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Prospects for Higgs Boson Research at the LHC

Andre Sopczak

TL;DR

The paper surveys the HL-LHC era, outlining how precision Higgs measurements and targeted BSM searches will advance our understanding of the Higgs sector. It emphasizes the κ framework for coupling modifiers, projected precision improvements for both standard and rare Higgs processes, and the pivotal role of di-Higgs production in probing the Higgs potential and self-couplings. It also analyzes potential BSM scenarios, including self-coupling nonlinearity, extended scalar sectors, and a real scalar singlet, and assesses how HL-LHC data could inform vacuum stability and the nature of electroweak phase transitions. Collectively, the projections suggest HL-LHC will deliver significant gains in coupling precision, potential shape constraints, and mass measurements, while highlighting theoretical uncertainties and the need for detector/trigger and analysis advancements.

Abstract

The search for Higgs bosons in the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics and Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) started intensively at the Large Electron-Positron (LEP) collider, which operated from 1989 to 2000, and later at the Tevatron from 2001 to 2011. In 2012, with the discovery of a Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, a new era began. This allowed for precision measurements of the Higgs boson properties which, so far, are all consistent with the SM expectations. Many searches for predicted BSM Higgs bosons advanced the field of experimental Higgs boson physics. The LHC already operated in three running periods: Run-1 from 2010 to 2012, Run-2 from 2015 to 2018, and currently Run-3 from 2022 to 2026. The High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) operation is foreseen from 2030. The prospects of experimental Higgs boson research for the next decade are reviewed.

Prospects for Higgs Boson Research at the LHC

TL;DR

The paper surveys the HL-LHC era, outlining how precision Higgs measurements and targeted BSM searches will advance our understanding of the Higgs sector. It emphasizes the κ framework for coupling modifiers, projected precision improvements for both standard and rare Higgs processes, and the pivotal role of di-Higgs production in probing the Higgs potential and self-couplings. It also analyzes potential BSM scenarios, including self-coupling nonlinearity, extended scalar sectors, and a real scalar singlet, and assesses how HL-LHC data could inform vacuum stability and the nature of electroweak phase transitions. Collectively, the projections suggest HL-LHC will deliver significant gains in coupling precision, potential shape constraints, and mass measurements, while highlighting theoretical uncertainties and the need for detector/trigger and analysis advancements.

Abstract

The search for Higgs bosons in the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics and Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) started intensively at the Large Electron-Positron (LEP) collider, which operated from 1989 to 2000, and later at the Tevatron from 2001 to 2011. In 2012, with the discovery of a Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, a new era began. This allowed for precision measurements of the Higgs boson properties which, so far, are all consistent with the SM expectations. Many searches for predicted BSM Higgs bosons advanced the field of experimental Higgs boson physics. The LHC already operated in three running periods: Run-1 from 2010 to 2012, Run-2 from 2015 to 2018, and currently Run-3 from 2022 to 2026. The High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) operation is foreseen from 2030. The prospects of experimental Higgs boson research for the next decade are reviewed.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 13 sections, 2 equations, 17 figures, 3 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Measurement of Higgs boson coupling to fermions and vector bosons
  3. Observation of Higgs boson rare processes
  4. Observation of the SM di-Higgs boson production
  5. Measurement of the Higgs boson trilinear self-coupling $\lambda_3$
  6. Limitations of HL-LHC projections
  7. Beyond Standard Model (BSM)
  8. Linearity of the self-coupling measurement
  9. BSM Higgs boson potential measurement
  10. Precision Higgs physics and searches for a heavy scalar singlet
  11. Projections of the Higgs boson and top quark masses
  12. Past-present-future LHC operation
  13. Conclusions

Figures (17)

  • Figure 1: Left: Illustration of the LHC tunnel. Right: Photo of current construction work in preparation for the HL-LHC.
  • Figure 2: ATLAS simulation of the HL-LHC operation. From ATLASPHOTO2023.
  • Figure 3: Coupling definitions for Higgs boson production and decay.
  • Figure 4: Expected uncertainties for $\kappa$ and $\lambda$ measurements. From ATL-PHYS-PUB-2025-018.
  • Figure 5: Upper: Higgs boson potential, and SM and alternative potentials. Lower: Illustration of current and future uncertainties (shaded regions) on the Higgs boson potential measurements.
  • ...and 12 more figures