Probing the Hidden Higgs Bosons of the $Y=0$ Triplet- and Singlet-Extended Supersymmetric Standard Model at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential for discovering light hidden Higgs bosons in an extended supersymmetric model at the LHC, analyzing their production, decay channels, and experimental signatures with detailed simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a scenario with light scalar and pseudoscalar Higgs bosons in an extended MSSM, and studies their detectability via exotic Higgs decays at the LHC.

Findings

Light hidden Higgs bosons can be produced and detected at the LHC.

Decay modes into fermion pairs like $b\bar{b}$, $\tau\bar{\tau}$, and $\mu\bar{\mu}$ are promising signatures.

Detection is feasible with 25 fb$^{-1}$ of data at 13 TeV.

Abstract

We investigate the scalar sector in an extension of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) containing a $SU(2)$ Higgs triplet of zero hypercharge and a gauge singlet beside the $SU(2)$ scalar doublets. In particular, we focus on a scenario of this model which allows a light pseudoscalar and/or a scalar below $100$ GeV, consistent with the most recent data from the LHC and the earlier data from the LEP experiments. We analyze the exotic decay of the discovered Higgs $(h_{125})$ into two light (hidden) Higgs bosons present in the extension. The latter are allowed by the uncertainties in the Higgs decay $h_{125}\to WW^*$, $h_{125}\to ZZ^*$ and $h_{125}\to \gamma\gamma$. The study of the parameter space for such additional scalars/pseudoscalars decay of the Higgs is performed in the gluon fusion channel. The extra hidden Higgs bosons of the enlarged scalar sector, if they exist, will then decay into lighter fermion paris, i.e., $b\bar{b}$, $\tau\bar{\tau}$ and $\mu\bar{\mu}$ via the mixing with the doublets. A detailed simulation using PYTHIA of the $2b+2\tau$, $\geq 3\tau$, $2b+2\mu$ and $2\tau+2\mu$ final states is presented. From our analysis we conclude that, depending on the selected benchmark points, such decay modes can be explored with an integrated luminosity of 25 fb$^{-1}$ at the LHC at a center of mass energy of 13 TeV.