Tests of Higgs Boson Couplings at a mu+mu- Collider

We investigate the potential of a muon collider for testing the presence of anomalous Higgs boson couplings. We consider the case of a light (less than $160 GeV$) Higgs boson and study the effects on the Higgs branching ratios and total width, which could be induced by the non standard couplings created by a class of dim=6 $SU(3)\times SU(2)\times U(1)$ gauge invariant operators satisfying the constraints imposed by the present and future hadronic and $e^-e^+$ colliders. For each operator we give the minimal value of the $\mu^+\mu^-$ integrated luminosity needed for the muon collider ($\mu C$) to improve these constraints. Depending on the operator and the Higgs mass, this minimal $\mu C$ luminosity lies between $0.1 fb^{-1}$ and $100 fb^{-1}$.Comment: 18 pages and 4 figures; version to be published in Phys. Rev.D. e-mail: [email protected]

Testing the Higgs boson gluonic couplings at LHC

We study Higgs + jet production at hadron colliders in order to look for new physics residual effects possibly described by the $dim=6$ operators {\O}_{GG} and {\widetilde\O}_{GG} which induce anomalous $Hgg$ and $Hggg$ couplings. Two ways for constraining these operators at LHC may be ~useful. The first is based on the total Higgs boson production rate induced by gluon-gluon fusion, in which the main cause of limitations are due to theoretical uncertainties leading to sensitivities of $|d_G|\simeq 3.\times 10^{-4}$ and $|\widetilde{d}_G|\simeq 1.4\times 10^{-3}$ for the corresponding anomalous couplings, in the mass range 100 GeV \lsim \mh \lsim 2~00 GeV. These results imply sensitivity to new physics scales of 51 and 24 TeV respectively. The second way investigated here concerns the shape of the Higgs transverse momentum; for which the theoretical uncertainties are less severe and the limitations are mainly induced by statistics. A simple analysis, based on the ratio of the number of events at large and low $p_T$ at LHC, leads to similar sensitivities, if only the $H\to \gamma \gamma$ decay mode is used. But the sensitivities can now be improved by a factor 2 to 10, depending on the Higgs mass, if the Higgs decay modes to $WW^*$, $ZZ^*$, $WW$, $ZZ$ are also used.Comment: 23 pages and 7 figures, version to appear in Phys.ReV.D. e-mail: [email protected]

Signatures of the anomalous ZγZ\gamma and ZZ production at the lepton and hadron Colliders

The possible form of New Physics (NP) interactions affecting the ZZZ, $ZZ \gamma$ and $Z\gamma \gamma$ vertices, is critically examined. Their signatures and the possibilities to study them, through ZZ and $Z\gamma$ production, at the e^-e^+ Colliders LEP and LC and at the hadronic Colliders Tevatron and LHC, are investigated. Experimental limits obtained or expected on each coupling are collected. A simple theoretical model based on virtual effects due to some heavy fermions is used for acquiring some guidance on the plausible forms of these NP vertices. In such a case specific relations among the various neutral couplings are predicted, which can be experimentally tested and possibly used to constrain the form of the responsible NP structure.Comment: 17 pages and 9 figures, version to appear in Phys. ReV. e-mail: [email protected]

Vector boson Pair Production at Supercolliders; useful approximate helicity amplitudes

We study vector boson pair production at $LHC$ and $SSC$, taking into account the effects generated by the anomalous vector boson and Higgs couplings induced by the operators ${\cal O}_W$ and ${\cal O}_{UW}$, which are the only dim=6 operators preserving $SU(2)_c$. These operators lead to enhanced production of transverse vector bosons, as opposed to the enhanced production of longitudinal gauge bosons, induced in case M_H\gsim 1\ TeV, by dim=4 terms already existing in the Standard Model lagrangian. For vector boson pair masses larger than $1\ TeV$, we establish very simple approximate expressions for the standard as well as the non-standard helicity amplitudes for $q\bar q$ annihilation and vector boson fusion, which accurately describe the physics. These expressions should simplify the experimental search for such interactions. We finally discuss the observability and the disentangling of these interactions.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures avaible by air mail upon request , (e-mail [email protected] PM/93-26 THES-TP 93/

Unitarity Constraints for New Physics Induced by dim-6 Operators

We compute the helicity amplitudes for boson-boson scattering at high energy due to the operators \O_{B\Phi}, \O_{W\Phi} and \O_{UB}, and we derive the corresponding unitarity bounds. Thus, we provide relations between the couplings of these operators and the corresponding New Physics thresholds, where either unitarity is saturated or new degrees of freedom are excited. We compare the results with those previously obtained for the operators \O_W and \O_{UW} and we discuss their implications for direct and indirect tests at present and future colliders. The present treatment completes the study of the unitarity constraints for all blind bosonic operators.Comment: 41 pages, latex file. PM 94-28 THES-TP 94-0

On the Interpretation of the Electroweak Precision Data

The recent precision electroweak data on $\Gamma^l, \bar s^2_W$ and $M_W/M_Z$ are compared with the tree-level and the dominant-fermion-loop as well as the full one-loop standard-model predictions. While the tree-level predictions are ruled out, the dominant-fermion-loop predictions, defined by using $\alpha (M^2_Z)\cong 1/128.9$ in the tree-level formulae, as well as the full one-loop predictions are consistent with the experimental data. Deviations from the dominant-fermion-loop predictions are quantified in terms of an effective Lagrangian containing three additional parameters which have a simple meaning in terms of $SU(2)$ symmetry violation. The effective Lagrangian yields the standard one-loop predictions for specific values of these parameters, which are determined by $m_t$ and $m_H$.Comment: Preprint BI-TP 93/46 (September 1993), to be published in Phys. Lett. B, LaTeX, 10 pages, (figures are not included

A FORTRAN code for γγ→ZZ\gamma \gamma \to Z Z in SM and MSSM

Through the present paper, the code gamgamZZ is presented, which may be used to calculate all possible observables related to the process $\gamma \gamma \to ZZ$, in either the Standard Model (SM), or the minimal sypersymmetric standard model (MSSM) with real parameters.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures Revised according to the EPJC Referee suggestion

Probing the Weak Boson Sector in γe→Ze\gamma e\rightarrow Ze

We study possible deviations from the standard model in the reaction $\gamma e\rightarrow Ze$ at a 500 GeV $e^+e^-$ collider. As a photon source we use a laser backscattered photon beam. We investigate the most general $\gamma Z\gamma$ and $\gamma ZZ$ vertices including operators up to energy-dimension-six which are Lorentz invariant. These vertices require four extra parameters; two are CP-conserving, $h^\gamma_1$ and $h^Z_1$, and two are CP-violating, $h^\gamma_2$ and $h^Z_2$. We present analytical expressions of the helicity amplitudes for the process $\gamma e\rightarrow Ze$ for arbitrary values of anomalous couplings. Assuming Standard Model values are actually measured we present the allowed region in the ($h^\gamma_1,h^Z_1$) plane at the 90\% confidence level. We then show how the angular correlation of the $Z$ decay products can be used to extract detailed information on the anomalous (especially CP-violating) $\gamma Z\gamma$ and $\gamma ZZ$ couplings.Comment: Latex, 25 pages, 12 figures (not included). One compressed postscript file including all the figures available at ftp://ftp.kek.jp/kek/preprints/TH/TH-420/kekth420.ps.g

QCD Corrections to Electroweak Vector Boson Scattering at Small Scattering Angles

We investigate the role of a certain class of QCD corrections to electroweak vector boson scattering at small scattering angles and large energies. These are present since, from the perturbative analysis, the vector bosons may dissociate into quark-antiquark pairs giving rise to colour dipoles interacting through gluon exchanges. After the computation of the vector boson impact factors, we present expressions for the lowest order QCD scattering amplitude and for the leading logarithmic BFKL amplitude. Particularly we discuss numerical results for the process $\gamma\gamma\to ZZ$. The QCD corrections to the cross section resulting from the interference with the electroweak ones are estimated and compared with the leading pure electroweak part. Corrections resulting from the leading log BFKL amplitude are of the order of few percent already at the $0.5 - 1$ TeV energy range.Comment: 21 pages,9 figures, discussion on the helicity-flip impact factors added, typos correcte

New Physics Signatures in Dijets at Hadron Colliders

We show how to detect and disentangle at the upgraded Tevatron and at LHC, the effects of the three purely gluonic $dim=6$ $SU(3)\times SU(2) \times U(1)$ CP-conserving and CP-violating gauge invariant operators \ol{\O}_{DG}, \O_G and \wtil{\O}_{G}. These operators are inevitably generated by New Physics (NP), if the heavy particles responsible for it are coloured. We establish the relations between their coupling constants and the corresponding NP scales defined through the unitarity relations. We then study the sensitivity and limits obtainable through production processes involving one or two jets, and express these limits in terms of the NP scales implied by unitarity. A detailed comparison with the results of the studies of the analogous electroweak operators, is also made.Comment: 19 pages and 3 figures, version to appear in Phys.ReV.D. e-mail: [email protected]