Phenomenology of a leptonic goldstino and invisible Higgs boson decays

Abstract

Non-linearly realized supersymmetry, combined with the Standard Model field content and SU(3)XSU(2)XU(1) gauge invariance, permits local dimension-six operators involving a goldstino, a lepton doublet and a Higgs doublet. These interactions preserve total lepton number if the left-handed goldstino transforms as an antilepton. We discuss the resulting phenomenology, in the simple limit where the new couplings involve only one lepton family, thus conserving also lepton flavour. Both the Z boson and the Higgs boson can decay into a neutrino and a goldstino: the present limits from the invisible Z width and from other observables leave room for the striking possibility of a Higgs boson decaying dominantly, or at least with a sizable branching ratio, via such an invisible mode. We finally comment on the perspectives at hadron and lepton colliders, and on possible extensions of our analysis.