A 750 GeV Diphoton Signal from a Very Light Pseudoscalar in the NMSSM

Abstract

The excess of events in the diphoton final state near 750 GeV observed by ATLAS and CMS can be explained within the NMSSM near the R-symmetry limit. Both scalars beyond the Standard Model Higgs boson have masses near 750 GeV, mix strongly, and share sizeable production cross sections in association with b-quarks as well as branching fractions into a pair of very light pseudoscalars. Pseudoscalars with a mass of ~ 210 MeV decay into collimated diphotons, whereas pseudoscalars with a mass of ~ 500-550 MeV can decay either into collimated diphotons or into three pi^0 resulting in collimated photon jets. Various such scenarios are discussed; the dominant constraints on the latter scenario originate from bounds on radiative Upsilon decays, but they allow for a signal cross section up to 6.7 fb times the acceptance for collimated multiphotons to pass as a single photon.

Comments: Major update, 21 pages, scenarios with M_A ~ 210 MeV and M_A ~ 550 MeV added, references and output files from NMSSMTools added, section and figure on Delta_eta of diphotons added. To appear in JHEP