NMSSM Research Articles

General NMSSM signatures at the LHC

We study the possible LHC collider signatures in the next-to-minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM). The general NMSSM consists of 29 supersymmetric (SUSY) particles which can be mass ordered in $29! \simeq 9 \cdot 10^{30}$ ways. To reduce the number of hierarchies to a more manageable amount we assume a degeneracy of the sfermions of the first two generations with the same quantum numbers. Further assumptions about the neutralino and chargino masses leave 15 unrelated parameters. We check all $15! \approx 10^{12}$ relevant mass orderings for the dominant decay chains and the corresponding collider signatures at the LHC. As preferred signatures, we consider charged leptons, missing transverse momentum, jets, and W, Z or Higgs bosons. We present the results for three different choices of the singlet to Higgs coupling $\lambda$: (a) small: $O(\lambda)< O(Y_{\tau})$, (b) large: $O(\lambda)\simeq O(Y_{top},Y_b, Y_\tau)$ and (c) dominant: $O(\lambda)>O(Y_{top})$. We compare these three scenarios with the MSSM expectations as well as among each other. We also mention a possible mass hierarchy leading to 7 jets plus 1 lepton signatures at the LHC and comment briefly on the consequence of possible R-parity violation.

Light stop/sbottom pair production searches in the NMSSM

In this work, we study the constraints on the scenario of light stops and sbottoms in the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model (NMSSM), especially by a 125 GeV Higgs boson discovery and the LHC bounds on supersymmetry. The constraints from dark matter detections are also taken into account. From the parameter scan, we find that the NMSSM can well accommodate a light Higgs boson around 125 GeV and decay patterns. We would like to stress that the LHC direct supersymmetry searches with b tagging are very powerful and can set strong bounds on many NMSSM parameter points with light stops and sbottoms. We find $\stackrel{\texttildelow{}}{t}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}b{\stackrel{\texttildelow{}}{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{1}^{+}$ is a very promising channel for light stop detection if the mass splitting between ${\stackrel{\texttildelow{}}{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{1}^{+}$ and ${\stackrel{\texttildelow{}}{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{1}^{0}$ is very small. It is also pointed out that in order to close the parameter space of light stops and sbottoms, new search strategies for signal channels such as $pp\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\stackrel{\texttildelow{}}{t}}_{1}{\stackrel{\texttildelow{}}{t}}_{1}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}t\overline{t}hh{\stackrel{\texttildelow{}}{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{1}^{0}{\stackrel{\texttildelow{}}{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{1}^{0}$ and $pp\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\stackrel{\texttildelow{}}{b}}_{1}{\stackrel{\texttildelow{}}{b}}_{1}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}t\overline{t}{W}^{+}{W}^{\ensuremath{-}}{\stackrel{\texttildelow{}}{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{1}^{0}{\stackrel{\texttildelow{}}{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{1}^{0}$ may be necessary.

Natural NMSSM Higgs bosons

We study the phenomenology of Higgs bosons close to 126 GeV within the scale invariant unconstrained Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM), focusing on the regions of parameter space favoured by low fine-tuning considerations, namely stop masses of order 400 GeV to 1 TeV and an effective μ parameter between 100–200 GeV, with large (but perturbative) λ and low tanβ=2–4. We perform scans over the above parameter space, focusing on the observable Higgs cross sections into γγ, WW, ZZ, bb, ττ final states, and study the correlations between these observables. We show that the γγ signal strength may be enhanced up to a factor of about two not only due to the effect of singlet–doublet mixing, which occurs more often when the 126 GeV Higgs boson is the next-to-lightest CP-even one, but also due to light stops (and to a lesser extent light chargino and charged Higgs loops). There may be also smaller enhancements in the Higgs decay channels into WW, ZZ, correlated with the γγ enhancement. However there is no such correlation observed involving the Higgs decay channels into bb, ττ. The requirement of having perturbative couplings up to the GUT scale favours the interpretation of the 126 GeV Higgs boson as being the second lightest NMSSM CP-even state, which can decay into pairs of lighter neutralinos, CP-even or CP-odd Higgs bosons, leading to characteristic signatures of the NMSSM. In a non-negligible part of the parameter range the increase in the γγ rate is due to the superposition of rates from nearly degenerate Higgs bosons. Resolving these Higgs bosons would rule out the Standard Model, and provide evidence for the NMSSM.

Higgs mixing and diphoton rate enhancement in NMSSM models

We study the implications of the LHC Higgs signals on the Higgs mixing in the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model (NMSSM). The Higgs couplings can depart from their values in the standard model (SM) due to mixing effects. However the Higgs signal rate in the WW and ZZ channels can remain close to the SM values, as observed at the LHC, even if the SM-like Higgs boson with a mass near 125 GeV has a large singlet component. This allows to get a sizable enhancement in the Higgs to diphoton rate through the charged-higgsino loop contribution, as well as a sizable reduction of the Higgs to bb and tautau rates through the mixing effects, with little deviation in the WW and ZZ signal rates from the SM prediction. We find that an enhancement of diphoton signals by a factor of 1.5 or more, and also a reduction of bb and tautau signals by a factor of 0.5, can be obtained in the region of parameter space consistent with the constraints on the higgsino mass parameter and the singlet coupling to the Higgs doublets, which determine the Higgs mixing.

Constraints on the NMSSM from the Oblique Parameters

Electroweak precision measurements, encoded in the oblique parameters, give strong constraints on physics beyond the Standard Model. The oblique parametersS,T,U(V,W,X)are calculated in the next-to-minimal supersymmetric model (NMSSM). We outline the calculation of the oblique parameters in terms of one-loop gauge-boson self-energies and find sensitive restrictions for the NMSSM parameter space.

BSM Higgs results from ATLAS and CMS

Searches for Higgs bosons in different extensions of the Standard Model (SM) are presented. These include the Minimal Supersymmetric extension of the SM (MSSM), the next-to-MSSM (NMSSM), models with additional scalar singlets, doublets, or triplets, and generic searches for models with couplings modified with respect to the SM or for non-SM Higgs boson decay channels. Results are based on data collected by the ATLAS and CMS experiments in 2011 and 2012 at the LHC. No excess is found in any of the searches and thus the resulting exclusion limits are given.

Inverse seesaw in NMSSM and 126 GeV Higgs boson

We consider extensions of the next-to-minimal supersymmetric model (NMSSM) in which the observed neutrino masses are generated through a TeV scale inverse seesaw mechanism. The new particles associated with this mechanism can have sizable couplings to the Higgs field which can yield a large contribution to the mass of the lightest CP-even Higgs boson. With this new contribution, a 126 GeV Higgs is possible along with order of 200 GeV masses for the stop quarks for a broad range of tanβ. The Higgs production and decay in the diphoton channel can be enhanced due to this new contribution. It is also possible to solve the little hierarchy problem in this model without invoking a maximal value for the NMSSM trilinear coupling and without severe restrictions on the value of tanβ.

Peccei-Quinn NMSSM in the light of 125 GeV Higgs

We study the phenomenology of the Peccei-Quinn invariant extension of the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model (NMSSM) in view of the recent discovery of a 125 GeV Higgs boson. The minimal model having no quadratic and cubic terms of the NMSSM singlet field predicts a light singlino-like lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP). The model is strongly constrained by the Higgs invisible decay and the dark matter characteristic of the LSP, while some constraints can be relaxed by assuming that the saxion, the CP-even companion of the axion in the Peccei-Quinn sector, causes a late-time entropy production diluting the thermal LSP density. The collider signal of the model contains multi-jet and $h/W/Z$ plus missing energy, which can be discovered in the early stage of the 14 TeV LHC running.

Confronting the MSSM and the NMSSM with the discovery of a signal in the two photon channel at the LHC

We confront the discovery of a boson decaying to two photons}, as reported recently by ATLAS and CMS, with the corresponding predictions in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) and the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM). We perform a scan over the relevant regions of parameter space in both models and evaluate the MSSM and NMSSM predictions for the dominant Higgs production channel and the photon photon decay channel. Taking into account the experimental constraints from previous direct searches, flavour physics, electroweak measurements as well as theoretical considerations, we find that a Higgs signal in the two photon channel with a rate equal to, or above, the SM prediction is viable over the full mass range $123\gev \lsim M_H \lsim 127\gev$, both in the MSSM and the NMSSM. We find that besides the interpretation of a possible signal at about $125\gev$ in terms of the lightest $\cp$-even Higgs boson, both the MSSM and the NMSSM permit also a viable interpretation where an observed state at about $125\gev$ would correspond to the second-lightest $\cp$-even Higgs boson in the spectrum, which would be accompanied by another light Higgs with suppressed couplings to $W$ and $Z$ bosons. We find that a significant enhancement of the $\ga\ga$ rate, compatible with the signal strenghts observed by ATLAS and CMS, is possible in both the MSSM and the NMSSM, and we analyse in detail different mechanisms in the two models that can give rise to such an enhancement. We briefly discuss also our predictions in the two models for the production and subsequent decay into two photons of a $\cp$-odd Higgs boson.

Light Higgs and neutralino dark matter in the NMSSM

The next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model (NMSSM) is a R-parity conserving model that solves the μ-problem of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) by adding a singlet superfield. Here we study different aspects of this model. Firstly, using Bayesian statistics, we discuss the constrained next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model (CNMSSM) scenario. We place special emphasis on analysing the neutralino as a dark matter candidate. Additionally, using the nested sampling (NS) algorithm, we focus our analysis on a particular region of the parameter space. Results obtained scanning the low energy parameter space of the NMSSM, searching for low mass neutralinos, are discussed.

Cosmic-ray antiproton constraints on light dark matter candidates

Some direct detection experiments have recently collected excess events that could be interpreted as a dark matter (DM) signal, pointing to particles in the ∼10 GeV mass range. We show that scenarios in which DM can self-annihilate with significant couplings to quarks are likely excluded by the cosmic-ray (CR) antiproton data, provided the annihilation is S-wave dominated when DM decouples in the early universe. These limits applies to most of supersymmetric candidates, e.g. in the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) and in the next-to-MSSM (NMSSM), and more generally to any thermal DM particle with hadronizing annihilation final states.

Discrimination of the lightCP-odd scalars in the NMSSM and in the simplest little Higgs model

The presence of the light CP-odd scalar boson predicted in the next-to-minimal supersymmetric model (NMSSM) and the simplest little Higgs model (SLHM) dramatically changes the phenomenology of the Higgs sector. We suggest a practical strategy to discriminate the underlying model of the CP-odd scalar boson produced in the decay of the standard model-like Higgs boson. We define the decay rate of "the non $b$-tagged jet pair" with which we compute the ratio of decay rates into lepton and jets. They show much different behaviors between the NMSSM and the SLHM.

Higgs decay to dark matter in low energy SUSY: is it detectable at the LHC?

Due to the limited statistics so far accumulated in the Higgs boson search at the LHC, the Higgs boson property has not yet been tightly constrained and it is still allowed for the Higgs boson to decay invisibly to dark matter with a sizable branching ratio. In this work, we examine the Higgs decay to neutralino dark matter in low energy SUSY by considering three different models: the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard models (NMSSM) and the nearly minimal supersymmetric standard model (nMSSM). Under current experimental constraints at 2-sigma level (including the muon g-2 and the dark matter relic density), we scan over the parameter space of each model. Then in the allowed parameter space we calculate the branching ratio of the SM-like Higgs decay to neutralino dark matter and examine its observability at the LHC by considering three production channels: the weak boson fusion VV->h, the associated production with a Z-boson pp->hZ+X or a pair of top quarks pp->htt_bar+X. We find that in the MSSM such a decay is far below the detectable level; while in both the NMSSM and nMSSM the decay branching ratio can be large enough to be observable at the LHC.

Enhancement of associatedH±W∓production in the NMSSM

We study the associated production of a charged Higgs and a W boson in high-energy pp collisions at the Large Hadron Collider. This is an interesting process for charged Higgs discovery, or exclusion, since the production cross section could depend strongly on the model, offering potential discriminating power between supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model with minimal or extended Higgs sectors. We compute the cross section for this process in the next-to-minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM), at the tree level for quark-quark scattering and at one-loop level for gluon-gluon scattering. The most important corrections beyond leading order are taken into account using an improved Born approximation. We find that the pp \to H^\pm W^\mp cross section can be resonantly enhanced by up to an order of magnitude over its MSSM value (both for \sqrt{s}=7 TeV and 14 TeV) through the contributions of heavy, neutral, singlet-dominated Higgs bosons appearing in the s-channel. Since such Higgs mass configurations are normally not possible in the MSSM, the observation of associated H^\pm W^\mp production at the LHC could provide a striking, although indirect, signature of a more complicated Higgs sector.

Peccei-Quinn invariant extension of the NMSSM

We study a Peccei-Quinn invariant extension of the next-to-minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM), which turns out to be free from the tadpole and domain wall problems. Having a non-renormalizable coupling to the axion superfield, the SM singlet added to the Higgs sector can naturally generate an effective Higgs mu term around the weak scale. In the model, the lightest neutralino is dominated by the singlino, which gets a mass only through mixing with the neutral Higgsinos. We explore the phenomenological consequences resulting from the existence of such a relatively light neutralino. The coupling of the SM singlet to the Higgs doublets is constrained by the experimental bound on the invisible Z-boson decay width. Under this constraint, we examine the properties of the SM-like Higgs boson paying attention to its mass and decays. We also demonstrate a UV completion of the model in SU(5) grand unified theory with a missing-partner mechanism.

Solving the little hierarchy problem with a light singlet and supersymmetric mass terms

A generalization of the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Model (NMSSM) is studied in which an explicit μ-term as well as a small supersymmetric mass term for the singlet superfield are incorporated. We study the possibility of raising the Standard Model-like Higgs mass at tree level through its mixing with a light, mostly-singlet, CP-even scalar. We are able to generate Higgs boson masses up to 145 GeV with top squarks below 1.1 TeV and without the need to fine tune parameters in the scalar potential. This model yields light singlet-like scalars and pseudoscalars passing all collider constraints.

NMSSM Higgs benchmarks near 125 GeV

The recent LHC indications of a SM-like Higgs boson near 125 GeV are consistent not only with the Standard Model (SM) but also with Supersymmetry (SUSY). However naturalness arguments disfavour the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). We consider the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM) with a SM-like Higgs boson near 125 GeV involving relatively light stops and gluinos below 1 TeV in order to satisfy naturalness requirements. We are careful to ensure that the chosen values of couplings do not become non-perturbative below the grand unification (GUT) scale, although we also examine how these limits may be extended by the addition of extra matter to the NMSSM at the two-loop level. We then propose four sets of benchmark points corresponding to the SM-like Higgs boson being the lightest or the second lightest Higgs state in the NMSSM or the NMSSM-with-extra-matter. With the aid of these benchmark points we discuss how the NMSSM Higgs boson near 125 GeV may be distinguished from the SM Higgs boson in future LHC searches.

A 125 GeV Higgs and Its Diphoton Signal in Different SUSY Models: A Mini Review

In this paper we briefly review our recent studies on a 125 GeV Higgs and its diphoton signal rate in different low-energy supersymmetric models, namely, the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model (NMSSM), the nearly minimal supersymmetric standard model (nMSSM), and the constrained MSSM. Our conclusion is as follows (i) in the allowed parameter space the SM-like Higgs boson can easily be 125 GeV in the MSSM, NMSSM, and nMSSM, while it is hard to realize in the constrained MSSM; (ii) the diphoton Higgs signal rate in the nMSSM and constrained MSSM is suppressed relative to the prediction of the SM, while the signal rate can be enhanced in the MSSM and NMSSM; (iii) the NMSSM may allow for a lighter top squark than the MSSM, which can thus ameliorate the fine-tuning problem.

Closing the Window on Light Charged Higgs Bosons in the NMSSM

In the Next-to-Minimal SuperSymmetric Model (NMSSM) the lightest CP-odd Higgs bosons (a1) can be very light. As a consequence, in addition to the standard charged Higgs boson (h±) decays considered in the MSSM for a light charged Higgs (mh±&lt;mt), the branching fraction forh±→a1Wcan be dominant. We investigate how this signal can be searched for intt-production at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the case that (ma1≳2mB) with thea1giving rise to a singlebb--jet and discuss to what extent the LHC experiments are able to discover such a scenario with an integrated luminosity ~20 fb−1. We also discuss the implications of the possible Higgs-signal observed at the LHC.

Light NMSSM Higgs bosons in SUSY cascade decays at the LHC

Abstract An interesting feature of the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model (NMSSM) is that one or more Higgs bosons may be comparably light ( ${M_{{{H_i}}}} &lt; {M_Z}$ ) without being in conflict with current experimental bounds. Due to a large singlet component, their direct production in standard channels at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is suppressed. We demonstrate that there are good prospects for observing such a light Higgs boson in decays of heavy neutralinos and charginos. We consider an example scenario with $20\,GeV &lt; {M_H}_{{_1}} &lt; {M_Z}$ and show that a large fraction of the cascade decays of gluinos and squarks involves the production of at least one Higgs boson. Performing a Monte Carlo analysis at the level of fast detector simulation, it is demonstrated how the Higgs signal can be separated from the main backgrounds, giving access to the Yukawa coupling of the Higgs to bottom quarks. Analyzing the resulting $b\overline b$ mass spectrum could provide an opportunity for light Higgs boson discovery already with 5 fb−1 of LHC data at 7 TeV.