Differentiating the production mechanisms of the Higgs-like resonance using inclusive observables at hadron colliders

TL;DR

This paper proposes a method to distinguish different production mechanisms of the Higgs-like boson at the LHC using inclusive observables and ratios sensitive to initial state partons, aiding in understanding its nature.

Contribution

The study introduces ratios of inclusive observables that differentiate production channels of the Higgs-like boson, providing a new tool for analyzing its production mechanisms at colliders.

Findings

Ratios reveal initial state parton contributions.

Different models show distinct ratio predictions.

Current and future measurements can discriminate production channels.

Abstract

We present a study on differentiating direct production mechanisms of the newly discovered Higgs-like boson at the LHC based on several inclusive observables. The ratios introduced reveal the parton constituents or initial state radiations involved in the production mechanisms, and are directly sensitive to fractions of contributions from different channels. We select three benchmark models, including the SM Higgs boson, to illustrate how the theoretical predictions of the above ratios are different for the $gg$, $b\bar b(c\bar c)$, and $q\bar q$ (flavor universal) initial states in the direct production. We study implications of current Tevatron and LHC measurements. We also show expectations from further LHC measurements with high luminosities.