Search for heavy resonances decaying into a pair of $Z$ bosons in the $\ell^+\ell^-\ell'^+\ell'^-$ and $\ell^+\ell^-\nu\bar\nu$ final states using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

TL;DR

This paper reports a search for heavy resonances decaying into Z boson pairs in specific final states using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data at 13 TeV, setting limits on various theoretical models.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive search for heavy Z boson resonances in multiple final states with the full Run 2 dataset from ATLAS, constraining several beyond Standard Model theories.

Findings

No significant excess observed, leading to upper limits on production cross sections.

Constraints placed on Type-I and Type-II two-Higgs-doublet models.

Limits set on Randall--Sundrum graviton models.

Abstract

A search for heavy resonances decaying into a pair of $Z$ bosons leading to $\ell^+\ell^-\ell'^+\ell'^-$ and $\ell^+\ell^-\nu\bar\nu$ final states, where $\ell$ stands for either an electron or a muon, is presented. The search uses proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected from 2015 to 2018 that corresponds to the full integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$ recorded by the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider. Different mass ranges spanning 200 GeV to 2000 GeV for the hypothetical resonances are considered, depending on the final state and model. In the absence of a significant observed excess, the results are interpreted as upper limits on the production cross section of a spin-0 or spin-2 resonance. The upper limits for the spin-0 resonance are translated to exclusion contours in the context of Type-I and Type-II two-Higgs-doublet models, and the limits for the spin-2 resonance are used to constrain the Randall--Sundrum model with an extra dimension giving rise to spin-2 graviton excitations.