arXiv subjects

Joao P. Silva

Publications and source records attributed to Joao P. Silva.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Scrutinizing the Mass Matrices in Three-Higgs-Doublet Models with Generalized CP Symmetries

We investigate three-Higgs-doublet models with a softly broken generalized CP (GCP) symmetry, focusing on the Yukawa sector and its compatibility with quark flavor data. We first show that the 40 GCP-symmetric models previously identified are not all physically distinct, by constructing the basis transformations relating equivalent realizations and identifying spurious parameters. We then perform numerical fits to the six quark masses and the four independent parameters of the Cabibbo--Kobayashi--Maskawa matrix, further reducing the set of viable models. In contrast to the GCP-symmetric two-Higgs-doublet case, we find that GCP-symmetric three-Higgs-doublet models can successfully reproduce all quark masses and mixings. In total, 22 inequivalent models are compatible with current experimental data, and representative benchmark points are presented. Our results establish softly broken GCP-symmetric three-Higgs-doublet models as phenomenologically viable extensions of the Standard Model and provide a framework for further studies of their flavor phenomenology.

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arXiv2024

Generalized CP Symmetries in Three-Higgs-Doublet Models

We study the scalar and Yukawa sectors of three Higgs doublets models with a generalized CP symmetry. We show that there are only four classes of scalar potentials, merely one more than in two Higgs doublet models (2HDM). In 2HDM with generalized CP symmetries extended to the Yukawa sector, there are only two possible cases: the usual CP, with 18 real Yukawa couplings; and a minimal generalized CP model, with 12 real Yukawa parameters. In contrast, with three Higgs there is a rich variety of allowed models. We classify all possible Yukawa textures, showing that there are 40 possibilities, several of which have only 10 real Yukawa couplings.

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arXiv2024

New physics interpretations for nonstandard values of $h\to Zγ$

Current measurement of the $h\to Zγ$ signal strength invite us to speculate about possible new physics interactions that exclusively affect $μ_{Zγ}$ without altering the other signal strengths. Additional consideration of tree-unitarity enables us to correlate the nonstandard values of $μ_{Zγ}$ with an upper limit on the scale of new physics. We find that even when $μ_{Zγ}$ deviates from the SM value by only $20\%$, the scale of new physics should be well within the reach of the LHC.

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arXiv2023

The Basis Invariant Flavor Puzzle

The flavor puzzle of the Standard Model quark sector is formulated in a non-perturbative way, using basis invariants that are independent of the choice of quark field basis. To achieve this, we first derive the algebraic ring of 10 CP even (primary) and 1 CP odd (secondary) basis invariants, using the Hilbert series and plethystic logarithm. An orthogonal basis in the ring of basis invariants is explicitly constructed, using hermitian projection operators derived via birdtrack diagrams. The thereby constructed invariants have well defined CP transformation behavior and give the most direct access to the flavor symmetric alignments of basis covariants. We firstly "measure" the orthogonal basis invariants from experimental data and characterize their location in the available parameter space. The experimentally observed orthogonal basis invariants take very close to maximal values and are highly correlated. Explaining the location of the invariants at close to maximal points, including the associated miniscule and highly correlated deviations, corresponds to solving the flavor puzzle in the invariant language. Once properly normalized, the orthogonal basis invariants are close to scale (RGE) invariant, hence, provide exquisite targets for fits of both, low- and high-scale (bottom-up and top-down) flavor models. Our result provides an entirely new angle on the flavor puzzle, and opens up ample opportunities for its ultimate exploration.

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arXiv2023

Fingerprinting the Type-Z three Higgs doublet models

There has been great interest in a model with three Higgs doublets in which fermions with a particular charge couple to a single and distinct Higgs field. We study the phenomenological differences between the two common incarnations of this so-called Type-Z 3HDM. We point out that the differences between the two models arise from the scalar potential only. Thus we focus on observables that involve the scalar self-couplings. We find it difficult to uncover features that can uniquely set apart the $Z_3$ variant of the model. However, by studying the dependence of the trilinear Higgs couplings on the nonstandard masses, we have been able to isolate some of the exclusive indicators for the $Z_2\times Z_2$ version of the Type-Z 3HDM. This highlights the importance of precision measurements of the trilinear Higgs couplings.

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arXiv2023

A viable $A_4$ 3HDM theory of quark mass matrices

It is known that a three Higgs doublet model (3HDM)symmetric under an exact $A_4$ symmetry is not compatible with nonzero quark masses and/or non-block-diagonal CKM matrix. We show that a 3HDM with softly broken $A_4$ terms in the scalar potential does allow for a fit of quark mass matrices. Moreover, the result is consistent with $m_h=125\textrm{GeV}$ and the $h \rightarrow WW, ZZ$ signal. We also checked numerically that, for each point that passes all the constraints, the minimum is a global minimum of the potential.

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arXiv2022

Conditions for global minimum in the A4 symmetric 3HDM

There has been a great interest in three Higgs doublet models (3HDM) symmetric under an exact A4 symmetry. We provide the complete analytic necessary and sufficient conditions for a point to be the global minimum along the neutral directions in such models, discussing many of the subtleties involved. We also present a number of numerical examples, to highlight those issues. We then turn to the directions which break electric charge, presenting a safe analytical sufficient condition for bounded from below (BFB) potentials. Based on extensive numerical simulations, we discuss one conjecture on BFB along charge breaking directions.

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arXiv2022

Exceptional regions of the 2HDM parameter space

The exceptional region of the parameter space (ERPS) of the two Higgs doublet model (2HDM) is defined to be the parameter regime where the scalar potential takes on a very special form. In the standard parameterization of the 2HDM scalar potential with squared mass parameters $m_{11}^2$, $m_{22}^2$, $m_{12}^2$, and dimensionless couplings, $λ_1$, $λ_2$, $\ldots,λ_7$, the ERPS corresponds to $λ_1=λ_2$, $λ_7=-λ_6$, $m_{11}^2=m_{22}^2$ and $m_{12}^2=0$, corresponding to a scalar potential with an enhanced generalized CP symmetry called GCP2. Many special features persist if $λ_1=λ_2$ and $λ_7=-λ_6$ are retained while allowing for $m_{11}^2\neq m_{22}^2$ and/or $m_{12}^2\neq 0$, corresponding to a scalar potential with a softly-broken GCP2 symmetry, which we designate as the ERPS4. In this paper, we examine many of the special features of the ERPS4, as well as even more specialized cases within the ERPS4 framework in which additional constraints on the scalar potential parameters are imposed. By surveying the landscape of the ERPS4, we complete the classification of 2HDM scalar potentials that exhibit an exact Higgs alignment (where the tree-level couplings of one neutral scalar coincide with those of the Standard Model Higgs boson), due to a residual symmetry that is unbroken in the vacuum. One surprising aspect of the ERPS4 is the possibility that the scalar sector is CP-conserving despite the presence of a complex parameter of the scalar potential whose complex phase cannot be removed by separate rephasings of the two scalar doublet fields. The significance of the ERPS4 regime for custodial symmetry is also discussed, and the cases where a custodial symmetric 2HDM scalar potential preserves an exact Higgs alignment are elucidated.

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arXiv2020

One-loop corrections to the $Zb\bar{b}$ vertex in models with scalar doublets and singlets

We study the one-loop corrections to the $Zb\bar{b}$ vertex in extensions of the Standard Model with arbitrary numbers of scalar doublets, neutral scalar singlets, and charged scalar singlets. Starting with a general parameterization of theories with neutral and singly-charged scalar particles, we derive the conditions that, in a renormalizable model, must be obeyed by the couplings in order for the divergent contributions to cancel. Then, we show that those conditions are indeed obeyed by the models that we are interested in, and we write down the full finite expression for the vertex in those models. We apply our results to some particular cases, highlighting the importance of the diagrams with neutral scalars.

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arXiv2020

Nondecoupling in Multi-Higgs doublet models

We consider models with any number of Higgs doublets and study the conditions for decoupling. We show that, under very general circumstances, all the quadratic coefficients of the scalar potential must be present, except in special cases, which include terms related to directions of vanishing vacuum expectation values. We give a few examples. Moreover, we show that the decoupling of all charged scalars implies the decoupling of all extra neutral scalars and vanishing $\mathcal{CP}$ violation in scalar-pseudoscalar mixing.

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arXiv2020

Basis-independent treatment of the complex 2HDM

The complex 2HDM (C2HDM) is the most general CP-violating two Higgs doublet model that possesses a softly-broken $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry. However, the physical consequences of the model cannot depend on the basis of scalar fields used to define it. Thus, to get a better sense of the significance of the C2HDM parameters, we have analyzed this model by employing a basis-independent formalism. This formalism involves transforming to the Higgs basis (which is defined up to an arbitrary complex phase) and identifying quantities that are invariant with respect to this phase degree of freedom. Using this method, we have obtained the constraints that enforce the softly-broken $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry. One can then relate the C2HDM parameters to basis-independent quantities up to a two-fold ambiguity. We then show how this remaining ambiguity is resolved. We also examine the possibility of spontaneous CP violation when the scalar potential of the C2HDM is explicitly CP-conserving. Basis-independent constraints are presented that govern the presence of spontaneous CP violation.

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arXiv2018

Basis-invariant conditions for CP symmetry of order 4

Three-Higgs-doublet models (3HDM) allow for a novel, physically distinct form of CP invariance: CP symmetry of order 4 (CP4). Due to the large basis change freedom in 3HDM, it is imperative to recognize the presence of a possibly hidden CP4 in a basis-invariant way. In the present work, we solve this problem and establish basis-invariant necessary and sufficient conditions for a 3HDM to possess a CP4 symmetry. We also derive a basis-invariant criterion to decide whether or not a CP4 symmetric 3HDM possesses any additional CP symmetry, as well as a criterion to decide whether or not CP4 is spontaneously broken.

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arXiv2018

Multi-Higgs doublet models: the Higgs-fermion couplings and their sum rules

This is the second of a series of papers that explores the physical parameterization, sum rules and unitarity bounds arising from a non-minimal scalar sector of the Standard Model (SM) that consists of N Higgs doublets. In this paper, we focus on the structure and implication of the Yukawa interactions that couple the N scalar doublets to the SM fermions. We employ the charged Higgs basis, which is defined as the basis of scalar fields such that the neutral scalar field vacuum expectation value resides entirely in one of the N scalar doublet fields, and the charged components of the remaining N-1 scalar doublet fields are the physical (mass-eigenstate) charged Higgs fields. Based on the structure of the Yukawa Lagrangian of the model (and as a consequence of tree-level unitarity), one may deduce numerous sum rules, several of which have not appeared previously in the literature. These sum rules can be used to uncover intimate relations between the structure of the Higgs-fermion couplings and the scalar/gauge couplings. In particular, we show that the approximate alignment limit, in which the W+W- and ZZ couplings to the observed Higgs boson are approximately SM-like, imposes significant constraints on the Higgs-fermion couplings.

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arXiv2018

Symmetry Constrained Two Higgs Doublet Models

We study Two-Higgs-Doublet Models (2HDM) where Abelian symmetries have been introduced, leading to a drastic reduction in the number of free parameters in the 2HDM. Our analysis is inspired in BGL models, where, as the result of a symmetry of the Lagrangian, there are tree-level scalar mediated Flavour-Changing-Neutral-Currents, with the flavour structure depending only on the CKM matrix. A systematic analysis is done on the various possible schemes, which are classified in different classes, depending on the way the extra symmetries constrain the matrices of couplings defining the flavour structure of the scalar mediated neutral currents. All the resulting flavour textures of the Yukawa couplings are stable under renormalisation since they result from symmetries imposed at the Lagrangian level. We also present a brief phenomenological analysis of the most salient features of each class of symmetry constrained 2HDM.

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arXiv2016

A CP-conserving multi-Higgs model without real basis

Models beyond the Standard Model (bSM) often involve elaborate Higgs sectors, which can be a source of CP-violation. It brings up the question of recognizing in an efficient way whether a model is CP-violating. There is a diffuse belief that the issue of explicit CP invariance can be linked to the existence of a basis in which all coefficients are real; with even a theorem proposed a decade ago claiming that the scalar sector of any multi-Higgs doublet model is explicitly CP-conserving if and only if all of its coefficients can be made real by a basis change. This is compounded by the fact that in all specific multi Higgs models considered so far, the calculations complied with this claim. Here, we present the first counterexample to this statement: a CP-conserving three-Higgs-doublet model for which no real basis exists. We outline the phenomenological consequences of this model, and notice that the extra neutral Higgs bosons are neither CP-even nor CP-odd but are "half-odd" under the generalized CP-symmetry of the model.

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arXiv2015

Self-cancelation of a scalar in neutral meson mixing and implications for LHC

Flavour changing neutral scalar interactions are a standard feature of generic multi Higgs models. These are constrained by mixing in the neutral meson systems. We consider situations where there are natural cancellations in such contributions. In particular, when the spin 0 particle has both scalar and pseudoscalar couplings, one may have a self-cancellation. We illustrate one such partial cancellation with BGL models. We also inquire whether the flavour changing quark interactions can lead to new production mechanisms for a neutral scalar at LHC.

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arXiv2015

Tree-level metastability bounds for the most general two Higgs doublet model

Within two Higgs doublet models, it is possible that the current vacuum is not the global minimum, in which case it could possibly decay at a later stage. We discuss the tree-level conditions which must be obeyed by the most general scalar potential in order to preclude that possibility. We propose a new procedure which is not only more general but also easier to implement than the previously published one, including CP conserving as well as CP violating scalar sectors. We illustrate these conditions within the context of the Z2 model, softly broken by a complex, CP violating parameter.

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arXiv2014

Constraining multi-Higgs flavour models

To study a flavour model with a non-minimal Higgs sector one must first define the symmetries of the fields; then identify what types of vacua exist and how they may break the symmetries; and finally determine whether the remnant symmetries are compatible with the experimental data. Here we address all these issues in the context of flavour models with any number of Higgs doublets. We stress the importance of analysing the Higgs vacuum expectation values that are pseudo-invariant under the generators of all subgroups. It is shown that the only way of obtaining a physical CKM mixing matrix and, simultaneously, non-degenerate and non-zero quark masses is requiring the vacuum expectation values of the Higgs fields to break completely the full flavour group, except possibly for some symmetry belonging to baryon number. The application of this technique to some illustrative examples, such as the flavour groups Delta(27), A4 and S3, is also presented.

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