Combination of searches for invisible decays of the Higgs boson using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV collected with the ATLAS experiment

TL;DR

This paper combines multiple searches for invisible Higgs decays using extensive ATLAS data, setting stringent limits on the Higgs to invisible branching ratio and constraining dark matter models.

Contribution

It provides the first combined analysis of various Higgs production modes for invisible decays at 13 TeV, improving sensitivity over previous individual searches.

Findings

Upper limit on Higgs invisible branching ratio is 0.107 at 95% CL.

Results constrain dark matter models with Higgs portal interactions.

Enhanced sensitivity compared to previous separate analyses.

Abstract

Many extensions of the Standard Model predict the production of dark matter particles at the LHC. Sufficiently light dark matter particles may be produced in decays of the Higgs boson that would appear invisible to the detector. This Letter presents a statistical combination of searches for H $\rightarrow$ invisible decays where multiple production modes of the Standard Model Higgs boson are considered. These searches are performed with the ATLAS detector using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} =13$ TeV at the LHC. In combination with the results at $\sqrt{s} =7$ TeV and 8 TeV, an upper limit on the H $\rightarrow$ invisible branching ratio of 0.107 (0.077) at the 95% confidence level is observed (expected). These results are also interpreted in the context of models where the 125 GeV Higgs boson acts as a portal to dark matter, and limits are set on the scattering cross-section of weakly interacting massive particles and nucleons.