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  • Open Access

Global analysis of ALP-mediated multiboson production at the LHC

Fabian Esser1,*, Alexandre Salas-Bernárdez2,†, Veronica Sanz3,‡, and Maria Ubiali4,§

  • *Contact author: fabian.esser@matfyz.cuni.cz
  • †Contact author: alexsala@ucm.es
  • ‡Contact author: veronica.sanz@uv.es
  • §Contact author: m.ubiali@damtp.cam.ac.uk
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Phys. Rev. D 113, 095033 – Published 26 May, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/x7f6-rwgy

Abstract

Axionlike particles (ALPs) provide a well-motivated framework for physics beyond the Standard Model, coupling to gauge bosons through dimension-five operators protected by an approximate shift symmetry. At the LHC, such interactions lead to distinctive signatures in multiboson production, where the ALP appears as an off-shell mediator rather than a narrow resonance. In this work, we present the first global analysis of ALP-mediated multiboson processes, combining measurements of diphoton, ZZ, W+W−, dijet, and vector-boson-fusion (VBF) final states. On the theory side, motivated from a UV perspective, we assume that the ALP couples only to the gauge sector of the SM and classify the ALP-multiboson vertices that directly modify collider observables. Using Run-2 LHC measurements, we extract bounds on the Wilson coefficients (cG˜,cW˜,cB˜) that parametrize gluonic and electroweak ALP interactions. Our results show that the dijet channel dominates the sensitivity to ALP couplings and determines the limits on cG˜, while diboson and VBF processes provide complementary constraints on the electroweak couplings. We further assess the validity of the effective field theory expansion at the multi-TeV scales probed by the data. This global study provides the most comprehensive picture to date of ALP-gauge interactions from multiboson production at the LHC and highlights the opportunities for significant improvements with future high-luminosity measurements.

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Outline

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Phys. Rev. D 113, 095033– Published 26 May, 2026
  • Received 12 November 2025
  • Accepted 16 March 2026
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