Heavy neutrino searches via same-sign lepton pairs at a Higgs boson factory

Abstract

This paper investigates the $e^-e^+\to Zh_1$ sensitivity for Higgs boson's rare decay into heavy neutrinos $h_1 \to NN$ at the proposed electron-positron collider, with the focus on multi-lepton final states that contain same-sign lepton pairs. $h_1 \to NN$ decay can derive from Higgs boson's mixing with new physics scalar(s) that is complementary to the contribution from active-sterile neutrino mixings. We consider the scenario with a singlet scalar which gives the heavy neutrino mass and has a small mixing with the SM Higgs boson. We analyze the semileptonic, fully leptonic and mixed $NN$ decay scenarios, and categorize the signal on the number of leptons in the final state: $ \ell^\pm \ell^\pm$ with at least 3 jets, $\ell^\pm \ell^\pm \ell$ with at least 2 jets, and $e^\pm e^\pm \mu^\mp \mu^\mp$ plus with at least 1 jet, each containing one or two same-sign dilepton system(s). Selection cuts are optimized for the presence of the associated $Z$-boson, which leads to additional backgrounds at the $e^-e^+$ collider. The Standard Model background channels are systematically analyzed. Sensitivity limits on $h_1 \rightarrow NN$ branching fractions are derived for signals with 2-4 final leptons assuming the heavy neutrino masses are between 10 and 60 GeV. With 240 GeV center-of-mass energy and 5.6 ab$^{-1}$ design luminosity, $h_1 \rightarrow NN$ branching fraction can be probed to $2\times 10^{-4}$ in $2\ell$ and $3\ell$ channels, and $6\times 10^{-4}$ in the $4\ell$ channel at $95\%$ confidence level. $3\ell, 4\ell$ channels expect one or fewer background event, and their sensitivities saturate the statistic limit at 5.6 ab$^{-1}$ luminosity. A same-sign trilepton ($\ell^\pm \ell^\pm \ell^\pm$) signal in the $3\ell$ channel is also discussed. Our search strategy provides an approach to discovering the singlet scalar and exploring the origin of neutrino masses at future $e^-e^+$ colliders.