Higgs Boson Searches and the Hbbar Coupling at the LHeC

TL;DR

This paper explores how forward jet tagging in electron-proton collisions at the LHeC can improve the detection of the Higgs boson decaying to bottom quarks, aiding precise measurement of the Higgs-bottom coupling.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method using forward jet tagging to enhance Higgs signal purity in electron-proton scattering, improving bottom Yukawa coupling measurement prospects.

Findings

Forward jet tagging significantly improves signal-to-background ratio.

Vetoing additional partons further enhances detection sensitivity.

Detector performance in hadronic shower response and b-tagging is crucial.

Abstract

Once the existence of the Higgs boson is established at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the focus will be shifted toward understanding its couplings to other particles. A crucial aspect is the measurement of the bottom Yukawa coupling, which is challenging at the LHC. In this paper we study the use of forward jet tagging as a means to secure the observation and to significantly improve the purity of the Higgs boson signal in the H to bbar decay mode from deep inelastic electron-proton scattering at the LHC. We demonstrate that the requirement of forward jet tagging in charged current events strongly enhances the signal-to-background ratio. The impact of a veto on additional partons is also discussed. Excellent response to hadronic shower and b-tagging capabilities are pivotal detector performance aspects.