Search for resonant and nonresonant Higgs boson pair production in the bblnulnu final state in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 13 TeV

TL;DR

This paper reports on searches for both resonant and nonresonant Higgs boson pair production in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV, using CMS data, setting limits on production cross sections and exploring anomalous couplings.

Contribution

It presents the first combined search for resonant and nonresonant HH production in the ll nu nu and bbbar final states at 13 TeV, including constraints on new physics scenarios.

Findings

No significant deviation from the Standard Model observed.

Excluded at 95% CL a cross section >72 fb for SM HH production.

Set upper limits on spin-0 and spin-2 resonance production cross sections.

Abstract

Searches for resonant and nonresonant pair-produced Higgs bosons (HH) decaying respectively into ll nu nu, through either W or Z bosons, and bbbar are presented. The analyses are based on a sample of proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 13 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 inverse femtobarns. Data and predictions from the standard model are in agreement within uncertainties. For the standard model HH hypothesis, the data exclude at 95% confidence level a product of the production cross section and branching fraction larger than 72 fb, corresponding to 79 times the prediction, consistent with expectations. Constraints are placed on different scenarios considering anomalous couplings, which could affect the rate and kinematics of HH production. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the production cross section of narrow-width spin-0 and spin-2 particles decaying to Higgs boson pairs, the latter produced with minimal gravity-like coupling.