A $Z'$ gauge boson with sub-GeV mass has acquired a significant interest in phenomenology, particularly in view of the muon $g-2$ anomaly and coherent elastic neutrino-nucleon scattering. The latter is challenged by the nuclear recoil energy of a few tens of keV but has been observed by the COHERENT experiment. To further reconcile the observed excesses in $R(D^{ (*)})$ from semileptonic charmful $B$ decays and in the $W$ boson mass, we investigate a model with a gauged $U(1)_{ L_\mu-L_\tau}$ symmetry and a scalar leptoquark. In contrast to the mechanism that involves kinetic mixing between the gauge bosons of $U(1)_{ \rm em}$ and $U(1)_{ L_\mu-L_\tau}$, we adopt a dynamical symmetry breaking of $U(1)_{ L_\mu-L_\tau}$ by incorporating an additional Higgs doublet. Through mixing with the $U(1)_{ L_\mu-L_\tau}$-charged Higgs doublet, new Higgs decay channels $h\to Z_1 Z_1/Z_1 Z_2$ occur at percent-level branching ratios, which could be accessible at the LHC. The $W$-mass anomaly observed by CDF II can be potentially resolved through the enhancement in the oblique parameter $T$. Due to the flavored gauge symmetry, the introduced scalar leptoquark $S^{ \frac{ 1}{ 3}}=(\bar{ 3},1,2/3)$ exhibits a unique coupling to the $\tau$-lepton, offering an explanation for the excesses observed in $R(D^{ (*)})$. Moreover, $\tau \to \mu (Z_1\to ) e^- e^+$ via the resonant light gauge boson decay can reach the sensitivity of Belle II at an integrated luminosity of 50 ab$^{ -1}$.
Categories: hep-ph hep-ex