Highly boosted Higgs bosons and unitarity in vector-boson fusion at future hadron colliders

We study the observability of new interactions which modify Higgs-pair production via vector-boson fusion processes at the LHC and at future proton-proton colliders. In an effective-Lagrangian approach, we explore in particular the effect of the operator h2W mu nu aWa,mu nu, which describes the interaction of the Higgs boson with transverse vector-boson polarization modes. By tagging highly boosted Higgs bosons in the final state, we determine projected bounds for the coefficient of this operator at the LHC and at a future 27 TeV or 100 TeV collider. Taking into account unitarity constraints, we estimate the new-physics discovery potential of Higgs pair production in this channel.

Automated summary

This study investigates the observability of new interactions affecting Higgs-pair production at the LHC and future proton-proton colliders. By tagging boosted Higgs bosons, projected bounds for the operator coefficient at different colliders are determined, taking into account unitarity constraints. The discovery potential for new physics in Higgs pair production in this channel is estimated.