Search for bottom-squark pair production in pp collision events at s=13  TeV with hadronically decaying τ -leptons, b -jets, and missing transverse momentum using the ATLAS detector

A search for pair production of bottom squarks in events with hadronically decaying τ-leptons, b-tagged jets, and large missing transverse momentum is presented. The analyzed dataset is based on proton-proton collisions at s=13 TeV delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded by the ATLAS detector from 2015 to 2018, and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb-1. The observed data are compatible with the expected Standard Model background. Results are interpreted in a simplified model where each bottom squark is assumed to decay into the second-lightest neutralino χ 20 and a bottom quark, with χ 20 decaying into a Higgs boson and the lightest neutralino χ 10. The search focu…