Discovery Prospects for NMSSM Higgs Bosons at the High-Energy Large Hadron Collider

We investigate the discovery prospects for NMSSM Higgs bosons during the 13~TeV run of the LHC. While one of the neutral Higgs bosons is demanded to have a mass around 125~GeV and Standard Model (SM)-like properties, there can be substantially lighter, nearby or heavier Higgs bosons, that have not been excluded yet by LEP, Tevatron or the 8~TeV run of the LHC. The challenge consists in discovering the whole NMSSM Higgs mass spectrum. We present the rates for production and subsequent decay of the neutral NMSSM Higgs bosons in the most promising final states and discuss their possible discovery. The prospects for pinning down the Higgs sector of the Natural NMSSM will be analysed taking into account alternative search channels. We give a series of benchmark scenarios compatible with the experimental constraints, that feature Higgs-to-Higgs decays and entail (exotic) signatures with multi-fermion and/or multi-photon final states. These decay chains furthermore give access to the trilinear Higgs self-couplings. We briefly discuss the possibility of exploiting coupling sum rules in case not all the NMSSM Higgs bosons are discovered.

Dark Energy density in models with Split Supersymmetry and degenerate vacua

In N=1 supergravity supersymmetric (SUSY) and non-supersymmetric Minkowski vacua originating in the hidden sector can be degenerate. In the supersymmetric phase in flat Minkowski space non-perturbative supersymmetry breakdown may take place in the observable sector, inducing a non-zero and positive vacuum energy density. Assuming that such a supersymmetric phase and the phase in which we live are degenerate, we estimate the value of the cosmological constant. We argue that the observed value of the dark energy density can be reproduced in the Split-SUSY scenario of the supersymmetry breaking if the SUSY breaking scale is of order of 10^{10} GeV.

Dark Energy density in Split SUSY models inspired by degenerate vacua

It is well known that global symmetries protect local supersymmetry and a zero value for the cosmological constant in no--scale supergravity. The breakdown of these symmetries, which ensure the vanishing of the vacuum energy density, results in a set of degenerate vacua with broken and unbroken supersymmetry leading to the natural realisation of the multiple point principle (MPP). Assuming the degeneracy of vacua with broken and unbroken SUSY in the hidden sector we estimate the value of the cosmological constant. We argue that the observed value of the dark energy density can be reproduced in the split-SUSY scenario if the SUSY breaking scale is of the order of 10^{10} GeV.

Cosmological Constant in SUGRA Models Inspired by Degenerate Vacua

It is well known that global symmetries protect local supersymmetry and a zero value for the cosmological constant in no--scale supergravity. A particular breakdown of these symmetries, which ensures the vanishing of the vacuum energy density, leads to the natural realisation of the multiple point principle (MPP). In the MPP inspired SUGRA models the cosmological constant is naturally tiny.