# 1 Introduction

## 1 Introduction

The Higgs mechanism, which is responsible for the generation of all particle masses in the Standard Model (SM), is as yet an experimentally untested mechanism. This mechanism of mass generation leaves behind a remnant in the form of scalar particle(s), the Higgs boson(s), which has eluded the experimental search so far. The Higgs particle is expected to be discovered at the LHC, if not at LEP2 . Current estimates from precision electroweak data  suggest that it is rather light. Although a light Higgs particle would be consistent with the Standard Model, it is natural only in a supersymmetric framework . The minimal version of the Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) contains two Higgs doublets $`(H_1,H_2)`$ with opposite hypercharges : $`Y(H_1)=1`$, $`Y(H_2)=+1`$, so as to generate masses for up- and down-type quarks (and leptons), and to cancel triangle gauge anomalies. After spontaneous symmetry breaking induced by the neutral components of $`H_1`$ and $`H_2`$ obtaining vacuum expectation values, $`H_1=v_1`$, $`H_2=v_2`$, $`\mathrm{tan}\beta =v_2/v_1`$, the MSSM contains two neutral $`CP`$-even ($`h`$, $`H`$), one neutral $`CP`$-odd ($`A`$), and two charged ($`H^\pm `$) Higgs bosons. Because of gauge invariance and supersymmetry, all the Higgs masses and the Higgs couplings in the MSSM can be described (at tree level) in terms of only two parameters, which are usually chosen to be $`\mathrm{tan}\beta `$ and $`m_A`$, the mass of the $`CP`$-odd Higgs boson. Once a light Higgs boson is discovered, a detailed measurement of its branching ratios should, in principle, enable one to distinguish between a SM Higgs boson and the lightest MSSM Higgs boson.

Apart from the large number of Higgs bosons in the minimal version of the supersymmetric standard model, there is more to the MSSM Higgs sector than the branching ratios. For a complete analysis of the Higgs sector, one should also measure the trilinear and quartic self-couplings of the Higgs boson, which in the MSSM are determined (at the tree level) by the gauge couplings. The measurability of trilinear couplings involving the light Higgs boson was investigated by Djouadi, Haber and Zerwas . In this preliminary study, it was concluded that the trilinear couplings $`\lambda _{Hhh}`$ and $`\lambda _{hhh}`$, where $`h`$ and $`H`$ denote the two neutral, $`CP`$-even Higgs bosons, could be measured at a high-energy $`e^+e^{}`$ linear collider. A more detailed study, including the squark mixing, of the measurability of the trilinear Higgs couplings was carried out in . Recently, the leading two-loop effects have also been incorporated in the calculations .

All the trilinear self-couplings of the physical Higgs particles can be predicted theoretically (at the tree level) in terms of $`m_A`$ and $`\mathrm{tan}\beta `$. Once a light Higgs boson is discovered, the measurement of these trilinear couplings can be used to reconstruct the Higgs potential of the MSSM. This will go a long way in establishing the Higgs mechanism as the basic mechanism of spontaneous symmetry breaking in gauge theories.

We have considered in detail  the question of the possible measurements of some of the trilinear Higgs couplings of the MSSM at a high-energy $`e^+e^{}`$ linear collider that will operate at an energy of 500 GeV with an integrated luminosity per year of $`_{\mathrm{int}}=500\text{fb}^1`$ . We focus on the trilinear Higgs couplings $`\lambda _{Hhh}`$ and $`\lambda _{hhh}`$, involving the $`CP`$-even Higgs bosons. They are rather small with respect to the corresponding trilinear coupling $`\lambda _{hhh}^{\mathrm{SM}}`$ in the SM (for a given mass of the lightest Higgs boson $`m_h`$), unless $`m_h`$ is close to the upper value (the decoupling limit).

## 2 Trilinear Higgs couplings

In units of $`gm_Z/(2\mathrm{cos}\theta _\mathrm{W})=(\sqrt{2}G_F)^{1/2}m_Z^2`$, the tree-level trilinear Higgs couplings of the MSSM, that we shall discuss, are given by :

$`\lambda _{hhh}^0`$ $`=`$ $`3\mathrm{cos}2\alpha \mathrm{sin}(\beta +\alpha ),`$ (1)   
$`\lambda _{Hhh}^0`$ $`=`$ $`2\mathrm{sin}2\alpha \mathrm{sin}(\beta +\alpha )\mathrm{cos}2\alpha \mathrm{cos}(\beta +\alpha ),`$ (2)   
where $`\alpha `$ is the mixing angle in the $`CP`$-even Higgs sector, which is determined by the parameters of the $`CP`$-even Higgs boson mass matrix.

The trilinear Higgs couplings $`\lambda _{Hhh}`$ and $`\lambda _{hhh}`$ of the neutral Higgs bosons in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM), Eqs. (1) and (2), involve the $`CP`$-even Higgs bosons $`h`$ and $`H`$. These trilinear couplings can be measured through the multiple production of the Higgs bosons at high-energy $`e^+e^{}`$ colliders. The relevant production mechanisms that we shall consider are the production of the heavier $`CP`$-even Higgs boson via $`e^+e^{}ZH`$, in association with the $`CP`$-odd Higgs boson ($`A`$) in $`e^+e^{}AH`$, or via the fusion process $`e^+e^{}\nu _e\overline{\nu }_eH`$, with $`H`$ subsequently decaying through $`Hhh`$. The multiple production of the light Higgs boson through Higgs-strahlung of $`H`$, and through production of $`H`$ in association with the $`CP`$-odd Higgs boson can be used to extract the trilinear Higgs coupling $`\lambda _{Hhh}`$. The non-resonant fusion mechanism for multiple $`h`$ production, $`e^+e^{}\nu _e\overline{\nu }_ehh`$, involves two trilinear Higgs couplings, $`\lambda _{Hhh}`$ and $`\lambda _{hhh}`$, and is useful for extracting $`\lambda _{hhh}`$. For the extraction of other MSSM trilinear Higgs couplings, $`\lambda _{HHh}`$, $`\lambda _{HHH}`$, $`\lambda _{hAA}`$, and $`\lambda _{HAA}`$, at $`e^+e^{}`$ colliders, see .

At the tree level, the CP-even Higgs boson $`h`$ is rather light, and $`m_hm_Z`$ holds. However, there are large radiative corrections to this result and a new bound is set, $`m_h135`$ GeV. The dominant one-loop radiative corrections are proportional to $`(m_t/m_W)^4`$, and to a set of complicated functions depending on the squark masses . Recently, the dominant two-loop radiative corrections  to the Higgs sector have been evaluated. The two-loop contributions yield a large correction to the one-loop result, and as a consequence $`m_h`$ is reduced by up to $`20`$ GeV, which is particularly important for low values of $`\mathrm{tan}\beta .`$ In Fig. 2 we plot the two-loop corrected mass of the lightest Higgs boson as a function of $`m_A`$ and $`\mathrm{tan}\beta `$ for two values of the mixing parameters $`A`$ and $`\mu `$, as indicated<sup>2</sup><sup>2</sup>2The LEP experiments have obtained strong lower bounds on the mass of the lightest Higgs boson, and are beginning to rule out significant parts of the small-$`\mathrm{tan}\beta `$ parameter space. ALEPH finds a lower limit of $`m_h>72.2`$ GeV, irrespective of $`\mathrm{tan}\beta `$, and a limit of $`88`$ GeV for $`1<\mathrm{tan}\beta <2`$ ..

We shall include one-loop radiative corrections , as well as the leading two-loop corrections , to the Higgs sector in our calculations. In particular, we take into account  the parameters $`A`$ and $`\mu `$, the soft supersymmetry breaking trilinear parameter and the bilinear Higgs(ino) parameter in the superpotential. These parameters determine the stop masses,

$$m_{\stackrel{~}{t}_{1,2}}^2=m_t^2+\stackrel{~}{m}^2\pm m_t(A+\mu \mathrm{cot}\beta )$$
(3)   
which enter through the radiative corrections to the Higgs masses as well as to the Higgs trilinear couplings.

The trilinear couplings depend significantly on $`m_A`$, and thus also on $`m_h`$. This is shown in Fig. 2, where we compare $`\lambda _{Hhh}`$, $`\lambda _{hhh}`$ and $`\lambda _{hAA}`$ for two different values of $`\mathrm{tan}\beta `$. For a given value of $`m_h`$, the values of these couplings significantly depend on the soft supersymmetry-breaking trilinear parameter $`A`$, as well as on $`\mu `$.

As is clear from Fig. 2, at low values of $`m_h`$, the MSSM trilinear couplings are rather small. For some value of $`m_h`$ the couplings $`\lambda _{Hhh}`$ and $`\lambda _{hhh}`$ start to increase in magnitude, whereas $`\lambda _{hAA}`$ remains small.

## 3 Production mechanisms

The dominant mechanisms for the production of multiple $`CP`$-even light Higgs bosons is through the processes

$`\begin{array}{ccc}e^+e^{}& & ZH,AH\\ e^+e^{}& & \nu _e\overline{\nu }_eH\end{array}\},Hhh,`$ (6)   
shown in Fig. 3. The heavy Higgs boson $`H`$ can be produced by $`H`$-strahlung, in association with $`A`$, and by the resonant $`WW`$ fusion mechanism. All the diagrams of Fig. 3 involve the trilinear coupling $`\lambda _{Hhh}`$.

A background to the processes (6) comes from the production of the pseudoscalar $`A`$ in association with $`h`$ and its subsequent decay to $`hZ`$

$$e^+e^{}hA,AhZ,$$
(7)   
leading to $`Zhh`$ final states.

Another mechanism for $`hh`$ production is double Higgs-strahlung in the continuum with a $`Z`$ boson in the final state,

$$e^+e^{}Z^{}Zhh.$$
(8)   
Finally, there is also a mechanism for the multiple production of the lightest Higgs boson through non-resonant $`WW`$ fusion in the continuum:

$$e^+e^{}\overline{\nu }_e\nu _eW^{}W^{}\overline{\nu }_e\nu _ehh,$$
(9)   
as shown in Fig. 3.

It is important to note that all the diagrams of Fig. 3 involve the trilinear coupling $`\lambda _{Hhh}`$ only. In contrast, the non-resonant analogues of Figs. 3a, 3b and 3c (or 3c) involve both the trilinear Higgs couplings $`\lambda _{Hhh}`$ and $`\lambda _{hhh}`$.

### 3.1 Higgs-strahlung and associated production of $`H`$

The dominant source for the production of multiple light Higgs bosons in $`e^+e^{}`$ collisions is through the production of the heavier $`CP`$-even Higgs boson $`H`$ either via Higgs-strahlung or in association with $`A`$, followed, if kinematically allowed, by the decay $`Hhh`$.

In Fig. 3.1 we plot the relevant cross sections  for the $`e^+e^{}`$ centre-of-mass energy $`\sqrt{s}=500\mathrm{GeV}`$, as functions of the Higgs mass $`m_H`$ and for $`\mathrm{tan}\beta =3.0`$. For a fixed value of $`m_H`$, there is seen to be a significant sensitivity to the squark mixing parameters $`\mu `$ and $`A`$. We have here taken $`\stackrel{~}{m}=1\mathrm{TeV}`$, a value which is adopted throughout, except where otherwise specified.

A measurement of the decay rate $`Hhh`$ directly yields $`\lambda _{Hhh}^2`$. But this is possible only if the decay is kinematically allowed, and the branching ratio is sizeable (but not too close to unity). In Fig. 3.1 we show the branching ratios (at $`\mathrm{tan}\beta =3.0`$) for the main decay modes of the heavy $`CP`$-even Higgs boson as a function of the $`H`$ mass . Apart from the $`hh`$ decay mode, the other important decay modes are $`Hb\overline{b}`$, $`WW^{}`$, $`ZZ^{}`$. For increasing values of $`\mathrm{tan}\beta `$ (but fixed $`m_h`$), the $`Hhh`$ coupling gradually gets weaker (Fig. 2), and hence the prospects for measuring $`\lambda _{Hhh}`$ diminish. Also, the decay rates can change significantly with $`\stackrel{~}{m}`$, the over-all squark mass scale (see Fig. 3.1).

There is a sizeable region in the $`m_A`$$`\mathrm{tan}\beta `$ plane where the decay $`Hhh`$ is kinematically forbidden, which is shown in Fig. 3.1 as an egg-shaped region at the upper left of the plot. The boundary of the region depends crucially on the precise Higgs mass values. This is illustrated by comparing two cases of mixing parameters $`A`$ and $`\mu `$. We also display the regions where the $`Hhh`$ branching ratio is in the range 0.1–0.9. Obviously, in the forbidden region, the $`\lambda _{Hhh}`$ cannot be determined from resonant production.

### 3.2 Double Higgs-strahlung

As discussed above, for small and moderate values of $`\mathrm{tan}\beta `$, a study of decays of the heavy $`CP`$-even Higgs boson $`H`$ provides a means of determining the triple-Higgs coupling $`\lambda _{Hhh}`$. For the purpose of extracting the coupling $`\lambda _{hhh}`$, non-resonant processes involving two-Higgs ($`h`$) final states must be considered. The $`Zhh`$ final states produced in the non-resonant double Higgs-strahlung $`e^+e^{}Zhh`$, and whose cross section involves the coupling $`\lambda _{hhh}`$, could provide one possible opportunity.

However, the non-resonant contribution to the $`Zhh`$ cross section is rather small, as is shown in Fig. 3.2 for $`\sqrt{s}=500\mathrm{GeV}`$, $`\mathrm{tan}\beta =3.0`$, and $`\stackrel{~}{m}=1\mathrm{TeV}`$. At low values of $`m_h`$, the decay $`Hhh`$ is kinematically forbidden. This is followed by an increase of the trilinear couplings.

Since the non-resonant part of the cross section, which depends on $`\lambda _{hhh}`$, is rather small, this channel is not suitable for a determination of $`\lambda _{hhh}`$ .

### 3.3 Fusion mechanism for multiple-$`h`$ production

A two-Higgs ($`hh`$) final state can also result from the $`WW`$ fusion mechanism in $`e^+e^{}`$ collisions. There is a resonant contribution (through $`H`$) and a non-resonant one.

The resonant $`WW`$ fusion cross section for $`e^+e^{}H\overline{\nu }_e\nu _e`$  is plotted in Fig. 3.1 for the centre-of-mass energy $`\sqrt{s}=500`$ GeV, and for $`\mathrm{tan}\beta =3.0`$, as a function of $`m_H`$.

Besides the resonant $`WW`$ fusion mechanism for the multiple production of $`h`$ bosons, there is also a non-resonant $`WW`$ fusion mechanism:

$$e^+e^{}\nu _e\overline{\nu }_ehh,$$
(10)   
through which the same final state of two $`h`$ bosons can be produced. The cross section for this process (see Fig. 3), can be written in the effective $`WW`$ approximation as a $`WW`$ cross section, at invariant energy squared $`\widehat{s}=xs`$, folded with the $`WW`$ “luminosity” . Thus,

$$\sigma (e^+e^{}\nu _e\overline{\nu }_ehh)=_\tau ^1dx\frac{\mathrm{d}L}{\mathrm{d}x}\widehat{\sigma }_{WW}^{}(x),$$
(11)   
where $`\tau =4m_h^2/s`$, and

$$\frac{\mathrm{d}L(x)}{\mathrm{d}x}=\frac{G_\mathrm{F}^2m_W^4}{2}\left(\frac{1}{2\pi ^2}\right)^2\frac{1}{x}\left\{(1+x)\mathrm{log}\frac{1}{x}2(1x)\right\}.$$
(12)   
The $`WW`$ cross section receives contributions from several amplitudes, according to the diagrams (a)–(d) in Fig. 3, only one of which is proportional to $`\lambda _{hhh}`$. We have evaluated these contributions , following the approach of Ref. , ignoring transverse momenta everywhere except in the $`W`$ propagators. Our approach also differs from that of  in that we do not project out the longitudinal degrees of freedom of the intermediate $`W`$ bosons.

We show in Fig. 3.3 the resulting $`WW`$ fusion cross section, at $`\sqrt{s}=1.5\mathrm{TeV}`$, and for $`\stackrel{~}{m}=1\mathrm{TeV}`$. The structure is reminiscent of Fig. 3.2, and the reasons for this are the same. Notice, however, that the scale is different. Since this is a fusion cross section, it grows logarithmically with energy.

For high values of $`m_h`$ we see that there is a moderate contribution to the cross section from the non-resonant part. For a lower squark mass scale $`\stackrel{~}{m}`$, the situation is rather similar, except that the cross section peak (from resonant production) gets shifted to a higher Higgs mass, $`m_h`$.

## 4 Sensitivity to $`\lambda _{Hhh}`$ and $`\lambda _{hhh}`$

We are now ready to combine the results and discuss in which parts of the $`m_A`$$`\mathrm{tan}\beta `$ plane one might hope to measure the trilinear couplings $`\lambda _{Hhh}`$ and $`\lambda _{hhh}`$. In Figs. 4 and 4 we have identified regions according to the following criteria :

* Regions where $`\lambda _{Hhh}`$ might become measurable are identified as those where $`\sigma (H)\times \text{BR}(Hhh)>0.1\text{ fb}`$ (solid), while simultaneously $`0.1<\text{BR}(Hhh)<0.9`$ \[see Figs. 3.13.1\]. In view of the recent, more optimistic, view on the luminosity that might become available, we also give the corresponding contours for 0.05 fb (dashed) and 0.01 fb (dotted).
* Regions where $`\lambda _{hhh}`$ might become measurable are those where the continuum $`WWhh`$ cross section \[Eq. (11)\] is larger than 0.1 fb (solid). Also shown are contours at 0.05 (dashed) and 0.01 fb (dotted).

We have excluded from the plots the region where $`m_h<72.2\mathrm{GeV}`$ . This corresponds to low values of $`m_A`$ and low $`\mathrm{tan}\beta `$.

These cross sections are small, the measurements are not going to be easy. With an integrated luminosity of 500 fb<sup>-1</sup>, the contours at 0.1 fb correspond to 50 events per year. This will be reduced by efficiencies, but should indicate the order of magnitude that can be reached. For the case of the SM Higgs, the backgrounds have been studied  and the measurements appear feasible.

With increasing luminosity, the region where $`\lambda _{Hhh}`$ might be accessible, extends somewhat to higher values of $`m_A`$. Note the steep edge around $`m_A200\mathrm{GeV}`$, where increased luminosity does not help. This is determined by the vanishing of $`\text{BR}(Hhh)`$, as seen in Fig. 3.1. The coupling $`\lambda _{hhh}`$ is accessible in a much larger part of this parameter space.

The precise region in the $`\mathrm{tan}\beta `$$`m_A`$ plane, in which these couplings might be accessible, depends on details of the model. As a further illustration of this point, we show in Fig. 4 the corresponding plots for a squark mass parameter $`\stackrel{~}{m}=500\mathrm{GeV}`$.

## 5 Conclusions

We have reviewed the updated results of a detailed investigation  of the possibility of measuring the MSSM trilinear couplings $`\lambda _{Hhh}`$ and $`\lambda _{hhh}`$ at an $`e^+e^{}`$ collider, focussing in detail on the importance of mixing in the squark sector, as induced by the trilinear coupling $`A`$ and the bilinear coupling $`\mu `$. As compared with our earlier work, we here use two-loop results for the Higgs masses . The two-loop results for the Higgs masses have considerably less dependence on squark mixing.

As a result of the two-loop Higgs masses being less sensitive to squark mixing, the regions in the $`m_A`$$`\mathrm{tan}\beta `$ plane that are accessible for studying $`\lambda _{Hhh}`$ and $`\lambda _{hhh}`$ are more stable than was the case for the one-loop results.

This research was supported by the Research Council of Norway, and (PNP) by the University Grants Commission, India under project number 10-26/98(SR-I).