Searches for exclusive Higgs and $Z$ boson decays into a vector quarkonium state and a photon using $139$ fb$^{-1}$ of ATLAS $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV proton$-$proton collision data

TL;DR

This paper reports on searches for rare Higgs and Z boson decays into a vector quarkonium state and a photon using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of ATLAS data, setting upper limits on their branching fractions.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental upper limits on the branching fractions of Higgs and Z boson decays into vector quarkonium plus photon at 13 TeV.

Findings

No significant excess observed over background.

Upper limits set on Higgs decay branching fractions.

Upper limits set on Z boson decay branching fractions.

Abstract

Searches for the exclusive decays of Higgs and $Z$ bosons into a vector quarkonium state and a photon are performed in the $\mu^+\mu^- \gamma$ final state with a proton$-$proton collision data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $139$ fb$^{-1}$ collected at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The observed data are compatible with the expected backgrounds. The 95% confidence-level upper limits on the branching fractions of the Higgs boson decays into $J/\psi \gamma$, $\psi(2S) \gamma$, and $\Upsilon(1S,2S,3S) \gamma$ are found to be $2.0\times10^{-4}$, $10.5\times10^{-4}$, and $(2.5,4.2,3.4)\times10^{-4}$, respectively, assuming Standard Model production of the Higgs boson. The corresponding 95% CL upper limits on the branching fractions of the $Z$ boson decays are $1.2\times10^{-6}$, $2.4\times10^{-6}$, and $(1.1,1.3,2.4)\times10^{-6}$. An observed 95% CL interval of $(-133,175)$ is obtained for the $\kappa_c/\kappa_\gamma$ ratio of Higgs boson coupling modifiers, and a 95% CL interval of $(-37,40)$ is obtained for $\kappa_b/\kappa_\gamma$.