Simultaneous Search for Extra Light and Heavy Higgs Bosons via Cascade Decays

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential to discover or exclude cascade decays of heavy Higgs bosons into lighter Higgs states in extended Higgs models, focusing on specific final states at the LHC.

Contribution

It introduces a search strategy for cascade decays involving multiple Higgs states, applicable beyond the NMSSM, and evaluates their discovery prospects.

Findings

Significant NMSSM parameter space can be tested with these searches.

Cascade decays provide a promising avenue for Higgs sector exploration.

Results are relevant for models with extended Higgs sectors beyond NMSSM.

Abstract

Models with extended Higgs sectors can contain several additional Higgs states, heavier or lighter than the SM Higgs boson. The couplings of lighter extra states to SM particles can be strongly reduced, leading to small cross sections for their direct production. Heavier extra states can have larger couplings to SM particles and, moreover, have large branching fractions into lighter extra states, notably into a SM-like Higgs boson accompagnied by another Higgs state which can be lighter or heavier than 125$\sim$GeV. Motivated by corresponding scenarios in the NMSSM we study the prospects for the discovery or exclusion of cascade decays $ggF \to H_3 \to H_2 + H_1$ in the $b\bar{b}b\bar{b}$, $b\bar{b}\tau\tau$ and $b\bar{b}\gamma\gamma$ final states where either $H_1$ or $H_2$ can be SM-like. Significant regions of the NMSSM parameter space can be tested by these searches. These are, however, not confined to models of the NMSSM type.