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This content will become publicly available on February 1, 2026

Title: Energy-enhanced dimension eight SMEFT effects in VBF Higgs production
A<sc>bstract</sc> We study Higgs boson production via vector boson fusion at the LHC, focusing on the processpp→H+jjand capturing the leading energy-enhanced contributions within the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT) up to order 1/Λ4. Employing energy-scaling arguments, we predict the magnitude of each higher-dimensional operator’s contribution. Utilizing the geometric formulation of SMEFT, our analysis incorporates dimension-eight operators not previously considered. We find that the kinematics of vector boson fusion — characterized by two highly forward jets — tend to suppress contributions from higher-dimensional operators, requiring a lower scale Λ for SMEFT effects to become observable. This suggests that the SMEFT remains valid for lower Λ than expected. Combined with the fact that LEP constrains the dimension-six operators with the most considerable impact on vector boson fusion, a regime exists where dimension-eight operators can have significant effects. In many cases, these dimension-eight operators also influence associated production processes likepp→HV(jj), though differences in analysis cuts and kinematics mean this is not always the case. Our findings provide insights that could refine the search for SMEFT signals in collider experiments.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2412701
PAR ID:
10591132
Author(s) / Creator(s):
;
Publisher / Repository:
Journal of High Energy Physics
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Journal of High Energy Physics
Volume:
2025
Issue:
2
ISSN:
1029-8479
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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