Search

The codes HiggsBounds and HiggsSignals compare model predictions of BSM models with extended scalar sectors to searches for additional scalars and to measurements of the detected Higgs boson at 125 GeV. We present a unification and extension of the functionalities provided by both codes into the new HiggsTools framework. The codes have been re-written in modern C++ with native Python and Mathematica interfaces for easy interactive use. We discuss the user interface for providing model predictions, now part of the new sub-library HiggsPredictions, which also provides access to many cross sections and branching ratios for reference models such as the SM. HiggsBounds now implements experimental limits purely through json data files, can better handle clusters of BSM particles of similar masses (even for complicated search topologies), and features an improved handling of mass uncertainties. Moreover, it now contains an extended list of Higgs-boson pair production searches and doubly-charged Higgs boson searches. In HiggsSignals, the treatment of different types of measurements has been unified, both in the $\chi^2$ computation and in the data file format used to implement experimental results., Comment: 35 pages, 6 figures, code available at https://gitlab.com/higgsbounds/higgstools; v2: matches published version

The program HiggsBounds is a well-established tool for testing Beyond-the-Standard Model (BSM) theories with an extended Higgs sector against experimental limits from collider searches at LEP, Tevatron and LHC. Thus far, it could be applied to any neutral or charged Higgs bosons originating from the modified Higgs sector. Implicitly, these particles were assumed to exhibit a somewhat hierarchical Yukawa structure as present in the Standard Model, where in particular the couplings to first generation fermions could be neglected. In this work, we extend the HiggsBounds functionalities to go beyond these restrictions, thus making the code applicable to any neutral or charged BSM scalars. Moreover, we develop a new approach to implement experimental searches whose kinematic acceptance depends significantly on the values of the involved couplings. We achieve this by recasting the searches to general scalar models. Using this approach we incorporate relevant current experimental limits from LHC searches for exotic scalars, and present the implications of these limits for a dark matter scalar mediator model, a flipped Two-Higgs-Doublet Model and a supersymmetric model with R-parity violation., Comment: 28 pages, 7 figures, the FeynRules implementation of the generic scalar model is included as an ancillary file; v2: matches version published in EPJC

The statistical models used to derive the results of experimental analyses are of incredible scientific value and are essential information for analysis preservation and reuse. In this paper, we make the scientific case for systematically publishing the full statistical models and discuss the technical developments that make this practical. By means of a variety of physics cases -- including parton distribution functions, Higgs boson measurements, effective field theory interpretations, direct searches for new physics, heavy flavor physics, direct dark matter detection, world averages, and beyond the Standard Model global fits -- we illustrate how detailed information on the statistical modelling can enhance the short- and long-term impact of experimental results., Comment: 60 pages, 15 figures

The presence of charged Higgs bosons is a generic prediction of multiplet extensions of the Standard Model (SM) Higgs sector. Focusing on the Two-Higgs-Doublet-Model (2HDM), we discuss the charged Higgs boson collider phenomenology in the theoretically and experimentally viable parameter space. While almost all existing experimental searches at the LHC target the fermionic decays of charged Higgs bosons, we point out that the bosonic decay channels -- especially the decay into a non-SM-like Higgs boson and a $W$ boson -- often dominate over the fermionic channels. Moreover, we revisit two genuine BSM effects on the properties of the discovered Higgs boson -- the charged Higgs contribution to the diphoton rate and the Higgs decay to two light Higgs bosons -- and their implication for the charged Higgs boson phenomenology. As main result of the present paper, we propose five two-dimensional benchmark scenarios with distinct phenomenological features in order to facilitate the design of dedicated LHC searches for charged Higgs bosons decaying into a $W$ boson and a light, non-SM-like Higgs boson., Comment: 57 pages, 26 figures, data tables for cross sections and benchmark scenarios included as ancillary files, updated text to match journal version; fixed issue in calculation of HpmWmp XS, conclusions unchanged

The program HiggsSignals confronts the predictions of models with arbitrary Higgs sectors with the available Higgs signal rate and mass measurements, resulting in a likelihood estimate. A new version of the program, HiggsSignals-2, is presented that contains various improvements in its functionality and applicability. In particular, the new features comprise improvements in the theoretical input framework and the handling of possible complexities of beyond-the-SM Higgs sectors, as well as the incorporation of experimental results in the form of Simplified Template Cross Section (STXS) measurements. The new functionalities are explained, and a thorough discussion of the possible statistical interpretations of the HiggsSignals results is provided. The performance of HiggsSignals is illustrated for some example analyses. In this context the importance of public information on certain experimental details like efficiencies and uncertainty correlations is pointed out. HiggsSignals is continuously updated to the latest experimental results and can be obtained at https://www.gitlab.com/higgsbounds/higgssignals ., Comment: 62 pages, 13 Figures

We present the public code ScannerS-2 that performs parameter scans and checks parameter points in theories beyond the Standard Model (BSM) with extended scalar sectors. ScannerS incorporates theoretical and experimental constraints from many different sources in order to judge whether a parameter point is allowed or excluded at approximately 95% CL. The BSM models implemented in ScannerS include many popular BSM models such as singlet extensions, different versions of the Two-Higgs-Doublet Model, or the different phases of the Next-to Two-Higgs-Doublet Model. The ScannerS framework allows straightforward extensions by additional constraints and BSM models., Comment: 31 pages, ScannerS is available at https://gitlab.com/jonaswittbrodt/ScannerS

We describe recent developments of the public computer code HiggsBounds. In particular, these include the incorporation of LHC Higgs search results from Run 2 at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, and an updated and extended framework for the theoretical input that accounts for improved Higgs cross section and branching ratio predictions and new search channels. We furthermore discuss an improved method used in HiggsBounds to approximately reconstruct the exclusion likelihood for LHC searches for non-standard Higgs bosons decaying to $\tau\tau$ final states. We describe in detail the new and updated functionalities of the new version HiggsBounds-5., Comment: 42 pages, 4 figures, HiggsBounds is available at https://gitlab.com/higgsbounds/higgsbounds

We discuss the dark phases of the Next-to-2-Higgs Doublet model. The model is an extension of the Standard Model with an extra doublet and an extra singlet that has four distinct CP-conserving phases, three of which provide dark matter candidates. We discuss in detail the vacuum structure of the different phases and the issue of stability at tree-level of each phase. Taking into account the most relevant experimental and theoretical constraints, we found that there are combinations of measurements at the Large Hadron Collider that could single out a specific phase. The measurement of $h_{125} \to \gamma \gamma$ together with the discovery of a new scalar with specific rates to $\tau^+ \tau^-$ or $\gamma \gamma$ could exclude some phases and point to a specific phase., Comment: 26 pages, 7 figures

We report on the status of efforts to improve the reinterpretation of searches and measurements at the LHC in terms of models for new physics, in the context of the LHC Reinterpretation Forum. We detail current experimental offerings in direct searches for new particles, measurements, technical implementations and Open Data, and provide a set of recommendations for further improving the presentation of LHC results in order to better enable reinterpretation in the future. We also provide a brief description of existing software reinterpretation frameworks and recent global analyses of new physics that make use of the current data., Comment: 58 pages, minor revision following comments from SciPost referees

We investigate the LHC phenomenology of a model where the Standard Model (SM) scalar sector is extended by two real scalar singlets. A $\mathbb{Z}_2\otimes\mathbb{Z}_2'$ discrete symmetry is imposed to reduce the number of scalar potential parameters, which is spontaneously broken by the vacuum expectation values of the singlet fields. As a result, all three neutral scalar fields mix, leading to three neutral CP-even scalar bosons, out of which one is identified with the observed Higgs boson at 125 GeV. We explore all relevant collider signatures of the three scalars in this model. Besides the single production of a scalar boson decaying directly to SM particle final states, we extensively discuss the possibility of resonant multi-scalar production. The latter includes decays of the produced scalar boson to two identical scalars ("symmetric decays"), as well as to two different scalars ("asymmetric decays"). Furthermore, we discuss the possibility of successive decays to the lightest scalar states ("cascade decays"), which lead to experimentally spectacular three- and four-Higgs final states. We provide six benchmark scenarios for detailed experimental studies of these Higgs-to-Higgs decay signatures., Comment: 36 pages, 15 figures, data for the benchmark scenarios available upon request, text updated to match published version

The Higgs sector of the Next-to-Minimal Two-Higgs-Doublet Model (N2HDM) is obtained from the Two-Higgs-Doublet Model (2HDM) containing two complex Higgs doublets, by adding a real singlet field. In this paper, we analyse the vacuum structure of the N2HDM with respect to the possibility of vacuum instabilities. We show that while one type of charge- and CP-preserving vacuum cannot coexist with deeper charge- or CP-breaking minima, there is another type of vacuum whose stability is endangered by the possible occurrence of deeper charge- and CP-breaking minima. Analytical expressions relating the depth of different vacua are deduced. Parameter scans of the model are carried out that illustrate the regions of parameter space here the vacuum is either stable or metastable as well as the regions where tunnelling to deeper vacua gives rise to a too short lifetime of the vacuum. Taking other experimental and theoretical constraints into account, we find that the vacuum stability constraints have an important impact on the phenomenology of the N2HDM., Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables

We present a fast and efficient method for studying vacuum stability constraints in multi-scalar theories beyond the Standard Model. This method is designed for a reliable use in large scale parameter scans. The minimization of the scalar potential is done with the well-known polynomial homotopy continuation, and the decay rate of a false vacuum in a multi-scalar theory is estimated by an exact solution of the bounce action in the one-field case. We compare to more precise calculations of the tunnelling path at the tree- and one-loop level and find good agreement for the resulting constraints on the parameter space. Numerical stability, runtime and reliability are significantly improved compared to approaches existing in the literature. This procedure is applied to several phenomenologically interesting benchmark scenarios defined in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. We utilize our efficient approach to study the impact of simultaneously varying multiple fields and illustrate the importance of correctly identifying the most dangerous minimum among the minima that are deeper than the electroweak vacuum., Comment: 36 pages, 13 figures, updated Delta_tau corrections and FeynHiggs version, added references, conclusions unchanged

We discuss the phenomenology of several Beyond the Standard Model (SM) extensions that include extended Higgs sectors. The models discussed are: the SM extended by a complex singlet field (CxSM), the 2-Higgs-Doublet Model with a CP-conserving (2HDM) and a CP-violating (C2HDM) scalar sector, the singlet extension of the 2-Higgs-Doublet Model (N2HDM), and the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric SM extension (NMSSM). All the above models have at least three neutral scalars, with one being the 125 GeV Higgs boson. This common feature allows us to compare the production and decay rates of the other two scalars and therefore to compare their behaviour at future electron-positron colliders. Using predictions on the expected precision of the 125 GeV Higgs boson couplings at these colliders we are able to obtain the allowed admixtures of either a singlet or a pseudoscalar to the observed 125 GeV scalar. Therefore, even if no new scalar is found, the expected precision at future electron-positron colliders, such as CLIC, will certainly contribute to a clearer picture of the nature of the discovered Higgs boson., Comment: 25 pages, 11 figures

We build a model containing two scalar doublets and a scalar singlet with a specific discrete symmetry. After spontaneous symmetry breaking, the model has Standard Model-like phenomenology, as well as a hidden scalar sector which provides a viable dark matter candidate. We show that CP violation in the scalar sector occurs exclusively in the hidden sector, and consider possible experimental signatures of this CP violation., Comment: v2: 14 pages, 7 figures, revised calculation

The program N2HDECAY calculates the branching ratios and decay widths of the Higgs bosons of the Next-to-Two-Higgs-Doublet Model (N2HDM). The code incorporates the dominant higher-order effects by including QCD corrections and off-shell decay modes. The N2HDM is an extension of the Standard Model by a Higgs doublet and a real Higgs singlet. Its phenomenology can change dramatically depending on which global symmetries are broken by electroweak symmetry breaking. It can feature a large visible Higgs sector in the broken phase, behave like a 2HDM with scalar singlet dark matter in the dark singlet phase, or, in the inert doublet phase, extend an inert doublet model by mixing a singlet with the SM Higgs boson. N2HDECAY provides precise predictions for the decays of the Higgs bosons in all of these phases., Comment: 24 pages, no figures. N2HDECAY is available at https://gitlab.com/jonaswittbrodt/N2HDECAY as source code

The complex two-Higgs doublet model is one of the simplest ways to extend the scalar sector of the Standard Model to include a new source of CP-violation. The model has been used as a benchmark model to search for CP-violation at the LHC and as a possible explanation for the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the Universe. In this work, we re-analyse in full detail the softly broken $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetric complex two-Higgs doublet model (C2HDM). We provide the code C2HDM_HDECAY implementing the C2HDM in the well-known HDECAY program which calculates the decay widths including the state-of-the-art higher order QCD corrections and the relevant off-shell decays. Using C2HDM_HDECAY together with the most relevant theoretical and experimental constraints, including electric dipole moments (EDMs), we review the parameter space of the model and discuss its phenomenology. In particular, we find cases where large CP-odd couplings to fermions are still allowed and provide benchmark points for these scenarios. We examine the prospects of discovering CP-violation at the LHC and show how theoretically motivated measures of CP-violation correlate with observables., Comment: 40 pages, 19 figures

We investigate the strength of the electroweak phase transition (EWPT) within the CP-violating 2-Higgs-Doublet Model (C2HDM). By applying a renormalisation scheme which allows efficient scans of the C2HDM parameter space, we analyse the possibility of a strong first order EWPT required for baryogenesis and study its phenomenological implications for the LHC. Like in the CP-conserving (real) 2HDM (R2HDM) we find that a strong EWPT favours mass gaps between the non-SM-like Higgs bosons. These lead to prominent final states comprised of gauge+Higgs bosons or pairs of Higgs bosons. In contrast to the R2HDM, the CP-mixing of the C2HDM also favours approximately mass degenerate spectra with dominant decays into SM particles. The requirement of a strong EWPT further allows us to distinguish the C2HDM from the R2HDM using the signal strengths of the SM-like Higgs boson. We additionally find that a strong EWPT requires an enhancement of the SM-like trilinear Higgs coupling at next-to-leading order (NLO) by up to a factor of 2.4 compared to the NLO SM coupling, establishing another link between cosmology and collider phenomenology. We provide several C2HDM benchmark scenarios compatible with a strong EWPT and all experimental and theoretical constraints. We include the dominant branching ratios of the non-SM-like Higgs bosons as well as the Higgs pair production cross section of the SM-like Higgs boson for every benchmark point. The pair production cross sections can be substantially enhanced compared to the SM and could be observable at the high-luminosity LHC, allowing access to the trilinear Higgs couplings.

We point out the importance of the decay channels $A\to Zh$ and $H\to VV$ in the wrong-sign limit of the Two-Higgs-Doublet Model (2HDM) of type II. They can be the dominant decay modes at moderate values of $\tan\beta$, even if the (pseudo)scalar mass is above the threshold where the decay into a pair of top quarks is kinematically open. Accordingly, large cross sections $pp\to A\to Zh$ and $pp\to H\to VV$ are obtained and currently probed by the LHC experiments, yielding conclusive statements about the remaining parameter space of the wrong-sign limit. In addition, mild excesses - as recently found in the ATLAS analysis $b\bar b \to A\to Zh$ - could be explained. The wrong-sign limit makes other important testable predictions for the light Higgs boson couplings., Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, v2: journal version

The N2HDM is based on the CP-conserving 2HDM extended by a real scalar singlet field. Its enlarged parameter space and its fewer symmetry conditions as compared to supersymmetric models allow for an interesting phenomenology compatible with current experimental constraints, while adding to the 2HDM sector the possibility of Higgs-to-Higgs decays with three different Higgs bosons. In this paper the N2HDM is subjected to detailed scrutiny. Regarding the theoretical constraints we implement tests of tree-level perturbativity and vacuum stability. Moreover, we present, for the first time, a thorough analysis of the global minimum of the N2HDM. The model and the theoretical constraints have been implemented in ScannerS, and we provide N2HDECAY, a code based on HDECAY, for the computation of the N2HDM branching ratios and total widths including the state-of-the-art higher order QCD corrections and off-shell decays. We then perform an extensive parameter scan in the N2HDM parameter space, with all theoretical and experimental constraints applied, and analyse its allowed regions. We find that large singlet admixtures are still compatible with the Higgs data and investigate which observables will allow to restrict the singlet nature most effectively in the next runs of the LHC. Similarly to the 2HDM, the N2HDM exhibits a wrong-sign parameter regime, which will be constrained by future Higgs precision measurements., Comment: 36 pages, 11 figures, 6 tables. The N2HDECAY code and documentation can be found at https://gitlab.com/jonaswittbrodt/N2HDECAY . The N2HDM scan model implementation in ScannerS can be found at http://scanners.hepforge.org/ . Fixed typos in the conditions for boundedness and perturbative unitarity