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Search for Light Pseudoscalar Bosons, Pair-Produced in Higgs Boson Decays in the Four-Electron Final State in Proton-Proton Collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV

CMS Collaboration; Hayrapetyan, A.; Makarenko, V.; Tumasyan, A.; Adam, W.; Andrejkovic, J. W.; Benato, L.; Bergauer, T.; Dragicevic, M.; Giordano, C.; Hussain, P. S.; Jeitler, M.; Krammer, N.; Li, A.; Liko, D.; Matthewman, M.; Mikulec, I.; Schieck, J.; Schöfbeck, R.; ... mehr

Abstract:

A search for pairs of light neutral pseudoscalar bosons (𝐴) resulting from the decay of a Higgs boson is performed. The search is conducted using LHC proton-proton collision data at √𝑠=13  TeV, collected with the CMS detector in 2016–2018 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138  fb$^{−1}$. The 𝐴 boson decays into a highly collimated electron-positron pair. A novel multivariate algorithm using tracks and calorimeter information is developed to identify these distinctive signatures, and events are selected with two such merged electron-positron pairs. No significant excess above the standard model background predictions is observed. Upper limits on the branching fraction for 𝐻→𝐴⁢𝐴→4⁢𝑒 are set at 95% confidence level, for masses between 10 and 100 MeV and proper decay lengths below 100  μ⁢m, reaching branching fraction sensitivities as low as 10$^{−5}$. This is the first search for Higgs boson decays to four electrons via light pseudoscalars at the LHC. It significantly improves the experimental sensitivity to axionlike particles with masses below 100 MeV .


Verlagsausgabe §
DOI: 10.5445/IR/1000194861
Veröffentlicht am 02.07.2026
Cover der Publikation
Zugehörige Institution(en) am KIT Institut für Astroteilchenphysik (IAP)
Institut für Experimentelle Teilchenphysik (ETP)
Institut für Prozessdatenverarbeitung und Elektronik (IPE)
Scientific Computing Center (SCC)
Publikationstyp Zeitschriftenaufsatz
Publikationsmonat/-jahr 05.2026
Sprache Englisch
Identifikator ISSN: 0031-9007, 1092-0145, 1079-7114
KITopen-ID: 1000194861
Erschienen in Physical Review Letters
Verlag American Physical Society (APS)
Band 136
Heft 18
Seiten Art.Nr: 181807
Vorab online veröffentlicht am 08.05.2026
Nachgewiesen in Scopus
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