Search for a high-mass dimuon resonance produced in association with b quark jets at s = 13 TeV

A search for high-mass dimuon resonance production in association with one or more b quark jets is presented. The study uses proton-proton collision data collected with the CMS detector at the LHC corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb⁻¹ at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. Model-independent limits are derived on the number of signal events with exactly one or more than one b quark jet. Results are also interpreted in a lepton-flavor-universal model with Z′ boson couplings to a bb quark pair (g_b), an sb quark pair (g_bδ_bs), and any same-flavor charged lepton (g_ℓ) or neutrino pair (g_ν), with |g_ν| = |g_ℓ|. For a Z′ boson with a mass mZ_′ = 350 GeV (2 TeV) and |δ_bs| < 0.25, the majority of the parameter space with 0.0057 < |g_ℓ| < 0.35 (0.25 < |g_ℓ| < 0.43) and 0.0079 < |g_b| < 0.46 (0.34 < |g_b| < 0.57) is excluded at 95% confidence level. Finally, constraints are set on a Z′ model with parameters consistent with low-energy b → sℓℓ measurements. In this scenario, most of the allowed parameter space is excluded for a Z′ boson with 350 < mZ_′ < 500 GeV, while the constraints are less stringent for higher mZ_′ hypotheses. This is the first dedicated search at the LHC for a high-mass dimuon resonance produced in association with multiple b quark jets, and the constraints obtained on models with this signature are the most stringent to date.