Beyond the Standard Model Higgs Boson self-couplings at the LHC

Abstract

A study of two-Higgs-doublet models (2HDM) in the decoupling limit reveals the existence of parameter configurations with a large triple-Higgs self-coupling as the only low-energy trace of a departure from a Standard Model (SM) Higgs sector. This observation encourages attempts to search for double Higgs production at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and its luminosity upgrade (SLHC) even in mass regions which have been shown to be very hard to probe in the context of SM-like Higgs self-couplings. In a scenario where only an Intermediate Mass Higgs (IMH) boson, with 120 GeV <= m_h <= 140 GeV, is discovered at the LHC, with measured couplings to fermions and gauge bosons compatible with their SM values, we show that Higgs-pair production (with each Higgs state decaying in two b bbar pairs) through Weak Boson Fusion (WBF) could open a window on physics beyond the SM in the Higgs sector.

Presented at the ICHEP04 Conference, 16-22 August 2004, Beijing, China