Twisted Custodial Symmetry in Two-Higgs-Doublet Models

In the standard model for electroweak interactions, the Higgs sector is known to display a custodial symmetry protecting the mass relation m(W(+/-))(2) = m(W(3))(2) from large corrections. When considering extensions of the scalar sector, this symmetry has to be introduced by hand in order to pass current electroweak precision tests in a natural way. In this Letter, we implement a generalized custodial symmetry in the two-Higgs-doublet model. Assuming the invariance of the potential under CP transformations, we prove the existence of a new custodial scenario characterized by m(H(+/-))(2) = m(H(0))(2) instead of m(H(+/-))(2) = m(A(0))(2). Consequently, the pseudoscalar A(0) may be much lighter than the charged H(+/-), giving rise to interesting phenomenology.