Higgs boson pair production in non-linear Effective Field Theory with full $m_t$-dependence at NLO QCD

Abstract

We present a calculation of the NLO QCD corrections to Higgs boson pair production within the framework of a non-linearly realised Effective Field Theory in the Higgs sector, described by the electroweak chiral Lagrangian. We analyse how the NLO corrections affect distributions in the Higgs boson pair invariant mass and the transverse momentum of one of the Higgs bosons. We find that these corrections lead to significant and non-homogeneous K-factors in certain regions of the parameter space. We also provide an analytical parametrisation for the total cross-section and the $m_{hh}$ distribution as a function of the anomalous Higgs couplings that includes NLO corrections. Such a parametrisation can be useful for phenomenological studies.

40 pages, 26 figures, v2: published version; v3: ancillary files for 13, 14 and 27 TeV for LO and NLO differential cross sections and usage example added; v4: erratum in Appendix B as per published version, updated ancillary files