Probing pair production of long-lived scalars via an off-shell Standard-Model-like Higgs boson at the LHC
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arXiv
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| Natura: | Preprint |
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2026
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| author | Wang, Lei Yu, Xianbo Wang, Zeren Simon |
| author_facet | Wang, Lei Yu, Xianbo Wang, Zeren Simon |
| contents | We study the collider phenomenology of a long-lived scalar particle $S$ that arises from Higgs mixing in a broad class of Standard-Model (SM) extensions. When the mixing angle is sufficiently small, $S$ becomes long-lived, while its pair production via the Higgs portal can remain sizable. We focus on the production channel $gg \to h^* \to SS$ at the LHC, mediated by an \textit{off-shell} SM-like Higgs boson. This mechanism provides a complementary probe of $S$ in the mass region above the kinematic threshold of the conventional on-shell decay $h \to SS$, thereby extending the accessible parameter space to heavier scalars. The long-lived $S$ particles can decay inside the inner detector, leading to displaced vertices (DVs) accompanied by jets. We perform a detailed Monte Carlo simulation and reinterpret an existing recast of an ATLAS search for DV-plus-jets signatures in this scenario. We also consider a modified analysis strategy based on the same search to assess potential improvements in sensitivity. We find that the current ATLAS search already excludes a significant region of the parameter space, reaching scalar masses up to $m_S \sim 230$ GeV for a benchmark $hSS$ coupling $λv$ of $246$ GeV. The modified analysis and projections to the high-luminosity LHC further extend the sensitivity to wider regions of the mass--lifetime parameter space. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2606_01681 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Probing pair production of long-lived scalars via an off-shell Standard-Model-like Higgs boson at the LHC Wang, Lei Yu, Xianbo Wang, Zeren Simon High Energy Physics - Phenomenology High Energy Physics - Experiment We study the collider phenomenology of a long-lived scalar particle $S$ that arises from Higgs mixing in a broad class of Standard-Model (SM) extensions. When the mixing angle is sufficiently small, $S$ becomes long-lived, while its pair production via the Higgs portal can remain sizable. We focus on the production channel $gg \to h^* \to SS$ at the LHC, mediated by an \textit{off-shell} SM-like Higgs boson. This mechanism provides a complementary probe of $S$ in the mass region above the kinematic threshold of the conventional on-shell decay $h \to SS$, thereby extending the accessible parameter space to heavier scalars. The long-lived $S$ particles can decay inside the inner detector, leading to displaced vertices (DVs) accompanied by jets. We perform a detailed Monte Carlo simulation and reinterpret an existing recast of an ATLAS search for DV-plus-jets signatures in this scenario. We also consider a modified analysis strategy based on the same search to assess potential improvements in sensitivity. We find that the current ATLAS search already excludes a significant region of the parameter space, reaching scalar masses up to $m_S \sim 230$ GeV for a benchmark $hSS$ coupling $λv$ of $246$ GeV. The modified analysis and projections to the high-luminosity LHC further extend the sensitivity to wider regions of the mass--lifetime parameter space. |
| title | Probing pair production of long-lived scalars via an off-shell Standard-Model-like Higgs boson at the LHC |
| topic | High Energy Physics - Phenomenology High Energy Physics - Experiment |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.01681 |