<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mi mathvariant="italic">h</mml:mi><mml:mi/><mml:mo>→</mml:mo><mml:mi/><mml:mi>μ</mml:mi><mml:mi>τ</mml:mi></mml:math>at Hadron Colliders

It is found that at the Tevatron run II the unique mutau signature could serve as the Higgs discovery channel, surpassing expectations for Higgs boson searches in the SM and in a large parameter region of the MSSM.

Abstract

We study the observability for a lepton flavor-changing decay of a Higgs boson $h\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\tau}$ at hadron colliders. Flavor-changing couplings of a Higgs boson exist at tree level in models with multiple Higgs doublets. The $h\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\tau}$ coupling is particularly motivated by the favorable interpretation of ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\nu}}_{\ensuremath{\tau}}$ oscillation. We find that at the Tevatron run II the unique $\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\tau}$ signature could serve as the Higgs discovery channel, surpassing expectations for Higgs boson searches in the SM and in a large parameter region of the MSSM. The sensitivity will be greatly improved at the LHC, beyond the coverage at a muon collider Higgs factory.