A search for a heavy CP-odd Higgs boson, $A$, decaying into a $Z$ boson and a heavy CP-even Higgs boson, $H$, is presented. It uses the full LHC Run 2 dataset of $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV collected with the ATLAS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $140$ fb$^{-1}$. The search for $A\to ZH$ is performed in the $\ell^+\ell^- t\bar{t}$ and $\nu\bar{\nu}b\bar{b}$ final states and surpasses the reach of previous searches in different final states in the region with $m_H>350$ GeV and $m_A>800$ GeV. No significant deviation from the Standard Model expectation is found. Upper limits are placed on the production cross-section times the decay branching ratios. Limits with less model dependence are also presented as functions of the reconstructed $m(t\bar{t})$ and $m(b\bar{b})$ distributions in the $\ell^+\ell^- t\bar{t}$ and $\nu\bar{\nu}b\bar{b}$ channels, respectively. In addition, the results are interpreted in the context of two-Higgs-doublet models.
<b><u>Overview of HEPData Record</u></b><br> <b>Upper limits on cross-sections:</b> <ul> <li><a href="?table=Cross-section%20limits%20for%20lltt,%20ggF,%20tanbeta=0.5">95% CL upper limit on ggF A->ZH(tt) production for tanb=0.5</a> <li><a href="?table=Cross-section%20limits%20for%20lltt,%20ggF,%20tanbeta=1">95% CL upper limit on ggF A->ZH(tt) production for tanb=1</a> <li><a href="?table=Cross-section%20limits%20for%20lltt,%20ggF,%20tanbeta=5">95% CL upper limit on ggF A->ZH(tt) production for tanb=5</a> <li><a href="?table=Cross-section%20limits%20for%20lltt,%20bbA,%20tanbeta=1">95% CL upper limit on bbA A->ZH(tt) production for tanb=1</a> <li><a href="?table=Cross-section%20limits%20for%20lltt,%20bbA,%20tanbeta=5">95% CL upper limit on bbA A->ZH(tt) production for tanb=5</a> <li><a href="?table=Cross-section%20limits%20for%20lltt,%20bbA,%20tanbeta=10">95% CL upper limit on bbA A->ZH(tt) production for tanb=10</a> <li><a href="?table=Cross-section%20limits%20for%20vvbb,%20ggA,%20tanbeta=0.5">95% CL upper limit on ggF A->ZH(bb) production for tanb=0.5</a> <li><a href="?table=Cross-section%20limits%20for%20vvbb,%20ggA,%20tanbeta=1">95% CL upper limit on ggF A->ZH(bb) production for tanb=1</a> <li><a href="?table=Cross-section%20limits%20for%20vvbb,%20ggA,%20tanbeta=5">95% CL upper limit on ggF A->ZH(bb) production for tanb=5</a> <li><a href="?table=Cross-section%20limits%20for%20vvbb,%20bbA,%20tanbeta=1">95% CL upper limit on bbA A->ZH(bb) production for tanb=1</a> <li><a href="?table=Cross-section%20limits%20for%20vvbb,%20bbA,%20tanbeta=5">95% CL upper limit on bbA A->ZH(bb) production for tanb=5</a> <li><a href="?table=Cross-section%20limits%20for%20vvbb,%20bbA,%20tanbeta=10">95% CL upper limit on bbA A->ZH(bb) production for tanb=10</a> <li><a href="?table=Cross-section%20limits%20for%20vvbb,%20bbA,%20tanbeta=20">95% CL upper limit on bbA A->ZH(bb) production for tanb=20</a> </ul> <b>Kinematic distributions:</b> <ul> <li><a href="?table=m(tt),L3hi_Zin,ggF-production">m(tt) distribution in the L3hi_Zin region of the lltt channel</a> <li><a href="?table=m(bb),2tag,0L,ggF-production">m(bb) distribution in the 2 b-tag 0L region of the vvbb channel</a> <li><a href="?table=m(bb),3ptag,0L,bbA-production">m(bb) distribution in the 3p b-tag 0L region of the vvbb channel</a> <li><a href="?table=m(lltt)-m(tt),L3hi_Zin_Hin450,bbA-production">Fit discriminant m(lltt)-m(tt) in the signal region of the lltt channel for the mH=450 GeV hypothesis with the bbA signal shown</a> <li><a href="?table=m(tt),L3hi_Zin,bbA-production">m(tt) distribution in the L3hi_Zin region of the lltt channel with the bbA signal shown</a> <li><a href="?table=m(lltt)-m(tt),L3hi_Zin_Hin350,ggF-production">Fit discriminant m(lltt)-m(tt) in the signal region of the lltt channel for the mH=350 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=m(lltt)-m(tt),L3hi_Zin_Hin400,ggF-production">Fit discriminant m(lltt)-m(tt) in the signal region of the lltt channel for the mH=400 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=m(lltt)-m(tt),L3hi_Zin_Hin450,ggF-production">Fit discriminant m(lltt)-m(tt) in the signal region of the lltt channel for the mH=450 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=m(lltt)-m(tt),L3hi_Zin_Hin500,ggF-production">Fit discriminant m(lltt)-m(tt) in the signal region of the lltt channel for the mH=500 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=m(lltt)-m(tt),L3hi_Zin_Hin550,ggF-production">Fit discriminant m(lltt)-m(tt) in the signal region of the lltt channel for the mH=550 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=m(lltt)-m(tt),L3hi_Zin_Hin600,ggF-production">Fit discriminant m(lltt)-m(tt) in the signal region of the lltt channel for the mH=600 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=m(lltt)-m(tt),L3hi_Zin_Hin700,ggF-production">Fit discriminant m(lltt)-m(tt) in the signal region of the lltt channel for the mH=700 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=m(lltt)-m(tt),L3hi_Zin_Hin800,ggF-production">Fit discriminant m(lltt)-m(tt) in the signal region of the lltt channel for the mH=800 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,2tag,0L_Hin130,ggF-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 2 b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=130 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,2tag,0L_Hin150,ggF-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 2 b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=150 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,2tag,0L_Hin200,ggF-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 2 b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=200 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,2tag,0L_Hin250,ggF-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 2 b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=250 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,2tag,0L_Hin300,ggF-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 2 b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=300 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,2tag,0L_Hin350,ggF-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 2 b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=350 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,2tag,0L_Hin400,ggF-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 2 b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=400 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,2tag,0L_Hin450,ggF-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 2 b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=450 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,2tag,0L_Hin500,ggF-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 2 b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=500 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,2tag,0L_Hin600,ggF-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 2 b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=600 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,2tag,0L_Hin700,ggF-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 2 b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=700 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,2tag,0L_Hin800,ggF-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 2 b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=800 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,3ptag,0L_Hin130,bbA-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 3p b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=130 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,3ptag,0L_Hin150,bbA-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 3p b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=150 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,3ptag,0L_Hin200,bbA-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 3p b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=200 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,3ptag,0L_Hin250,bbA-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 3p b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=250 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,3ptag,0L_Hin300,bbA-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 3p b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=300 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,3ptag,0L_Hin350,bbA-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 3p b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=350 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,3ptag,0L_Hin400,bbA-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 3p b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=400 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,3ptag,0L_Hin450,bbA-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 3p b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=450 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,3ptag,0L_Hin500,bbA-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 3p b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=500 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,3ptag,0L_Hin600,bbA-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 3p b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=600 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,3ptag,0L_Hin700,bbA-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 3p b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=700 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,3ptag,0L_Hin800,bbA-production">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 3p b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=800 GeV hypothesis</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,2tag,2L">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 2L region of the vvbb channel</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,2tag,em">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the em region of the vvbb channel</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,3ptag,2L">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the 2L region of the vvbb channel</a> <li><a href="?table=mTVH,3ptag,em">Fit discriminant mT(VH) in the em region of the vvbb channel</a> <li><a href="?table=lep3pt,L3hi_Zin">pT(lepton,3) distribution in the L3hi_Zin region of the lltt channel</a> <li><a href="?table=etaHrestVH,L3hi_Zin">eta(H,VH rest frame) distribution in the signal region of the lltt channel</a> <li><a href="?table=ETmiss,2tag,0L">ETmiss distribution in the 2 b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel</a> <li><a href="?table=mtopnear,2tag,0L">m(top,near) distribution in the 2 b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel</a> <li><a href="?table=ETmiss,3ptag,0L">ETmiss distribution in the 3p b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel</a> <li><a href="?table=mtopnear,3ptag,0L">m(top,near) distribution in the 3p b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel</a> </ul> <b>Observed local significance:</b> <ul> <li><a href="?table=Local%20significance,%20lltt,%20ggF%20production">ggF A->ZH->lltt signals</a> <li><a href="?table=Local%20significance,%20lltt,%20bbA%20production">bbA A->ZH->lltt signals</a> <li><a href="?table=Local%20significance,%20vvbb,%20ggF%20production">ggF A->ZH->vvbb signals</a> <li><a href="?table=Local%20significance,%20vvbb,%20bbA%20production">bbA A->ZH->vvbb signals</a> </ul> <b>Acceptance and efficiency:</b> <ul> <li><a href="?table=Acceptance*efficiency,%20lltt,%20ggF%20production">ggF A->ZH->lltt signals</a> <li><a href="?table=Acceptance*efficiency,%20lltt,%20bbA%20production">bbA A->ZH->lltt signals</a> <li><a href="?table=Acceptance*efficiency,%20vvbb,%20ggF%20production">ggF A->ZH->vvbb signals</a> <li><a href="?table=Acceptance*efficiency,%20vvbb,%20bbA%20production">bbA A->ZH->vvbb signals</a> </ul>
The distribution of the fit discriminant m(lltt)-m(tt) in the signal region of the lltt channel for the mH=450 GeV hypothesis. <br><br><a href="?table=overview">return to overview</a>
The distribution of the fit discriminant mTVH in the 2 b-tag signal region of the vvbb channel for the mH=300 GeV hypothesis. <br><br><a href="?table=overview">return to overview</a>