Dark scalar reinterpretation of searches for Higgs boson decays into long-lived particles at the LHC

Abstract

We present a reinterpretation of selected ATLAS and CMS searches for Higgs boson decays into long-lived particles (LLPs) within the scalar portal framework, where the standard model is extended by a light scalar that mixes with the Higgs boson. Using public HEPData results, we evaluate the sensitivity of several experimental strategies targeting different final states. The analysis shows how published searches probe complementary regions of the model parameter space, and it provides a comparative assessment of their coverage. The study also identifies the existing gaps in phase space coverage and highlights key areas for future improvement in LLP searches, which will be crucial to maximize the discovery potential for exotic decays of the Higgs boson into LLPs. Finally, we extrapolate the constraints to the integrated luminosity of the High-Luminosity LHC under different assumptions and compare them with the projected sensitivities of proposed dedicated LLP experiments at CERN, showing that these experiments will further extend the experimental reach independently of the assumed extrapolation.

Comments: 18 pages, 8 figures. Replaced with the published version. Added the journal reference and the DOI. Minor corrections