Constraining new physics in charm quark associated Higgs boson production events using the Standard Model effective field theory approach

TL;DR

This paper explores how measurements of charm quark associated Higgs production at the LHC can constrain new physics effects using effective field theory, focusing on specific decay channels and detector simulations.

Contribution

It presents the first detailed study of using charm-associated Higgs production to set limits on dimension-six EFT operators with a proposed analysis strategy.

Findings

Derived expected 95% CL upper limits on Wilson coefficients.

Analyzed yield and shape effects in four-muon invariant mass and jet transverse momentum spectra.

Considered scenarios with multiple operators contributing simultaneously.

Abstract

As the search for observable deviations from the Standard Model of particle physics remains to be of significant interest, effective field theory (EFT) continues to be a popular method to parametrize such effects. In this work, a first-time investigation is performed of the unique capability of measurements of charm quark associated Higgs boson production (cH) in proton-proton collisions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider to constrain a set of dimension-six EFT operators. The phenomenology of these operators is discussed and a proposed analysis strategy is presented, with a focus on $\mathrm{H}\rightarrow \mathrm{Z}\mathrm{Z}^{*}\rightarrow 4\mu$ decays, using a generic detector simulation that is parametrized to reflect the response of the CMS detector at the LHC. From this, expected 95% CL upper limits are derived for the Wilson coefficients of individual operators by considering yield and shape effects in the spectra of the four-muon invariant mass $m_{4\mu}$ and leading jet transverse momentum $p_{T}$. Scenarios with simultaneous contributions from two operators are also considered. Finally, potential analysis improvements that may be implemented in an experimental context are outlined.