Search for light Higgs bosons from supersymmetric cascade decays in pp collisions at √s = 13TeV

Abstract

A search is reported for pairs of light Higgs bosons (H1) produced in supersymmetric cascade decays in f inal states with small missing transverse momentum. A data set of LHC pp collisions collected with the CMS detector at √s = 13TeV and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138fb−1 is used. The search targets events where both H1 bosons decay into b¯ b pairs that are reconstructed as large-radius jets using substructure techniques. No evidence is found for an excess of events beyond the background expectations of the standard model (SM). Results from the search are interpreted in the next-to-minimal supersymmetric extension of the SM, where a “singlino” of small mass leads to squark and gluino cascade decays that can predominantly end in a highly Lorentz-boosted singlet-like H1 andasinglino-likeneutralinoofsmalltransversemomentum. Upperlimitsaresetontheproductofthesquarkorgluinopair production cross section and the square of the b¯ b branching fraction of the H1 in a benchmark model containing almost mass-degenerategluinosandlight-flavoursquarks.Underthe assumption of an SM-like H1 → b¯ b branching fraction, H1 bosonswithmassesintherange40–120GeVarisingfromthe decays of squarks or gluinos with a mass of 1200–2500GeV are excluded at 95% confidence level.