Vices and virtues of Higgs effective field theories at large energy

We study constraints on new physics from Higgs production at the LHC in the context of an effective field theory (EFT), focusing on Higgs searches in HV (V = W, Z) associated production which are particularly sensitive to the high-energy behavior of certain dimension-six operators. We show that analyses of these searches are generally dominated by a kinematic region where the generic EFT expansion breaks down, and we establish under which conditions they can nevertheless be meaningful. For example, constraints from these searches on the Wilson coefficients of operators whose effects grow with energy can be established in scenarios where a particular combination of fermions and the Higgs are composite and strongly coupled: then, bounds from Higgs physics at high energy are complementary to LEP1 and competitive with LEP2.

Electroweak and Higgs Physics at Very High Energy

Lorenzo Ricci

Effective Field Theories (EFTs) allow a description of low energy effects of heavy new physics Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) in terms of higher dimensional operators among the SM fields. EFTs are not only an elegant and consistent way to describe heavy new physics but they represent, at the same time, a valuable experimental tool for collider searches. The Standard Model Effective Field Theory naturally parametrizes the space of models BSM and measuring its interactions is, nowadays, substantial part of the theoretical and the experimental program at the (HL-)LHC and at future colliders. In this thesis we address the theoretical challenges of this Beyond the Standard Model precision program, following three different paths.Firstly, we present some results towards the so-called high-

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program at the (HL-)LHC, targeting to measure energy growing effects of higher dimensional operators in the tail of kinematic distributions. Concretely, we focus on dilepton production and we study the sensitivity to flavor universal dimension-six operators interfering with the SM and enhanced by the energy. We produce theoretical predictions for the SM and the dim-6 EFT operators at NLO-QCD, including 1-loop EW logs. Our predictions are based on event reweighting of SM Montecarlo simulations and allow an easy scan of the multi-dimensional new physics parameter space on data. Furthermore we asses the impact of the various sources of theoretical uncertainties and we study the projected sensitivity of (HL-)LHC to the EFT interactions under consideration and to concrete BSM scenario.We then turn to future colliders and in particular to very high energy lepton colliders. In this context we study the potential of such machines with about 10 TeV center of mass energy to probe Higgs, ElectroWeak and Top physics at 100 TeV via precise measurements of EFT interactions. A peculiar aspect of so energetic ElectroWeak processes is the prominent phenomenon of the EW radiation. On one hand we find that consistent and sufficiently accurate predictions require resummations, that we perform at double logarithmic order. On the other hand we show how the study of the radiation pattern can enhance the sensitivity to new physics. We assess our results in Composite Higgs and Top scenarios and minimal Z' models.Finally, we move to a top-down perspective and we perform a phenomenological study of composite Higgs models with partially composite Standard Models quarks. Starting from maximally symmetric scenarios that realize minimal flavor violation, we test various assumptions for the flavor structure of the strong sector. Among the different models we consider, we find that there is an optimal amount of symmetries that protects from (chromo-)electric dipoles and reduces, at the same time, constraints from other flavor observables.

EPFL2022

Higgs inflation: consistency and generalisations

Amaury Magnin, Sergey Sibiryakov

We analyse the self-consistency of inflation in the Standard Model, where the Higgs field has a large non-minimal coupling to gravity. We determine the domain of energies in which this model represents a valid effective field theory as a function of the background Higgs field. This domain is bounded above by the cutoff scale which is found to be higher than the relevant dynamical scales throughout the whole history of the Universe, including the inflationary epoch and reheating. We present a systematic scheme to take into account quantum loop corrections to the inflationary calculations within the framework of effective field theory. We discuss the additional assumptions that must be satisfied by the ultra-violet completion of the theory to allow connection between the parameters of the inflationary effective theory and those describing the low-energy physics relevant for the collider experiments. A class of generalisations of inflationary theories with similar properties is constructed.

2011

Effective Field Theories for New and Old Physics

Alfredo Glioti

Effective Field Theories have changed our understanding of Quantum Field Theories. This thesis shows several applications of this powerful tool in the context of the Standard Model and for searches of New Physics.The thesis starts with a review of the Standard Model and its open questions and is followed by an updated and systematic study of models of flavor in the context of Partial Compositeness in Composite Higgs theories. Following that, the question on how to measure the Wilson coefficients of the Standard Model effective operators at present and future experiments is addressed: first by using modern Machine Learning techniques by studying angular distributions for diboson production, followed then by a study on ElectroWeak radiation at a future Muon Collider and how to use it to better probe the new physics parameter space.The fourth chapter deals instead with applying Non-Relativistic Effective Theories to the study of exotic mesons in the Standard Model. The two competing interpretations, a molecule formed of two mesons or a compact tetraquark state, and their consequences are studied. In particular this study is done on the X(3872) exotic charmonium and the consequences of the two accidental tunings of this system are discussed.The last chapter addresses the problem of baryogenesis from the ElectroWeak phase transition. A new scalar sector is introduced that decouples the physics responsible for the generation of the baryon asymmetry from the weak scale. This helps solving the main problems that ElectroWeak baryogenesis models face, namely the large modifications to the Higgs physics and the need of large CP violating new effects.

EPFL2022

Electroweak and Higgs Physics at Very High Energy

Lorenzo Ricci

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EPFL2022