Higgs physics as a window beyond the MSSM

Abstract

We interpret the current experimental limit on the lightest Higgs boson mass to suggest that, if nature is supersymmetric, there are additional interactions beyond those of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) coming from new degrees of freedom around the TeV scale. Within an effective field theory analysis, the leading order corrections to the MSSM are described in terms of only two operators. This provides a highly constrained description of beyond MSSM physics. The scalar Higgs spectrum as well as the chargino and neutralino spectra and couplings are modified in a distinctive way. These operators can be generated by a variety of microscopic mechanisms. © 2007 The American Physical Society.