Searching for Heavier Higgs Boson via Di-Higgs Production at LHC Run-2

The LHC discovery of a light Higgs particle $h^0$ (125GeV) opens up new prospect for searching heavier Higgs boson(s) at the LHC Run-2, which will unambiguously point to new physics beyond the standard model (SM). We study the detection of a heavier neutral Higgs boson $H^0$ via di-Higgs production channel at the LHC (14TeV), $H^0 \to h^0h^0 \to WW^*\gamma\gamma$. This directly probes the $Hhh$ cubic Higgs interaction, which exists in most extensions of the SM Higgs sector. For the decay products of final states $WW^*$, we include both pure leptonic mode $WW^* \to \ell\bar{\nu}\bar{\ell}\nu$ and semi-leptonic mode $WW^* \to q\bar{q}'\ell\nu$. We analyze signals and backgrounds by performing fast detector simulation for the full processes $pp \to H \to hh \to WW^*\gamma\gamma \to \ell\bar{\nu}\bar{\ell}\nu\gamma\gamma$ and $pp \to H \to hh \to WW^*\gamma\gamma \to \ell\nu q\bar{q}'\gamma\gamma$, over the mass range $M_H=250-600$GeV. For generic two-Higgs-doublet models (2HDM), we present the discovery reach of the heavier Higgs boson at the LHC Run-2, and compare it with the current Higgs global fit of the 2HDM parameter space.Comment: Phys.Lett.B Final Version. 16pp (9 Figs + 4 Tables). Only minor refinements, references adde

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements