Université de GenèveDépartement de Physique ThéoriqueCAP Genève

Interpreting the 95 GeV resonance in the Two Higgs Doublet Model. Implications for the electroweak phase transition

Date: 
2. March 2026
Cite as: 
Ansh Bhatnagar, Djuna Croon, Philipp Schicho, J. High Energ. Phys. 2026, 14 (2026) [arXiv:2506.20716].
Summary: 

We investigate if the recent mass resonance excesses seen around 95 GeV at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) can be reconciled with a first-order electroweak phase transition. Performing the first large-scale parameter scan of the Type I Two Higgs Doublet Model (2HDM) using high-temperature dimensionally reduced effective field theory, we focus on regions of parameter space consistent with interpreting the excess as an additional pseudoscalar state. We find that, in contrast to the Standard Model, the electroweak transition pattern in the 2HDM is generically first-order, proceeding either in a single or in two steps. While transition strengths can reach up to vc/Tc ∼ 1.3, the viable, collider-constrained parameter space yields vc/Tc ≲ 1. Thus, the gravitational wave signals lie below the projected reach of future interferometer experiments and are likely insufficient to support successful electroweak baryogenesis.

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Université de Genève
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