Search for heavy neutral resonances decaying to tau lepton pairs in proton-proton collisions at (Formula presented)

A search for heavy neutral gauge bosons ((Formula presented)) decaying into a pair of tau leptons is performed in proton-proton collisions at (Formula presented) at the CERN LHC. The data were collected with the CMS detector and correspond to an integrated luminosity of (Formula presented). The observations are found to be in agreement with the expectation from standard model processes. Limits at 95% confidence level are set on the product of the (Formula presented) production cross section and its branching fraction to tau lepton pairs for a range of (Formula presented) boson masses. For a narrow resonance in the sequential standard model scenario, a (Formula presented) boson with a mass below 3.5 TeV is excluded. This is the most stringent limit to date from this type of search. © 2025 CERN, for the CMS Collaboration.