New Light H± Discovery Channels at the LHC

A light charged Higgs boson has been searched for at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) via top (anti)quark decay, i.e., t→bH+, if kinematically allowed. In this contribution, we propose new channels for light charged Higgs boson searches via the pair productions pp→H±h/A and pp→H+H− at the LHC in the context of the Two-Higgs Doublet Model (2HDM) Type-I. By focusing on a case where the heavy H state is the Standard Model (SM)-like one already observed, we investigate the production of the aforementioned charged Higgs bosons and their bosonic decay channels, namely, H±→W±h and/or H±→W±A. We demonstrate that such production and decay channels can yield substantial alternative discovery channels for H± bosons at the LHC. Finally, we propose eight benchmark points (BPs) to motivate the search for such signatures.

Analysis of W± + 4γ in the 2HDM Type-I at the LHC

We analyse a light charged Higgs boson in the 2-Higgs Doublet Model (2HDM) Type-I, when its mass satisfies the condition MH±< Mt + Mb and the parameter space is consistent with theoretical requirements of self-consistency as well as the latest experimental constraints from Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and other data. Over such a parameter space, wherein the Standard Model (SM)-like state discovered at the LHC in 2012 is the heaviest CP-even state of the 2HDM, it is found that the decay modes of the charged Higgs boson are dominated by H±→ W±(∗)h. Furthermore, the light neutral Higgs boson h dominantly decays into two photons. Under these conditions, we find that the production and decay process pp → H±h → W±(∗)hh → ℓνℓ + 4γ (ℓ = e, μ) is essentially background free. However, since the W±(∗) could be largely off-shell and the h state is very light, so that both the lepton coming from the former and the photons coming from the latter could be rather soft, we perform here a full Monte Carlo (MC) analysis at the detector level demonstrating that such a W± + 4γ signal is very promising, as it would be yielding significant excesses at the LHC with an integrated luminosity of L = 300 fb−1 at both $$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 13 and 14 TeV.

New discovery modes for a light charged Higgs boson at the LHC

At the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), both the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations have been searching for light charged Higgs bosons via top (anti)quark production and decays channels, like pp → t$$ \overline{t} $$ t ¯ with one top (anti)quark decaying into a charged Higgs boson and a b (anti)quark, when the decay is kinematically open (i.e., when $$ {m}_{H^{\pm }} $$ m H ± ≲ mt). In this paper, we propose new searches at the LHC involving light charged Higgs bosons via their pair production channels like pp → H±h/A and pp → H+H− in the 2-Higgs Doublet Model (2HDM) Type-I and -X scenarios. By focusing on the case where the heavy H state plays the role of the Standard Model (SM)-like Higgs boson with a mass near 125 GeV, we study the aforementioned Higgs boson pair production channels and investigate their bosonic decays, such as H± → W±h and/or H± → W±A. We demonstrate that for a light charged Higgs boson state, with $$ {m}_{H^{\pm }} $$ m H ± ≲ mt, at the LHC, such di-Higgs production and decay channels can give rise to signatures with event rates much larger than those emerging from pp → t$$ \overline{t} $$ t ¯ → t$$ \overline{b} $$ b ¯ H− + c.c. We specifically study h/A → b$$ \overline{b} $$ b ¯ and τ+τ− decays. We, therefore, claim that the discussed combination of new production and decay modes can result in an alternative discovery channel for charged Higgs bosons lighter than the top (anti)quark at the LHC within the above two 2HDM Types. Finally, in order to motivate experimentalists in ATLAS and CMS to search for such signatures, we propose 16 Benchmark Points (BPs) which are compatible with both theoretical and experimental constraints.

Physical constraints derived from FCNC in the 3-3-1-1 model

We investigate several phenomena related to FCNCs in the $$\text {3-3-1-1}$$ 3-3-1-1 model. The sources of FCNCs at the tree-level from both the gauge and Higgs sectors are clarified. Experiments on the oscillation of mesons most stringently constrain the tree-level FCNCs. The lower bound on the new physics scale is imposed more tightly than in the previous, $$\text {M}_{\text {new}}>12 $$ M new > 12 TeV. Under this bound, the tree-level FCNCs make a negligible contribution to the $$\text {Br}(B_s \rightarrow \mu ^+ \mu ^-)$$ Br ( B s → μ + μ - ) , $$\text {Br}(B \rightarrow K^{*} \mu ^+ \mu ^-)$$ Br ( B → K ∗ μ + μ - ) and $$\text {Br}(B^{+}\rightarrow K^{+}\mu ^{+}\mu ^{-})$$ Br ( B + → K + μ + μ - ) . The branching ratio of radiative decay $$b \rightarrow s \gamma $$ b → s γ is enhanced by the ratio $$\frac{v}{u}$$ v u via diagrams with the charged Higgs mediation. In contrast, the charged currents of new gauge bosons significantly contribute to the decay process $$\mu \rightarrow e \gamma $$ μ → e γ .

Charged Higgs effects in IceCube: PeV events and NSIs

Extensions of the Standard Model with charged Higgs, having a non-negligible coupling with neutrinos, can have interesting implications vis-à-vis neutrino experiments. Such models can leave their footprints not only in the ultra-high energy neutrino detectors like IceCube but can also give rise to the neutrino non-standard interactions (NSIs). We consider a model based on the neutrinophilic two-Higgs doublets and study its imprints in the excess neutrino events in the 1–3 PeV energy bins at the IceCube. This is facilitated by the existence of a charged scalar in the model which can result in a Glashow-like resonance. The same charged scalar can be responsible for sizeable NSIs. We perform a combined study of the latest IceCube data along with various other constraints arising from different neutrino experiments together with the limits set by the LEP experiment, and explore the parameter space which can lead to a sizeable NSI.

Search for charged Higgs bosons produced in vector boson fusion processes and decaying into vector boson pairs in proton–proton collisions at $$\sqrt{s} = 13\,{\text {TeV}} $$

A search for charged Higgs bosons produced in vector boson fusion processes and decaying into vector bosons, using proton–proton collisions at $$\sqrt{s}=13\,{\text {TeV}} $$ s = 13 TeV at the LHC, is reported. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 137$$\,{\text {fb}}^{-1}$$ fb - 1 collected with the CMS detector. Events are selected by requiring two or three electrons or muons, moderate missing transverse momentum, and two jets with a large rapidity separation and a large dijet mass. No excess of events with respect to the standard model background predictions is observed. Model independent upper limits at 95% confidence level are reported on the product of the cross section and branching fraction for vector boson fusion production of charged Higgs bosons as a function of mass, from 200 to 3000$$\,{\text {GeV}}$$ GeV . The results are interpreted in the context of the Georgi–Machacek model.