https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-017-5243-5
Regular Article - Theoretical Physics
The impact of two-loop effects on the scenario of MSSM Higgs alignment without decoupling
1
Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics (SCIPP) and Department of Physics, University of California, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060, USA
2
Campus of International Excellence UAM+CSIC, Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain
3
Instituto de Física Teórica, (UAM/CSIC), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain
4
Instituto de Física de Cantabria (CSIC-UC), 39005, Santander, Spain
* e-mail: tistefan@ucsc.edu
Received:
23
August
2017
Accepted:
16
September
2017
Published online:
6
November
2017
In multi-Higgs models, the properties of one neutral scalar state approximate those of the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson in a limit where the corresponding scalar field is roughly aligned in field space with the scalar doublet vacuum expectation value. In a scenario of alignment without decoupling, a SM-like Higgs boson can be accompanied by additional scalar states whose masses are of a similar order of magnitude. In the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM), alignment without decoupling can be achieved due to an accidental cancellation of tree-level and radiative loop-level effects. In this paper we assess the impact of the leading two-loop 
corrections on the Higgs alignment condition in the MSSM. These corrections are sizable and important in the relevant regions of parameter space and furthermore give rise to solutions of the alignment condition that are not present in the approximate one-loop description. We provide a comprehensive numerical comparison of the alignment condition obtained in the approximate one-loop and two-loop approximations, and discuss its implications for phenomenologically viable regions of the MSSM parameter space.
© The Author(s), 2017
