Heavy Higgs Bosons at Low $\tan \beta$: from the LHC to 100 TeV

TL;DR

This paper develops search strategies for heavy neutral Higgs bosons decaying to top quark pairs at low , proposing same-sign dilepton signatures and analyzing their effectiveness at current and future colliders.

Contribution

It introduces novel search strategies using same-sign dilepton signatures for heavy Higgs bosons at low , including detailed collider sensitivity forecasts and machine learning analysis.

Findings

Current LHC limits at 8 TeV are established.

Projected sensitivity at 14 TeV LHC is analyzed.

Potential for future 100 TeV collider detection is evaluated.

Abstract

We present strategies to search for heavy neutral Higgs bosons decaying to top quark pairs, as often occurs at low $\tan \beta$ in type II two Higgs doublet models such as the Higgs sector of the MSSM. The resonant production channel is unsatisfactory due to interference with the SM background. We instead propose to utilize same-sign dilepton signatures arising from the production of heavy Higgs bosons in association with one or two top quarks and subsequent decay to a top pair. We find that for heavier neutral Higgs bosons the production in association with one top quark provides greater sensitivity than production in association with two top quarks. We obtain current limits at the LHC using Run I data at 8 TeV and forecast the sensitivity of a dedicated analysis during Run II at 14 TeV. Then we perform a detailed BDT study for the 14 TeV LHC and a future 100 TeV collider.