LHC signals of a BLSSM CP-even Higgs boson

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential for detecting a neutral Higgs boson predicted by the B-L Supersymmetric Standard Model at the LHC, identifying promising channels and mass ranges for discovery during Run 2.

Contribution

It analyzes the LHC's ability to discover a B-L SUSY Higgs boson across various masses and mixing scenarios, highlighting specific decay channels and signatures for detection.

Findings

Multiple detection channels identified for Higgs masses 140-500 GeV.

Significant discovery potential with planned LHC luminosities.

Distinct decay signatures for lighter and heavier Higgs states.

Abstract

We study the scope of the Large Hadron Collider in accessing a neutral Higgs boson of the $B-L$ Supersymmetric Standard Model. After assessing the surviving parameter space configurations following the Run 1 data taking, we investigate the possibilities of detecting this object during Run 2. For the model configurations in which the mixing between such a state and the discovered Standard Model-like Higgs boson is non-negligible, there exist several channels enabling its discovery over a mass range spanning from $\approx 140$ to $\approx$ 500 GeV. For a lighter Higgs state, with mass of order 140 GeV, three channels are accessible: $\gamma\gamma$, $Z\gamma$ and $ZZ$, wherein the $Z$ boson decays leptonically. For a heavier Higgs state, with mass above 250 GeV (i.e., twice the mass of the Higgs state discovered in 2012), the hallmark signature is its decay in two such 125 GeV scalars, $h'\to hh$, where $hh\to b\bar b \gamma\gamma$. In all such cases, significances above discovery can occur for already planned luminosities at the CERN machine.