Dimension-six operators in Higgs boson pair production via vector-boson fusion at the LHC

The effective Lagrangian formalism provides a way to study the new physics effects at the electroweak scale. We study Higgs pair production via vector-boson fusion (VBF) at the Large Hadron Collider within the framework of the effective field theory. The effects from the dimension-six operators involved in VBF Higgs pair production are investigated, particularly O-Phi,O-2 and O-Phi,O-3, which are relevant to the triple Higgs self-coupling, on the integrated cross section and various kinematic distributions. We find that the distributions of Higgs-pair invariant mass, Higgs transverse momentum, and rapidity are significantly altered by the operators O-Phi,O-2 and O-Phi,O-3. These features are helpful in disentangling the contributions from the operators O-Phi,O-2 and O-Phi,O-3 in triple Higgs self-coupling. We also provide the 5 sigma discovery and 3 sigma exclusion limits for the coefficients of O-Phi,O-2 and O-Phi,O-3 by measuring the VBF Higgs pair-production process, including the sequential H -> b (b) over bar decays at the 14 TeV LHC.