Can the trilinear Higgs self-coupling be measured at future linear colliders?

TL;DR

This paper evaluates the potential for future linear colliders to measure the Higgs boson's trilinear self-coupling by analyzing double Higgs production and background processes at energies between 500 and 1500 GeV.

Contribution

It provides a detailed assessment of the measurement prospects for the Higgs self-coupling at future electron-positron colliders with specific focus on the double Higgs-strahlung process and background analysis.

Findings

Cross sections and spectra for signal and background processes are calculated.

Ideal vertex tagging and mass reconstruction are assumed for analysis.

The study discusses the feasibility of measuring the Higgs self-coupling at future colliders.

Abstract

We assess the possibility of measuring the trilinear self-coupling of the Standard Model Higgs boson at future electron-positron linear colliders with centre-of-mass energies between 500 and 1500 GeV. We consider rather light Higgs scalars, with mass below the W+W- threshold, produced in the double Higgs-strahlung channel e+e- -> HHZ and decaying via the dominant mode H -> bbbar. Assuming ideal vertex tagging of the heavy-quark jets and mass reconstruction of the Z boson produced in association with the Higgs pair, we compare the yield of the above process to those of all irreducible electroweak and strong backgrounds proceeding through a bbbar bbbar Z intermediate state. Total cross sections and differential spectra of phenomenological relevance to the selection and analysis of the signal are given and discussed.