brief introduction to the elementary particles and their interactions, Higgs mechanism and supersymmetry. The major physics objectives of the Tevatron and LHC colliders are identified. The status and prospects of the top quark, charged Higgs boson and superparticle searches are discussed in detail, while those of the neutral Higgs boson(s) are covered in a parallel talk by R.J.N. Phillips at this workshop.     

Physics prospects at the hadron colliders

I start with a brief introduction to the elementary particles and their interactions, Higgs mechanism and supersymmetry. The major physics objectives of the Tevatron and LHC colliders are identified. The status and prospects of the top quark, charged Higgs boson and superparticle searches are discussed in detail, while those of the neutral Higgs boson(s) are covered in a parallel talk by R.J.N. Phillips at this workshop.     

Distinguishing the higgs boson from the dilaton at the large hadron collider

It is likely that the LHC will observe a color- and charge-neutral scalar whose decays are consistent with those of the standard model (SM) Higgs boson. The Higgs interpretation of such a discovery is not the only possibility. For example, electroweak symmetry breaking could be triggered by a spontaneously broken, nearly conformal sector. The spectrum of states at the electroweak scale would then contain a narrow scalar resonance, the pseudo-Goldstone boson of conformal symmetry breaking, with Higgs-boson-like properties. If the conformal sector is strongly coupled, this pseudodilaton may be the only new state accessible at high energy colliders. We discuss the prospects for distinguishing this mode from a minimal Higgs boson at the LHC and ILC. The main discriminants between the two scenarios are (i) cubic self-interactions and (ii) a potential enhancement of couplings to massless SM gauge bosons.     

The Higgs-photon-Z boson coupling revisited

We analyze the coupling of CP-even and CP-odd Higgs bosons to a photon and a Z boson in extensions, of the Standard Model. In particular, we study in detail the effect of charged Higgs bosons in two-Higgs doublet models;. and the contribution of SUSY particle loops in the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model: The Higgs-γZ coupling can be measured in the decayZ → γ+Higgs ate ⁺ e ^? colliders running on theZ resonance, or in the reverse process Higgs →Zγ with the Higgs boson produced at LHC. We show that a measurement of this coupling with a precision at the percent level, which could be the case at futuree ⁺ e ^? colliders, would allow to distinguish between the lightest SUSY and standard Higgs bosons in large areas of the parameter space.     

Implications of the Higgs boson discovery

With the discovery of the Higgs boson by the LHC in 2012, a new era started in which we have direct experimental information on the physics behind the breaking of the electroweak (EW) symmetry. This breaking plays a fundamental role in our understanding of particle physics and sits at the high-energy frontier beyond which we expect new physics that supersedes the Standard Model (SM). In this review we summarize what we have learned so far from LHC data in this respect. In the absence of new particles having been discovered, we discuss how the scrutiny of the properties of the Higgs boson (in search for deviations from SM expectations) is crucial as it can point the way for physics beyond the SM. We also emphasize how the value of the Higgs mass could have far-reaching implications for the stability of the EW vacuum if there is no new physics up to extremely large energies.     

The Higgs mass beyond the CMSSM

The recent discovery of a new boson at the LHC, which resembles a SM-like Higgs boson with m _h =125 GeV, is starting to provide strong guidelines into SUSY model building. For instance, the identification of such a state with the lightest CP-even Higgs boson of the MSSM (h ⁰), requires large values of tanβ and/or heavy sfermions. One outcome of this result is the possibility to solve the SUSY flavor and CP problems by decoupling, which points towards some realization of Split-inspired SUSY scenarios, in which scalars are much heavier than gauginos and higgsinos. However, we argue here that the remaining Higgs bosons of the MSSM (H ⁰, A ⁰, H ^±) do not have to be as heavy as the sfermions, and having them with masses near the EW scale does not pose any conflict with current MSSM constraints. We discuss then some SUSY scenarios with heavy sfermions, from a bottom-up approach, which contain the full Higgs sector, as well as a possible dark matter candidate, with masses near the EW scale, and identify distinctive signals from these scenarios that could be searched at the LHC.     

t\bar{t}H\to t\bar{t}\tau^{+}\tau^{-} —toward the measurement of the top-Yukawa coupling

One of the main goals of the ATLAS experiment is to measure various Higgs boson couplings as accurately as possible. Such a measurement is mandatory for a full understanding of the Higgs sector. One of the most challenging measurements of the Higgs boson properties is the determination of the Yukawa coupling to the top quark. To complement the $t\bar {t}H\rightarrow t\bar {t}\ensuremath {\mathit {b}\bar {\mathit {b}}}$ channel, which is the most significant in the low Higgs mass region (m _H ～120 GeV), we introduce a feasibility study of the $t\bar {t}H$ channel with the Higgs decaying to a pair of τ leptons. The signal events were reconstructed using the full and the fast simulation of the ATLAS detector. It is shown that both the distributions and the number of expected events after the same cuts agree, and that we can use the fast simulation to complete the analysis. We obtain a significance of 1.6σ for the low luminosity condition (30 fb^?1) and m _H =120 GeV, and 2.0σ for the high luminosity condition (300 fb^?1) and m _H =120 GeV. The observability of Higgs boson in this channel is demonstrated to be very marginal, even in the absence of taking into account $t\bar {t}+\mathrm{jets}$ .