  We present predictions for the Higgs boson decay into four bottom quarks in
the standard model and via light exotic scalars retaining full bottom-quark
mass dependence. In the SM the decay can be induced either by the Yukawa
couplings of bottom quarks and top quarks or the electroweak couplings. We
calculate the partial decay width and various differential distributions up to
next-to-leading order in QCD. We find large QCD corrections for decay via
Yukawa couplings, as large as 90% for the partial decay width, and reduced
scale variations. The results of this paper are therefore helpful for the
measurement of this multi-jets final state at future Higgs factory of
electron-positron colliders. We also propose several observables that can
differentiate the SM decay channel and the exotic decay channel and compare
their next-to-leading order predictions.

High Energy Physics - Phenomenology