How large are hadronic contributions to $h \to γγ$?
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866908624209575936 |
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| author | Haisch, Ulrich |
| author_facet | Haisch, Ulrich |
| contents | The decay of the Higgs boson into two photons, $h \to γγ$, is a loop-induced process within the Standard Model, predominantly mediated by loops of $W$ bosons and top quarks. While these leading contributions are well understood, the role of hadronic effects, which arise from non-perturbative QCD dynamics, has received less attention, with recent studies reporting puzzling and contradictory results. In this work, we present a systematic evaluation of the hadronic contributions to the $h \to γγ$ decay width using dispersion relations. Our analysis shows that these contributions are exceedingly small, as expected, altering the decay width by about $0.004\%$ under conservative assumptions. Therefore, hadronic effects can be safely neglected even in the context of future high-precision Higgs measurements at current and next-generation colliders. As an aside, we also estimate the possible size of hadronic contributions to Higgs production in gluon-gluon fusion. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_05773 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | How large are hadronic contributions to $h \to γγ$? Haisch, Ulrich High Energy Physics - Phenomenology High Energy Physics - Experiment The decay of the Higgs boson into two photons, $h \to γγ$, is a loop-induced process within the Standard Model, predominantly mediated by loops of $W$ bosons and top quarks. While these leading contributions are well understood, the role of hadronic effects, which arise from non-perturbative QCD dynamics, has received less attention, with recent studies reporting puzzling and contradictory results. In this work, we present a systematic evaluation of the hadronic contributions to the $h \to γγ$ decay width using dispersion relations. Our analysis shows that these contributions are exceedingly small, as expected, altering the decay width by about $0.004\%$ under conservative assumptions. Therefore, hadronic effects can be safely neglected even in the context of future high-precision Higgs measurements at current and next-generation colliders. As an aside, we also estimate the possible size of hadronic contributions to Higgs production in gluon-gluon fusion. |
| title | How large are hadronic contributions to $h \to γγ$? |
| topic | High Energy Physics - Phenomenology High Energy Physics - Experiment |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.05773 |