Search for Higgs boson pair production in the $\gamma\gamma WW^{*}$ channel using $pp$ collision data recorded at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

TL;DR

This paper searches for Higgs boson pair production in the gamma-gamma WW* channel using 13 TeV proton-proton collision data from ATLAS, setting upper limits on production cross sections and resonance decays without observing significant deviations from the Standard Model.

Contribution

First search for Higgs pair production in the gamma-gamma WW* channel at 13 TeV with ATLAS, providing new upper limits on non-resonant and resonant production cross sections.

Findings

No significant deviation from Standard Model observed.

Upper limit of 7.7 pb on non-resonant Higgs pair production.

Resonance search excludes cross sections between 6.1 and 40.0 pb for masses 260-500 GeV.

Abstract

Searches for non-resonant and resonant Higgs boson pair production are performed in the $\gamma\gamma WW^{*}$ channel with the final state of $\gamma\gamma\ell\nu jj$ using 36.1 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data recorded at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No significant deviation from the Standard Model prediction is observed. A 95% confidence-level observed upper limit of 7.7 pb is set on the cross section for non-resonant production, while the expected limit is 5.4 pb. A search for a narrow-width resonance $X$ decaying to a pair of Standard Model Higgs bosons $HH$ is performed with the same set of data, and the observed upper limits on $\sigma(pp \rightarrow X) \times B(X \rightarrow HH)$ range between 40.0 pb and 6.1 pb for masses of the resonance between 260 GeV and 500 GeV, while the expected limits range between 17.6 pb and 4.4 pb. When deriving the limits above, the Standard Model branching ratios of the $H \rightarrow \gamma\gamma$ and $H \rightarrow WW^{*}$ are assumed.