The Higgs plays an essential role in the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics, and impacts a wide range of new physics beyond the SM (BSM). The discovery of this new state presents us with a rich experimental program that includes the precise measurement of its couplings to SM particles, the search for additional Higgs-like states, and our focus: the search for “exotic” decays, i.e. decays that involve new light states beyond the SM.

The aim of our working group is to

• provide a summary and overview of the theoretical motivation and basis for a large set of new analyses that could be done by the LHC experimentalists;
• provide a thorough and unified description of a large class of models that generate exotic Higgs decays;
• perform recasts of available experimental analyses to set new limits;
• perform original collider studies to assess the discovery potential of different modes.

Exotic Higgs decays may provide our only window into BSM physics at the LHC and must be searched for explicitly as they are often unconstrained by other analyses. The search for non-standard Higgs decays should form an important component of the experimental program of the LHC and future colliders.

 

Go to:
Motivation to Study Possible Exotic Decays of the Higgs
Summary of our Findings
Theories Producing Exotic Decays
List of Decay Channels