Higgs boson physics and broken flavor symmetry -- LHC phenomenology

TL;DR

This paper investigates the phenomenology of a new scalar particle called a flavon, arising from broken flavor symmetry, and its implications for Higgs physics and potential detection at the LHC.

Contribution

It introduces a simplified model of broken flavor symmetry with a flavon, analyzing its effects on Higgs physics and exploring discovery prospects at the LHC.

Findings

Limits on flavon from 7 and 8 TeV LHC data.

Potential to discover flavon up to 500 GeV at 14 TeV.

Significant impact on Higgs production and decay channels.

Abstract

The LHC implications are presented of a simplified model of broken flavor symmetry in which a new scalar (a flavon) emerges with mass in the TeV range. We summarize the influence of the model on Higgs boson physics, notably on the production cross section and decay branching fractions. Limits are obtained on the flavon $\varphi$ from heavy Higgs boson searches at the LHC at 7 and 8 TeV. The branching fractions of the flavon are computed as a function of the flavon mass and the Higgs-flavon mixing angle. We explore possible discovery of the flavon at 14 TeV, particularly via the $\varphi \rightarrow Z^0Z^0$ decay channel in the $2\ell2\ell'$ final state, and through standard model Higgs boson pair production $\varphi \rightarrow hh$ in the $b\bar{b}\gamma\gamma$ final state. The flavon mass range up to $500$ GeV could probed down to quite small values of the Higgs-flavon mixing angle with 100 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity at 14 TeV.