Search for a τ + τ - Resonance in e + e - → μ + μ - τ + τ - Events with the Belle II Experiment
We report the first search for a nonstandard-model resonance decaying into $τ$ pairs in $e^+e^-$ → $μ^+μ^-τ^+τ^-$ events in the 3.6–10 GeV/c 2 mass range. We use a 62.8 fb -1 sample of $e^+e^-$ collisions collected at a center-of-mass energy of 10.58 GeV by the Belle II experiment at the SuperKEKB collider. The analysis probes three different models predicting a spin-1 particle coupling only to the heavier lepton families, a Higgs-like spin-0 particle that couples preferentially to charged leptons (leptophilic scalar), and an axionlike particle, respectively. We observe no evidence for a signal and set exclusion limits at 90% confidence level on the product of cross section and branching fraction into $τ$ pairs, ranging from 0.7 to 24 fb, and on the couplings of these processes. We obtain world-leading constraints on the couplings for the leptophilic scalar model for masses above 6.5 GeV/c 2 and for the axionlike particle model over the entire mass range.