Search

The studies of the Higgs boson couplings based on the recent and upcoming LHC data open up a new window on physics beyond the Standard Model. In this paper, we propose a statistical guide to the consistent treatment of the theoretical uncertainties entering the Higgs rate fits. Both the Bayesian and frequentist approaches are systematically analysed in a unified formalism. We present analytical expressions for the marginal likelihoods, useful to implement simultaneously the experimental and theoretical uncertainties. We review the various origins of the theoretical errors (QCD, EFT, PDF, production mode contamination...). All these individual uncertainties are thoroughly combined with the help of moment-based considerations. The theoretical correlations among Higgs detection channels appear to affect the location and size of the best-fit regions in the space of Higgs couplings. We discuss the recurrent question of the shape of the prior distributions for the individual theoretical errors and find that a nearly Gaussian prior arises from the error combinations. We also develop the bias approach, which is an alternative to marginalisation providing more conservative results. The statistical framework to apply the bias principle is introduced and two realisations of the bias are proposed. Finally, depending on the statistical treatment, the Standard Model prediction for the Higgs signal strengths is found to lie within either the $68\%$ or $95\%$ confidence level region obtained from the latest analyses of the $7$ and $8$ TeV LHC datasets., 62 pages, 10 figures

Vector-like quarks (VLQs) that are partners of the heavy top and bottom quarks are predicted in many extensions of the Standard Model (SM). We explore the possibility that these states could explain not only the longstanding anomaly in the forward-backward asymmetry in $b$-quark production at LEP, $A_{\rm FB}^b $, but also the more recent $\sim 2\sigma$ deviation of the cross section for the associated Higgs production with top quark pairs at the LHC, $\sigma(pp\to t\bar t H)$. Introducing three illustrative models for VLQs with different representations under the SM gauge group, we show that the two anomalies can be resolved while satisfying all other theoretical and experimental constraints. In this case, the three different models predict VLQ states in the $1-2$ TeV mass range that can be soon probed at the LHC. In a second step, we discuss the sensitivity on the VLQ masses and couplings that could be obtained by means of a percent level accuracy in the measurement of ratios of partial Higgs decay widths, in particular $\Gamma(H \! \to\! \gamma\gamma)/\Gamma(H \! \to\! ZZ^*)$ and $\Gamma(H \! \to \! b\bar b)/\Gamma(H \! \to \! WW^*)$. We show that top and bottom VL partners with masses up to $\sim 5$ TeV and exotic VLQs with masses in the $10$ TeV range can be probed at the high-luminosity LHC., Comment: 27 pages, 6 figures; v2: added references

We study the LHC signatures of TeV scale vectorlike quarks $b'$, $t'$ and $\chi$ with electromagnetic charges -1/3, 2/3 and 5/3 that appear in many beyond the standard model (BSM) extensions. We consider warped extra-dimensional models and analyze the phenomenology of such vectorlike quarks that are the custodial partners of third generation quarks. In addition to the usually studied pair-production channels which depend on the strong coupling, we put equal emphasis on single production channels that depend on electroweak couplings and on electroweak symmetry breaking induced mixing effects between the heavy vectorlike quarks and standard model quarks. We identify new promising $gg$-initiated pair and single production channels and find the luminosity required for discovering these states at the LHC. For these channels, we propose a cut that allows one to extract the relevant electroweak couplings. Although the motivation is from warped models, we present many of our results model-independently., Comment: Published version. 40 pages, 19 figures, 12 tables. References added. Minor revisions

In the context of a simple five-dimensional (5D) model with bulk matter coupled to a brane-localized Higgs boson, we point out a new non-commutativity in the 4D calculation of the mass spectrum for excited fermion towers: the obtained expression depends on the choice in ordering the limits, N->infinity (infinite Kaluza-Klein tower) and epsilon->0 (epsilon being the parameter introduced for regularizing the Higgs Dirac peak). This introduces the physical question of which one is the correct order; we then show that the two possible orders of regularization (called I and II) are physically equivalent, as both can typically reproduce the measured observables, but that the one with less degrees of freedom (I) could be uniquely excluded by future experimental constraints. This conclusion is based on the exact matching between the 4D and 5D analytical calculations of the mass spectrum - via the regularizations of type I and II. Beyond a deeper insight into the Higgs peak regularizations, this matching also allows us to confirm the validity of the usual 5D mixed-formalism and to clarify the UV cut-off procedure. All the conclusions, deduced from regularizing the Higgs peak through a brane shift or a smoothed square profile, are expected to remain similar in realistic models with a warped extra-dimension., 29 pages, 2 tables

Using the full set of the LHC Higgs data from the runs at 7 and 8 TeV center of mass energies that have been released by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations, we determine the couplings of the Higgs particle to fermions and gauge bosons as well as its parity or CP composition. We consider ratios of production cross sections times decay branching fractions in which the theoretical (and some experimental) uncertainties as well as as some ambiguities from new physics cancel out. A fit of both the signal strengths in the various search channels that have been conducted, H -> Z Z, W W, gamma gamma, tau tau and b b, and their ratios shows that the observed ~126 GeV particle has couplings to fermions and gauge bosons that are Standard Model-like already at the 68% confidence level (CL). From the signal strengths in which the theoretical uncertainty is taken to be a bias, the particle is shown to be at most 68% CP-odd at the 99%CL and the possibility that it is a pure pseudoscalar state is excluded at the 4 sigma level when including both the experimental and theoretical uncertainties. The signal strengths also measure the invisible Higgs decay width which, with the same type of uncertainty analysis, is shown to be Gamma_H^inv / Gamma_H^SM < 0.52 at the 68%CL., 15 pages, 13 figures

First, we study the fit of the Higgs boson rates, based on all the latest collider data, in the effective framework for any Extra-Fermion(s) [EF]. The best-fit results are presented in a generic formalism allowing to apply those for the test of any EF scenario. The variations of the fit with each one of the five fundamental parameters are described, and, the obtained fits can be better than in the Standard Model (SM). We show how the determination of the EF loop-contributions to the Higgs couplings with photons and gluons is relying on the knowledge of the top and bottom Yukawa couplings (affected by EF mixings); for determining the latter coupling, the relevance of the investigation of the Higgs production in association with bottom quarks is emphasized. In the instructive approximation of a single EF, we find that the constraints from the fit already turn out to be quite predictive, in both cases of an EF mixed or not with SM fermions, and especially when combined with the extra-quark (-lepton) mass bounds from direct EF searches at the LHC (LEP) collider. In the case of an unmixed extra-quark, non-trivial fit constraints are pointed out on the Yukawa couplings for masses up to ~200 TeV. In particular, we define the extra-dysfermiophilia, which is predicted at 68.27% C.L. for any single extra-quark (independently of its electric charge). Another result is that, among any components of SM multiplet extensions, the extra-quark with a -7/3 electric charge is the one preferred by the present Higgs fit., 27 pages, 10 figures. Subsection structure added and Higgs boson rates updated (in a separate Appendix) after the Moriond 2013 conference

Vector-Like (VL) quarks arise in the main alternatives to the supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model (SM). Given the experimental possibility of a 125 GeV Higgs boson with rates significantly different from the SM expectations, it is motivating to study the effects of VL quarks on the Higgs boson cross sections and branching ratios. We perform a systematic search for the minimal field contents and gauge group representations of VL quarks able to significantly improve the fit of the measured Higgs rates, and simultaneously, to satisfy the direct constraints on VL quark masses as well as the electro-weak precision tests. In particular, large enhancements can be achieved in certain diphoton channels - as pointed out by both the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations - optimizing then the Higgs rate fit. This is a consequence of the introduction of VL quarks, with high electric charges of 8/3 or -7/3, which are exchanged in the Higgs-to-diphoton loop. Interestingly, the field contents and formal Higgs couplings obtained here are similar to those of scenarios in warped/composite frameworks arising from different motivations. The various exotic-charge quarks predicted, possibly below the TeV scale, might lead to a rich phenomenology soon at the LHC., Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures

Within the paradigm of warped extra dimensions, third generation quarks are expected to be the most sensitive to effects beyond the Standard Model. The anomalies observed at the LEP and Tevatron colliders in the forward-backward asymmetries of the bottom (A_FB^b) and top (A_FB^t) quarks can thus be seen as early signatures of warped extra-dimensional scenarios. We propose a realization of such a scenario, with a gauge custodial symmetry in the bulk, which allows to address simultaneously the A_FB^b anomaly and the discrepancies observed recently on A_FB^t at high top quark rapidities and ttbar invariant masses. We also show that the various phenomenological constraints arising from LEP, Tevatron and LHC can be satisfied within the considered model. The model predicts new features, induced by a Kaluza-Klein excitation of the gluon at a mass ~1.5-2 TeV, in top quark pair production at the 7 TeV LHC., 13 pages, 7 figures, new references and a note added on recent ATLAS results

The CDF and D0 experiments have reported on the measurement of the forward-backward asymmetry of top quark pair production at the Tevatron and the result is that it is more than 2 standard deviations above the predicted value in the Standard Model. This has to be added to the longstanding anomaly in the forward-backward asymmetry for bottom quark production at LEP which is 3 standard deviations different from the Standard Model value. The discrepancy in the bottom asymmetry can be accounted for by the contributions of Kaluza-Klein excitations of electroweak gauge bosons at LEP in warped extra dimensional models in which the fermions are localized differently along the extra dimension so that the gauge interactions of heavy third generation fermions are naturally different from that of light fermions. In this paper, we show that it is more difficult to elaborate a model generating a significant top asymmetry in a similar way -- through exchanges of Kaluza-Klein gluons at the Tevatron -- due to the indirect constraints originating from precision electroweak data., 4 pages, 1 figure, published version

The extra-dimensional model in which the bulk geometry is a slice of anti-de Sitter space is a particularly attractive extension of the Standard Model as it allows to address the gauge hierarchy problem, as well as the mass hierarchy prevailing among fermions. However, to allow for the masses of the Kaluza-Klein excitations of the known particles to be near the Terascale without conflicting with the high-precision electroweak data, one needs to promote the gauge symmetry to a left-right structure SU(2)_L x SU(2)_R x U(1) which incorporates a new quark b', the SU(2)_R doublet partner of the heavy top quark. We show that this new quark will contribute to the main production process of Higgs bosons at the LHC: the gluon-gluon fusion mechanism which proceeds through heavy quark triangular loops. In most of the parameter space in which the measured values of the heavy t,b quark masses are reproduced, the gg -> Higgs production cross section is significantly altered, even if the b' quark is too heavy to be directly accessible, m_b' > ~1TeV. Finally, we briefly discuss the new Higgs production and decay channels involving the b' quark., Latex file, 6 pages, 3 figures. Comments added, Higgs branching ratios calculated and interference modified

We study a purely leptonic signature of the Randall-Sundrum scenario with Standard Model fields in the bulk at LHC: the contribution from the exchange of Kaluza-Klein (KK) excitations of gauge bosons to the clear Drell-Yan reaction. We show that this contribution is detectable (even with the low luminosities of the LHC initial regime) for KK masses around the TeV scale and for sufficiently large lepton couplings to KK gauge bosons. Such large couplings can be compatible with ElectroWeak precision data on the Zff coupling in the framework of the custodial O(3) symmetry recently proposed, for specific configurations of lepton localizations (along the extra dimension). These configurations can simultaneously reproduce the correct lepton masses, while generating acceptably small Flavour Changing Neutral Current (FCNC) effects. This LHC phenomenological analysis is realistic in the sense that it is based on fermion localizations which reproduce all the quark/lepton masses plus mixing angles and respect FCNC constraints in both the hadron and lepton sectors., 15 pages, 6 Figures, Latex file

In the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model with bilinear R-parity violation, only one neutrino eigenstate acquires a mass at tree level, consequently experimental data on neutrinos cannot be accommodated at tree level. We show that in the Next-to-Minimal extension, where a gauge singlet superfield is added to primarily address the so-called $\mu$-problem, it is possible to generate two massive neutrino states at tree level. Hence, the global three-flavour neutrino data can be reproduced at tree level, without appealing to loop dynamics which is vulnerable to model-dependent uncertainties. We give analytical expressions for the neutrino mass eigenvalues and present examples of realistic parameter choices., Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures; further clarifications added, to appear in PLB

We consider the Next to Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM) which provides a natural solution to the so-called mu problem by introducing a new gauge-singlet superfield S. We realize that a new mechanism of neutrino mass suppression, based on the R-parity violating bilinear terms mu_i L_i H_u mixing neutrinos and higgsinos, arises within the NMSSM, offering thus an original solution to the neutrino mass problem (connected to the solution for the mu problem). We generate realistic (Majorana) neutrino mass values without requiring any strong hierarchy amongst the fundamental parameters, in contrast with the alternative models. In particular, the ratio |mu_i/mu| can reach about 10^-1, unlike in the MSSM where it has to be much smaller than unity. We check that the obtained parameters also satisfy the collider constraints and internal consistencies of the NMSSM. The price to pay for this new cancellation-type mechanism of neutrino mass reduction is a certain fine tuning, which get significantly improved in some regions of parameter space. Besides, we discuss the feasibility of our scenario when the R-parity violating bilinear terms have a common origin with the mu term, namely when those are generated via a VEV of the S scalar component from the couplings lambda_i S L_i H_u. Finally, we make comments on some specific phenomenology of the NMSSM in the presence of R-parity violating bilinear terms., 21 pages, 5 figures, Latex file

Scenarios based on the existence of large or warped (Randall-Sundrum model) extra dimensions have been proposed for addressing the long standing puzzle of gauge hierarchy problem. Within the contexts of both those scenarios, a novel and original type of mechanism generating small (Dirac) neutrino masses, which relies on the presence of additional right-handed neutrinos that propagate in the bulk, has arisen. The main objective of the present study is to determine whether this geometrical mechanism can produce reasonable neutrino masses also in the interesting multi-brane extensions of the Randall-Sundrum model. We demonstrate that, in some multi-brane extensions, neutrino masses in agreement with all relevant experimental bounds can indeed be generated but at the price of a constraint (stronger than the existing ones) on the bulk geometry, and that the other multi-brane models even conflict with those experimental bounds., 29 pages, 3 figures, Latex file. References added, study extended

Almost two decades ago, the paradigm of extra-dimensional models addressing the gauge hierarchy problem attracted much attention through the elegant proposals of large, flat extra dimensions (EDs) - the Arkani-Hamed-Dimopoulos-Dvali or ADD model - and warped EDs - the Randall-Sundrum or RS model. In this thesis, we discuss several models inspired from such extra-dimensional scenarios. We start by introducing some key elements of field theory in five space-time dimensions and showing how such scenarios provide a solution to the hierarchy problem. Afterwards, in a first part of this work, we adopt a bottom-up approach and study several models containing Vector-Like Fermions (VLFs), which are typically predicted in ED frameworks. We show how adding Vector-Like Quarks (VLQs) to the Standard Model (SM) allows one to simultaneously explain the anomalies in the (i) b-quark forward-backward asymmetry measured at the Large Electron-Positron collider (LEP) and (ii) the tth production cross section measured at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Using the so-called Higgs decay ratios, we also estimate the sensitivity of the upgraded LHC, the High-Luminosity LHC, to the presence of VLQs. Then, we consider a Two-Higgs Doublet Model (2HDM) extended with Vector-Like Leptons (VLLs) in order to fit the mysterious 750 GeV excess observed at LHC in late 2015. Within a similar model, we also explain the Dark Matter (DM) abundance in the Universe, our DM candidate being a neutral VLL, which is rendered stable by a suitable Z2 symmetry. Later on, in a second part of the thesis, we focus on the more concrete warped ED scenario endowed with a bulk custodial symmetry, which protects the model from large electroweak (EW) corrections. In this framework, we first interpret the 2 TeV diboson bump observed at LHC in 2015 as a superposition of Kaluza-Klein (KK) gauge bosons produced in the s-channel. Afterwards, we study the phenomenology of the mixed Higgs-radion scalar sector of the aforementioned model. In particular, we estimate the sensitivity of the LHC and of a future electron-positron collider (the International Linear Collider - ILC) to the existence of a radion via its production in association with a Z boson.; Il y a près de deux décennies, l'utilisation des modèles à dimensions supplémentaires pour résoudre le problème de hiérarchie des théories de jauge a reçu beaucoup d'attention, au travers d'élégantes propositions : des dimensions supplémentaires (DS) étendues et plates - le modèle d'Arkani-Hamed-Dimopoulos-Dvali, ou ADD - ainsi que des DS courbées - le modèle de Randall-Sundrum, ou RS. Dans cette thèse, nous discutons plusieurs modèles inspirés de tels scénarios extra-dimensionnels. Pour commencer, nous introduisons des éléments-clés de la théorie des champs en cinq dimensions, et nous montrons comment de tels scénarios apportent une réponse au problème de hiérarchie. Ensuite, dans une première partie, nous adoptons une approche ``de bas en haut'' et étudions plusieurs modèles contenant des fermions vectoriels (FV), prédits génériquement dans les modèles de DS. Nous montrons qu'en ajoutant des quarks vectoriels (QV) au Modèle Standard (MS), on peut expliquer en même temps les anomalies (i) d'asymétrie avant-arrière des quarks b, mesurée au Large Electron-Positron collider (LEP) et (ii) de section efficace de production de tth mesurée au Large Hadron Collider (LHC). En utilisant des rapports de taux de désintégration du Higgs, nous estimons aussi la sensibilité du LHC amélioré, le LHC à haute luminosité, à la présence de QV. Puis nous considérons un modèle à deux doublets de Higgs (2HDM), accompagné de leptons vectoriels (LV) pour expliquer le mystérieux excès à 750 GeV observé au LHC fin 2015. Dans un modèle similaire, nous expliquons également l'abondance de matière sombre (MS) dans l'Univers, notre candidat pour la MS étant un LV neutre, stabilisé par une symétrie Z2 appropriée. Par la suite, dans une deuxième partie de la thèse, nous nous penchons sur le scénario plus concret des DS courbées dotées d'une symétrie custodiale dans l'espace cinq-dimensionnel, qui protège le modèle vis-à-vis de larges corrections électrofaibles. Dans ce cadre, nous interprétons tout d'abord la bosse à deux bosons observée à 2 TeV au LHC comme une superposition de bosons de jauge de Kaluza-Klein, produits en canal s. Dans un deuxième temps, nous étudions la phénoménologie du secteur scalaire du modèle susdit, qui mêle le Higgs et le radion. En particulier, nous estimons la sensibilité du LHC et d'un futur collisionneur électron-positron (l'International Linear Collider - ILC) à l'existence d'un radion, via la production de celui-ci en association avec un boson Z.