This paper presents a search for Higgs bosons decaying to four leptons, either electrons or muons, via one or two light exotic gauge bosons $Z_d$, $H\to Z{Z}_d\to 4\ell$ or $H\to Z_d{Z}_d\to 4\ell$. The search was performed using $pp$ collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about $20{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$ at the center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=8\mathrm{TeV}$ recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The observed data are well described by the Standard Model prediction. Upper bounds on the branching ratio of $H\to Z{Z}_d\to 4\ell$ and on the kinetic mixing parameter between the $Z_d$ and the Standard Model hypercharge gauge boson are set in the range $(1–9)\times 10^{-5}$ and $(4–17)\times 10^{-2}$ respectively, at 95% confidence level assuming the Standard Model branching ratio of $H\to Z{Z}^{*}\to 4\ell$, for $Z_d$ masses between 15 and 55 GeV. Upper bounds on the effective mass mixing parameter between the $Z$ and the $Z_d$ are also set using the branching ratio limits in the $H\to Z{Z}_d\to 4\ell$ search, and are in the range $(1.5–8.7)\times 10^{-4}$ for $15<m_{Z_d}<35\mathrm{GeV}$. Upper bounds on the branching ratio of $H\to Z_d{Z}_d\to 4\ell$ and on the Higgs portal coupling parameter, controlling the strength of the coupling of the Higgs boson to dark vector bosons are set in the range $(2–3)\times 10^{-5}$ and $(1–10)\times 10^{-4}$ respectively, at 95% confidence level assuming the Standard Model Higgs boson production cross sections, for $Z_d$ masses between 15 and 60 GeV.

• Received 29 May 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.92.092001

This article is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

© 2015 CERN, for the ATLAS Collaboration