Invisible decays of low mass Higgs bosons in supersymmetric models

TL;DR

This paper investigates the potential for invisible decays of low mass Higgs bosons within MSSM and NMSSM supersymmetric models, analyzing parameter spaces where these decays could occur and how current LHC data constrains them.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of invisible Higgs decays in MSSM and NMSSM, especially when the second lightest Higgs is at 126 GeV, highlighting conditions for such decays and their experimental implications.

Findings

Invisible decays are possible in certain GUT models with nonuniversal gaugino masses.

In NMSSM, invisible decay channels can occur with universal gaugino masses.

More LHC data is needed to constrain neutralino parameters when the second lightest Higgs is at 126 GeV.

Abstract

The discovery of a 126 GeV Higgs like scalar at the LHC along with the non observation of the supersymmetric particles, has in turn lead to constraining various supersymmetric models through the Higgs data. We here consider the case of both MSSM, as well its extension containing an additional chiral singlet superfield, NMSSM. We concentrate on the case where we identify the second lightest Higgs boson as the 126 GeV state discovered at the CERN LHC and consider the invisible decays of the low mass Higgs bosons in both MSSM and NMSSM. We find that in case of the MSSM with universal boundary conditions at the GUT scale, it is not possible to have light neutralinos leading to the decay channel $H\rightarrow \tilde{\chi}_1^0 \tilde{\chi}_1^0$. The invisible decay mode is allowed in case of certain $SO(10)$ and $E_6$ grand unified models with large representations and nonuniversal gaugino masses at the GUT scale. In case of the NMSSM, for the parameter space considered it is possible to have the invisible decay channel with universal gaugino masses at the GUT scale. We furthermore consider the most general case, with $M_1$ and $M_2$ as independent parameters for both MSSM and NMSSM. We isolate the regions in parameter space in both cases, where the second lightest Higgs boson has a mass of 126 GeV and then concentrate on the invisible decay of Higgs to lighter neutralinos. The other non-standard decay mode of the Higgs is also considered in detail. The invisible Higgs branching ratio being constrained by the LHC results, we find that in this case with the second lightest Higgs being the 126 GeV state, more data from the LHC is required to constrain the neutralino parameter space, compared to the case when the lightest Higgs boson is the 126 GeV state.