Distinguishing CP-odd couplings of the Higgs boson to weak boson pairs

TL;DR

This paper investigates how to identify CP-violating Higgs interactions with weak bosons at the LHC, using asymmetries and realistic simulations to distinguish them from standard and CP-even effects.

Contribution

It introduces a method to isolate gauge invariant CP-odd Higgs couplings at the LHC using asymmetries and detailed simulations, improving detection prospects.

Findings

CP-odd couplings ≥ 40/TeV² can be detected with 1.5-3.0 ab⁻¹ luminosity.

Asymmetry parameters effectively distinguish CP-violating effects.

Realistic simulation confirms feasibility of identifying CP-odd interactions.

Abstract

We consider the observable effects of CP-violating anomalous $ZZh$ interaction arising from gauge invariant dimension-6 operators at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), with the purpose of distinguishing them from not only the standard model effects but also those of CP-even anomalous interactions of similar nature. The postulation of a gauge invariant origin makes various couplings of this kind interrelated. The updated constraints from the LHC as well as limits from neutron and electron dipole moments are used in selecting the benchmark interaction strengths. We use some asymmetry parameters that have no contribution from standard or CP-even anomalous interactions. Parton showering and detector level simulation is included to make our analysis as realistic as possible. On the whole, we conclude that gauge invariant interaction of strength $\geq 40/\rm TeV^{2} $ can be successfully isolated using integrated luminosities in the 1.5-3.0 $\rm ab^{-1}$ range.