Constraining the Inert Doublet Model at the LHC (2511.23133v1)

Abstract: In this work, we analyze experimental exclusion bounds that have been derived within a specific new physics realization, the two Higgs-doublet model with a pseudoscalar singlet (2HDMa), and their application to a different model, the Inert Doublet Model (IDM), that features the same final state. In this context, we discuss the sensitivity of the ATLAS search for the 2HDMa in final states with leptons and missing energy. We demonstrate that, with cuts optimized for a specific model topology, other new physics scenarios with larger rates might yet escape detection. We also give an update on constraints from vector boson fusion production of the Standard Model-like scalar and subsequent invisible decay from full Run 2 data on the parameter space of the IDM, with a special emphasis on the off-shell region, as well as a search that specifically concentrates on soft lepton final states.