Search for charged Higgs bosons produced in vector boson fusion processes and decaying into vector boson pairs in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV

TL;DR

This paper reports a search for charged Higgs bosons produced via vector boson fusion at the LHC, setting upper limits on production cross sections and interpreting results within the Georgi-Machacek model.

Contribution

First search for charged Higgs bosons in vector boson fusion at 13 TeV, providing model-independent limits and interpretation in the Georgi-Machacek framework.

Findings

No excess observed over standard model background.

Set upper limits on cross section times branching ratio from 200 to 3000 GeV.

Results constrain parameter space of the Georgi-Machacek model.

Abstract

A search for charged Higgs bosons produced in vector boson fusion processes and decaying into vector bosons, using proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV at the LHC, is reported. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb$^{-1}$ collected with the CMS detector. Events are selected by requiring two or three electrons or muons, moderate missing transverse momentum, and two jets with a large rapidity separation and a large dijet mass. No excess of events with respect to the standard model background predictions is observed. Model independent upper limits at 95% confidence level are reported on the product of the cross section and branching fraction for vector boson fusion production of charged Higgs bosons as a function of mass, from 200 to 3000 GeV. The results are interpreted in the context of the Georgi-Machacek model.