Charged Higgs scalar production in single-top mode (and other) at future $ep$ colliders in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model

Abstract

We study charged Higgs boson production at future electron-proton colliders in the framework of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. We focus our attention to the case of single-top production and decay through the channel $t\to bH^\pm$ and of vector-scalar fusion via $W^{\pm*} Φ^*\to H^\pm$ (where $Φ=H,h$ and $A$). We consider the signature $H^\pm\to τν_τ$ and compare it to the irreducible background from Standard Model interactions. For $M_{H^\pm}<m_t$, the $H^\pm$ signal is accessible through lepton universality breaking if $M_A<100-120$ GeV at both low and large values of $\tanβ$. Furthermore, although the bulk of the production cross section comes from single-top events, a sizable contribution due to vector-scalar-scalar interactions should be observable at large $\tanβ$, this possibly offering some insights into the structure of the scalar sector of the theory. The possibility of the CERN collider running in the LEPXLHC mode is considered in detail

28 pages, latex, epsfig, 12 postscript figures bitmapped at 75dpi, complete paper including high resolution figures available at ftp://axpa.hep.phy.cam.ac.uk/moretti/cavendish_9713 and at http://www.hep.phy.cam.ac.uk/theory/papers/