A New Look at Higgs Constraints on Stops

Abstract

We present a simple new way to visualize the constraints of Higgs coupling measurements on light stops in natural SUSY scenarios beyond the MSSM, which works directly in the plane of stop mass eigenvalues (with no need to make assumptions about mixing angles). For given stop mass eigenvalues, the smallest value of $X_t$ that can bring the correction to the $h \to gg$ and $h\to \gamma\gamma$ couplings into agreement with data is computed. Requiring that this $X_t$ is consistent--i.e. that the chosen mass eigenvalues can be the outcome of diagonalizing a matrix with a given off-diagonal term--rules out the possibility that both stops have a mass below $\approx$ 400 GeV. Requiring that $X_t$ is not fine-tuned for agreement with the data shows that neither stop can be lighter than $\approx$ 100 GeV. These constraints are interesting because, unlike direct searches, they apply no matter how stops decay, and suggest a minimum electroweak fine-tuning of between a factor of 5 and 10. We show that a multi-parameter fit can slightly weaken this conclusion by allowing a large Higgs coupling to $b$-quarks, but only if a second Higgs boson is within reach of experiment. Certain models, like $R$-symmetric models with Dirac gauginos, are much more strongly constrained because they predict negligible $X_t$. We illustrate how the constraints will evolve given precise measurements at future colliders (HL-LHC, ILC, and TLEP), and comment on the more difficult case of Folded Supersymmetry.