Eur. Phys. J. C (2017) 77: 67
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-016-4584-9

Regular Article - Theoretical Physics

The light and heavy Higgs interpretation of the MSSM

¹ Physikalisches Institut der Universität Bonn, Nußallee 12, 53115, Bonn, Germany
² Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics (SCIPP) and Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060, USA
³ Campus of International Excellence UAM+CSIC, Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain
⁴ Instituto de Física Teórica, (UAM/CSIC), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain
⁵ Instituto de Física de Cantabria (CSIC-UC), 39005, Santander, Spain
⁶ Department of Physics, The Oskar Klein Centre, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
⁷ Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestraße 85, 22607, Hamburg, Germany
⁸ Nikhef, Theory Group, Science Park 105, 1098 XG, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

^* e-mail: tistefan@ucsc.edu

Received: 10 August 2016
Accepted: 20 December 2016
Published online: 3 February 2017

Abstract

We perform a parameter scan of the phenomenological Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (pMSSM) with eight parameters taking into account the experimental Higgs boson results from Run I of the LHC and further low-energy observables. We investigate various MSSM interpretations of the Higgs signal at . First, we consider the case where the light -even Higgs boson of the MSSM is identified with the discovered Higgs boson. In this case it can impersonate the SM Higgs-like signal either in the decoupling limit, or in the limit of alignment without decoupling. In the latter case, the other states in the Higgs sector can also be light, offering good prospects for upcoming LHC searches and for searches at future colliders. Second, we demonstrate that the heavy -even Higgs boson is still a viable candidate to explain the Higgs signal – albeit only in a highly constrained parameter region, that will be probed by LHC searches for the -odd Higgs boson and the charged Higgs boson in the near future. As a guidance for such searches we provide new benchmark scenarios that can be employed to maximize the sensitivity of the experimental analysis to this interpretation.