Single Higgs boson production at a photon-photon collider: a 2HDM/MSSM comparison

TL;DR

This paper analyzes single Higgs boson production at photon colliders within 2HDM and MSSM frameworks, highlighting production rates, model differences, and the potential of gamma-gamma physics for Higgs research.

Contribution

It provides a systematic comparison of Higgs production rates and phenomenological profiles in 2HDM and MSSM at photon colliders, considering current theoretical constraints.

Findings

Production rates up to 10^4 Higgs events per 500 fb^{-1}

Distinctive phenomenological profiles for different gamma-gamma to Higgs channels

Enhanced Higgs self-interactions in 2HDM influence production features

Abstract

We consider the loop-induced production of a single Higgs boson from direct photon-photon scattering at a photon collider. A dedicated analysis of the total cross section and the relative strength of the effective $h\gamma\gamma$ coupling is carried out within the general Two-Higgs-Doublet Model (2HDM) and the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). We systematically survey representative regions over the parameter space, in full agreement with brought-to-date theoretical and phenomenological restrictions, and obtain production rates up to $10^4$ Higgs boson events per $500 fb^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity. We identify trademark phenomenological profiles for the different $\gamma\gamma \to h$ channels and trace them back to the distinctive dynamical features characterizing each of these models -- most significantly, the enhancement potential of the Higgs self-interactions in the general 2HDM. The upshot of our results illustrates the possibilities of $\gamma\gamma$-physics and emphasizes the relevance of linear colliders for the Higgs boson research program.