Detection prospects of light NMSSM Higgs pseudoscalar via cascades of heavier scalars from vector boson fusion and Higgs-strahlung

A detection at the large hadron collider of a light Higgs pseudoscalar would, if interpreted in a supersymmetric framework, be a smoking gun signature of nonminimal supersymmetry. In this work in the framework of the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model we focus on vector boson fusion and Higgs-strahlung production of heavier scalars that subsequently decay into pairs of light pseudoscalars. We demonstrate that although these channels have in general very limited reach, they are viable for the detection of light pseudoscalars in some parts of parameter space and can serve as an important complementary probe to the dominant gluon-fusion production mode. We also demonstrate that in a Higgs factory these channels may reach sensitivities comparable to or even exceeding the gluon fusion channels at the Large Hadron Collider, thus possibly rendering this our best option to discover a light pseudoscalar. It is also worth mentioning that for the singlet dominated scalar this may be the only way to measure its couplings to gauge bosons. Especially promising are channels where the initial scalar is radiated off a W as these events have relatively high rates and provide substantial background suppression due to leptons from the W. We identify three benchmark points that well represent the above scenarios. Assuming that the masses of the scalars and pseudoscalars are already measured in the gluon-fusion channel, the event kinematics can be further constrained, hence significantly improving detection prospects. This is especially important in the Higgs-strahlung channels with rather heavy scalars, and results in possible detection at 200 fb for the most favoured parts of the parameter space