Higgs boson search significance deformations due to mixed-in scalars

The existence of exotic scalars that mix with the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson can affect Higgs boson phenomenology in a multitude of ways. We consider two light Higgs bosons with shared couplings to SM fields and with masses close to each other, in the range where the h→WW→lνlν is an important s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physics letters. B 2012-03, Vol.710 (1), p.154-158
Main Authors: Gupta, Rick S., Wells, James D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Channels
Couplings
Elementary particles
Exact sciences and technology
Higgs bosons
Nuclear physics
Phenomenology
Physics
Scalars
Searching
The physics of elementary particles and fields
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Summary:The existence of exotic scalars that mix with the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson can affect Higgs boson phenomenology in a multitude of ways. We consider two light Higgs bosons with shared couplings to SM fields and with masses close to each other, in the range where the h→WW→lνlν is an important search channel. In this channel, we do not find the dilution of significance of the ‘SM-like’ Higgs boson that is naively expected because of the mixing. This is because of leakage of events from the other scalar into its signal region. Nevertheless, we show that the broadening of the h→WW→lνlν significance plots of Standard Model Higgs boson searches could indicate the first evidence of the extra scalar state.
ISSN:0370-2693
1873-2445
DOI:10.1016/j.physletb.2012.02.056