Testing the Higgs Sector of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model at Large Hadron Colliders

TL;DR

The paper systematically analyzes the MSSM Higgs sector at hadron colliders, incorporating one-loop radiative corrections to Higgs masses and couplings under a heavy sparticle spectrum. It evaluates branching ratios and production cross-sections across the (m_A, tanβ) plane and translates them into observable signals at the LHC and SSC, highlighting how radiative effects and tanβ-enhanced couplings reshape discovery prospects. Key findings show that, while some neutral-Higgs signals in γγ and lγγ channels can resemble SM expectations, others are suppressed, and the ττ channel becomes a crucial discovery channel for H/A at large tanβ; charged Higgs signals via top decays provide additional, albeit limited, reach. The study emphasizes complementarity with LEP II and underscores regions where a no-lose theorem is not guaranteed, pointing to the need for further detector-level simulations and exploration of tau-rich final states.

Abstract

We study the Higgs sector of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, in the context of proton-proton collisions at LHC and SSC energies. We assume a relatively heavy supersymmetric particle spectrum, and include recent results on one-loop radiative corrections to Higgs-boson masses and couplings. We begin by discussing present and future constraints from the LEP experiments. We then compute branching ratios and total widths for the neutral ($h,H,A$) and charged ($H^\pm$) Higgs particles. We present total cross-sections and event rates for the important discovery channels at the LHC and SSC. Promising physics signatures are given by $h \to γγ$, $H \to γγ$ or $Z^* Z^*$ or $τ^+ τ^-$, $A \to τ^+ τ^-$, and $t \to b H^+$ followed by $H^+ \to τ^+ ν_τ$, which should allow for an almost complete coverage of the parameter space of the model.