Measurements are presented of associated production of a W boson and a charm quark (W+c) in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35.7 fb$^{-1}$ collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC. The W bosons are identified by their decay into a muon and a neutrino. The charm quarks are tagged via the full reconstruction of D$^*$(2010)$^\pm$ mesons that decay via D$^*$(2010)$^\pm \to$ D$^0$ + $\pi^\pm \to$ K$^{\mp}$ + $\pi^\pm$ + $\pi^\pm$. A cross section is measured in the fiducial region defined by the muon transverse momentum $p_{T}^{\mu} >$ 26 GeV, muon pseudorapidity $|\eta^{\mu}| <$ 2.4, and charm quark transverse momentum $p_{T}^{c} >$ 5 GeV. The inclusive cross section for this kinematic range is $\sigma$(W+c) = 1026 $\pm$ 31 (stat) $\substack{+76\\-72}$ (syst) pb. The cross section is also measured differentially as a function of the pseudorapidity of the muon from the W boson decay. These measurements are compared with theoretical predictions and are used to probe the strange quark content of the proton.
A study of the associated production of a Z boson and a charm quark jet (Z + c), and a comparison to production with a b quark jet (Z + b), in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV are presented. The analysis uses a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb$^{-1}$, collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. The Z boson candidates are identified through their decays into pairs of electrons or muons. Jets originating from heavy flavour quarks are identified using semileptonic decays of c or b flavoured hadrons and hadronic decays of charm hadrons. The measurements are performed in the kinematic region with two leptons with $p_{\rm T}^{\ell} > $ 20 GeV, ${|\eta^{\ell}|} < $ 2.1, 71 $ < m_{\ell\ell} < $ 111 GeV, and heavy flavour jets with $p_{\rm T}^{{\rm jet}} > $ 25 GeV and ${|\eta^{{\rm jet}}|} < $ 2.5. The Z + c production cross section is measured to be $\sigma({\mathrm{p}}{\mathrm{p}} \rightarrow \mathrm{Z} + \mathrm{c} + \mathrm{X}) {\cal B}(\mathrm{Z} \rightarrow \ell^+\ell^-) = $ 8.8 $ \pm $ 0.5 (stat) $ \pm $ 0.6 (syst) pb. The ratio of the Z + c and Z + b production cross sections is measured to be $\sigma({\mathrm{p}}{\mathrm{p}} \rightarrow \mathrm{Z} + \mathrm{c} + \mathrm{X}) / \sigma({\mathrm{p}}{\mathrm{p}} \rightarrow \mathrm{Z} + \mathrm{b} + \mathrm{X}) = $ 2.0 $ \pm $ 0.2 (stat) $ \pm $ 0.2 (syst). The Z + c production cross section and the cross section ratio are also measured as a function of the transverse momentum of the Z boson and of the heavy flavour jet. The measurements are compared with theoretical predictions.
Differential and double-differential cross sections for the production of top quark pairs in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV are measured as a function of kinematic variables of the top quarks and the top quark-antiquark ($\mathrm{t}\overline{\mathrm{t}}$) system. In addition, kinematic variables and multiplicities of jets associated with the $\mathrm{t}\overline{\mathrm{t}}$ production are measured. This analysis is based on data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2016 corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.8 fb$^{-1}$. The measurements are performed in the lepton+jets decay channels with a single muon or electron and jets in the final state. The differential cross sections are presented at the particle level, within a phase space close to the experimental acceptance, and at the parton level in the full phase space. The results are compared to several standard model predictions that use different methods and approximations. The kinematic variables of the top quarks and the $\mathrm{t}\overline{\mathrm{t}}$ system are reasonably described in general, though none predict all the measured distributions. In particular, the transverse momentum distribution of the top quarks is more steeply falling than predicted. The kinematic distributions and multiplicities of jets are adequately modeled by certain combinations of next-to-leading-order calculations and parton shower models.
The production cross sections of B$^0_\mathrm{s}$ mesons and charge conjugates are measured in proton-proton (pp) and PbPb collisions via the exclusive decay channel B$^0_\mathrm{s}$ $\to$ $\mu^+\mu^-$K$^+$K$^-$ at a centre-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV per nucleon pair and within the rapidity range $|y|$ $\lt$ 2.4 using the CMS detector at the LHC. The pp measurement is performed as a function of transverse momentum (p$_\mathrm{T}$) of the B$^0_\mathrm{s}$ meson in the range of 7 to 50 GeV/$c$ and is compared to the predictions of perturbative QCD calculations. The B$^0_\mathrm{s}$ production yield in PbPb collisions is measured in two p$_\mathrm{T}$ intervals, 7 to 15 and 15 to 50 GeV/$c$, and compared to the yield in pp collisions in the same kinematic region. The nuclear modification factor ($R_\mathrm{AA}$) is found to be 1.5 $\pm$ 0.6 (stat) $\pm$ 0.5 (syst) for 7-15 GeV/$c$, and 0.87 $\pm$ 0.30 (stat) $\pm$ 0.17 (syst) for 15-50 GeV/$c$, respectively. Within current uncertainties, the results are consistent with models of strangeness enhancement and a suppression as observed for the B$^+$ mesons.
Measurements of prompt $\psi$(2S) meson production cross sections in proton-lead (pPb) and proton-proton (pp) collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s_{_\mathrm{NN}}}=$ 5.02 TeV are reported. The results are based on pPb and pp data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to integrated luminosities of 34.6 nb$^{-1}$ and 28.0 pb$^{-1}$, respectively. The nuclear modification factor $R_\mathrm{pPb}$ is measured for prompt $\psi$(2S) in the transverse momentum range 4 $<$ p$_\mathrm{T}$ $<$ 30 GeV$/c$ and the center-of-mass rapidity range $-$2.4 $< y_\mathrm{cm} <$ 1.93. The results on $\psi$(2S) $R_\mathrm{pPb}$ are compared to the corresponding modification factor for prompt J$/\psi$ mesons and are found to be more suppressed than the J$/\psi$ states over the entire kinematic range studied.
The centrality dependence of the charged-particle multiplicity density at mid-rapidity in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV is presented. The charged-particle density normalized per participating nucleon pair increases by about a factor 2 from peripheral (70-80%) to central (0-5%) collisions. The centrality dependence is found to be similar to that observed at lower collision energies. The data are compared with models based on different mechanisms for particle production in nuclear collisions.
A search is presented for physics beyond the standard model, based on measurements of dijet angular distributions in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=$ 13 TeV. The data collected with the CMS detector at the LHC correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. The observed distributions are found to be in agreement with predictions from perturbative quantum chromodynamics that include electroweak corrections. Constraints are placed on models containing quark contact interactions, extra spatial dimensions, quantum black holes, or dark matter using the detector-level distributions. In a benchmark model where only left-handed quarks participate, contact interactions are excluded at the 95% confidence level up to a scale of 12.8 or 17.5 TeV, for destructive or constructive interference, respectively. The most stringent lower limits to date are set on the ultraviolet cutoff in the Arkani-Hamed-Dimopoulos-Dvali model of extra dimensions. In the Giudice-Rattazzi-Wells convention, the cutoff scale is excluded up to 10.1 TeV. The production of quantum black holes is excluded for masses below 5.9 and 8.2 TeV, depending on the model. For the first time, lower limits between 2.0 and 4.6 TeV are set on the mass of a dark matter mediator for (axial-)vector mediators, for the universal quark coupling $g_\mathrm{q}\geq$ 1.
We present improved measurements of the differential production rates of stable charged particles in hadronic Z0 decays, and of charged pions, kaons and protons identified over a wide momentum range using the SLD Cherenkov Ring Imaging Detector. In addition to flavor-inclusive Z0 decays, measurements are made for Z0 decays into light (u, d, s), c and b primary flavors, selected using the upgraded Vertex Detector. Large differences between the flavors are observed that are qualitatively consistent with expectations based upon previously measured production and decay properties of heavy hadrons. These results are used to test the predictions of QCD in the Modified Leading Logarithm Approximation, with the ansatz of Local Parton-Hadron Duality, and the predictions of three models of the hadronization process. The light-flavor results provide improved tests of these predictions, as they do not include the contribution of heavy-hadron production and decay; the heavy-flavor results provide complementary model tests. In addition we have compared hadron and antihadron production in light quark (as opposed to antiquark) jets. Differences are observed at high momentum for all three charged hadron species, providing direct probes of leading particle effects, and stringent constraints on models.
We present a measurement of the b-quark inclusive fragmentation function in Z0 decays using a novel kinematic B-hadron energy reconstruction technique. The measurement was performed using 350,000 hadronic Z0 events recorded in the SLD experiment at SLAC between 1997 and 1998. We compared the sacled B-hadron energy distribution with models of b-quark fragmentation and with several ad hoc functional forms. A number of models and functions are excluded by the data. The average scaled energy of weakly-decaying B hadrons was measured to be <x_B>= 0.709 +-0.003 (stat) +-0.003 (syst) +-0.002 (model).
Measurements of single-, double-, and triple-differential cross-sections are presented for boosted top-quark pair-production in 13 $\text{TeV}$ proton-proton collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The top quarks are observed through their hadronic decay and reconstructed as large-radius jets with the leading jet having transverse momentum ($p_{\text{T}}$) greater than 500 GeV. The observed data are unfolded to remove detector effects. The particle-level cross-section, multiplied by the $t\bar{t} \rightarrow W W b \bar{b}$ branching fraction and measured in a fiducial phase space defined by requiring the leading and second-leading jets to have $p_{\text{T}} > 500$ GeV and $p_{\text{T}} > 350$ GeV, respectively, is $331 \pm 3 \text{(stat.)} \pm 39 \text{(syst.)}$ fb. This is approximately 20$\%$ lower than the prediction of $398^{+48}_{-49}$ fb by Powheg+Pythia 8 with next-to-leading-order (NLO) accuracy but consistent within the theoretical uncertainties. Results are also presented at the parton level, where the effects of top-quark decay, parton showering, and hadronization are removed such that they can be compared with fixed-order next-to-next-to-leading-order (NNLO) calculations. The parton-level cross-section, measured in a fiducial phase space similar to that at particle level, is $1.94 \pm 0.02 \text{(stat.)} \pm 0.25 \text{(syst.)}$ pb. This agrees with the NNLO prediction of $1.96^{+0.02}_{-0.17}$ pb. Reasonable agreement with the differential cross-sections is found for most NLO models, while the NNLO calculations are generally in better agreement with the data. The differential cross-sections are interpreted using a Standard Model effective field-theory formalism and limits are set on Wilson coefficients of several four-fermion operators.
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