Paper detail

Exclusive MSSM Higgs production at the LHC after Run I

We investigate the prospects for Central Exclusive Production (CEP) of MSSM Higgs bosons at the LHC using forward proton detectors proposed to be installed at 220 m and 420 m distance around ATLAS and / or CMS. We summarize the situation after the first and very successful data taking period of the LHC. The discovery of a Higgs boson and results from searches for additional MSSM Higgs bosons from both the ATLAS and CMS experiments, based on data samples each corresponding to about 25 fb-1, have recently led to a proposal of new low-energy MSSM benchmark scenarios. The CEP signal cross section for the process H/h -> bb and its backgrounds are estimated in these new scenarios. We also make some comments about the experimental procedure if the proposed forward proton detectors are to be used to measure the CEP signal.