Search for a new resonance decaying to a Higgs boson and a scalar boson in events with two b jets and two Z bosons in proton-proton collisions at √s = 13.6 TeV

A search is performed for a new resonance X decaying into either a pair of Higgs bosons (HH) or into a Higgs boson and a new scalar boson Y (HY), using proton-proton collision data collected at √s = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb⁻¹. This study performs a comprehensive exploitation of the bbZZ events, encompassing the following decay topologies. One H candidate is identified through its decay into a bottom quark-antiquark pair, while the other H or the Y candidate is selected through its decay into a pair of Z bosons. One Z boson is required to decay leptonically and the other, to decay into a pair of quarks or neutrinos. Events of interest are categorized based on the Lorentz boosts of the hadronically decaying H and Z bosons. Machine-learning-based discriminants, together with the reconstructed resonance mass, are employed across the different categories to separate signal from backgrounds, and their corresponding distributions are included in a simultaneous fit. No significant deviations from the standard model predictions are observed. Upper limits at the 95% confidence level are set on the HH and HY production cross sections. For resonant HH production, the upper limit on the cross section of pp → HH production is 1 pb for a high-mass resonance. For HY production, the upper limit on the cross section of the process pp → X → bbZZ is approximately 5 fb for a high-mass resonance. This is comparable to the sensitivity achieved in other analyses, which focus on H decays to $γγ$ or $ττ$ and Y decays into a pair of bottom quarks or massive vector bosons.