Higgs boson production cross-section measurements and their EFT interpretation in the $4\ell$ decay channel at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS collaboration Aad, Georges ; Abbott, Brad ; Abbott, Dale Charles ; et al.
Eur.Phys.J.C 80 (2020) 957, 2020.
Inspire Record 1790250 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.94311

Higgs boson properties are studied in the four-lepton decay channel (where lepton = $e$, $\mu$) using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data recorded at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The inclusive cross-section times branching ratio for $H\to ZZ^*$ decay is measured to be $1.34 \pm 0.12$ pb for a Higgs boson with absolute rapidity below 2.5, in good agreement with the Standard Model prediction of $1.33 \pm 0.08$ pb. Cross-sections times branching ratio are measured for the main Higgs boson production modes in several exclusive phase-space regions. The measurements are interpreted in terms of coupling modifiers and of the tensor structure of Higgs boson interactions using an effective field theory approach. Exclusion limits are set on the CP-even and CP-odd `beyond the Standard Model' couplings of the Higgs boson to vector bosons, gluons and top quarks.

74 data tables

The expected number of SM Higgs boson events with a mass $m_{H}$= 125 GeV for an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$ at $\sqrt{s}$=13 TeV in each reconstructed event signal (115 < $m_{4l}$< 130 GeV) and sideband ($m_{4l}$ in 105-115 GeV or 130-160 GeV for $ZZ^{*}$, 130-350 GeV for $tXX$) category, shown separately for each production bin of the Production Mode Stage. The ggF and $bbH$ yields are shown separately but both contribute to the same (ggF)production bin, and $ZH$ and $WH$ are reported separately but are merged together for the final result. Statistical and systematic uncertainties, including those for total SM cross-section predictions, are added in quadrature. Contributions that are below 0.2% of the total signal in each reconstructed event category are not shown and are replaced by -.

The impact of the dominant systematic uncertainties (in percent) on the cross-sections in production bins of the Production Mode Stage and the Reduced Stage 1.1. Similar sources of systematic uncertainties are grouped together in luminosity (Lumi.),electron/muon reconstruction and identification efficiencies and pile up modelling ($e$, $\mu$, pile up), jet energy scale/resolution and $b$-tagging efficiencies (Jets, flav. tag), uncertainties in reducible background (reducible bkg), theoretical uncertainties in $ZZ^{*}$ background and $tXX$ background, and theoretical uncertainties in the signal due to parton distribution function (PDF), QCD scale (QCD) and parton showering algorithm (Shower). The uncertainties are rounded to the nearest 0.5%, except for the luminosity uncertainty, which is measured to be 1.7% and increases for the $VH$ signal processes due to the simulation-based normalisation of the $VVV$ background. The uncertainties that are below 0.5% are not shown and replaced by -.

The expected and the observed (post-fit) the four-lepton invariant mass distribution for the selected Higgs boson candidates, shown for an integrated luminosity of 139fb$^{-1}$ at $\sqrt{s}$=13TeV. The SM Higgs boson signal is assumed tohave a mass $m_{H}$= 125GeV.

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