Multi-Higgs boson production probes Higgs sector flavor

We demonstrate that multiple-Higgs production at the LHC is the most sensitive probe of first- and second-generation quark flavor in the Higgs sector. In models where new scalars couple to light quarks, gigantic di-Higgs and even sizable tri-Higgs production rates can be obtained, which can be used to either discover or severely constrain such theories. As an example, we show that the most stringent bounds on enhanced interactions of the 125 GeV Higgs to the down quark in extended Higgs sectors are obtained by looking for the extra Higgs bosons that provide for such enhancements using the di-Higgs and Zh topologies. In this context, we set new limits on the 125 GeV Higgs coupling to the down quark as strong as λhdd¯≲20λhdd¯SM - a dramatic improvement over previously available bounds. Regarding second-generation quark flavor, we obtain new limits in the coupling to strange as strong as λhss¯≲10λhss¯SM. In addition, we show that the currently unexplored triple-Higgs production topology could be a potential discovery channel of a wide variety of extended Higgs sectors at the LHC, including not only models where extra Higgses couple to light quarks, but also more frequently studied theories where they have preferential couplings to the top.