Probing Variant Axion Models at LHC

TL;DR

This paper explores how variant axion models, which solve the cosmological domain wall problem, can significantly enhance the Higgs to diphoton decay rate, making it a promising channel for Higgs discovery and model probing at the LHC.

Contribution

It demonstrates that variant axion models can increase the Higgs to diphoton decay rate by a factor of 5 to 30, providing a new avenue for experimental tests at the LHC.

Findings

Enhanced $h o \gamma\gamma$ branching ratio by 5-30 times.

$h o \gamma\gamma$ as a promising discovery channel at LHC.

Probing Peccei-Quinn charge assignments through Higgs decay measurements.

Abstract

We study collider implications of variant axion models which naturally avoid the cosmological domain wall problem. We find that in such models the branching ratio of $h \to \gamma\gamma$ can be enhanced by a factor of 5 up to 30 as compared with the standard model prediction. The $h \to \gamma\gamma$ process is therefore a promising channel to discover a light Higgs boson at the LHC and to probe the Peccei-Quinn charge assignment of the standard model fields from Yukawa interactions.