Eur. Phys. J. C (2011) 71: 1608
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-011-1608-3

Regular Article - Theoretical Physics

Light Higgs bosons in phenomenological NMSSM

¹ CERN Theory Division, Physics Department, 1211, Geneva 23, Switzerland
² CNRS/IN2P3, LPC, Clermont Université, Université Blaise Pascal, BP 10448, 63000, Clermont-Ferrand, France
³ High-Energy Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 535, 751 21, Uppsala, Sweden
⁴ Theoretical High Energy Physics, Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Physics, Lund University, Sölvegatan 14A, 223 62, Lund, Sweden
⁵ Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestraße 85, 22607, Hamburg, Germany
⁶ II. Physikalisches Institut, Universität Göttingen, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

^* e-mail: mahmoudi@in2p3.fr

Received: 14 January 2011
Revised: 26 February 2011
Published online: 14 April 2011

Abstract

We consider scenarios in the next-to-minimal supersymmetric model (NMSSM) where the CP-odd and charged Higgs bosons are very light. As we demonstrate, these can be obtained as simple deformations of existing phenomenological MSSM benchmarks scenarios with parameters defined at the weak scale. This offers a direct and meaningful comparison to the MSSM case. Applying a wide set of up-to-date constraints from both high-energy collider and flavor physics, the Higgs boson masses and couplings are studied in viable parts of parameter space. The LHC phenomenology of the light Higgs scenario for neutral and charged Higgs boson searches is discussed.