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V. A. Khoze

Publications and source records attributed to V. A. Khoze.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

The FP420 R&D Project: Higgs and New Physics with forward protons at the LHC

We present the FP420 R&D project, which has been studying the key aspects of the development and installation of a silicon tracker and fast-timing detectors in the LHC tunnel at 420 m from the interaction points of the ATLAS and CMS experiments. These detectors would measure precisely very forward protons in conjunction with the corresponding central detectors as a means to study Standard Model (SM) physics, and to search for and characterise New Physics signals. This report includes a detailed description of the physics case for the detector and, in particular, for the measurement of Central Exclusive Production, pp --> p + phi + p, in which the outgoing protons remain intact and the central system phi may be a single particle such as a SM or MSSM Higgs boson. Other physics topics discussed are gamma-gamma and gamma-p interactions, and diffractive processes. The report includes a detailed study of the trigger strategy, acceptance, reconstruction efficiencies, and expected yields for a particular p p --> p H p measurement with Higgs boson decay in the b-bbar mode. The document also describes the detector acceptance as given by the LHC beam optics between the interaction points and the FP420 location, the machine backgrounds, the new proposed connection cryostat and the moving ("Hamburg") beam-pipe at 420 m, and the radio-frequency impact of the design on the LHC. The last part of the document is devoted to a description of the 3D silicon sensors and associated tracking performances, the design of two fast-timing detectors capable of accurate vertex reconstruction for background rejection at high-luminosities, and the detector alignment and calibration strategy.

hep-ex↗

Central Exclusive Production of BSM Higgs bosons at the LHC

The prospects for central exclusive diffractive (CED) production of MSSM Higgs bosons at the LHC are reviewed. These processes can provide important information on the $\cp$-even Higgs bosons, allowing to probe interesting regions of the $\MA$--$\tb$ parameter plane. The sensitivity of the searches in the forward proton mode for the Higgs bosons in the so-called CDM-benchmark scenarios and the effects of fourth-generation models on the CED Higgs production are briefly discussed.

hep-ph↗

Diffractive processes at the LHC

We present a model of high energy soft $pp$ interactions that has multi s- and t-channel components, which has been tuned to describe all the available data. The t-channel components allow matching of the soft to the hard (QCD) Pomeron. Absorptive effects are found to be large, and, for example, suppress the prediction of the total $pp$ cross section to about 90 mb at the LHC. We use the model to calculate the survival probability, S^2, of the rapidity gaps in the exclusive process pp \to p+H+p, a process with great advantages for searching for the H \to \bb signal. We consider both eikonal and enhanced rescattering.

hep-ph↗

Diffractive dissociation re-visited for predictions at the LHC

We describe the formalism, and present the results, for a triple-Regge analysis of the available pp and p\bar{p} high-energy data which explicitly accounts for absorptive corrections. In particular, we allow for the gap survival probability, S^2, in single proton diffractive dissociation. Since for pp scattering the value of S^2 is rather small, the triple-Pomeron vertex obtained in this analysis is larger than that obtained in the old analyses where the suppression caused by the absorptive corrections was implicitly included in an effective vertex. We show that the bare triple-Pomeron coupling that we extract from the pp and p\bar{p} data is consistent with that obtained in a description of the gamma p -> J/psi + Y HERA data. The analyses of the data prefer a zero slope, corresponding to the small size of the bare vertex, giving the hope of a smooth matching to the perturbative QCD treatment of the triple-Pomeron coupling.

hep-ph↗

Soft Diffraction at the LHC

We present a triple-Regge analysis of the available pp --> p + X high-energy data accounting for absorptive corrections. We describe a model for high-energy soft interactions which includes the whole set of multi-Pomeron (n --> m) vertices, and give predictions for the LHC.

hep-ph↗

Rapidity gap survival probability and total cross sections

We discuss recent calculations of the survival probability of the large rapidity gaps in exclusive processes of the type pp --> p+A+p at high energies. Absorptive or screening effects are important, and one consequence is that the total cross section at the LHC is predicted to be only about 90 mb.

hep-ph↗

One-loop gg->bb(bar) effects in the main irreducible background to exclusive H->bb(bar) production at the LHC

We calculate the amplitude of gg->bb(bar) production for the colour singlet, J_z=0 di-gluon state at O(α_S^2) order. We consider the cancellation, and a realistic cutoff, of the infrared divergent terms. We show that the one-loop radiative QCD contributions effectively reduce the Born level result for the central exclusive bb(bar) cross section at the LHC. This process is essentially the only irreducible QCD background to the exclusive H->bb(bar) signal.

hep-ph↗

Early LHC measurements to check predictions for central exclusive production

We show how the early data runs of the LHC can provide valuable checks of the different components of the formalism used to predict the cross sections of central exclusive processes. The `soft' rapidity gap survival factor can be studied in electroweak processes, such as W+gaps events, where the bare amplitude is well known. The generalized gluon distribution, in the appropriate kinematic region, can be probed by exclusive Upsilon production. The perturbative QCD effects, especially the Sudakov-like factor, can be probed by exclusive two- and three-jet production. We discuss the possible role of enhanced absorptive corrections which would violate the soft-hard factorization implied in the usual formalism, and suggest ways that the LHC may explore their presence.

hep-ph↗

Central Exclusive Diffractive MSSM Higgs-Boson Production at the LHC

The prospects for central exclusive diffractive (CED) production of MSSM Higgs bosons at the LHC are reviewed. It is shown that the CED channels, making use of forward proton detectors at the LHC installed at 220 m and 420 m distance around ATLAS and / or CMS, can provide important information on the Higgs sector of the MSSM. In particular, CED production of the neutral CP-even Higgs bosons h and H and their decays into bottom quarks has the potential to probe interesting regions of the M_A--tan_beta parameter plane of the MSSM and may give access to the bottom Yukawa couplings of the Higgs bosons up to masses of M_H \approx 250 GeV.

hep-ph↗

Soft diffraction at the LHC: a partonic interpretation

We present a `new generation' model for high energy proton-proton `soft' interactions. It allows for a full set of multi-Pomeron vertices, as well as including multichannel eikonal scattering. It describes the behaviour of the proton-proton total, sigma(total), and elastic dsigma(el)/dt, cross sections together with those for low and high mass proton dissociation. Although the model contains a comprehensive set of multi-Pomeron diagrams, it has a simple partonic interpretation. Including the more complicated multi-Pomeron vertices reduces the absorptive effects as compared to the predictions in which only the triple-Pomeron vertex is considered. Tuning the model to describe the available `soft' data in the CERN ISR - Tevatron energy range, we predict the total, elastic, single- and double-diffractive dissociation cross sections at the LHC energy. An inescapable consequence of including multichannel eikonal and multi-Pomeron effects is that the total cross section is expected to be lower than before: indeed, we find sigma(total) \simeq 90 mb at the LHC energy. We also present differential forms of the cross sections. In addition we calculate soft diffractive central production.

hep-ph↗

Studying the MSSM Higgs sector by forward proton tagging at the LHC

We show that the use of forward proton detectors at the LHC installed at 220 m and 420 m distance around ATLAS and / or CMS can provide important information on the Higgs sector of the MSSM. We analyse central exclusive production of the neutral CP-even Higgs bosons h and H and their decays into bottom quarks, tau leptons and W bosons in different MSSM benchmark scenarios. Using plausible estimates for the achievable experimental efficiencies and the relevant background processes, we find that the prospective sensitivity of the diffractive Higgs production will allow to probe interesting regions of the M_A--tan_beta parameter plane of the MSSM. Central exclusive production of the CP-even Higgs bosons of the MSSM may provide a unique opportunity to access the bottom Yukawa couplings of the Higgs bosons up to masses of M_H \lsim 250 GeV. We also discuss the prospects for identifying the CP-odd Higgs boson, A, in diffractive processes at the LHC.

hep-ph↗

New Physics with Tagged Forward Protons at the LHC

The addition of forward proton detectors to LHC experiments will significantly enlarge the potential for studying New Physics. A topical example is Higgs production by the central exclusive diffractive process, pp -> p+H+p. We discuss the exclusive production of Higgs bosons in both the SM and MSSM. Special attention is paid to the backgrounds to the H -> bbbar signal.

hep-ph↗

Insight into Double-Pomeron-Exchange Higgs production and backgrounds

We quantify the central inclusive background contributions to exclusive Higgs production at the LHC arising from double-Pomeron-exchange processes. We consider the H --> bb(bar) signal. We study processes mediated by the fusion of two `hard' Pomerons, and also by the fusion of `soft' Pomerons. The latter background is found to be very small, and the former is found to be less than the exclusive signal.

hep-ph↗

The extraction of the bare triple-Pomeron vertex; a crucial ingredient for diffraction

The triple-Pomeron coupling lies at the heart of the predictions for high energy diffractive processes. We explain why the existing determinations, which use single-particle inclusive hadronic data a+b -> a+Y, underestimate the value of the bare coupling, due to the neglect of soft rescattering which populates the rapidity gaps. We describe how data for the process gamma+p -> J/psi +Y can be used to give a much more reliable estimate of the bare coupling. We use the existing, fragmentary, J/psi data from HERA to show that the triple-Pomeron coupling is probably about 3 times larger than the previous determinations. We emphasize the importance of an explicit measurement of the mass spectrum of the Y system which accompanies J/psi production at HERA. The consequences for ultra high energy cosmic ray showers are mentioned.

hep-ph↗

Central jet production as a probe of the perturbative formalism for exclusive diffraction

We propose a new variable, R_j, in order to identify exclusive double-diffractive high E_T dijet production. The variable R_j is calculated using the transverse energy E_T and pseudorapidity of the jet with the largest E_T. For a purely exclusive event the value of R_j -> 1, if we were to neglect hadronisaton and the detector resolution effects. To illustrate the expected R_j-distribution we also compute exclusive three-jet production; and, moreover, include jet smearing effects. By studying the predictions as a function of the size of the rapidity interval, delta(eta), which allows for additional gluon radiation, one can probe the QCD radiation effects which are responsible for the Sudakov suppression of the exclusive amplitude. In this way we may check, and improve, the formalism used to predict the cross sections of exclusive double-diffractive Higgs boson (and/or other New Physics) production.

hep-ph↗

CP Studies and Non-Standard Higgs Physics

There are many possibilities for new physics beyond the Standard Model that feature non-standard Higgs sectors. These may introduce new sources of CP violation, and there may be mixing between multiple Higgs bosons or other new scalar bosons. Alternatively, the Higgs may be a composite state, or there may even be no Higgs at all. These non-standard Higgs scenarios have important implications for collider physics as well as for cosmology, and understanding their phenomenology is essential for a full comprehension of electroweak symmetry breaking. This report discusses the most relevant theories which go beyond the Standard Model and its minimal, CP-conserving supersymmetric extension: two-Higgs-doublet models and minimal supersymmetric models with CP violation, supersymmetric models with an extra singlet, models with extra gauge groups or Higgs triplets, Little Higgs models, models in extra dimensions, and models with technicolour or other new strong dynamics. For each of these scenarios, this report presents an introduction to the phenomenology, followed by contributions on more detailed theoretical aspects and studies of possible experimental signatures at the LHC and other colliders.

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