The 7% rule : a maximum entropy prediction on new decays of the Higgs boson

Abstract

The entropy of the Higgs boson decay probabilities distribution in the Standard Model (SM) is maximized for a Higgs mass value that is less than one standard deviation away from the current experimental measurement. This successful estimate of the Higgs mass encourages us to propose tests of the Maximum Entropy Principle (MEP) as a tool for theoretical inferences in other instances of Higgs physics. In this letter, we show that, irrespective of the extension of the SM predicting a new Higgs boson decay channel, its branching ratio can be inferred to be around 7% in such a way that the new entropy of decays still exhibits a maximum at the experimental Higgs mass. This 7% rule can be tested whenever a new Higgs decay channel is found. In order to illustrate the MEP predictions, we apply the MEP inference to Higgs portal models, Higgs-axion interactions, lepton flavor violating decays of the Higgs boson, and a dark gauge boson model.