Search for rare and exotic Higgs Boson decay modes

Junquan Tao

doi:10.1051/epjconf/201818202123

Abstract

The latest results in the search for rare and exotic Higgs boson decays in proton-proton collision events collected with the CMS detector at the LHC are presented. The searches are performed for several decay modes of Higgs boson including H → X(X → 2ℓ)γ (X = Z, γ* and ℓ = e, μ), H → μμ=ee, invisible decays, lepton flavour violating decays and Higgs decay to light scalars or pseudo-scalars. No hint for new physics has been found from the analyzed results with the full LHC run-1 data collected during 2011 and 2012 at √s = 7-8 TeV and with the run-2 data at √s = 13 TeV collected during 2015 and 2016. Limits are set for all the searches which have been performed by CMS.

Highlights

The discovery of the Higgs boson with a mass of 125.09 ± 0.24 GeV [1,2,3] at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has generated great interest in exploring its properties
The searches are performed for an extensive set of decay modes of Higgs boson including H → X(X → 2 )γ (X = Z, γ∗ and = e, μ), H → μμ/ee, invisible decays, lepton flavour violating decays and Higgs decay√to light scalars or pseudo-scalars, with the fu√ll LHC run-1 data collected during 2011 and 2012 at s = 7 − 8 TeV and with the run2 data at s = 13 TeV collected during 2015 and 2016
This paper summarizes the most recent search for a Higgs boson in the H → Zγ final state at the LHC in the 120 − 160 GeV mass range, with the Z boson decaying into an electron or a muon pair [10]

Summary

Introduction

The discovery of the Higgs boson with a mass of 125.09 ± 0.24 GeV [1,2,3] at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has generated great interest in exploring its properties. This paper summarizes the most recent search for a Higgs boson in the H → Zγ final state at the LHC in the 120 − 160 GeV mass range, with the Z boson decaying into an electron or a muon pair [10]. This is a clean final-state topology with an effective mass peak resolution of about 1-3%. No excess above standard model predictions has been found in the 120–160 GeV mass range and the first limits on the Higgs boson production cross section times the H → Zγ branching fraction at the LHC have been derived, as shown in the right plot of Fig. 1. For a standard model Higgs boson mass of 125 GeV the expected limit at the 95% confidence level is 10 and the observed limit is 9.5

Background

Invisible decays

Lepton flavour violating decays

Decay to light scalars or pseudo-scalars

Summary