Pseudoscalar pair production via off-shell Higgs in composite Higgs models

Journal article, 2020

We propose a new type of search for a pseudoscalar particle η pair produced via an off-shell Higgs, pp→h∗→ηη. The search is motivated by a composite Higgs model in which the η is extremely narrow and decays almost exclusively into Zγ in the mass range 65 GeV≲mη≲160 GeV. We devise an analysis strategy to observe the novel ZγZγ channel and estimate potential bounds on the Higgs-η coupling. The experimental sensitivity to the signatures depends on the power to identify fake photons and on the ability to predict large photon multiplicities. This search allows us to exclude large values of the compositeness scale f, being thus complementary to other typical processes.