New Higgs signals from flavor physics in large extra dimensions

Abstract

In a realistic theory with large extra dimensions and TeV scale gravity, there are often other particles living in the extra dimensions in addition to gravitons. A well motivated candidate is the flavon in a flavor theory which explains the smallness of the fermion masses by the large volume of the extra dimensions. The flavon interactions involve the Higgs field and can therefore give rise to new mechanisms of Higgs boson production. We study these new Higgs signals, including both real flavon emission and virtual flavon exchange. They could provide powerful probes of the string scale which are comparable to the extensively studied graviton production, if the flavons and the graviton feel the same number of extra dimensions. If the flavons only live in a subspace of the extra dimensions, they can yield even stronger bounds and may generate spectacular displaced vertex signals. Our study also applies to a four dimensional flavor theory with light flavons as well as to any theory with bulk scalar fields coupled to the Higgs and fermions.