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Relative rates of Z boson production with multiple b quarks

Determine the relative production rates for proton-proton collisions yielding a Z boson in association with two or more bottom quarks, specifically in events with three and four b-tagged jets at √s = 13 TeV, to support accurate background modeling in the ZH, H → aa → 4b channel.

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Background

In the ZH channel fit, separate global scale factors are introduced for Z+bb̄ production with three and four b-tagged jets because the analysis cannot rely on well-established relative rates from theory or simulation.

This unresolved understanding impacts how backgrounds are constrained and necessitates data-driven normalization for different b-jet multiplicities.

References

We implement separate scale factors for Z+bb̄ production with three and four b jets because the relative rates of Z boson production in association with two or more b quarks are not yet well established.

— Search for the decay of the Higgs boson to a pair of light pseudoscalar bosons in the final state with four bottom quarks in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV (2403.10341 - Collaboration, 15 Mar 2024) in Section 5 (Maximum likelihood fit)