Search for resonant pair production of Higgs bosons in the $b\bar{b}b\bar{b}$ final state using $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

TL;DR

This paper reports a search for new resonant particles decaying into Higgs boson pairs in the four-bottom-quark final state using ATLAS data, setting limits on potential new physics in the 251 GeV to 5 TeV mass range.

Contribution

First search to analyze Higgs pair production in the $b\bar{b}b\bar{b}$ channel with ATLAS data at 13 TeV, considering both spin-0 and spin-2 resonance models.

Findings

No significant excess observed over Standard Model predictions.

Upper limits set on resonance production cross-section across 251 GeV to 5 TeV.

Analysis techniques developed for different jet reconstruction methods.

Abstract

A search for resonant Higgs boson pair production in the $b\bar{b}b\bar{b}$ final state is presented. The analysis uses 126-139 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis is divided into two channels, targeting Higgs boson decays which are reconstructed as pairs of small-radius jets or as individual large-radius jets. Spin-0 and spin-2 benchmark signal models are considered, both of which correspond to resonant $HH$ production via gluon$-$gluon fusion. The data are consistent with Standard Model predictions. Upper limits are set on the production cross-section times branching ratio to Higgs boson pairs of a new resonance in the mass range from 251 GeV to 5 TeV.