Probing the nature of the Higgs-like boson via h→VFh→VF decays

We give a general decomposition of the h→VFh→VF amplitude where V={W±,Z0}V={W±,Z0} and FF is a generic leptonic or hadronic final state, in the standard model (SM), and in the context of a general effective field theory. The differential distributions for F=ℓ+ℓ−F=ℓ+ℓ−, ℓν¯(ℓ=e,μ) are reported, and we show how such distributions can be used to determine modified Higgs couplings that cannot be directly extracted from a global fit to Higgs signal strengths. We also demonstrate how rare h→VPh→VP decays, where P   is a pseudo-scalar meson, with SM rates in the 10−510−5 range, can be used to provide complementary information on the couplings of the newly discovered Higgs-like scalar and are an interesting probe of the vacuum structure of the theory.