Search for axion-like particles decaying to two photons at Belle II
Axion-like particles (ALPs) are predicted in many extensions of the Standard Model and provide a well-motivated portal between visible and hidden sectors through their coupling to photons. We search for ALPs produced in the process $e^{+}e^{-}\to\gamma a$, $a\to\gamma\gamma$, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $408~\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ recorded by the Belle~II detector at the SuperKEKB $e^{+}e^{-}$ collider. Events containing three photons are used to reconstruct the ALP as a narrow peak in the di-photon invariant mass spectrum over the range $0.17 < m_{a} < 9.80~\mathrm{GeV}/c^{2}$. No significant excess above background is observed. We set 95\% confidence level upper limits on the production cross section and on the ALP-photon coupling $g_{a\gamma\gamma}$, reaching sensitivities at the level of $10^{-4}~\mathrm{GeV}^{-1}$. The limits are the most restrictive to date over nearly the entire mass range $0.17 < m_{a} < 5.00~\mathrm{GeV}/c^{2}$, and improve upon previous results by up to a factor 9.