{
  "abstract": "We study the collider phenomenology of a long-lived scalar particle $S$ that arises from Higgs mixing in a broad class of Standard-Model (SM) extensions. When the mixing angle is sufficiently small, $S$ becomes long-lived, while its pair production via the Higgs portal can remain sizable. We focus on the production channel $gg \\to h^* \\to SS$ at the LHC, mediated by an \\textit{off-shell} SM-like Higgs boson. This mechanism provides a complementary probe of $S$ in the mass region above the kinematic threshold of the conventional on-shell decay $h \\to SS$, thereby extending the accessible parameter space to heavier scalars. The long-lived $S$ particles can decay inside the inner detector, leading to displaced vertices (DVs) accompanied by jets. We perform a detailed Monte Carlo simulation and reinterpret an existing recast of an ATLAS search for DV-plus-jets signatures in this scenario. We also consider a modified analysis strategy based on the same search to assess potential improvements in sensitivity. We find that the current ATLAS search already excludes a significant region of the parameter space, reaching scalar masses up to $m_S \\sim 230$~GeV for a benchmark $hSS$ coupling $λv$ of $246$~GeV. The modified analysis and projections to the high-luminosity LHC further extend the sensitivity to wider regions of the mass--lifetime parameter space.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2606.01681",
  "author_total": 3,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Lei Wang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Xianbo Yu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Zeren Simon Wang"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/61x3gp5d4g40m.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2606.01681",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "61x3gp5d4g40m",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.01681",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "hep-ex"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "hep-ph"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2606.01681",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-01",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/61x3gp5d4g40m.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:00Z",
      "native_id": "2606.01681",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.01681"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:hep-ex",
      "subfield": "high-energy"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Probing pair production of long-lived scalars via an off-shell Standard-Model-like Higgs boson at the LHC",
  "title_text": "Probing pair production of long-lived scalars via an off-shell Standard-Model-like Higgs boson at the LHC",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:00Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/61x3gp5d4g40m",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}