Ian Low, Pedro Schwaller, Gabe Shaughnessy, Carlos E. M. Wagner
Current limits from the Large Hadron Collider exclude a standard model-like Higgs mass above 150 GeV, by placing an upper bound on the Higgs production rate. We emphasize that, alternatively, the limit could be interpreted as a lower bound on the total decay width of the Higgs boson. If the invisible decay width of the Higgs is of the same order as the visible decay width, a heavy Higgs boson could be consistent with null results from current searches. We propose a method to infer the invisible decay of the Higgs by using the width of the measured h to ZZ to 4l lineshape, and study the effect on the width extraction due to a reduced signal strength. Assuming the invisible decay product is the dark matter, we show that minimal models are tightly constrained by limits from Higgs searches at the LHC and direct detection experiments of dark matter, unless the relic density constraint is relaxed.
Bhubanjyoti Bhattacharya, Arun M. Thalapillil, Carlos E. M. Wagner
We revisit some of the recent neutrino observations and anomalies in the context of sterile neutrinos. Based on a general parametrization motivated in the presence of sterile neutrinos, the consistency of the MINOS disappearance data with additional sterile neutrinos is discussed. We also explore the implications of sterile neutrinos for the measurement of $|U_{\mu3}|$ in this case. Regarding the determination of $|U_{e3}|$, we observe that the existence of sterile neutrinos may induce a significant modification of the $θ_{13}$ angle in neutrino appearance experiments like T2K and MINOS, over and above the ambiguities and degeneracies that are already present in 3-neutrino parameter extractions. The modification is less significant in reactor neutrino experiments like Double-CHOOZ, Daya Bay and RENO and therefore the extracted $|U_{e3}|$ value when sterile neutrinos are present is close to the one that would be obtained in the 3-neutrino case. We also conclude that the results from T2K imply a 90% C.L. lower-bound on $|U_{e3}|$, in the "$\,3+2$" neutrino case, which is still within the sensitivity of future reactor neutrino experiments like Daya Bay, and consistent with the one-$σ$ range of $\sin^22θ_{13}$ recently reported by the Double-CHOOZ experiment. Finally, we argue that for the recently determined best-fit parameters, the results in the "$\,3+1$" scenario would be very close to the medium/long baseline results obtained in the "$\,3+2$" case analyzed in this work.
Marcela Carena, Germano Nardini, Mariano Quiros, Carlos E. M. Wagner
Electroweak baryogenesis is an attractive scenario for the generation of the baryon asymmetry of the universe as its realization depends on the presence at the weak scale of new particles which may be searched for at high energy colliders. In the MSSM it may only be realized in the presence of light stops, and with moderate or small mixing between the left- and right-handed components. Consistency with the observed Higgs mass around 125 GeV demands the heavier stop mass to be much larger than the weak scale. Moreover the lighter stop leads to an increase of the gluon-gluon fusion Higgs production cross section which seems to be in contradiction with indications from current LHC data. We show that this tension may be considerably relaxed in the presence of a light neutralino with a mass lower than about 60 GeV, satisfying all present experimental constraints. In such a case the Higgs may have a significant invisible decay width and the stop decays through a three or four body decay channel, including a bottom quark and the lightest neutralino in the final state. All these properties make this scenario testable at a high luminosity LHC.
Anibal D. Medina, Nausheen R. Shah, Carlos E. M. Wagner
The Minimal Supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model provides a solution to the hierarchy problem and leads to the presence of a light Higgs. A Higgs boson with mass above the present experimental bound may only be obtained for relatively heavy third generation squarks, requiring a precise, somewhat unnatural balance between different contributions to the effective Higgs mass parameter. It was recently noticed that somewhat heavier Higgs bosons, which are naturally beyond the LEP bound, may be obtained by enhanced weak SU(2) D-terms. Such contributions appear in models with an enhanced electroweak gauge symmetry, provided the supersymmetry breaking masses associated with the scalars responsible for the breakdown of the enhanced gauge symmetry group to the Standard Model one, are larger than the enhanced symmetry breaking scale. In this article we emphasize that the enhanced SU(2) D-terms will not only raise the Higgs boson mass but also affect the spectrum of the non-standard Higgs bosons, sleptons and squarks, which therefore provide a natural contribution to the T parameter, compensating for the negative one coming from the heavy Higgs boson. The sleptons and non-standard Higgs bosons of these models, in particular, may act in a way similar to the so-called inert Higgs doublet. The phenomenological properties of these models are emphasized and possible cosmological implications as well as collider signatures are described.
Patrick Draper, Tao Liu, Carlos E. M. Wagner
We analyze the Tevatron and Large Hadron Collider (LHC) reach for the Higgs sector of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) in the presence of explicit CP-violation. Using the most recent studies from the Tevatron and LHC collaborations, we examine the CPX benchmark scenario for a range of CP-violating phases in the soft trilinear and gluino mass terms and compute the exclusion/discovery potentials for each collider on the $(M_{H^+}, \tanβ)$ plane. Projected results from Standard Model (SM)-like, non-standard, and charged Higgs searches are combined to maximize the statistical significance. We exhibit complementarity between the SM-like Higgs searches at the LHC with low luminosity and the Tevatron, and estimate the combined reach of the two colliders in the early phase of LHC running.
Marcela Carena, Stefania Gori, Nausheen R. Shah, Carlos E. M. Wagner, Lian-Tao Wang
The ATLAS and CMS experiments have recently announced the discovery of a Higgs-like resonance with mass close to 125 GeV. Overall, the data is consistent with a Standard Model (SM)-like Higgs boson. Such a particle may arise in the minimal supersymmetric extension of the SM with average stop masses of the order of the TeV scale and a sizable stop mixing parameter. In this article we discuss properties of the SM-like Higgs production and decay rates induced by the possible presence of light staus and light stops. Light staus can affect the decay rate of the Higgs into di-photons and, in the case of sizable left-right mixing, induce an enhancement in this production channel up to $\sim$ 50% of the Standard Model rate. Light stops may induce sizable modifications of the Higgs gluon fusion production rate and correlated modifications to the Higgs diphoton decay. Departures from SM values of the bottom-quark and tau-lepton couplings to the Higgs can be obtained due to Higgs mixing effects triggered by light third generation scalar superpartners. We describe the phenomenological implications of light staus on searches for light stops and non-standard Higgs bosons. Finally, we discuss the current status of the search for light staus produced in association with sneutrinos, in final states containing a $W$ gauge boson and a pair of $τ$s.
Da Liu, Jia Liu, Carlos E. M. Wagner, Xiao-Ping Wang
After the Higgs discovery, the LHC has been looking for new resonances, decaying into pairs of Standard Model (SM) particles. Recently, the CMS experiment observed an excess in the di-photon channel, with a di-photon invariant mass of about 96~GeV. This mass range is similar to the one of an excess observed in the search for the associated production of Higgs bosons with the $Z$ neutral gauge boson at LEP, with the Higgs bosons decaying to bottom quark pairs. On the other hand, the LHCb experiment observed a discrepancy with respect to the SM expectations of the ratio of the decay of $B$-mesons to $K$-mesons and a pair of leptons, $R_{K^{(*)}} = BR(B \to K^{(*)} μ^+μ^-)/BR(B\to K^{(*)} e^+e^-)$. This observation provides a hint of the violation of lepton-flavor universality in the charged lepton sector and may be explained by the existence of a vector boson originating form a $U(1)_{L_μ- L_τ}$ symmetry and heavy quarks that mix with the left-handed down quarks. Since the coupling to heavy quarks could lead to sizable Higgs di-photon rates in the gluon fusion channel, in this article we propose a common origin of these anomalies identifying a Higgs associated with the breakdown of the $U(1)_{L_μ- L_τ}$ symmetry and at the same time responsible to the quark mixing, with the one observed at the LHC. We also discuss the constraints on the identification of the same Higgs with the one associated with the bottom quark pair excess observed at LEP.
Marcela Carena, Da Liu, Jia Liu, Nausheen R. Shah, Carlos E. M. Wagner, Xiao-Ping Wang
We present a new solution to the strong CP problem in which the imaginary component of the up quark mass, $\mathcal{I}[m_u]$, acquires a tiny, but non-vanishing value. This is achieved via a Dirac seesaw mechanism, which is also responsible for the generation of the small neutrino masses. Consistency with the observed value of the up quark mass is achieved via instanton contributions arising from QCD-like interactions. In this framework, the value of the neutron electric dipole moment is directly related to $\mathcal{I}[m_u]$, which, due to its common origin with the neutrino masses, implies that the neutron electric dipole moment is likely to be measured in the next round of experiments. We also present a supersymmetric extension of this Dirac seesaw model to stabilize the hierarchy among the scalar mass scales involved in this new mechanism.
Jia Liu, Navin McGinnis, Carlos E. M. Wagner, Xiao-Ping Wang
We study the search for electroweakinos at the 13 TeV LHC in the case of heavy scalar superpartners. We consider both the direct production mode and the one associated with the decay of heavy Higgs bosons, and concentrate on the case of light Higgsinos and Binos. In this case, the direct production searches becomes more challenging than in the light Wino scenario. In the direct production mode, we use the current experimental searches to set the reach for these particles at larger luminosities, and we emphasize the relevance of considering both the neutral gauge boson and the neutral Higgs decay modes of the second and third lightest neutralino. We show the complementarity of these searches with the ones induced by the decay of the heavy Higgs bosons, which are dominated by the associated production of the lightest neutralino with the second and third lightest ones, with the latter decaying into gauge bosons. We show that, depending on the value of $\tanβ$, the Higgs boson decay channel remains competitive with the direct production channel up to heavy Higgs boson masses of about 1 TeV. Moreover, this search is not limited by the same kinematic considerations as the ones in the direct production mode and can cover masses up to the kinematic threshold for the decay of the heavier electroweakinos into the lightest neutralino. This decay mode provides also an alternative way of looking for heavy Higgs bosons in this range of masses and hence should be a high priority for future LHC analyses.
Sebastian Baum, Marcela Carena, Nausheen R. Shah, Carlos E. M. Wagner
A new measurement of the muon anomalous magnetic moment has been reported by the Fermilab Muon g-2 collaboration and shows a $4.2σ$ departure from the most precise and reliable calculation of this quantity in the Standard Model. Assuming that this discrepancy is due to new physics, we concentrate on a simple supersymmetric model that also provides a dark matter explanation in a previously unexplored region of supersymmetric parameter space. Such interesting region can realize a Bino-like dark matter candidate compatible with all current direct detection constraints for small to moderate values of the Higgsino mass parameter $|μ|$. This in turn would imply the existence of light additional Higgs bosons and Higgsino particles within reach of the high-luminosity LHC and future colliders. We provide benchmark scenarios that will be tested in the next generation of direct dark matter experiments and at the LHC.
Da Liu, Ian Low, Carlos E. M. Wagner
We present a comprehensive study of the modifications of Higgs couplings in the SO(5)/SO(4) minimal composite model. We focus on three couplings of central importance to Higgs phenomenology at the LHC: the couplings to top and bottom quarks and the coupling to two gluons. We consider three possible embeddings of the fermionic partners in 5, 10 and 14 of SO(5) and find tth and bbh couplings to be always suppressed in 5 and 10, while in 14 they can be either enhanced or suppressed. Assuming partial compositeness, we analyze the interplay between the tth coupling and the top sector contribution to the Coleman-Weinberg potential for the Higgs boson, and the correlation between tth and ggh couplings. In particular, if the electroweak symmetry breaking is triggered radiatively by the top sector, we demonstrate that the ratio of the tth coupling in composite Higgs models over the Standard Model expectation is preferred to be less than the corresponding ratio of the ggh coupling.
Nina M. Coyle, Bing Li, Carlos E. M. Wagner
The study of the Higgs boson properties is one of the most relevant activities in current particle physics. In particular, the Higgs boson couplings to third generation fermions is an important test of the mechanism of mass generation. In spite of their impact on the production and decay properties of the Higgs boson, the values of these couplings are still uncertain and, in models of new physics, they can differ in magnitude as well as in sign with respect to the Standard Model case. In this article, we study the possibility of a wrong sign bottom-quark Yukawa coupling within the framework of the Minimal and Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. Possible experimental tests are also discussed, including novel decays of the heavy CP-even and CP-odd Higgs fields that may be probed in the near future and that may lead to an explanation of some intriguing di-boson signatures observed at the ATLAS experiment.
Alejandra Kandus, Esteban A. Calzetta, Francisco D. Mazzitelli, Carlos E. M. Wagner
We study the generation of primordial magnetic fields, coherent over cosmologically interesting scales, by gravitational creation of charged scalar particles during the reheating period. We show that magnetic fields consistent with those detected by observation may obtained if the particle mean life τ_s is in the range 10^{-14} sec \leq τ_s \leq 10{-7} sec. We apply this mechanism to minimal gauge mediated supersymmetry-breaking models, in the case in which the lightest stau \tildeτ_1 is the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle. We show that, for a large range of phenomenologically acceptable values of the supersymmetry-breaking scale \sqrt{F}, the generated primordial magnetic field can be strong enough to seed the galactic dynamo.
Peisi Huang, Aniket Joglekar, Min Li, Carlos E. M. Wagner
The Higgs pair production in gluon fusion is a sensitive probe of beyond-Standard Model (BSM) phenomena and its detection is a major goal for the LHC and higher energy hadron collider experiments. In this work we reanalyze the possible modifications of the Higgs pair production cross section within low energy supersymmetry models. We show that the supersymmetric contributions to the Higgs pair production cross section are strongly correlated with the ones of the single Higgs production in the gluon fusion channel. Motivated by the analysis of ATLAS and CMS Higgs production data, we show that the scalar superpartners' contributions may lead to significant modification of the di-Higgs production rate and invariant mass distribution with respect to the SM predictions. We also analyze the combined effects on the di-Higgs production rate of a modification of the Higgs trilinear and top-quark Yukawa couplings in the presence of light stops. In particular, we show that due to the destructive interference of the triangle and box amplitude contributions to the di-Higgs production cross section, even a small modification of the top-quark Yukawa coupling can lead to a significant increase of the di-Higgs production rate.
Marcela Carena, Howard E. Haber, Ian Low, Nausheen R. Shah, Carlos E. M. Wagner
The Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (NMSSM) with a Higgs boson of mass 125 GeV can be compatible with stop masses of order of the electroweak scale, thereby reducing the degree of fine-tuning necessary to achieve electroweak symmetry breaking. Moreover, in an attractive region of the NMSSM parameter space, corresponding to the "alignment limit" in which one of the neutral Higgs fields lies approximately in the same direction in field space as the doublet Higgs vacuum expectation value, the observed Higgs boson is predicted to have Standard-Model-like properties. We derive analytical expressions for the alignment conditions and show that they point toward a more natural region of parameter space for electroweak symmetry breaking, while allowing for perturbativity of the theory up to the Planck scale. Moreover, the alignment limit in the NMSSM leads to a well defined spectrum in the Higgs and Higgsino sectors, and yields a rich and interesting Higgs boson phenomenology that can be tested at the LHC. We discuss the most promising channels for discovery and present several benchmark points for further study.
Peisi Huang, Carlos E. M. Wagner
We present two scenarios in the Minimal Supersymmetric Extension of the Standard Model (MSSM) that can lead to an explanation of the excess in the invariant mass distribution of two opposite charged, same flavor leptons, and the corresponding edge at an energy of about 78 GeV, recently reported by the CMS collaboration. In both scenarios, s-bottoms are pair produced, and decay to neutralinos and a b-jet. The heavier neutralinos further decay to a pair of leptons and the lightest neutralino through on-shell s-leptons or off-shell neutral gauge bosons. These scenarios are consistent with the current limits on the s-bottoms, neutralinos, and s-leptons. Assuming that the lightest neutralino is stable we discuss the predicted relic density as well as the implications for Dark Matter direct detection. We show that consistency between the predicted and the measured value of the muon anomalous magnetic moment may be obtained in both scenarios. Finally, we define the signatures of these models that may be tested at the 13 TeV run of the LHC.
Marcela Carena, Germano Nardini, Mariano Quiros, Carlos E. M. Wagner
Electroweak baryogenesis in the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model may be realized within the light stop scenario, where the right-handed stop mass remains close to the top-quark mass to allow for a sufficiently strong first order electroweak phase transition. All other supersymmetric scalars are much heavier to comply with the present bounds on the Higgs mass and the electron and neutron electric dipole moments. Heavy third generation scalars render it necessary to resum large logarithm contributions to perform a trustable Higgs mass calculation. We have studied the one--loop RGE improved effective theory below the heavy scalar mass scale and obtained reliable values of the Higgs mass. Moreover, assuming a common mass $\tilde m$ for all heavy scalar particles, and values of all gaugino masses and the Higgsino mass parameter about the weak scale, and imposing gauge coupling unification, a two-loop calculation yields values of the mass $\tilde m$ in the interval between three TeV and six hundred TeV. Furthermore for a stop mass around the top quark mass, this translates into an upper bound on the Higgs mass of about 150 GeV. The Higgs mass bound becomes even stronger, of about 129 GeV, for the range of stop and gaugino masses consistent with electroweak baryogenesis. The collider phenomenology implications of this scenario are discussed in some detail.
Peisi Huang, Anibal D. Medina, Carlos E. M. Wagner
We consider a dark sector consisting of fermionic dark matter (DM) charged under a broken dark $U(1)_D$ gauge symmetry, interacting with the Standard Model through kinetic mixing. In such models, the DM annihilation cross section is typically suppressed by the small kinetic mixing and or a heavy mediator, often leading to an overabundant relic density. We show that the observed DM abundance can be achieved if the dark Higgs undergoes a strong first order phase transition after DM freeze-out. In this scenario, the relic abundance is set by thermal freeze-out in the symmetric phase and subsequently reduced by entropy injection from the phase transition, rather than by annihilation in the broken phase. We find that to reproduce the observed relic abundance, the required phase transition is generically supercooled. The resulting stochastic gravitational wave signal lies within the sensitivity of future experiments, providing a complementary probe of this framework. Moreover, a strongly supercooled phase transition can potentially account for the NANOGrav signal for DM masses below $O(10)$ GeV.
Patrick Draper, Tao Liu, Carlos E. M. Wagner
We analyze the Tevatron reach for neutral Higgs bosons in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM), using current exclusion limits on the Standard Model Higgs. We study four common benchmark scenarios for the soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters of the MSSM, including cases where the Higgs decays differ significantly from the Standard Model, and provide projections for the improvements in luminosity and efficiency required for the Tevatron to probe sizeable regions of the $(m_A, \tanβ)$ plane.
Patrick Draper, Tao Liu, Carlos E. M. Wagner, Lian-Tao Wang, Hao Zhang
We study a limit of the nearly-Peccei-Quinn-symmetric Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model possessing novel Higgs and dark matter (DM) properties. In this scenario, there naturally co-exist three light singlet-like particles: a scalar, a pseudoscalar, and a singlino-like DM candidate, all with masses of order 0.1-10 GeV. The decay of a Standard Model-like Higgs boson to pairs of the light scalars or pseudoscalars is generically suppressed, avoiding constraints from collider searches for these channels. For a certain parameter window annihilation into the light pseudoscalar and exchange of the light scalar with nucleons allow the singlino to achieve the correct relic density and a large direct detection cross section consistent with the CoGeNT and DAMA/LIBRA preferred region simultaneously. This parameter space is consistent with experimental constraints from LEP, the Tevatron, and Upsilon- and flavor physics.