Higgs portal to dark matter and $B\to K^{(*)}$ decays

Abstract

We consider a Higgs portal model in which the 125-GeV Higgs boson mixes with a light singlet mediator $h_2$ coupling to particles of a Dark Sector and study potential $b\to s h_2$ decays in the Belle II experiment. Multiplying the gauge-dependent off-shell Standard-Model $b$-$s$-Higgs vertex with the sine of the Higgs mixing angle does not give the correct $b$-$s$-$h_2$ vertex. We clarify this issue by calculating the $b$-$s$-$h_2$ vertex in an arbitrary $R_ξ$ gauge and demonstrate how the $ξ$ dependence cancels from physical decay rates involving an on-shell or off-shell $h_2$. Then we revisit the $b\to s h_2$ phenomenology and point out that a simultaneous study of $B\to K^* h_2$ and $B\to K h_2$ helps to discriminate between the Higgs portal and alternative models of the Dark Sector. We further advocate for the use of the $h_2$ lifetime information contained in displaced-vertex data with $h_2$ decaying back to Standard-Model particles to better constrain the $h_2$ mass or to reveal additional $h_2$ decay modes into long-lived particles.