Higgs-Physics at a Future Electron Proton Collider

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Matthias Schott
• Subject Area: Nuclear and Elementary Particle Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Relativity, Fields
• Term: from 2018 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 418662039

Precision measurements of the Higgs boson, in particular its coupling parameters to fermions and bosons as well as its total width, would allow to test the mechanics of electroweak symmetry breaking and thus open a window to physics beyond the Standard Model. Several future collider projects, which are currently under discussion, aim to provide the experimental facilities for these high precision measurements. The most prominent projects would use electron-positron collisions, such as the International Linear Collider (ILC) or the Circular Electron Positron Collider (CEPC) proposals. In recent years, it became evident that an electron-proton collider with a center-of-mass energy of up to 1.3 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) could be a potential low-cost alternative. Carefully conducted studies suggest that a combination of data collected in electron-proton and proton-proton collisions would yield a competitive precision on Higgs coupling parameters. However, as of now it is not clear whether a total Higgs width measurement could be performed as well. Moreover, a full detector simulation is currently not used for full detector- or physics-performance evaluations. Such studies on the Higgs physics potential at a future Large electron Hadron Collider (LHeC) were strongly encouraged during the latest strategy workshop of the German particle physics community. Within this research project, we will further develop the full LHeC detector simulation and consolidate the relevant studies using alternative signal and background samples. Moreover, we plan to investigate the possibility to use the cross-section dependence on the center-of-mass energy of the Higgs boson production in order to measure a model independent total width of the Higgs boson.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: United Kingdom
• Cooperation Partner: Dr. Uta Klein