Search for Light Scalars in the TRSM at the LHC

Abstract

We study the production of Beyond the Standard Model light scalar states in association with a vector boson ($Vh_2$, with $V = W^\pm, Z$) at the LHC. We consider the scenario where the Standard Model scalar sector is extended by two real scalar singlets, where these additional scalars have mass $ M_i \leq M_{h_{125}}$. In this work, the scalar boson $h_2$ decays via $h_2 \to h_1 h_1 \to 4b$, while the associated vector boson decays either into a pair of oppositely charged leptons or into a single charged lepton and a neutrino. We analyze the signal using LHC detector parameterizations and evaluate its statistical significance at a center-of-mass energy of 13.6~TeV for integrated luminosities of 300~fb$^{-1}$ and 3000~fb$^{-1}$ corresponding to the LHC Run 3 and High Luminosity LHC, respectively. Our preliminary results indicate promising discovery prospects for this channel serving as a complementary probe of extended scalar sectors.\\ RBI-ThPhys-2026-04, COMETA-2026-04

Figures (2)

• Figure 1: Missing transverse energy (left) and total hadronic transverse energy (right). All distributions are normalized to unity for shape comparison.
• Figure 2: Invariant mass distributions for leading and subleading $b$-jets (left) and leading and subleading leptons (right). All distributions are normalized to unity for shape comparison.