Search for single vector-like B quark production and decay via (Formula presented.) in pp collisions at (Formula presented.) TeV with the ATLAS detector

Abstract

A search is presented for single production of a vector-like B quark decaying into a Standard Model b-quark and a Standard Model Higgs boson, which decays into a (Formula presented.) pair. The search is carried out in 139 fb−1 of (Formula presented.) TeV proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC between 2015 and 2018. No significant deviation from the Standard Model background prediction is observed, and mass-dependent exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level are set on the resonance production cross-section in several theoretical scenarios determined by the couplings c<inf>W</inf>, c<inf>Z</inf> and c<inf>H</inf> between the B quark and the Standard Model W, Z and Higgs bosons, respectively. For a vector-like B occurring as an isospin singlet, the search excludes values of c<inf>W</inf> greater than 0.45 for a B resonance mass (m<inf>B</inf>) between 1.0 and 1.2 TeV. For 1.2 TeV < m<inf>B</inf>< 2.0 TeV, c<inf>W</inf> values larger than 0.50–0.65 are excluded. If the B occurs as part of a (B, Y) doublet, the smallest excluded c<inf>Z</inf> coupling values range between 0.3 and 0.5 across the investigated resonance mass range 1.0 TeV < m<inf>B</inf>< 2.0 TeV. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.