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NMSSM Higgs Discovery at the LHC

U. Ellwanger, J. F. Gunion, C. Hugonie, S. Moretti

TL;DR

This work examines Higgs discovery in the NMSSM, where a SM-like $h$ can dominantly decay to a pair of light CP-odd bosons $h \to a_1 a_1$, potentially suppressing standard LHC channels. The authors perform a parameter scan of the scale-invariant NMSSM with independent soft terms, enforce LEP constraints, and compute Higgs masses and couplings with two-loop corrections, assessing LHC reach by rescaling SM/MSSM signals. They identify six benchmark points with a SM-like $h$ decaying to $a_1 a_1$ and perform a detailed Monte Carlo analysis of the $WW$-fusion production followed by $h \to aa$ decays, focusing on the $jj\tau^+\tau^-$ final state and employing forward/backward jet tagging. At $L = 300~{\rm fb}^{-1}$, significances reach $N_{SD}$ values up to ~70 in favorable cases, supporting a near-term NMSSM Higgs discovery via this channel and highlighting the continued relevance of complementary channels and future Linear Collider studies for confirmation and access to heavier Higgs states.

Abstract

We demonstrate that Higgs discovery at the LHC is possible in the context of the NMSSM even for those scenarios such that the only strongly produced Higgs boson is a very SM-like CP-even scalar which decays almost entirely to a pair of relatvely light CP-odd states. In combination with other search channels, we are on the verge of demonstrating that detection of at least one of the NMSSM Higgs bosons is guaranteed at the LHC for accumulated luminosity of $300 {\rm fb}^{-1}$.

NMSSM Higgs Discovery at the LHC

TL;DR

This work examines Higgs discovery in the NMSSM, where a SM-like can dominantly decay to a pair of light CP-odd bosons , potentially suppressing standard LHC channels. The authors perform a parameter scan of the scale-invariant NMSSM with independent soft terms, enforce LEP constraints, and compute Higgs masses and couplings with two-loop corrections, assessing LHC reach by rescaling SM/MSSM signals. They identify six benchmark points with a SM-like decaying to and perform a detailed Monte Carlo analysis of the -fusion production followed by decays, focusing on the final state and employing forward/backward jet tagging. At , significances reach values up to ~70 in favorable cases, supporting a near-term NMSSM Higgs discovery via this channel and highlighting the continued relevance of complementary channels and future Linear Collider studies for confirmation and access to heavier Higgs states.

Abstract

We demonstrate that Higgs discovery at the LHC is possible in the context of the NMSSM even for those scenarios such that the only strongly produced Higgs boson is a very SM-like CP-even scalar which decays almost entirely to a pair of relatvely light CP-odd states. In combination with other search channels, we are on the verge of demonstrating that detection of at least one of the NMSSM Higgs bosons is guaranteed at the LHC for accumulated luminosity of .

Paper Structure

This paper contains 4 sections, 4 equations, 1 figure, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. The model and scanning procedures
  3. Monte Carlo Results for the LHC
  4. Conclusions

Figures (1)

  • Figure 1: We plot $d\sigma/dM_{jj\tau^+\tau^-}$ [fb/10 GeV] vs $M_{jj\tau^+\tau^-}$ [GeV] for signals and backgrounds after basic event selections, but before $b$ tagging. The lines corresponding to points 4 and 5 are visually indistinguishable. No $K$ factors are included.