Logo
ScienceStack
Table of Contents
Fetching ...
Sign In

Suggestions for Benchmark Scenarios for MSSM Higgs Boson Searches at Hadron Colliders

M. Carena, S. Heinemeyer, C. E. M. Wagner, G. Weiglein

TL;DR

The paper addresses the challenge of testing the MSSM Higgs sector across a broad parameter space by proposing four benchmark scenarios tailored to hadron colliders: $m_h^{\max}$, no-mixing, gluophobic, and small $\alpha_{\rm eff}$. It analyzes how MSSM radiative and mixing corrections modify production cross sections times branching ratios relative to the SM, highlighting that most channels stay near SM expectations while certain decays or the gluon-fusion rate can be suppressed or enhanced. It emphasizes complementarity among search channels (e.g., $gg \to h \to \gamma\gamma$, $W^* \to W h \to W b\bar{b}$, $h \to b\bar{b}/\tau^+\tau^-$) across the $M_A$–$\tan\beta$ plane, enabling robust coverage even when LEP bounds are satisfied. The benchmarks thus provide practical guidance for Tevatron and LHC Higgs searches and help optimize strategies by exploiting channel complementarities while exploring SUSY parameter space.

Abstract

The Higgs boson search has shifted from LEP2 to the Tevatron and will subsequently move to the LHC. Due to the different initial states, the Higgs production and decay channels relevant for Higgs boson searches were different at LEP2 to what they are at hadron colliders. We suggest new benchmark scenarios for the MSSM Higgs boson search at hadron colliders that exemplify the phenomenology of different parts of the MSSM parameter space. Besides the m_h^max scenario and the no-mixing scenario used in the LEP2 Higgs boson searches, we propose two new scenarios. In one the main production channel at the LHC, gg -> h, is suppressed. In the other, important Higgs decay channels at the Tevatron and at the LHC, h -> b \bar b and h -> tau^+ tau^-, are suppressed. All scenarios evade the LEP2 constraints for nearly the whole M_A-tan beta-plane.

Suggestions for Benchmark Scenarios for MSSM Higgs Boson Searches at Hadron Colliders

TL;DR

The paper addresses the challenge of testing the MSSM Higgs sector across a broad parameter space by proposing four benchmark scenarios tailored to hadron colliders: , no-mixing, gluophobic, and small . It analyzes how MSSM radiative and mixing corrections modify production cross sections times branching ratios relative to the SM, highlighting that most channels stay near SM expectations while certain decays or the gluon-fusion rate can be suppressed or enhanced. It emphasizes complementarity among search channels (e.g., , , ) across the – plane, enabling robust coverage even when LEP bounds are satisfied. The benchmarks thus provide practical guidance for Tevatron and LHC Higgs searches and help optimize strategies by exploiting channel complementarities while exploring SUSY parameter space.

Abstract

The Higgs boson search has shifted from LEP2 to the Tevatron and will subsequently move to the LHC. Due to the different initial states, the Higgs production and decay channels relevant for Higgs boson searches were different at LEP2 to what they are at hadron colliders. We suggest new benchmark scenarios for the MSSM Higgs boson search at hadron colliders that exemplify the phenomenology of different parts of the MSSM parameter space. Besides the m_h^max scenario and the no-mixing scenario used in the LEP2 Higgs boson searches, we propose two new scenarios. In one the main production channel at the LHC, gg -> h, is suppressed. In the other, important Higgs decay channels at the Tevatron and at the LHC, h -> b \bar b and h -> tau^+ tau^-, are suppressed. All scenarios evade the LEP2 constraints for nearly the whole M_A-tan beta-plane.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 8 sections, 6 equations, 4 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction and theoretical basis
  2. The benchmark scenarios
  3. The $m_h^{\rm max}$ scenario
  4. The no-mixing scenario
  5. The gluophobic Higgs scenario
  6. The small $\alpha_{\rm eff}$ scenario
  7. The small $\alpha_{\rm eff}$ scenario
  8. Conclusions

Figures (4)

  • Figure 1: $[\sigma \times {\rm BR}]_{\mathrm {MSSM}} / [\sigma \times {\rm BR}]_{\mathrm {SM}}$ is shown for the channels $gg \to h \to \gamma\gamma$ (left plot) and $W^* \to W h \to W b\bar{b}$ (right plot) in the $M_A-\tan \beta$-plane for the $m_h^{\rm max}$ scenario. The white-dotted area is excluded by LEP Higgs searches.
  • Figure 2: $[\sigma \times {\rm BR}]_{\mathrm {MSSM}} / [\sigma \times {\rm BR}]_{\mathrm {SM}}$ is shown for the channels $gg \to h \to \gamma\gamma$ (left plot) and $W^* \to W h \to W b\bar{b}$ (right plot) in the $M_A-\tan \beta$-plane for the no-mixing scenario. The white-dotted area is excluded by LEP Higgs searches.
  • Figure 3: $[\sigma \times {\rm BR}]_{\mathrm {MSSM}} / [\sigma \times {\rm BR}]_{\mathrm {SM}}$ is shown for the channels $gg \to h \to \gamma\gamma$ (left plot) and $t\bar{t} \to t\bar{t} h \to t \bar{t} b\bar{b}$ (right plot) in the $M_A-\tan \beta$-plane for the gluophobic Higgs scenario. The white-dotted area is excluded by LEP Higgs searches.
  • Figure 4: $[\sigma \times {\rm BR}]_{\mathrm {MSSM}} / [\sigma \times {\rm BR}]_{\mathrm {SM}}$ is shown for the channels $W^* \to W h \to W b\bar{b}$ (left plot) and $W^* \to W h \to W \tau^+\tau^-$ (right plot) in the $M_A-\tan \beta$-plane for the small $\alpha_{\rm eff}$ scenario. The white-dotted area is excluded by LEP Higgs searches.