Search for neutral resonances decaying into a Z boson and a pair of b jets or tau leptons

Abstract

A search is performed for a new resonance decaying into a lighter resonance and a Z boson. Two channels are studied, targeting the decay of the lighter resonance into either a pair of oppositely charged tau leptons or a b b-bar pair. The Z boson is identified via its decays to electrons or muons. The search exploits data collected by the CMS experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.8 inverse femtobarns. No significant deviations are observed from the standard model expectation and limits are set on production cross sections and parameters of two-Higgs-doublet models.