Constraining new physics in charm quark associated Higgs boson production events using the Standard Model effective field theory approach

Abstract

As the search for observable deviations from the Standard Model of particle physics remains to be of significant interest, effective field theory (EFT) continues to be a popular method to parametrize such effects. In this work, a first-time investigation is performed of the unique capability of measurements of charm quark associated Higgs boson production (cH) in proton-proton collisions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider to constrain a set of dimension-six EFT operators. The phenomenology of these operators is discussed and a proposed analysis strategy is presented, with a focus on $\mathrm{H}\rightarrow \mathrm{Z}\mathrm{Z}^{*}\rightarrow 4\mu$ decays, using a generic detector simulation that is parametrized to reflect the response of the CMS detector at the LHC. From this, expected 95% CL upper limits are derived for the Wilson coefficients of individual operators by considering yield and shape effects in the spectra of the four-muon invariant mass $m_{4\mu}$ and leading jet transverse momentum $p_{T}$. Scenarios with simultaneous contributions from two operators are also considered. Finally, potential analysis improvements that may be implemented in an experimental context are outlined.