High scale impact in alignment and decoupling in two-Higgs doublet models

The two-Higgs doublet model (2HDM) provides an excellent benchmark to study physics beyond the Standard Model (SM). In this work we discuss how the behaviour of the model at high energy scales causes it to have a scalar with properties very similar to those of the SM -- which means the 2HDM can be seen to naturally favor a decoupling or alignment limit. For a type II 2HDM, we show that requiring the model to be theoretically valid up to a scale of 1 TeV, by studying the renormalization group equations (RGE) of the parameters of the model, causes a significant reduction in the allowed magnitude of the quartic couplings. This, combined with $B$-physics bounds, forces the model to be naturally decoupled. As a consequence, any non-decoupling limits in type II, like the wrong-sign scenario, are excluded. On the contrary, even with the very constraining limits for the Higgs couplings from the LHC, the type I model can deviate substantially from alignment. An RGE analysis similar to that made for type II shows, however, that requiring a single scalar to be heavier than about 500 GeV would be sufficient for the model to be decoupled. Finally, we show that not only a 2HDM where the lightest of the CP-even scalars is the 125 GeV one does not require new physics to be stable up to the Planck scale but this is also true when the heavy CP-even Higgs is the 125 GeV and the theory has no decoupling limit for the type I model.Comment: 28 pages, 19 figure

Two-Loop O(αt2){\cal O}(\alpha_t^2) Corrections to the Neutral Higgs Boson Masses in the CP-Violating NMSSM

We present our calculation of the two-loop corrections of ${\cal O}(\alpha_t^2)$ to the neutral Higgs boson masses of the CP-violating Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (NMSSM). The calculation is performed in the Feynman diagrammatic approach in the gaugeless limit at vanishing external momentum. We apply a mixed $\overline{\mathrm{DR}}$-on-shell (OS) renormalization scheme for the NMSSM input parameters. Furthermore, we exploit a $\overline{\mathrm{DR}}$ as well as an OS renormalization in the top/stop sector. The corrections are implemented in the Fortran code NMSSMCALC for the calculation of the Higgs spectrum both in the CP-conserving and CP-violating NMSSM. The code also provides the Higgs boson decays including the state-of-the-art higher-order corrections. The corrections computed in this work improve the already available corrections in NMSSMCALC which are the full one-loop corrections without any approximation and the two-loop ${\cal O}(\alpha_t \alpha_s)$ corrections in the gaugeless limit and at vanishing external momentum. Depending on the chosen parameter point, we find that the ${\cal O}(\alpha_t \alpha_s + \alpha_t^2)$ corrections add about 4-7% to the one-loop mass of the SM-like Higgs boson for $\overline{\mathrm{DR}}$ renormalization in the top/stop sector and they reduce the mass by about 6-9% if OS renormalization is applied. For an estimate of the theoretical uncertainty we vary the renormalization scale and change the renormalization scheme and show that care has to be taken in the corresponding interpretation

Showcasing HH production: Benchmarks for the (HL-)LHC

Current projections suggest that the LHC will have only limited sensitivity to di-Higgs production in the Standard Model (SM), possibly even after the completion of its high luminosity phase. Multi-Higgs final states play a fundamental role in many extensions of the SM as they are intrinsically sensitive to modifications of the Higgs sector. Therefore, any new observation in multi-Higgs final states could be linked to a range of beyond the SM (BSM) phenomena that are not sufficiently addressed by the SM. Extensions of the Higgs sector typically lead to new phenomenological signatures in multi-Higgs final states that are vastly different from the SM expectation. In this work, we provide a range of signature-driven benchmark points for resonant and non-resonant BSM di-Higgs production that motivate non-SM kinematic correlations and multi-fermion discovery channels. Relying on theoretically well-motivated assumptions, special attention is devoted to the particular case where the presence of new physics will dominantly manifest itself in multi-Higgs final states

Determining the CP properties of the Higgs boson

The search and the probe of the fundamental properties of Higgs boson(s) and, in particular, the determination of their charge conjugation and parity (CP) quantum numbers, is one of the main tasks of future high-energy colliders. We demonstrate that the CP properties of a Standard Model-like Higgs particle can be unambiguously assessed by measuring just the total cross section and the top polarization in associated Higgs production with top quark pairs in e+e- collisions.Comment: 4 pages, revtex, uses axodraw (style file included in the submission

Singlet extended standard model in the context of split supersymmetry

We consider a low-energy effective theory of the next-to-minimal supersymmetric Standard Model by decoupling all scalar states except one Higgs doublet and the complex gauge singlet. The mass spectrum of the resulting singlet extended Standard Model is calculated from two different perspectives: (i) using a matching of the scalar sectors at next-to-leading order and (ii) using the simplified-model approach of calculating the masses in the effective theory at fixed order at the weak scale ignoring any connection to the full theory. Significant deviations between the two methods are found not only in the scalar sector, but also properties of the additional fermions can be very different. Thus, only a small part of the parameter space of the simplified model can be embedded in a well-motivated supersymmetry framework

Electroweak phase transitions with BSM fermions

We study the impact of additional beyond-the-Standard Model (BSM) fermions, charged under the Standard Model (SM) SU(2)$_L$ ⊗ U(1)$_Y$ gauge group, on the electroweak phase transition (EWPT) in a 2-Higgs-Doublet-Model (2HDM) of type II. We find that the strength of the EWPT can be enhanced by about 40% compared to the default 2HDM. Therefore, additional light fermions are a useful tool to weaken the tension between increasing mass constraints on BSM scalars and the requirement of additional light scalar degrees of freedom to accommodate a strong first order EWPT. The findings are of particular interest for a variety of (non-minimal) split supersymmetry scenarios which necessarily introduce additional light fermion degrees of freedom

Two-loop contributions of the order O alpha t alpha s to the masses of the Higgs bosons in the CP-violating NMSSM

We provide the two-loop corrections to the Higgs boson masses of the CP-violating NMSSM in the Feynman diagrammatic approach with vanishing external momentum at O alpha t alpha s. The adopted renormalization scheme is a mixture between DR¯$$\overline{\mathrm{DR}}$$ and on-shell conditions. Additionally, the renormalization of the top/stop sector is provided both for the DR¯$$\overline{\mathrm{DR}}$$ and the on-shell scheme. The calculation is performed in the gaugeless limit. We find that the two-loop corrections compared to the one-loop corrections are of the order of 5-10%, depending on the top/stop renormalization scheme. The theoretical error on the Higgs boson masses is reduced due to the inclusion of these higher order corrections