arXiv subjects

Georg Weiglein

Publications and source records attributed to Georg Weiglein.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2024

anyH3: precise predictions for the trilinear Higgs coupling in the Standard Model and beyond

The trilinear Higgs coupling $λ_{hhh}$ of the detected Higgs boson is an important probe for physics beyond the Standard Model. Correspondingly, improving the precision of the theoretical predictions for this coupling as well as the experimental constraints on it are among the main goals of particle physics in the near future. In this article, we present the public $\mathtt{Python}$ code $\mathtt{anyH3}$, which provides precise theoretical predictions for $λ_{hhh}$. The program can easily be used for any renormalisable model, where for the input the $\mathtt{UFO}$ format is adopted. It allows including corrections up to the full one-loop level with arbitrary values of the external squared momenta and features a semi-automatic and highly flexible renormalisation procedure. The code is validated against known results in the literature. Moreover, we present new results for $λ_{hhh}$ in models which so far have not been investigated in the literature.

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arXiv2024

A 95 GeV Higgs Boson in the Georgi-Machacek Model

CMS and ATLAS have reported small excesses in the search for low-mass Higgs bosons in the di-photon decay channel at exactly the same mass, $95.4~$GeV. These searches rely on improved analysis techniques, enhancing in particular the discrimination against the $Z \to e^+e^-$ background. In models beyond the Standard Model (SM) that extend the Higgs sector with triplets, doubly-charged Higgs bosons are predicted which can contribute substantially to the di-photon decay rate of a light Higgs boson. The Georgi-Machacek (GM) Model is of particular interest in this context, since despite containing Higgs triplets it preserves the electroweak $ρ$-parameter to be$~$1 at the tree level. We show that within the GM model, a Higgs boson with a mass of $\sim 95~$GeV with a di-photon decay rate as observed by CMS and ATLAS can be well described. We discuss the di-photon excess in conjunction with an excess in the $b \bar b$ final state observed at LEP and an excess observed by CMS in the di-tau final state, which have been found at comparable masses with local significances of about $2σ$ and $3σ$, respectively. The presence of a Higgs boson at about $95~$GeV within the GM model would imply good prospects of the searches for additional light Higgs bosons. In particular, the observed excess in the di-photon channel would be expected to be correlated in the GM model with a light doubly-charged Higgs boson in the mass range between $100~$GeV and $200~$GeV, which motivates dedicated searches in upcoming LHC Runs.

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arXiv2024

First shot of the smoking gun: probing the electroweak phase transition in the 2HDM with novel searches for $A \to ZH$ in $\ell^+ \ell^- t \bar{t}$ and $ννb \bar{b}$ final states

Recently the ATLAS collaboration has reported the first results of searches for heavy scalar resonances decaying into a $Z$ boson and a lighter new scalar resonance, where the $Z$ boson decays leptonically and the lighter scalar decays into a top-quark pair, giving rise to $\ell^+ \ell^- t \bar{t}$ final states. This had previously been identified as a smoking-gun signature at the LHC for a first-order electroweak phase transition (FOEWPT) within the framework of two Higgs doublet models (2HDMs). In addition, ATLAS also presented new limits where the $Z$ boson decays into pairs of neutrinos and the lighter scalar resonance into bottom-quark pairs, giving rise to the $ννb \bar b$ final state. We analyze the impact of these new searches on the 2HDM parameter space, with emphasis on their capability to probe currently allowed 2HDM regions featuring a strong FOEWPT. We also study the complementarity of these new searches with other LHC probes that could target the FOEWPT region of the 2HDM. Remarkably, the ATLAS search in the $\ell^+ \ell^- t \bar{t}$ final state shows a local $2.85\,σ$ excess (for masses of about 650 GeV and 450 GeV for the heavy and light resonance) in the 2HDM parameter region that would yield a FOEWPT in the early universe, which could constitute the first experimental hint of baryogenesis at the electroweak scale. We analyze the implications of this excess, and discuss the detectability prospects for the associated gravitational wave signal from the FOEWPT. Furthermore, we project the sensitivity reach of the $\ell^+ \ell^- t \bar{t}$ signature for the upcoming runs of the LHC. Finally, we introduce the python package thdmTools, a state-of-art tool for the exploration of the 2HDM.

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arXiv2023

Precise predictions for the trilinear Higgs self-coupling in the Standard Model and beyond

Deviations in the trilinear self-coupling of the Higgs boson at 125 GeV from the Standard Model (SM) prediction are a sensitive test of physics Beyond the SM (BSM). The LHC experiments searching for the simultaneous production of two Higgs bosons start to become sensitive to such deviations. Therefore, precise predictions for the trilinear Higgs self-coupling in different BSM models are required in order to be able to test them against current and future bounds. We present the new framework $\texttt{anyH3}$, which is a $\texttt{Python}$ library that can be utilized to obtain predictions for trilinear scalar couplings up to the one-loop level in any renormalisable theory. The program makes use of the $\texttt{UFO}$ format as input and is able to automatically apply a wide variety of renormalisation schemes involving minimal and non-minimal subtraction conditions. External-leg corrections are also computed automatically, and finite external momenta can be optionally taken into account. The $\texttt{Python}$ library comes with convenient command-line as well as $\texttt{Mathematica}$ user interfaces. We perform cross-checks using consistency conditions such as UV-finiteness and decoupling, and also by comparing against results know in the literature. As example applications, we obtain results for the trilinear self-coupling of the SM-like Higgs boson in various concrete BSM models, study the effect of external momenta as well as of different renormalisation schemes.

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arXiv2023

Experimental probes and theoretical concepts for BSM trilinear couplings: a case study for scalar top quarks

After the possible discovery of new particles, it will be crucial to determine the properties, and in particular the couplings, of the new states. Here, we focus on scalar trilinear couplings, employing as an example the case of the trilinear coupling of scalar top quarks (stops) to the Higgs boson in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). We discuss possible strategies for experimentally determining the stop trilinear coupling parameter, which controls the stop--stop--Higgs interaction, and we demonstrate the impact of different prescriptions for the renormalisation of this parameter. We find that the best prospects for determining the stop trilinear coupling arise from its quantum effects entering the model prediction for the mass of the SM-like Higgs boson in comparison to the measured value, pointing out that the prediction for the Higgs-boson mass has a high sensitivity to the stop trilinear coupling even for heavy masses of the non-standard particles. Regarding the renormalisation of the stop trilinear coupling, we identify a renormalisation scheme that is preferred given the present level of accuracy, and we clarify the origin of potentially large logarithms that cannot be resummed with standard renormalisation group methods.

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arXiv2023

New constraints on extended scalar sectors from the trilinear Higgs coupling

The trilinear Higgs coupling $λ_{hhh}$ is a crucial tool to probe the structure of the Higgs potential and to search for possible effects of physics beyond the Standard Model (SM). Focusing on the Two-Higgs-Doublet Model as a concrete example, we identify parameter regions in which $λ_{hhh}$ is significantly enhanced with respect to its SM prediction. Taking into account all relevant corrections up to the two-loop level, we show that current experimental bounds on $λ_{hhh}$ already rule out significant parts of the otherwise unconstrained parameter space. We illustrate the interpretation of the current results and future measurement prospects on $λ_{hhh}$ for a benchmark scenario. Recent results from direct searches for BSM scalars in the $A\to ZH$ channel and their implications will also be discussed in this context.

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arXiv2023

Theoretical concepts and measurement prospects for BSM trilinear couplings: a case study for scalar top quarks

After the possible discovery of new heavy particles at the LHC, it will be crucial to determine the properties and the underlying physics of the new states. In this work, we focus on scalar trilinear couplings, employing as an example the case of the trilinear coupling of scalar partners of the top quark to the Higgs boson. We discuss possible strategies for experimentally determining the scalar top (stop) trilinear coupling parameter, which controls the stop--stop--Higgs interaction, and we demonstrate the impact of different renormalisation prescriptions for this parameter. We find that the best prospects for determining the stop trilinear coupling arise from its quantum effects entering the model prediction for the mass of the SM-like Higgs boson in comparison to the measured value. We point out that the prediction for the Higgs-boson mass has a high sensitivity to the stop trilinear coupling even for heavy masses of the non-standard particles. Regarding the renormalisation of the stop trilinear coupling we identify a renormalisation scheme that is preferred in view of the present level of accuracy and we clarify the source of potentially large logarithms that cannot be resummed with standard renormalisation group methods.

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arXiv2023

HiggsTools: BSM scalar phenomenology with new versions of HiggsBounds and HiggsSignals

The codes HiggsBounds and HiggsSignals compare model predictions of BSM models with extended scalar sectors to searches for additional scalars and to measurements of the detected Higgs boson at 125 GeV. We present a unification and extension of the functionalities provided by both codes into the new HiggsTools framework. The codes have been re-written in modern C++ with native Python and Mathematica interfaces for easy interactive use. We discuss the user interface for providing model predictions, now part of the new sub-library HiggsPredictions, which also provides access to many cross sections and branching ratios for reference models such as the SM. HiggsBounds now implements experimental limits purely through json data files, can better handle clusters of BSM particles of similar masses (even for complicated search topologies), and features an improved handling of mass uncertainties. Moreover, it now contains an extended list of Higgs-boson pair production searches and doubly-charged Higgs boson searches. In HiggsSignals, the treatment of different types of measurements has been unified, both in the $χ^2$ computation and in the data file format used to implement experimental results.

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arXiv2023

Excesses in the low-mass Higgs-boson search and the W-boson mass measurement

The CDF collaboration recently reported a measurement of the $W$-bosos mass, $M_W$, showing a large positive deviation from the Standard Model (SM) prediction. The question arises whether extensions of the SM exist that can accommodate such large values, and what further phenomenological consequences arise from this. A different type of deviation from the SM has been observed experimentally in the searches for light Higgs bosons. CMS has observed two local $\sim 3\,σ$ excesses in the $γγ$ and $τ^+τ^-$ final states for a hypothetical Higgs-boson mass of $\sim 95$ GeV. These two excesses are compatible with the corresponding ATLAS limits. A third excess was observed in the Higgs-boson searches at LEP in the $b \bar b$ final state at the local $\sim 2\,σ$ confidence level at about the same Higgs-boson mass. It was shown recently that the three excesses can be described the the 2HDM extended with a real singlet (N2HDM) of Yukawa type IV, while being in agreement with all other theoretical and experimental constraints. We demonstrate that the parameter space that accomodates the three excesses can also give a large contribution to $M_W$ in agreement with the recent CDF measurement. We discuss further phenomenological consequences of this scenario.

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arXiv2023

The trap in the early Universe: impact on the interplay between gravitational waves and LHC physics in the 2HDM

We analyze the thermal history of the 2HDM and determine the parameter regions featuring a first-order electroweak phase transition (FOEWPT) and also much less studied phenomena like high-temperature electroweak (EW) symmetry non-restoration and the possibility of vacuum trapping (i.e. the Universe remains trapped in an EW-symmetric vacuum throughout the cosmological evolution, despite at $T=0$ the EW breaking vacuum is deeper). We show that the presence of vacuum trapping impedes a first-order EW phase transition in 2HDM parameter-space regions previously considered suitable for the realization of electroweak baryogenesis. Focusing then on the regions that do feature such a first-order transition, we show that the 2HDM parameter space that would yield a stochastic gravitational wave signal potentially detectable by the future LISA observatory is very contrived, and will be well probed by direct searches of 2HDM Higgs bosons at the HL-LHC, and (possibly) also via measurements of the self-coupling of the Higgs boson at 125 GeV. This has an important impact on the interplay between LISA and the LHC regarding the exploration of first-order phase transition scenarios in the 2HDM: the absence of new physics indications at the HL-LHC would severely limit the prospects of a detection by LISA. Finally, we demonstrate that as a consequence of the predicted enhancement of the self-coupling of the Higgs boson at 125 GeV the ILC would be able to probe the majority of the 2HDM parameter space yielding a FOEWPT through measurements of the self-coupling, with a large improvement in precision with respect to the HL-LHC.

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arXiv2023

A new LHC search for dark matter produced via heavy Higgs bosons using simplified models

Searches for dark matter produced via scalar resonances in final states consisting of Standard Model (SM) particles and missing transverse momentum are of high relevance at the LHC. Motivated by dark-matter portal models, most existing searches are optimized for unbalanced decay topologies for which the missing momentum recoils against the visible SM particles. In this work, we show that existing searches are also sensitive to a wider class of models, which we characterize by a recently presented simplified model framework. We point out that searches for models with a balanced decay topology can be further improved with more dedicated analysis strategies. For this study, we investigate the feasibility of a new search for bottom-quark associated neutral Higgs production with a $b \bar b Z + p_\text{T}^\text{miss}$ final state and perform a detailed collider analysis. Our projected results in the different simplified model topologies investigated here can be easily reinterpreted in a wide range of models of physics beyond the SM, which we explicitly demonstrate for the example of the Two-Higgs-Doublet model with an additional pseudoscalar Higgs boson.

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arXiv2022

New constraints on extended Higgs sectors from the trilinear Higgs coupling

The trilinear Higgs coupling $λ_{hhh}$ is crucial for determining the structure of the Higgs potential and for probing possible effects of physics beyond the Standard Model (SM). Focusing on the Two-Higgs-Doublet Model as a concrete example, we identify parameter regions in which $λ_{hhh}$ is significantly enhanced with respect to the SM. Taking into account all relevant corrections up to the two-loop level, we show that already current experimental bounds on $λ_{hhh}$ rule out significant parts of the parameter space that would otherwise be unconstrained. We illustrate the interpretation of the results on $λ_{hhh}$ for a benchmark scenario. Similar results are expected for wide classes of models with extended Higgs sectors.

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arXiv2022

Simplified models for resonant neutral scalar production with missing transverse energy final states

Additional Higgs bosons appear in many extensions of the Standard Model (SM). While most existing searches for additional Higgs bosons concentrate on final states consisting of SM particles, final states containing beyond the SM (BSM) particles play an important role in many BSM models. In order to facilitate future searches for such final states, we develop a simplified model framework for heavy Higgs boson decays to a massive SM boson as well as one or more invisible particles. Allowing one kind of BSM mediator in each decay chain, we classify the possible decay topologies for each final state, taking into account all different possibilities for the spin of the mediator and the invisible particles. Our comparison of the kinematic distributions for each possible model realization reveals that the distributions corresponding to the different simplified model topologies are only mildly affected by the different spin hypotheses, while there is significant sensitivity for distinguishing between the different decay topologies. As a consequence, we point out that expressing the results of experimental searches in terms of the proposed simplified model topologies will allow one to constrain wide classes of different BSM models. The application of the proposed simplified model framework is explicitly demonstrated for the example of a mono-Higgs search. For each of the simplified models that are proposed in this paper we provide all necessary ingredients for performing Monte-Carlo simulations such that they can readily be applied in experimental analyses.

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arXiv2022

Mounting evidence for a 95 GeV Higgs boson

In 2018 CMS reported an excess in the light Higgs-boson search in the diphoton decay mode at about 95GeV based on Run 1 and first year Run 2 data. The combined local significance of the excess was $2.8\,σ$. The excess is compatible with the limits obtained in the ATLAS searches from the diphoton search channel. Recently, CMS reported another local excess with a significance of $3.1\,σ$ in the light Higgs-boson search in the di-tau final state, which is compatible with the interpretation of a Higgs boson with a mass of about 95GeV. We show that the observed results can be interpreted as manifestations of a Higgs boson in the Two-Higgs Doublet Model with an additional real singlet (N2HDM). We find that the lightest Higgs boson of the N2HDM can fit both excesses simultaneously, while the second-lightest state is such that it satisfies the Higgs-boson measurements at 125GeV, and the full Higgs-boson sector is compatible with all Higgs exclusion bounds from the searches at LEP, the Tevatron and the LHC as well as with other theoretical and experimental constraints. Finally, we demonstrate that it is furthermore possible to accommodate the excesses observed by CMS in the two search channels together with a local $2.3\,σ$ excess in the $b \bar b$ final state observed at LEP in the same mass range.

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arXiv2022

New physics effects on the $W$-boson mass from a doublet extension of the SM Higgs sector

Recently, the CDF collaboration has reported a new precision measurement of the $W$-boson mass, $M_W$, showing a large deviation from the value predicted by the Standard Model (SM). In this paper, we analyse possible new physics contributions to $M_W$ from extended Higgs sectors. We focus on the Two-Higgs-Doublet Model (2HDM) as a concrete example. Employing predictions for the electroweak precision observables in the 2HDM at the two-loop level and taking into account further theoretical and experimental constraints, we identify parameter regions of the 2HDM in which the prediction for $M_W$ is close to the new CDF value. We assess the compatibility of these regions with precision measurements of the effective weak mixing angle and the total width of the $Z$ boson.

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arXiv2022

External-leg corrections as an origin of large logarithms

Obtaining precise theoretical predictions for both production and decay processes of heavy new particles is of great importance to constrain the allowed parameter spaces of Beyond-the-Standard-Model (BSM) theories, and to properly assess the sensitivity for discoveries and for discriminating between different possible BSM scenarios. In this context, it is well known that large logarithmic corrections can appear in the presence of widely separated mass scales. We point out the existence of a new type of possible large, Sudakov-like, logarithms in external-leg corrections of heavy scalars. To the difference of usual Sudakov logarithms, these can furthermore potentially be enhanced by large trilinear couplings. Such large logarithms are associated with infrared singularities and we review several techniques to address these at one loop. In addition to this discussion, we also present the derivation of the two-loop corrections containing this type of large logarithms, pointing out in this context the importance of adopting an on-shell renormalisation scheme. Finally, we illustrate our calculations and examine the possible magnitude of these corrections for a simple scalar toy model as well as for decay processes involving heavy stop quarks in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model and a heavy Higgs boson in the Next-to-Two-Higgs-Doublet Model.

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arXiv2022

Possible indications for new Higgs bosons in the reach of the LHC: N2HDM and NMSSM interpretations

In several searches for additional Higgs bosons at the LHC, in particular in a CMS search exploring decays to pairs of top quarks, $t \bar t$, and in an ATLAS search studying tau leptons, $τ^+τ^-$, local excesses of about $3\,σ$ standard deviations or above have been observed at a mass scale of approximately $ 400$GeV. We investigate to what extent a possible signal in these channels could be accommodated in the Next-to-Two-Higgs-Doublet Model (N2HDM) or the Next-to Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM). In a second step we analyze whether such a model could be compatible with both a signal at around $400$GeV and $96$GeV, where the latter possibility is motivated by observed excesses in searches for the $b \bar b$ final state at LEP and the di-photon final state at CMS. The analysis for the N2HDM reveals that the observed excesses at $400GeV$ in the $t \bar t$ and $τ^+τ^-$ channels point towards different regions of the parameter space, while one such excess and an additional Higgs boson at around $96$GeV could simultaneously be accommodated. In the context of the NMSSM an experimental confirmation of a signal in the $t \bar t$ final state would favour the alignment-without-decoupling limit of the model, where the Higgs boson at $125$GeV could be essentially indistinguishable from the Higgs boson of the standard model. In contrast, a signal in the $τ^+τ^-$ channel can only be accommodated outside of this limit, and parts of the investigated parameter space could be probed with Higgs signal-rate measurements at the (HL-)LHC.

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arXiv2022

Vacuum (meta-)stability in the $μν$SSM

We perform an analysis of the vacuum stability of the neutral scalar potential of the $μ$-from-$ν$ Supersymmetric Standard Model ($μν$SSM). As an example scenario, we discuss the alignment-without-decoupling limit of the $μν$SSM, for which the required conditions on the Higgs sector are derived. We demonstrate that in this limit large parts of the parameter space feature unphysical minima that are deeper than the electroweak minimum. In order to estimate the lifetime of the electroweak vacuum, we calculate the rates for the tunneling process into each unphysical minimum. We find that in many cases the resulting lifetime is longer than the age of the universe, such that the considered parameter region is not excluded. On the other hand, we also find parameter regions in which the electroweak vacuum is short-lived. We investigate how the different regions of stability are related to the presence of light right-handed sneutrinos. Accordingly, a vacuum stability analysis that accurately takes into account the possibility of long-lived metastable vacua is crucial for a reliable assessment of the phenomenological viability of the parameter space of the $μν$SSM and its resulting phenomenology at the (HL)-LHC.

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