Interference effects in gluon-fusion Higgs boson production
Pith reviewed 2026-06-28 05:15 UTC · model grok-4.3
The pith
Destructive interference in gluon-fusion Higgs production reduces the diphoton rate by 1.6% and the Z gamma rate by 3%.
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
Core claim
In the resonance region, higher-order perturbative QCD computations of the interference between the Higgs signal and the continuum background show a destructive effect that reduces the resonant production rate by about 1.6% for gg to H to gamma gamma and by roughly 3% for gg to H to Z gamma.
What carries the argument
Higher-order perturbative QCD computations of the signal-background interference amplitudes in the resonance region.
If this is right
- The resonant Higgs production rate in the diphoton channel is reduced by 1.6%.
- The resonant rate in the Z gamma decay mode is reduced by 3%.
- Interference effects are largest relative to the signal for loop-induced Higgs decays.
- The focus on the resonance region isolates the interference terms that are most relevant for rate measurements.
Where Pith is reading between the lines
- Similar percentage-level corrections may appear in other loop-induced Higgs decay channels not examined here.
- Incorporating these interference terms into global fits would tighten the uncertainty on the gluon-fusion cross section.
- Experimental analyses that bin finely around the resonance peak could directly test the size of the reported reductions.
Load-bearing premise
Higher-order perturbative QCD computations accurately capture the interference without significant contributions from even higher orders or non-perturbative effects.
What would settle it
A high-precision measurement of the Higgs diphoton or Z gamma rate in the resonance region that deviates from the no-interference prediction by more than the stated percentages.
Figures
read the original abstract
In this contribution we summarize recent progress in higher-order computations of signal-background interference effects in Higgs boson production via gluon fusion. The focus is on the resonance region, where interference terms are most significant relative to the pure signal contribution when the Higgs boson decay is loop-induced. We present results for the well-studied $gg \to H \to \gamma\gamma$ process and for the rare $gg \to H \to Z\gamma$ mode. In both cases, the interference is destructive, reducing the resonant Higgs boson production rate by about 1.6\% in the diphoton channel and by roughly 3\% in the $Z\gamma$ decay mode.
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. The manuscript summarizes recent higher-order perturbative QCD computations of signal-background interference in gluon-fusion Higgs production, with focus on the resonance region for the loop-induced decays gg → H → γγ and gg → H → Zγ. It reports that the interference is destructive in both channels, reducing the resonant Higgs production rate by about 1.6% in the diphoton channel and roughly 3% in the Zγ mode.
Significance. If the quoted interference corrections hold, they supply relevant higher-order adjustments for precision Higgs phenomenology at the LHC, especially for rare decay channels where interference is relatively large. The emphasis on resonance kinematics and loop-induced modes aligns with standard needs for accurate theoretical predictions in Higgs physics.
minor comments (2)
- The abstract states numerical results (1.6% and ~3%) without accompanying uncertainties or a brief outline of the computational setup; adding these would improve clarity even in a summary contribution.
- Consider including a short comparison to lower-order results or existing literature values for the interference corrections to contextualize the higher-order improvements.
Simulated Author's Rebuttal
We thank the referee for their concise and positive summary of our manuscript on interference effects in gluon-fusion Higgs production. The report recommends minor revision but lists no specific major comments, so we have no individual points to address.
Circularity Check
No significant circularity; results are direct outputs of perturbative calculations
full rationale
The paper summarizes higher-order pQCD computations of signal-background interference in gg → H → γγ and gg → H → Zγ, reporting destructive interference corrections of ~1.6% and ~3% in the resonance region. These percentages are presented as numerical outcomes of the calculations rather than fitted parameters, self-defined quantities, or results justified solely by self-citation. No equations, ansatze, or uniqueness theorems are invoked in the provided text that would reduce the central claims to the inputs by construction. The focus on loop-induced decays and resonance kinematics follows standard practice in the field without introducing load-bearing self-referential steps.
Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger
Reference graph
Works this paper leans on
-
[1]
H. M. Georgi, S. L. Glashow, M. E. Machacek and D. V. Nanopoulos, Higgs Bosons from Two Gluon Annihilation in Proton Proton Collisions , Phys. Rev. Lett. 40, 692 (1978), doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.40.692
-
[2]
QCD corrections to Higgs-boson production at proton-proton colliders
D. Graudenz, M. Spira and P. M. Zerwas, QCD corrections to Higgs boson production at proton proton colliders , Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 1372 (1993), doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.70.1372
-
[3]
R. V. Harlander and W. B. Kilgore, Next-to-next-to-leading order Higgs production at hadron colliders , Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 201801 (2002), doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.201801, http://arxiv.org/abs/hep-ph/0201206 hep-ph/0201206
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1103/physrevlett.88.201801 2002
-
[4]
Higgs boson production at hadron colliders in NNLO QCD
C. Anastasiou and K. Melnikov, Higgs boson production at hadron colliders in NNLO QCD , Nucl. Phys. B 646, 220 (2002), doi:10.1016/S0550-3213(02)00837-4, http://arxiv.org/abs/hep-ph/0207004 hep-ph/0207004
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1016/s0550-3213(02)00837-4 2002
-
[5]
NNLO corrections to the total cross section for Higgs boson production in hadron-hadron collisions
V. Ravindran, J. Smith and W. L. van Neerven, NNLO corrections to the total cross-section for Higgs boson production in hadron hadron collisions , Nucl. Phys. B 665, 325 (2003), doi:10.1016/S0550-3213(03)00457-7, http://arxiv.org/abs/hep-ph/0302135 hep-ph/0302135
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1016/s0550-3213(03)00457-7 2003
-
[6]
Higgs boson gluon-fusion production in N3LO QCD
C. Anastasiou, C. Duhr, F. Dulat, F. Herzog and B. Mistlberger, Higgs Boson Gluon-Fusion Production in QCD at Three Loops , Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 212001 (2015), doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.212001, http://arxiv.org/abs/1503.06056 1503.06056
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1103/physrevlett.114.212001 2015
-
[7]
High precision determination of the gluon fusion Higgs boson cross-section at the LHC
C. Anastasiou, C. Duhr, F. Dulat, E. Furlan, T. Gehrmann, F. Herzog, A. Lazopoulos and B. Mistlberger, High precision determination of the gluon fusion Higgs boson cross-section at the LHC , JHEP 05, 058 (2016), doi:10.1007/JHEP05(2016)058, http://arxiv.org/abs/1602.00695 1602.00695
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1007/jhep05(2016)058 2016
-
[8]
Higgs Boson Production at Hadron Colliders at N3LO in QCD
B. Mistlberger, Higgs boson production at hadron colliders at N ^ 3 LO in QCD , JHEP 05, 028 (2018), doi:10.1007/JHEP05(2018)028, http://arxiv.org/abs/1802.00833 1802.00833
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1007/jhep05(2018)028 2018
-
[9]
G. Das and S.-O. Moch, The inclusive Higgs boson cross-section in gluon-gluon fusion in soft-virtual approximation at fourth order in QCD (2025), http://arxiv.org/abs/2510.17413 2510.17413
arXiv 2025
-
[10]
Handbook of LHC Higgs Cross Sections: 4. Deciphering the Nature of the Higgs Sector
D. de Florian et al., Handbook of LHC Higgs Cross Sections: 4. Deciphering the Nature of the Higgs Sector , CERN Yellow Rep. Monogr. 2, 1 (2017), doi:10.23731/CYRM-2017-002, http://arxiv.org/abs/1610.07922 1610.07922
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.23731/cyrm-2017-002 2017
-
[11]
Three-loop mixed QCD-electroweak corrections to Higgs boson gluon fusion
M. Bonetti, K. Melnikov and L. Tancredi, Three-loop mixed QCD-electroweak corrections to Higgs boson gluon fusion , Phys. Rev. D 97(3), 034004 (2018), doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.97.034004, http://arxiv.org/abs/1711.11113 1711.11113
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1103/physrevd.97.034004 2018
-
[12]
C. Anastasiou, V. del Duca, E. Furlan, B. Mistlberger, F. Moriello, A. Schweitzer and C. Specchia, Mixed QCD-electroweak corrections to Higgs production via gluon fusion in the small mass approximation , JHEP 03, 162 (2019), doi:10.1007/JHEP03(2019)162, http://arxiv.org/abs/1811.11211 1811.11211
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1007/jhep03(2019)162 2019
-
[13]
Higher order corrections to mixed QCD-EW contributions to Higgs production in gluon fusion
M. Bonetti, K. Melnikov and L. Tancredi, Higher order corrections to mixed QCD-EW contributions to Higgs boson production in gluon fusion , Phys. Rev. D 97(5), 056017 (2018), doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.97.056017, [Erratum: Phys.Rev.D 97, 099906 (2018)], http://arxiv.org/abs/1801.10403 1801.10403
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1103/physrevd.97.056017 2018
-
[14]
M. Becchetti, R. Bonciani, V. Del Duca, V. Hirschi, F. Moriello and A. Schweitzer, Next-to-leading order corrections to light-quark mixed QCD-EW contributions to Higgs boson production , Phys. Rev. D 103(5), 054037 (2021), doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.103.054037, http://arxiv.org/abs/2010.09451 2010.09451
-
[15]
M. Czakon, R. V. Harlander, J. Klappert and M. Niggetiedt, Exact Top-Quark Mass Dependence in Hadronic Higgs Production , Phys. Rev. Lett. 127(16), 162002 (2021), doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.162002, [Erratum: Phys.Rev.Lett. 131, 179901 (2023)], http://arxiv.org/abs/2105.04436 2105.04436
-
[16]
M. Czakon, F. Eschment, M. Niggetiedt, R. Poncelet and T. Schellenberger, Top-Bottom Interference Contribution to Fully Inclusive Higgs Production , Phys. Rev. Lett. 132(21), 211902 (2024), doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.211902, http://arxiv.org/abs/2312.09896 2312.09896
-
[17]
T. Cridge et al., Combination of aN ^3 LO PDFs and implications for Higgs production cross-sections at the LHC , J. Phys. G 52, 6 (2025), doi:10.1088/1361-6471/adde78, http://arxiv.org/abs/2411.05373 2411.05373
-
[18]
D. A. Dicus and S. S. D. Willenbrock, Photon Pair Production and the Intermediate Mass Higgs Boson , Phys. Rev. D 37, 1801 (1988), doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.37.1801
-
[19]
L. J. Dixon and M. S. Siu, Resonance continuum interference in the diphoton Higgs signal at the LHC , Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 252001 (2003), doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.90.252001, http://arxiv.org/abs/hep-ph/0302233 hep-ph/0302233
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1103/physrevlett.90.252001 2003
-
[20]
L. J. Dixon and Y. Li, Bounding the Higgs Boson Width Through Interferometry , Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 111802 (2013), doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.111802, http://arxiv.org/abs/1305.3854 1305.3854
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1103/physrevlett.111.111802 2013
-
[21]
J. Campbell, M. Carena, R. Harnik and Z. Liu, Interference in the gg h On-Shell Rate and the Higgs Boson Total Width , Phys. Rev. Lett. 119(18), 181801 (2017), doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.181801, [Addendum: Phys.Rev.Lett. 119, 199901 (2017)], http://arxiv.org/abs/1704.08259 1704.08259
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1103/physrevlett.119.181801 2017
-
[22]
P. Bargiela, F. Buccioni, F. Caola, F. Devoto, A. von Manteuffel and L. Tancredi, Signal-background interference effects in Higgs-mediated diphoton production beyond NLO , Eur. Phys. J. C 83(2), 174 (2023), doi:10.1140/epjc/s10052-023-11337-w, http://arxiv.org/abs/2212.06287 2212.06287
-
[23]
F. Buccioni, F. Devoto, A. Djouadi, J. Ellis, J. Quevillon and L. Tancredi, Interference effects in gg H Z beyond leading order , Phys. Lett. B 851, 138596 (2024), doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2024.138596, http://arxiv.org/abs/2312.12384 2312.12384
-
[24]
Signal-background interference effects for $gg \to H \to W^+ W^-$ beyond leading order
M. Bonvini, F. Caola, S. Forte, K. Melnikov and G. Ridolfi, Signal-background interference effects for gg→H→W^+W^- beyond leading order , Phys. Rev. D 88(3), 034032 (2013), doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.88.034032, http://arxiv.org/abs/1304.3053 1304.3053
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1103/physrevd.88.034032 2013
-
[25]
F. Caola, M. Dowling, K. Melnikov, R. R \"o ntsch and L. Tancredi, QCD corrections to vector boson pair production in gluon fusion including interference effects with off-shell Higgs at the LHC , JHEP 07, 087 (2016), doi:10.1007/JHEP07(2016)087, http://arxiv.org/abs/1605.04610 1605.04610
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1007/jhep07(2016)087 2016
-
[26]
S. P. Martin, Shift in the LHC Higgs Diphoton Mass Peak from Interference with Background , Phys. Rev. D 86, 073016 (2012), doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.86.073016, http://arxiv.org/abs/1208.1533 1208.1533
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1103/physrevd.86.073016 2012
-
[27]
D. de Florian, N. Fidanza, R. J. Hern \'a ndez-Pinto, J. Mazzitelli, Y. Rotstein Habarnau and G. F. R. Sborlini, A complete O( _S^2) calculation of the signal-background interference for the Higgs diphoton decay channel , Eur. Phys. J. C 73(4), 2387 (2013), doi:10.1140/epjc/s10052-013-2387-9, http://arxiv.org/abs/1303.1397 1303.1397
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1140/epjc/s10052-013-2387-9 2013
-
[28]
Interference effects in the $H(\rightarrow \gamma\gamma) + 2$ jets channel at the LHC
F. Coradeschi, D. de Florian, L. J. Dixon, N. Fidanza, S. H \"o che, H. Ita, Y. Li and J. Mazzitelli, Interference effects in the H( ) + 2 jets channel at the LHC , Phys. Rev. D 92(1), 013004 (2015), doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.92.013004, http://arxiv.org/abs/1504.05215 1504.05215
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1103/physrevd.92.013004 2015
-
[29]
L. Cieri, F. Coradeschi, D. de Florian and N. Fidanza, Transverse-momentum resummation for the signal-background interference in the H channel at the LHC , Phys. Rev. D 96(5), 054003 (2017), doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.96.054003, http://arxiv.org/abs/1706.07331 1706.07331
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1103/physrevd.96.054003 2017
-
[30]
Estimate of the m_H shift due to interference between signal and background processes in the H channel, for the s = 8 TeV dataset recorded by ATLAS (2016), ATL-PHYS-PUB-2016-009 https://cds.cern.ch/record/2146386
arXiv 2016
-
[31]
Constraints on the Higgs boson total decay width using signal-background interference in the diphoton final state with proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV (2025), CMS-PAS-HIG-25-004 https://cms-results.web.cern.ch/cms-results/public-results/preliminary-results/HIG-25-004/index.html
2025
-
[32]
Constraining the Higgs boson width with ZZ production at the LHC
F. Caola and K. Melnikov, Constraining the Higgs boson width with ZZ production at the LHC , Phys. Rev. D 88, 054024 (2013), doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.88.054024, http://arxiv.org/abs/1307.4935 1307.4935
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1103/physrevd.88.054024 2013
-
[33]
A. Hayrapetyan et al., Measurement of the Higgs boson mass and width using the four-lepton final state in proton-proton collisions at s=13 \, \, TeV , Phys. Rev. D 111(9), 092014 (2025), doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.111.092014, http://arxiv.org/abs/2409.13663 2409.13663
-
[34]
G. Aad et al., Constraining off-shell Higgs boson production and the Higgs boson total width using WW final states with the ATLAS detector (2025), http://arxiv.org/abs/2504.07710 2504.07710
arXiv 2025
-
[35]
A next-to-next-to-leading order calculation of soft-virtual cross sections
D. de Florian and J. Mazzitelli, A next-to-next-to-leading order calculation of soft-virtual cross sections , JHEP 12, 088 (2012), doi:10.1007/JHEP12(2012)08, http://arxiv.org/abs/1209.0673 1209.0673
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1007/jhep12(2012)08 2012
-
[36]
LHAPDF6: parton density access in the LHC precision era
A. Buckley, J. Ferrando, S. Lloyd, K. Nordstr \"o m, B. Page, M. R \"u fenacht, M. Sch \"o nherr and G. Watt, LHAPDF6: parton density access in the LHC precision era , Eur. Phys. J. C 75, 132 (2015), doi:10.1140/epjc/s10052-015-3318-8, http://arxiv.org/abs/1412.7420 1412.7420
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1140/epjc/s10052-015-3318-8 2015
-
[37]
G. P. Salam and J. Rojo, A Higher Order Perturbative Parton Evolution Toolkit (HOPPET) , Comput. Phys. Commun. 180, 120 (2009), doi:10.1016/j.cpc.2008.08.010, http://arxiv.org/abs/0804.3755 0804.3755
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1016/j.cpc.2008.08.010 2009
-
[38]
A. Karlberg, P. Nason, G. Salam, G. Zanderighi and F. Dreyer, HOPPET v2 release note (2025), http://arxiv.org/abs/2510.09310 2510.09310
arXiv 2025
-
[39]
R. D. Ball et al., Parton distributions from high-precision collider data , Eur. Phys. J. C 77(10), 663 (2017), doi:10.1140/epjc/s10052-017-5199-5, http://arxiv.org/abs/1706.00428 1706.00428
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1140/epjc/s10052-017-5199-5 2017
-
[40]
G. P. Salam and E. Slade, Cuts for two-body decays at colliders , JHEP 11, 220 (2021), doi:10.1007/JHEP11(2021)220, http://arxiv.org/abs/2106.08329 2106.08329
-
[41]
A. Djouadi, M. Spira, J. J. van der Bij and P. M. Zerwas, QCD corrections to gamma gamma decays of Higgs particles in the intermediate mass range , Phys. Lett. B 257, 187 (1991), doi:10.1016/0370-2693(91)90879-U
-
[42]
A. Huss et al., NNLOJET: a parton-level event generator for jet cross sections at NNLO QCD accuracy (2025), http://arxiv.org/abs/2503.22804 2503.22804
Pith/arXiv arXiv 2025
-
[43]
Aad et al., Evidence for the Higgs Boson Decay to a Z Boson and a Photon at the LHC , Phys
G. Aad et al., Evidence for the Higgs Boson Decay to a Z Boson and a Photon at the LHC , Phys. Rev. Lett. 132(2), 021803 (2024), doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.021803, http://arxiv.org/abs/2309.03501 2309.03501
-
[44]
Search for the Higgs boson decay to a Z boson and a photon in pp collisions at s =13\,TeV and 13.6\,TeV with the ATLAS detector (2025), ATLAS-CONF-2025-007 https://cds.cern.ch/record/2937635
arXiv 2025
-
[45]
Search for the rare Higgs boson decay H to Z gamma in proton-proton collisions at s =13 and TeV (2025), CMS-PAS-HIG-25-010 https://cds.cern.ch/record/2958406
arXiv 2025
-
[46]
M. Spira, A. Djouadi and P. M. Zerwas, QCD corrections to the H Z gamma coupling , Phys. Lett. B 276, 350 (1992), doi:10.1016/0370-2693(92)90331-W
-
[47]
The rare decay $H\to Z\gamma$ in perturbative QCD
T. Gehrmann, S. Guns and D. Kara, The rare decay H Z in perturbative QCD , JHEP 09, 038 (2015), doi:10.1007/JHEP09(2015)038, http://arxiv.org/abs/1505.00561 1505.00561
work page internal anchor Pith review Pith/arXiv arXiv doi:10.1007/jhep09(2015)038 2015
-
[48]
Z.-Q. Chen, L.-B. Chen, C.-F. Qiao and R. Zhu, Two-loop electroweak corrections to the Higgs boson rare decay process H Z , Phys. Rev. D 110(5), L051301 (2024), doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.110.L051301, http://arxiv.org/abs/2404.11441 2404.11441
-
[49]
W.-L. Sang, F. Feng and Y. Jia, Next-to-leading-order electroweak correction to H Z^0 , Phys. Rev. D 110(5), L051302 (2024), doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.110.L051302, http://arxiv.org/abs/2405.03464 2405.03464
-
[50]
E. A. Reyes R., C. A. Lopez A., O. R. Torrijo G. and D. G. Melo P., Rare Higgs boson decay into a photon and a Z boson in radiatively driven natural supersymmetry , Phys. Rev. D 112(9), 095012 (2025), doi:10.1103/q9j9-2zkq, http://arxiv.org/abs/2507.09395 2507.09395
-
[51]
G. Aad et al., A search for the Z decay mode of the Higgs boson in pp collisions at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector , Phys. Lett. B 809, 135754 (2020), doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2020.135754, http://arxiv.org/abs/2005.05382 2005.05382
-
[52]
T. Gehrmann, L. Tancredi and E. Weihs, Two-loop QCD helicity amplitudes for g\,g Z\,g and g\,g Z\, , JHEP 04, 101 (2013), doi:10.1007/JHEP04(2013)101, http://arxiv.org/abs/1302.2630 1302.2630
discussion (0)
Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.