arXiv subjects

O. Stål

Publications and source records attributed to O. Stål.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2017

Prospects for charged Higgs searches at the LHC

The goal of this report is to summarize the current situation and discuss possible search strategies for charged scalars, in non-supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model at the LHC. Such scalars appear in Multi-Higgs-Doublet models (MHDM), in particular in the popular Two-Higgs-Doublet model (2HDM), allowing for charged and additional neutral Higgs bosons. These models have the attractive property that electroweak precision observables are automatically in agreement with the Standard Model at the tree level. For the most popular version of this framework, Model~II, a discovery of a charged Higgs boson remains challenging, since the parameter space is becoming very constrained, and the QCD background is very high. We also briefly comment on models with dark matter which constrain the corresponding charged scalars that occur in these models. The stakes of a possible discovery of an extended scalar sector are very high, and these searches should be pursued in all conceivable channels, at the LHC and at future colliders.

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arXiv2015

Physics at the e+ e- Linear Collider

A comprehensive review of physics at an e+e- Linear Collider in the energy range of sqrt{s}=92 GeV--3 TeV is presented in view of recent and expected LHC results, experiments from low energy as well as astroparticle physics.The report focuses in particular on Higgs boson, Top quark and electroweak precision physics, but also discusses several models of beyond the Standard Model physics such as Supersymmetry, little Higgs models and extra gauge bosons. The connection to cosmology has been analyzed as well.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

Interim recommendations for the evaluation of Higgs production cross sections and branching ratios at the LHC in the Two-Higgs-Doublet Model

In this note we give interim recommendations on how to evaluate LHC cross sections for (neutral) Higgs production and Higgs branching ratios in the general (CP-conserving) Two-Higgs-Doublet Model (2HDM). The current status of available higher-order corrections to Higgs production and decay in this model is discussed, and the existing public codes implementing these calculations are described. Numerical results are presented for a set of reference scenarios, demonstrating the very good agreement between the results obtained using different programs.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

MSSM Higgs Boson Searches at the LHC: Benchmark Scenarios after the Discovery of a Higgs-like Particle

A Higgs-like particle with a mass of about 125.5 GeV has been discovered at the LHC. Within the current experimental uncertainties, this new state is compatible with both the predictions for the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson and with the Higgs sector in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). We propose new low-energy MSSM benchmark scenarios that, over a wide parameter range, are compatible with the mass and production rates of the observed signal. These scenarios also exhibit interesting phenomenology for the MSSM Higgs sector. We propose a slightly updated version of the well-known mh-max scenario, and a modified scenario (mh-mod), where the light CP-even Higgs boson can be interpreted as the LHC signal in large parts of the MA-tan β plane. Furthermore, we define a light stop scenario that leads to a suppression of the lightest CP-even Higgs gluon fusion rate, and a light stau scenario with an enhanced decay rate of h to γγ at large tan β. We also suggest a τ-phobic Higgs scenario in which the lightest Higgs can have suppressed couplings to down-type fermions. We propose to supplement the specified value of the μ parameter in some of these scenarios with additional values of both signs. This has a significant impact on the interpretation of searches for the non SM-like MSSM Higgs bosons. We also discuss the sensitivity of the searches to heavy Higgs decays into light charginos and neutralinos, and to decays of the form H to hh. Finally, in addition to all the other scenarios where the lightest CP-even Higgs is interpreted as the LHC signal, we propose a low-MH scenario, where instead the heavy CP-even Higgs boson corresponds to the new state around 125.5 GeV.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

Dark matter in the Inert Doublet Model after the discovery of a Higgs-like boson at the LHC

We examine the Inert Doublet Model in light of the discovery of a Higgs-like boson with a mass of roughly 126 GeV at the LHC. We evaluate one-loop corrections to the scalar masses and perform a numerical solution of the one-loop renormalization group equations. Demanding vacuum stability, perturbativity, and S-matrix unitarity, we compute the scale up to which the model can be extrapolated. From this we derive constraints on the model parameters in the presence of a 126 GeV Higgs boson. We perform an improved calculation of the dark matter relic density with the Higgs mass fixed to the measured value, taking into account the effects of three- and four-body final states resulting from off-shell production of gauge bosons in dark matter annihilation. Issues related to direct detection of dark matter are discussed, in particular the role of hadronic uncertainties. The predictions for the interesting decay mode h ->γγ are presented for scenarios which fulfill all model constraints, and we discuss how a potential enhancement of this rate from the charged inert scalar is related to the properties of dark matter in this model. We also apply LHC limits on Higgs boson decays to invisible final states, which provide additional constraints on the mass of the dark matter candidate. Finally, we propose three benchmark points that capture different aspects of the relevant phenomenology.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2012

MSSM Interpretations of the LHC Discovery: Light or Heavy Higgs?

A Higgs-like particle with a mass of about 126 GeV has been discovered at the LHC. Within the experimental uncertainties, the measured properties of this new state are compatible with those of the Higgs boson in the Standard Model (SM). While not statistically significant at present, the results show some interesting patterns of deviations from the SM predictions, in particular a higher rate in the γγ decay mode observed by ATLAS and CMS, and a somewhat smaller rate in the ττ mode. The LHC discovery is also compatible with the predictions of the Higgs sector of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM), interpreting the new state as either the light or the heavy CP-even MSSM Higgs boson. Within the framework of the MSSM with seven free parameters (pMSSM-7), we fit the various rates of cross section times branching ratio as measured by the LHC and Tevatron experiments under the hypotheses of either the light or the heavy CP-even Higgs boson being the new state around 126 GeV, with and without the inclusion of further low-energy observables. We find an overall good quality of the fits, with the best fit points exhibiting an enhancement of the γγrate, as well as a small suppression of the bb and ττ channels with respect to their SM expectations, depending on the details of the fit. For the fits including the whole data set the light CP-even Higgs interpretation in the MSSM results in a higher relative fit probability than the SM fit. On the other hand, we find that the present data also permit the more exotic interpretation in terms of the heavy CP-even MSSM Higgs, which could give rise to experimental signatures of additional Higgs states in the near future.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2012

Interpreting the LHC Higgs Search Results in the MSSM

Recent results reported by the ATLAS and CMS experiments on the search for a SM-like Higgs boson both show an excess for a Higgs mass near 125 GeV, which is mainly driven by the γγ and ZZ^* decay channels, but also receives some support from channels with a lower mass resolution. We discuss the implications of this possible signal within the context of the minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM), taking into account previous limits from Higgs searches at LEP, the Tevatron and the LHC. The consequences for the remaining MSSM parameter space are investigated. Under the assumption of a Higgs signal we derive new lower bounds on the tree-level parameters of the MSSM Higgs sector. We also discuss briefly an alternative interpretation of the excess in terms of the heavy CP-even Higgs boson, a scenario which is found to be still viable.

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arXiv2011

Enhancement of associated H^\pm W^\mp production in the NMSSM

We study the associated production of a charged Higgs and a W boson in high-energy pp collisions at the Large Hadron Collider. This is an interesting process for charged Higgs discovery, or exclusion, since the production cross section could depend strongly on the model, offering potential discriminating power between supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model with minimal or extended Higgs sectors. We compute the cross section for this process in the next-to-minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM), at the tree level for quark-quark scattering and at one-loop level for gluon-gluon scattering. The most important corrections beyond leading order are taken into account using an improved Born approximation. We find that the pp \to H^\pm W^\mp cross section can be resonantly enhanced by up to an order of magnitude over its MSSM value (both for \sqrt{s}=7 TeV and 14 TeV) through the contributions of heavy, neutral, singlet-dominated Higgs bosons appearing in the s-channel. Since such Higgs mass configurations are normally not possible in the MSSM, the observation of associated H^\pm W^\mp production at the LHC could provide a striking, although indirect, signature of a more complicated Higgs sector.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2011

Light Higgs bosons in phenomenological NMSSM

We consider scenarios in the next-to-minimal supersymmetric model (NMSSM) where the CP-odd and charged Higgs bosons are very light. As we demonstrate, these can be obtained as simple deformations of existing phenomenological MSSM benchmarks scenarios with parameters defined at the weak scale. This offers a direct and meaningful comparison to the MSSM case. Applying a wide set of up-to-date constraints from both high-energy collider and flavour physics, the Higgs boson masses and couplings are studied in viable parts of parameter space. The LHC phenomenology of the light Higgs scenario for neutral and charged Higgs boson searches is discussed.

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arXiv2008

Charged Higgs bosons in Minimal Supersymmetry: Updated constraints and experimental prospects

We discuss the phenomenology of charged Higgs bosons in the MSSM with minimal flavor violation. In addition to the constrained MSSM (CMSSM) with universal soft supersymmetry breaking mass parameters at the GUT scale, we explore non-universal Higgs mass models (NUHM) where this universality condition is relaxed. To identify the allowed parameter space regions, we apply constraints from direct searches, low energy observables, and cosmology. We find that values of the charged Higgs mass as low as $m_{H^+}\simeq~135$ GeV can be accommodated in the NUHM models, but that several flavor physics observables disfavor large $H^+$ contributions, associated with high $\tanβ$, quite independently of MSSM scenario. We confront the constrained scenarios with the discovery potentials reported by ATLAS and CMS, and find that the current exclusion by indirect constraints is similar to the expected LHC discovery reach with 30 fb$^{-1}$ of data. Finally, we evaluate the sensitivity of the presented discovery potential to the choice of MSSM benchmark scenario. This sensitivity is found to be higher in the case of a light ($m_{H^+}<m_t$) charged Higgs.

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arXiv2007

Prospects for Lunar Satellite Detection of Radio Pulses from Ultrahigh Energy Neutrinos Interacting with the Moon

The Moon provides a huge effective detector volume for ultrahigh energy cosmic neutrinos, which generate coherent radio pulses in the lunar surface layer due to the Askaryan effect. In light of presently considered lunar missions, we propose radio measurements from a Moon-orbiting satellite. First systematic Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate the detectability of Askaryan pulses from neutrinos with energies above 10^{20} eV, i.e. near and above the interesting GZK limit, at the very low fluxes predicted in different scenarios.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

ELVIS - ELectromagnetic Vector Information Sensor

The ELVIS instrument was recently proposed by the authors for the Indian Chandrayaan-1 mission to the Moon and is presently under consideration by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The scientific objective of ELVIS is to explore the electromagnetic environment of the moon. ELVIS samples the full three-dimensional (3D) electric field vector, E(x,t), up to 18 MHz, with selective Nyqvist frequency bandwidths down to 5 kHz, and one component of the magnetic field vector, B(x,t), from a few Hz up to 100 kHz.As a transient detector, ELVIS is capable of detecting pulses with a minimum pulse width of 5 ns. The instrument comprises three orthogonal electric dipole antennas, one magnetic search coil antenna and a four-channel digital sampling system, utilising flexible digital down conversion and filtering together with state-of-the-art onboard digital signal processing.

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