The $tZH$ and $tZh$ production in 2HDM: Prospects for discovery at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential to discover exotic scalar particles predicted by the Two Higgs Doublet Model at the LHC, focusing on specific production and decay channels involving top quarks and Z or h bosons.

Contribution

It analyzes the discovery prospects of the $cg o tA o tZH$ process in the 2HDM, highlighting the conditions under which it could be observed at the LHC.

Findings

$cg o tA o tZH$ can be discovered at around 400 GeV with high luminosity.

The $cg o tA o tZh$ process is not accessible at the LHC.

Discovery of $tZH$ would provide insights into baryogenesis mechanisms.

Abstract

We study the discovery potential of the $cg \to tA\to tZH$ process at the LHC, where $A$ and $H$ are CP-odd and even exotic scalars, respectively. The context is the general Two Higgs Doublet Model, where $cg \to tA$ is induced by the flavor changing neutral Higgs coupling $\rho_{tc}$. We find that the process $cg \to tA\to tZH$ can be discovered for $m_A \sim 400$ GeV, but would likely require high luminosity running of the LHC. Such a discovery would shed light on the mechanism behind the observed Baryon Asymmetry of the Universe. We also study $cg \to tA\to tZh$, where $h$ is the observed 125 GeV scalar, but find it out of reach at the LHC.