Electroweak Corrections to Higgs to $\gamma\gamma$ and $W^+W^-$ in the SMEFT

TL;DR

This paper computes one-loop electroweak SMEFT corrections to Higgs decays into gauge boson pairs, enhancing theoretical precision to match upcoming experimental sensitivities and aiding the search for new physics.

Contribution

It provides the first complete calculation of electroweak SMEFT corrections to Higgs to gauge boson decays at one-loop order, including real emission processes.

Findings

Electroweak SMEFT corrections are significant for precise Higgs decay predictions.

The calculation includes both virtual and real contributions to ensure infrared finiteness.

Results improve the theoretical accuracy for Higgs decay channels relevant to new physics searches.

Abstract

Higgs decays to gauge boson pairs are a crucial ingredient in the study of Higgs properties, with the decay $H\rightarrow\gamma\gamma$ being particularly sensitive to new physics effects. Assuming all potential new physics occurs at energies much above the weak scale, deviations from Standard Model predictions can be parameterized in terms of the coefficients of an effective field theory (SMEFT). When experimental limits on the SMEFT coefficients reach an accuracy of a few percent, predictions must be done beyond the lowest order in the SMEFT in order to match theory and experimental accuracy. This paper completes a program of computing the one-loop electroweak SMEFT corrections to $H\rightarrow VV^\prime$, $V=W^\pm,Z,\gamma$. The calculation of the real contribution to $H\rightarrow W^+W^-\gamma$ is performed by mapping two-loop amplitudes to the $3-$ body phase space.