Constraining off-shell production of axion-like particles with $Z\gamma$ and $WW$ differential cross-section measurements

TL;DR

This paper uses LHC measurements of diboson cross-sections to set constraints on axion-like particles, focusing on their off-shell production and decay to bosons, thereby testing physics beyond the Standard Model.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method to constrain ALP couplings using differential cross-section data from ATLAS, specifically targeting off-shell production at the LHC.

Findings

Constraints on ALP couplings to W, Z, and photons.

Limits on ALP production cross-sections.

Implications for beyond Standard Model physics.

Abstract

This article describes a search for low-mass axion-like particles (ALPs) at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). If ALPs were produced at the LHC via gluon-gluon fusion and decayed to bosons, the energy dependence of the measured diboson cross-sections would differ from the Standard Model expectation. Measurements of $WW$ and $Z\gamma$ differential cross-sections by the ATLAS collaboration are interpreted to constrain ALP couplings to $W$-, $Z$-bosons and photons assuming gluon-gluon-fusion production.