Pseudo-observables in electroweak Higgs production

TL;DR

This paper introduces a framework of pseudo-observables to characterize electroweak Higgs production at the LHC, analyzing their properties, extraction methods, and sensitivity estimates in high-luminosity scenarios.

Contribution

It develops a systematic approach to describe Higgs production processes using pseudo-observables, linking them with decay observables and assessing experimental extraction strategies.

Findings

Estimated LHC sensitivity to production pseudo-observables

Analyzed symmetry properties and their relation to decay pseudo-observables

Discussed the impact of QCD corrections and validity of momentum expansion

Abstract

We discuss how the leading electroweak Higgs production processes at the LHC, namely vector-boson fusion and Higgs+W/Z associated production, can be characterized in generic extensions of the Standard Model by a proper set of pseudo-observables (PO). We analyze the symmetry properties of these PO and their relation with the PO set appearing in Higgs decays. We discuss in detail the kinematical studies necessary to extract the production PO from data, and present a first estimate of the LHC sensitivity on these observables in the high-luminosity phase. The impact of QCD corrections and the kinematical studies necessary to test the validity of the momentum expansion at the basis of the PO decomposition are also discussed.