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Search for exotic decays of the Higgs boson to a pair of pseudoscalars in the $\mu\mu$bb and $\tau\tau$bb final states

The CMS collaboration
Hayrapetyan, Aram , Tumasyan, Armen , Adam, Wolfgang , Andrejkovic, Janik Walter , Bergauer, Thomas , Chatterjee, Suman , Damanakis, Konstantinos , Dragicevic, Marko , Escalante Del Valle, Alberto , Hussain, Priya Sajid
Eur.Phys.J.C 84 (2024) 493, 2024.
https://doi.org/10.17182/hepdata.145999.v1

Abstract
A search for exotic decays of the Higgs boson (H) with a mass of 125 GeV to a pair of light pseudoscalars $\mathrm{a}_1$ is performed in final states where one pseudoscalar decays to two b quarks and the other to a pair of muons or $\tau$ leptons. A data sample of proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$ recorded with the CMS detector is analyzed. No statistically significant excess is observed over the standard model backgrounds. Upper limits are set at 95% confidence level (CL) on the Higgs boson branching fraction to $\mu\mu$bb and to $\tau\tau$bb, via a pair of $\mathrm{a}_1$s. The limits depend on the pseudoscalar mass $m_{\mathrm{a}_1}$ and are observed to be in the range (0.17-3.3) $\times$ 10$^{-4}$ and (1.7-7.7) $\times$ 10$^{-2}$ in the $\mu\mu$bb and $\tau\tau$bb final states, respectively. In the framework of models with two Higgs doublets and a complex scalar singlet (2HDM+S), the results of the two final states are combined to determine model-independent upper limits on the branching fraction $\mathcal{B}$(H $\to$ $\mathrm{a}_1\mathrm{a}_1$ $\to$ $\ell\ell$bb) at 95% CL, with $\ell$ being a muon or a $\tau$ lepton. For different types of 2HDM+S, upper bounds on the branching fraction $\mathcal{B}$(H $\to$ $\mathrm{a}_1\mathrm{a}_1$) are extracted from the combination of the two channels. In most of the Type II 2HDM+S parameter space, $\mathcal{B}($H $\to$ $\mathrm{a}_1\mathrm{a}_1$) values above 0.23 are excluded at 95% CL for $m_{\mathrm{a}_1}$ values between 15 and 60 GeV.

  • Figure 10

    Figure 10.

    10.17182/hepdata.145999.v1/t1

    Observed and expected upper limits at 95% CL on B($\text{H} \rightarrow \text{a}_{1}\text{a}_{1} \rightarrow \mu\mu$bb) as functions of $m_{\text{a}_{1}}$. The inner...

  • Figure 11 (bottom right)

    Figure 11 (bottom right).

    10.17182/hepdata.145999.v1/t2

    Observed and expected upper limits at 95% CL on B($\text{H} \rightarrow \text{a}_{1}\text{a}_{1} \rightarrow \tau\tau$bb) in percent as functions of $m_{\text{a}_{1}}$,...

  • Figure 12

    Figure 12.

    10.17182/hepdata.145999.v1/t3

    Observed and expected upper limits at 95% CL on B($\text{H} \rightarrow \text{a}_{1}\text{a}_{1} \rightarrow ll$bb) in percent, where $l$ stands for...

  • Figure 13

    Figure 13.

    10.17182/hepdata.145999.v1/t4

    Observed upper limits at 95% CL on B($\text{H} \rightarrow \text{a}_{1}\text{a}_{1}$) in percent, obtained from the combination of the $\mu\mu$bb and...

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