Search for a CP-odd Higgs boson decaying into a heavy CP-even Higgs boson and a Z boson in the l+l−tt ̄ and νν ̄bb ̄ final states using 140 fb−1 of data collected with the ATLAS detector

A search for a heavy CP-odd Higgs boson, A, decaying into a Z boson and a heavy CP-even Higgs boson, H, is presented. It uses the full LHC Run 2 dataset of pp collisions at s = 13 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb−1. The search for A → ZH is performed in the l+l−tt ̄ and νν ̄bb ̄ final states and surpasses the reach of previous searches in different final states in the region with mH > 350 GeV and mA > 800 GeV. No significant deviation from the Standard Model expectation is found. Upper limits are placed on the production cross-section times the decay branching ratios. Limits with less model dependence are also presented as functions of the reconstructed m(tt ̄) and m(bb ̄) distributions in the l+l−tt ̄ and νν ̄bb ̄ channels, respectively. In addition, the results are interpreted in the context of two-Higgs-doublet models.