Search for heavy resonances and nonresonant axion-like particles in semileptonic ZZ, ZW, or ZH final states at $\sqrt{s}=13~\mathrm{TeV}$

A search has been performed for heavy resonances and nonresonant axion-like particles (ALPs) in semileptonic ZZ, ZW, or ZH final states, with two charged leptons (electrons or muons) produced by the decay of a Z boson, and two quarks produced by the decay of a Z, W, or H boson. The analysis is sensitive to resonances with masses in the range from 450 to $1800~\mathrm{GeV}$ decaying into ZZ or ZW. A search for the effects of nonresonant ALP-mediated ZZ or ZH production is included. Two categories are defined based on the merged or resolved reconstruction of the hadronically decaying boson. The search is based on data collected during 2016 to 2018 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in proton-proton collisions with a center-of-mass energy of $13~\mathrm{TeV}$, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $137~\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$. No excess is observed in the data above the standard model background expectation. Upper limits on the production cross section of heavy, narrow spin-1 and spin-2 resonances are derived as a function of the resonance mass, and exclusion limits on the production of W' bosons and bulk graviton particles are calculated in the framework of the heavy vector triplet model and warped extra dimensions, respectively. In addition, upper limits on the ALP-mediated diboson production cross section and ALP couplings to standard model particles are obtained in the framework of linear and chiral effective field theories.