Multiple b-jets Reveal Top Super-partners and the 125 GeV Higgs

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel method to discover the SM-like Higgs boson via its decay to bottom quarks in supersymmetry models, utilizing multiple b-jet tagging and color-flow variables to suppress background at the LHC.

Contribution

It introduces a new search strategy for the Higgs in SUSY with light top partners, emphasizing multiple b-jet tagging and color-flow analysis for improved detection.

Findings

Higgs can be discovered with ~40/fb data at 14 TeV LHC

Signal-to-background ratio can reach 0.35 in benchmark scenarios

Strategy applicable to non-SUSY models with cascade decays

Abstract

We demonstrate that in supersymmetry (SUSY) with relatively light top superpartners, h -> bb can be a very promising channel to discover the SM-like Higgs resonance at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), although in general contexts it is thought to be challenging because of its huge QCD background. In this scenario, the SM-like Higgs boson is mainly produced via cascade decays initiated by pair-produced stop or sbottom squarks. The good sensitivity to h -> bb owes a great deal to the application of multiple (>= 4) b-jet tagging in removing the QCD background, and color-flow variables for reconstructing the Higgs resonance. We show in two benchmark points that a SM-like Higgs resonance can be discovered at the 14 TeV LHC (with a signal-to-background ratio as high as 0.35), with ~< 40/fb of data. Potentially, this strategy can be also applied to non-SUSY theories with cascade decays of top partners for the SM-like Higgs search, such as little Higgs, composite Higgs, and Randall-Sundrum models.