Search for heavy resonances decaying into two Higgs bosons in the b⁢¯b⁢𝜏+⁢𝜏− final state in proton–proton collisions at √𝑠=13TeV

Abstract

A search is presented for massive narrow-width resonances in the mass range of 1–4.5TeV, decaying into pairs of Higgs bosons (HH). The search uses proton–proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13TeV collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC during 2016–2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138fb−1. The analysis targets final states where one Higgs boson decays into a pair of bottom quarks and the other into a pair of tau leptons, X→HH→b⁢¯b𝜏+⁢𝜏−. It uses a single large radius jet to reconstruct the H→b⁢¯b decay, while the H→𝜏+⁢𝜏− decay products can either be contained within a single large radius jet or appear as two isolated tau leptons. The observed data are consistent with standard model background expectations. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the production cross section for resonant HH production for masses between 1 and 4.5TeV. This analysis sets the most sensitive limits to date on X→HH→b⁢¯b𝜏+⁢𝜏− decays in the mass range of 1.4–4.5TeV