Search for flavour-changing neutral tqH interactions with H → γγ in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV using the ATLAS detector

A search for flavour-changing neutral interactions involving the top quark, the Higgs boson and an up-type quark q (q = c, u) is presented. The proton-proton collision data set used, with an integrated luminosity of 139 fb −1, was collected at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Both the decay process t → qH in $t\overline{t}$ production and the production process pp → tH, with the Higgs boson decaying into two photons, are investigated. No significant excess is observed and upper limits are set on the t → cH and the t → uH branching ratios of 4.3 × 10 −4 and 3.8 × 10 −4, respectively, at the 95% confidence level, while the expected limits in the absence of signal are 4.7 × 10 −4 and 3.9 × 10 −4. Combining this search with ATLAS searches in the H → τ + τ − and H → $b\overline{b}$ final states yields observed (expected) upper limits on the t → cH branching ratio of 5.8 × 10 −4 (3.0 × 10 −4) at the 95% confidence level. The corresponding observed (expected) upper limit on the t → uH branching ratio is 4.0 × 10 −4 (2.4 × 10 −4).