Search for a dark leptophilic scalar produced in association with τ + τ − pair in e + e − annihilation at center-of-mass energies near 10.58 GeV
A dark leptophilic scalar ( ϕ L ) is a hypothetical particle that couples only to leptons rather than quarks. We report on a search for ϕ L in the e + e − → τ + τ − ϕ L , ϕ L → ℓ + ℓ − ( ℓ = e , μ ) process using 626 fb − 1 of data collected by the Belle experiment near the ϒ ( 4 S ) resonance. We validate the backgrounds with multiple control regions in data, using a novel multiclass multivariate event classifier. In absence of a signal, we quote upper limits at the 90% confidence level on the coupling between ϕ L and leptons. Our bounds, obtained in a blinded approach, are 19% more constraining than the previous limits, averaged over the mass range 0.04 ≤ m ϕ L ≤ 6.5 GeV . We exclude the parameter space below 4 GeV favored by measurement of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. Published by the American Physical Society 2024