HiggsSignals: Confronting arbitrary Higgs sectors with measurements at the Tevatron and the LHC

HiggsSignals is a Fortran90 computer code that allows to test the compatibility of Higgs sector predictions against Higgs rates and masses measured at the LHC or the Tevatron. Arbitrary models with any number of Higgs bosons can be investigated using a model-independent input scheme based on HiggsBounds. The test is based on the calculation of a $$\chi ^2$$ measure from the predictions and the measured Higgs rates and masses, with the ability of fully taking into account systematics and correlations for the signal rate predictions, luminosity and Higgs mass predictions. It features two complementary methods for the test. First, the peak-centered method, in which each observable is defined by a Higgs signal rate measured at a specific hypothetical Higgs mass, corresponding to a tentative Higgs signal. Second, the mass-centered method, where the test is evaluated by comparing the signal rate measurement to the theory prediction at the Higgs mass predicted by the model. The program allows for the simultaneous use of both methods, which is useful in testing models with multiple Higgs bosons. The code automatically combines the signal rates of multiple Higgs bosons if their signals cannot be resolved by the experimental analysis. We compare results obtained with HiggsSignals to official ATLAS and CMS results for various examples of Higgs property determinations and find very good agreement. A few examples of HiggsSignals applications are provided, going beyond the scenarios investigated by the LHC collaborations. For models with more than one Higgs boson we recommend to use HiggsSignals and HiggsBounds in parallel to exploit the full constraining power of Higgs search exclusion limits and the measurements of the signal seen at $$m_H\approx 125.5$$ GeV.