Search for Higgs boson pair production in the $\mathrm{b\bar{b}WW}$ decay channel with two leptons in the final state using proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13.6 TeV

TL;DR

This paper reports a search for Higgs boson pair production in a specific decay channel using recent LHC data, setting upper limits on production cross section and constraining Higgs self-couplings.

Contribution

First search for Higgs boson pair production in the bbar WW decay channel at 13.6 TeV using CMS data from 2022-2023, providing new constraints on Higgs couplings.

Findings

Set an upper limit of 12.0 times the SM prediction on Higgs pair production cross section.

Observed data are consistent with Standard Model predictions.

Provided constraints on the Higgs boson self-coupling and quartic coupling.

Abstract

A search for Higgs boson pair production is presented, targeting final states where one Higgs boson decays to a pair of bottom quarks and the other Higgs boson decays to two W bosons, both of which decay leptonically, to an electron or a muon, and a neutrino. For the first time, the search is conducted with proton-proton collision data from the LHC at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13.6 TeV, recorded with the CMS detector in 2022 and 2023 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 62 fb$^{-1}$. The results are consistent with the standard model predictions. An upper limit of 12.0 times the standard model prediction at 95% confidence level is set on the Higgs boson pair production cross section, with an expected limit of 18.5. The results are also used to constrain the strength of the trilinear self-coupling of the Higgs boson, as well as of the quartic coupling between two Higgs bosons and two vector bosons.