English

Can the 126 GeV boson be a pseudoscalar?

High Energy Physics - Phenomenology 2013-05-30 v3

Abstract

We test the possibility that the newly-discovered 126 GeV boson is a pseudoscalar by examining the correlations among the loop-induced pseudoscalar decay branching fractions to γγ\gamma\gamma, ZZZZ^*, ZγZ\gamma, and WWWW^* final states in a model-independent way. These four decays are controlled by only two effective operators, so that the rates in ZγZ\gamma and WWWW^* are predicted now that the rates in γγ\gamma\gamma and ZZ,Zγ4ZZ^*,Z\gamma^* \to 4 \ell have been measured. We find that the pseudoscalar possibility is disfavored but not conclusively excluded. Experimental exclusion of the ZγZ\gamma decay to well below σ/σSM170\sigma/\sigma_{\rm SM} \sim 170 or conclusive observation of the WWWW^* decay near the Standard Model rate would eliminate the pseudoscalar possibility. The ZγZ\gamma exclusion should be possible using existing data. The only loophole in our argument is the possibility that the 44\ell signal comes from pseudoscalar decays to a pair of new neutral gauge bosons with mass near the ZZ pole.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1208.2692,
  title  = {Can the 126 GeV boson be a pseudoscalar?},
  author = {Baradhwaj Coleppa and Kunal Kumar and Heather E. Logan},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1208.2692},
  year   = {2013}
}

Comments

8 pages, 2 figures, v2: references added, Fig. 1 improved,v3: minor error in numbers on last paragraph of pg5 fixed