CMS-PAS-HIG-21-001

CMS-PAS-HIG-21-001
Searches for additional Higgs bosons and vector leptoquarks in $\tau\tau$ final states in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}= $ 13 TeV
CMS Collaboration
March 2022

Abstract: Three searches are presented for signatures of physics beyond the standard model (SM) in $\tau\tau$ final states in proton-proton collisions at the CERN LHC, using a data sample collected with the CMS detector at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} = $ 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. Upper limits at 95% confidence level (CL) are set on the products of the branching fraction for the decay into $\tau$ leptons and the cross sections for the production of a resonance $\phi$ in addition to the observed Higgs boson via gluon fusion ($\mathrm{gg}\phi$) or in association with b quarks, ranging from $\mathcal{O}$(10 pb) (at 60 GeV) to 0.3 fb (at 3.5 TeV) each. The data reveal two excesses for $\mathrm{gg}\phi$ production with local $p$-values equivalent to about three standard deviations at 0.1 and 1.2 TeV. In a search for $t$-channel exchange of a vector-like leptoquark $\mathrm{U}_1$, 95% CL upper limits are set on the $\mathrm{U}_1$ coupling to quarks and $\tau$ leptons ranging from 1 (at 1 TeV) to 6 (at 5 TeV), depending on the scenario. In the interpretation of minimal supersymmetric SM (MSSM) benchmark scenarios, additional Higgs bosons with masses below 350 GeV are excluded at 95% CL.
Links: CDS record (PDF) ; CADI line (restricted) ; These preliminary results are superseded in this paper, Submitted to JHEP. The superseded preliminary plots can be found here.

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