Search for a very light NMSSM Higgs boson produced in decays of the 125 GeV scalar boson and decaying into τ leptons in pp collisions at √s=8 TeV


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Khachatryan V., Sirunyan A., Tumasyan A., Adam W., Asilar E., Bergauer T., ...More

Journal of High Energy Physics, vol.2016, no.1, pp.1-46, 2016 (SCI-Expanded) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 2016 Issue: 1
  • Publication Date: 2016
  • Doi Number: 10.1007/jhep01(2016)079
  • Journal Name: Journal of High Energy Physics
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.1-46
  • Keywords: Hadron-Hadron scattering, Higgs physics, Supersymmetry
  • Yıldız Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

A search for a very light Higgs boson decaying into a pair of τ leptons is presented within the framework of the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model. This search is based on a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The signal is defined by the production of either of the two lightest scalars, h1 or h2, via gluon-gluon fusion and subsequent decay into a pair of the lightest Higgs bosons, a1 or h1. The h1 or h2 boson is identified with the observed state at a mass of 125 GeV. The analysis searches for decays of the a1 (h1) states into pairs of τ leptons and covers a mass range for the a1 (h1) boson of 4 to 8 GeV. The search reveals no significant excess in data above standard model background expectations, and an upper limit is set on the signal production cross section times branching fraction as a function of the a1 (h1) boson mass. The 95% confidence level limit ranges from 4.5 pb at ma1(mh1) = 8 GeV to 10.3 pb at ma1(mh1)=5 GeV.