arXiv subjects

Ulrich Haisch

Publications and source records attributed to Ulrich Haisch.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

Collider Searches for Dark Matter through the Higgs Lens

Despite the fact that dark matter constitutes one of the cornerstones of the standard cosmological paradigm, its existence has so far only been inferred from astronomical observations and its microscopic nature remains elusive. Theoretical arguments suggest that dark matter might be connected to the symmetry-breaking mechanism of the electroweak interactions or of other symmetries extending the Standard Model of particle physics. The resulting Higgs bosons, including the $125 \, {\rm GeV}$ spin-0 particle discovered recently at the Large Hadron Collider therefore represent a unique tool to search for dark matter candidates at collider experiments. This article reviews some of the relevant theoretical models as well as the results from the searches for dark matter in signatures that involve a Higgs-like particle at the Large Hadron Collider.

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arXiv2022

On Drell-Yan production of scalar leptoquarks coupling to heavy-quark flavours

Given the hints of lepton-flavour non-universality in semi-leptonic $B$ decays, leptoquark (LQ) models with sizeable couplings to heavy-quark flavours are enjoying a renaissance. While such models are subject to stringent constraints from low-energy experiments also bounds from non-resonant dilepton searches at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) turn out to be phenomenologically relevant. Based on the latest LHC dilepton analyses corresponding to an integrated luminosity of around $140 \, {\rm fb}^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13 \, {\rm TeV}$, we present improved limits on the scalar LQ couplings that involve heavy-quark flavours and light or heavy dileptons. In particular, we show that effects beyond the leading order that are related to real QCD emissions are relevant in this context, since the inclusion of additional heavy-flavoured jets notably improves the exclusion limits that derive from the high-mass dilepton tails. The impact of electroweak corrections and interference effects between signal and background is also analysed. Within the POWHEG-BOX framework we provide a dedicated Monte Carlo code that allows for an on-the-fly signal event generation including all the LQ corrections considered in this article.

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arXiv2022

Benchmarking LHC searches for light 2HDM+$\boldsymbol{a}$ pseudoscalars

Using two suitable benchmark scenarios that satisfy the experimental constraints on the total decay width of the $125 \, {\rm GeV}$ Higgs boson, we determine the bounds on light CP-odd spin-0 states in the 2HDM+$a$ model that arise from existing LHC searches. Our work represents the first thorough study that considers the parameter space with $m_a \lesssim 100 \, {\rm GeV}$ and should prove useful for 2HDM+$a$ interpretations of future ATLAS, CMS and LHCb searches for pseudoscalars with masses below the electroweak scale.

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arXiv2022

NNLO event generation for $\boldsymbol{pp \to Zh \to \ell^+\ell^- b \bar b}$ production in the SM effective field theory

We consider associated $Zh$ production with $Z \to \ell^+ \ell^-$ and $h \to b \bar b$ decays in hadronic collisions. In the framework of the Standard Model effective field theory (SMEFT) we calculate the QCD corrections to this process and achieve next-to-next-to-leading order plus parton shower (NNLO$+$PS) accuracy using the MiNNLO$_{\rm PS}$ method. This precision is obtained for a subset of six SMEFT operators, including the corrections from effective Yukawa- and chromomagnetic dipole-type interactions. Missing higher-order QCD effects associated with the considered dimension-six operators are estimated to have a relative numerical impact of less than a percent on the total rate once existing experimental limits on the relevant Wilson coefficients are taken into account. We provide a dedicated Monte Carlo (MC) code that evaluates the NNLO SMEFT corrections on-the-fly in the event generation. This MC generator is used to study the numerical impact of NNLO$+$PS corrections on the kinematic distributions in $pp \to Zh \to \ell^+ \ell^- b \bar b$ production employing simple SMEFT benchmark scenarios. We identify the invariant mass $m_{b \bar b}$ of the two $b$-tagged jets as well as the three-invariant jet mass $m_{b \bar b j}$ as particularly interesting observables to study SMEFT effects. These distributions receive contributions that change both their normalisation and shape with the latter modifications depending on the exact jet definition. To our knowledge SMEFT effects of this type have so far not been discussed in the literature. The presented MC generator can also serve as a starting point to obtain NNLO$+$PS accuracy for a suitable enlarged set of effective operators in the future.

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arXiv2022

Probing Higgs portals with matrix-element based kinematic discriminants in $ZZ \to 4 \ell$ production

A Higgs portal in the form of the operator $|H|^2$ provides a minimal and theoretically motivated link between the Standard Model (SM) and new physics. While Higgs portals can be constrained well by exotic Higgs decays if the beyond-the-SM states are light, testing scenarios where these particles are kinematically inaccessible is known to be challenging. We explore the sensitivity of future hadron collider measurements of $ZZ \to 4 \ell$ production in constraining Higgs portal interactions. It is shown that by using a matrix-element based kinematic discriminant the reach of the high-luminosity option of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) can be significantly enhanced compared to studies that are based on measurements of the four-lepton invariant mass spectrum alone. We also analyse the potential of the high-energy upgrade of the LHC and a Future Circular Collider in constraining new physics that couples to $|H|^2$. The obtained constraints are compared to the limits one expects to find from other single-Higgs probes. In addition, we provide an independent analysis of the relevant Higgs portal effects in double-Higgs production. We find that the constraints obtained from our $ZZ \to 4 \ell$ analysis turn out to be both competitive with and complementary to the projected limits obtained using other search techniques.

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arXiv2022

Displaying dark matter constraints from colliders with varying simplified model parameters

The search for dark matter is one of the main science drivers of the particle and astroparticle physics communities. Determining the nature of dark matter will require a broad approach, with a range of experiments pursuing different experimental hypotheses. Within this search program, collider experiments provide insights on dark matter which are complementary to direct/indirect detection experiments and to astrophysical evidence. To compare results from a wide variety of experiments, a common theoretical framework is required. The ATLAS and CMS experiments have adopted a set of simplified models which introduce two new particles, a dark matter particle and a mediator, and whose interaction strengths are set by the couplings of the mediator. So far, the presentation of LHC and future hadron collider results has focused on four benchmark scenarios with specific coupling values within these simplified models. In this work, we describe ways to extend those four benchmark scenarios to arbitrary couplings, and release the corresponding code for use in further studies. This will allow for more straightforward comparison of collider searches to accelerator experiments that are sensitive to smaller couplings, such as those for the US Community Study on the Future of Particle Physics (Snowmass 2021), and will give a more complete picture of the coupling dependence of dark matter collider searches when compared to direct and indirect detection searches. By using semi-analytical methods to rescale collider limits, we drastically reduce the computing resources needed relative to traditional approaches based on the generation of additional simulated signal samples.

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arXiv2022

Off-shell Higgs production at the LHC as a probe of the trilinear Higgs coupling

In the context of the Standard Model effective field theory (SMEFT) we examine the constraints on the trilinear Higgs coupling that originate from off-shell Higgs production in proton-proton collisions. Our calculation of the $gg \to h^\ast \to Z Z \to 4 \ell$ process includes two-loop corrections to gluon-gluon-fusion Higgs production and one-loop corrections to the Higgs propagator and its decay. Employing a matrix-element based kinematic discriminant we determine the reach of LHC Run 3 and the high-luminosity option of the LHC in constraining the relevant SMEFT Wilson coefficients. We present constraints that are not only competitive with but also complementary to the projected indirect limits that one expects to obtain from inclusive measurements of single-Higgs production processes at future LHC runs.

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arXiv2021

Semi-leptonic three-body proton decay modes from light-cone sum rules

Using light-cone sum rule techniques, we estimate the form factors which parametrise the hadronic matrix elements that are relevant for semi-leptonic three-body proton decays. The obtained form factors allow us to determine the differential rate for the decay of a proton ($p$) into a positron ($e^+$), a neutral pion ($π^0$) and a graviton ($G$), which is the leading proton decay channel in the effective theory of gravitons and Standard Model particles (GRSMEFT). The sensitivity of existing and next-generation neutrino experiments in detecting the $p \to e^+ π^0 G$ signature is studied and the phenomenological implications of our computations for constraints on the effective mass scale that suppresses the relevant baryon-number violating GRSMEFT operator are discussed.

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arXiv2021

Searching for pseudo Nambu-Goldstone boson dark matter production in association with top quarks

Pseudo Nambu-Goldstone bosons (pNGBs) are attractive dark matter (DM) candidates, since they couple to the Standard Model (SM) predominantly through derivative interactions. Thereby they naturally evade the strong existing limits inferred from DM direct detection experiments. Working in an effective field theory that includes both derivative and non-derivative DM-SM operators, we perform a detailed phenomenological study of the Large Hadron Collider reach for pNGB DM production in association with top quarks. Drawing on motivated benchmark scenarios as examples, we compare our results to other collider limits as well as the constraints imposed by DM (in)direct detection experiments and the relic abundance. We furthermore explore implications on the viable parameter space of pNGB DM. In particular, we demonstrate that DM direct detection experiments become sensitive to many pNGB DM realisations once loop-induced interactions are taken into account. The search strategies and pNGB DM benchmark models that we discuss can serve as a starting point for dedicated experimental analyses by the ATLAS and the CMS collaborations.

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arXiv2021

Beautiful and charming chromodipole moments

In the context of the Standard Model effective field theory we derive direct and indirect bounds on chromodipole operators involving the bottom and charm quark. We find that the experimental upper limit on the neutron electric dipole moment puts severe constraints on the imaginary parts of the Wilson coefficients of both chromodipole operators. The magnitudes of the Wilson coefficients are instead only weakly constrained by dijet searches and Z-boson production in association with bottom-quark jets. Flavour physics does not provide meaningful bounds.

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arXiv2021

Light-cone sum rules for proton decay

We estimate the form factors that parametrise the hadronic matrix elements of proton-to-pion transitions with the help of light-cone sum rules. These form factors are relevant for semi-leptonic proton decay channels induced by baryon-number violating dimension-six operators, as typically studied in the context of grand unified theories. We calculate the form factors in a kinematical regime where the momentum transfer from the proton to the pion is space-like and extrapolate our final results to the regime that is relevant for proton decay. In this way, we obtain estimates for the form factors that show agreement with the state-of-the-art calculations in lattice QCD, if systematic uncertainties are taken into account. Our work is a first step towards calculating more involved proton decay channels where lattice QCD results are not available at present.

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arXiv2021

Resonant third-generation leptoquark signatures at the Large Hadron Collider

Given the hints of lepton-flavour non-universality in $B$-meson decays, leptoquarks (LQs) are enjoying a renaissance. We propose novel Large Hadron Collider (LHC) searches for such hypothetical states that do not rely on strong production only, but can also receive important contributions from quark-lepton annihilation. For the cases of a resonant signal involving a bottom quark and a tau lepton ($b + τ$), a top quark and missing transverse energy ($E_{T}^{\rm miss}$) and light-flavour jets plus $E_{T}^{\rm miss}$, we develop realistic analysis strategies and provide detailed evaluations of the achievable sensitivities for the corresponding LQ signatures at future LHC runs. Our analyses allow us to derive a series of stringent constraints on the masses and couplings of third-generation singlet vector LQs, showing that at LHC Run III and the high-luminosity LHC the proposed search channels can probe interesting parts of the LQ parameter space addressing the $B$-physics anomalies. In view of the reach of the proposed $b + τ$ signature, we recommend that dedicated resonance searches for this final state should be added to the exotics search canon of both ATLAS and CMS.

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arXiv2020

Sum rules for CP-violating operators of Weinberg type

We estimate the size of the hadronic matrix elements of CP-violating three-gluon and four-gluon Weinberg operators using sum-rule techniques. In the three-gluon case, we are able to reproduce the expressions given in earlier works, while the four-gluon results obtained in this article are new. Our paper therefore represents the first systematic study of contributions to the electric dipole moment of the neutron due to CP-violating dimension-six and dimension-eight operators. We provide many details on both the derivation of the sum rules as well as the analysis of the uncertainties that plague our final predictions.

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arXiv2020

Lepton-quark collisions at the Large Hadron Collider

Processes commonly studied at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are induced by quarks and gluons inside the protons of the LHC beams. In this letter we demonstrate that, since protons also contain leptons, it is possible to target lepton-induced processes at the LHC as well. In particular, by picking a lepton from one beam and a quark from the other beam, we present for the first time a comprehensive analysis of resonant single leptoquark (LQ) production at a hadron collider. In the case of minimal scalar LQs, we derive novel bounds that arise from the LHC Run II considering all possible flavour combinations of an electron or a muon and an up ($u$), a down ($d$), a strange or a charm quark. For the flavour combinations with a $u$ or a $d$ quark, the obtained limits represent the most stringent constraints to date on LQs of this type. The prospects of our method at future LHC runs are also explored. Given the discovery reach of the proposed LQ signature, we argue that dedicated resonance searches in final states featuring a single light lepton and a single light-flavour jet should be added to the exotics search canon of both the ATLAS and the CMS collaboration.

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arXiv2020

Singlet night in Feynman-ville: one-loop matching of a real scalar

A complete one-loop matching calculation for real singlet scalar extensions of the Standard Model to the Standard Model effective field theory (SMEFT) of dimension-six operators is presented. We compare our analytic results obtained by using Feynman diagrams to the expressions derived in the literature by a combination of the universal one-loop effective action (UOLEA) approach and Feynman calculus. After identifying contributions that have been overlooked in the existing calculations, we find that the pure diagrammatic approach and the mixed method lead to identical results. We highlight some of the subtleties involved in computing one-loop matching corrections in SMEFT.

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arXiv2019

Bounds on CP-violating Higgs-gluon interactions: the case of vanishing light-quark Yukawa couplings

We investigate CP-violating interactions involving the Higgs boson and gluons within an effective field theory approach, focusing on the specific class of new-physics scenarios where the Yukawa couplings of light quarks are zero or strongly suppressed compared to the standard-model expectations. We compute the contributions of the most relevant higher-dimensional operators of Weinberg type to the electric dipole moment of the neutron (nEDM), which are induced by Feynman diagrams that involve an effective CP-violating Higgs-gluon coupling and top-quark loops. The resulting nEDM sensitivities and prospects are discussed and compared to the existing and expected LHC bounds. We find that future nEDM searches can set non-trivial constraints on CP-violating Higgs-gluon interactions even if the Higgs only couples to the third generation of quarks.

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arXiv2019

Constraints on the quartic Higgs self-coupling from double-Higgs production at future hadron colliders

We study the indirect constraints on the quartic Higgs self-coupling that arise from double-Higgs production at future hadron colliders. To this purpose, we calculate the two-loop contributions to the $gg \to hh$ amplitudes that involve a modified $h^4$ vertex. Based on our results, we estimate the reach of a $pp$ collider operating at $27 \, {\rm TeV}$ and $100 \, {\rm TeV}$ centre-of-mass energy in constraining the cubic and quartic Higgs self-couplings by measurements of double-Higgs and triple-Higgs production in gluon-fusion.

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arXiv2019

Two-loop amplitudes for Higgs plus jet production involving a modified trilinear Higgs coupling

We calculate the contributions to the two-loop scattering amplitudes $h \to gg$, $h \to ggg$ and $h \to q \bar q g$ that arise from a modified trilinear Higgs coupling $λ$. Analytic expressions are obtained by performing an asymptotic expansion near the limit of infinitely heavy top quark. The calculated amplitudes are necessary to study the impact of the ${\cal O} (λ)$ corrections to the transverse momentum distributions ($p_{T,h}$) in single-Higgs production at hadron colliders for low and moderate values of $p_{T,h}$.

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