A search is presented for lepton-flavor violating decays of the Higgs boson to $\mu\tau$ and e$\tau$. The data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb$^{-1}$ collected at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. No significant excess has been found, and the results are interpreted in terms of upper limits on lepton-flavor violating branching fractions of the Higgs boson. The observed (expected) upper limits on the branching fractions are, respectively, $\mathcal{B}($H $\to\mu\tau)$$\lt$ 0.15 (0.15)% and $\mathcal{B}($H$\to$e$\tau)$ $\lt$ 0.22 (0.16)% at 95% confidence level.
Observed (expected) 95% CL upper limits on $B(H\to\mu\tau)$ for each individual category and combined
Observed (expected) 95% CL upper limits on $B(H\to e\tau)$ for each individual category and combined
Summary of observed and expected upper limits at 95% CL, best fit branching fractions and corresponding constraints on Yukawa couplings for the $H\to\mu\tau$ and $H\to e\tau$ channels
Decays of the 125 GeV Higgs boson into a Z boson and a $\rho^0$(770) or $\phi$(1020) meson are searched for using proton-proton collision data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC at $\sqrt{s} = $ 13 TeV. The analysed data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb$^{-1}$. Events are selected in which the Z boson decays into a pair of electrons or a pair of muons, and the $\rho$ and $\phi$ mesons decay into pairs of pions and kaons, respectively. No significant excess above the background model is observed. As different polarization states are possible for the decay products of the Z boson and $\rho$ or $\phi$ mesons, affecting the signal acceptance, scenarios in which the decays are longitudinally or transversely polarized are considered. Upper limits at the 95% confidence level on the Higgs boson branching fractions into Z$\rho$ and Z$\phi$ are determined to be 1.04-1.31% and 0.31-0.40%, respectively, where the ranges reflect the considered polarization scenarios; these values are 740-940 and 730-950 times larger than the respective standard model expectations. These results constitute the first experimental limits on the two decay channels.
Observed and expected 95% CL upper limits on B(H $\rightarrow$ Z$\rho$), for different polarizations.
Observed and expected 95% CL upper limits on B(H $\rightarrow$ Z$\phi$), for different polarizations.
A statistical combination of searches for heavy resonances decaying to pairs of bosons or leptons is presented. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$ collected during 2016 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The data are found to be consistent with expectations from the standard model background. Exclusion limits are set in the context of models of spin-1 heavy vector triplets and of spin-2 bulk gravitons. For mass-degenerate W' and Z' resonances that predominantly couple to the standard model gauge bosons, the mass exclusion at 95% confidence level of heavy vector bosons is extended to 4.5 TeV as compared to 3.8 TeV determined from the best individual channel. This excluded mass increases to 5.0 TeV if the resonances couple predominantly to fermions.
Observed and expected 95% CL upper limits on the product of the cross section and branching fraction of a spin-1 resonance decaying to a pair of SM bosons.
Observed and expected 95% CL upper limits on the product of the cross section and branching fraction of a spin-2 resonance decaying to a pair of SM bosons.
Observed and expected 95% CL upper limits on the product of the cross section of a W' resonance decaying to a pair of SM bosons.
A search is presented for decays of Z and Higgs bosons to a J$/\psi$ meson and a photon, with the subsequent decay of the J$/\psi$ to $\mu^+\mu^-$. The analysis uses data from proton-proton collisions with an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$ at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV collected with the CMS detector at the LHC. The observed limit on the Z $\to$ J$/\psi \gamma$ decay branching fraction, assuming that the J$/\psi$ meson is produced unpolarized, is 1.4 $\times$ 10$^{-6}$ at 95% confidence level, which corresponds to a rate higher than expected in the standard model by a factor of 15. For extreme-polarization scenarios, the observed limit changes from -13.6 to +8.6% with respect to the unpolarized scenario. The observed upper limit on the branching fraction for H $\to$ J$/\psi \gamma$ where the J$/\psi$ meson is assumed to be transversely polarized is 7.6 $\times$ 10$^{-4}$, a factor of 260 larger than the standard model prediction. The results for the Higgs boson are combined with previous data from proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 8 TeV to produce an observed upper limit on the branching fraction for H $\to$ J$/\psi \gamma$ that is a factor of 220 larger than the standard model value.
Upper observed and expected limits on branching fraction of $Z (H)\rightarrow J/\psi\gamma$ decay of the $Z (H)$ boson.
A search for the standard model Higgs boson produced in association with a W or a Z boson and decaying a pair of $\tau$ leptons is performed. A data sample of proton-proton collisions collected at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC is used, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. The signal strength is measured relative to the expectation for the standard model Higgs boson, yielding $\mu =$ 2.5 $^{+1.4} _{-1.3}$. These results are combined with earlier CMS measurements targeting Higgs boson decays to a pair of $\tau$ leptons, performed with the same data set in the gluon fusion and vector boson fusion production modes. The combined signal strength is $\mu =$ 1.24 $^{+0.29} _{-0.27}$ (1.00 $^{+0.24} _{-0.23}$ expected), and the observed significance is 5.5 standard deviations (4.8 expected) for a Higgs boson mass of 125 GeV.
Best fit signal strength per production mode, for mH = 125.09 GeV. The constraints from the global fit are used to extract each of the individual best fit signal strengths. The VH analyses are combined with the ggH and VBF analysis.
A search is presented for a singly produced third-generation scalar leptoquark decaying to a $\tau$ lepton and a bottom quark. Associated production of a leptoquark and a $\tau$ lepton is considered, leading to a final state with a bottom quark and two $\tau$ leptons. The search uses proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded with the CMS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. Upper limits are set at 95% confidence level on the production cross section of the third-generation scalar leptoquarks as a function of their mass. From a comparison of the results with the theoretical predictions, a third-generation scalar leptoquark decaying to a $\tau$ lepton and a bottom quark, assuming unit Yukawa coupling ($\lambda$), is excluded for masses below 740 GeV. Limits are also set on $\lambda$ of the hypothesized leptoquark as a function of its mass. Above $\lambda =$ 1.4, this result provides the best upper limit on the mass of a third-generation scalar leptoquark decaying to a $\tau$ lepton and a bottom quark.
The product of acceptance, efficiency, and branching fraction as a function of leptoquark (LQ) mass for the single production of LQs in each of the three channels considered: tau-tau (black solid line), mu-tau (red dashed line), and e-tau (blue dotted line). The efficiency is calculated with respect to all event selections mentioned in the paper. The uncertainty refers to statistical uncertainty only.
Observed ST distribution in the e-tau signal region, compared to the expected SM background contributions. The distribution labeled electroweak contains the contributions from W+jets, Z+jets, and diboson processes. The signal distributions for single-leptoquark (LQ) production with mass 700 GeV are overlaid to illustrate the sensitivity. For the signal normalization, lambda = 1 and beta = 1 are assumed. The background uncertainty bands represent the sum in quadrature of statistical and systematic uncertainties obtained from the fit. The lower panels show the ratio between the observed and expected events in each bin. In all plots, the horizontal and vertical error bars on the data points represent the bin widths and the Poisson uncertainties, respectively.
Observed ST distribution in the mu-tau signal region, compared to the expected SM background contributions. The distribution labeled electroweak contains the contributions from W+jets, Z+jets, and diboson processes. The signal distributions for single-leptoquark (LQ) production with mass 700 GeV are overlaid to illustrate the sensitivity. For the signal normalization, lambda = 1 and beta = 1 are assumed. The background uncertainty bands represent the sum in quadrature of statistical and systematic uncertainties obtained from the fit. The lower panels show the ratio between the observed and expected events in each bin. In all plots, the horizontal and vertical error bars on the data points represent the bin widths and the Poisson uncertainties, respectively.
A search for a new heavy particle decaying to a pair of vector bosons (WW or WZ) is presented using data from the CMS detector corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$ collected in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV in 2016. One of the bosons is required to be a W boson decaying to e$\nu$ or $\mu\nu$, while the other boson is required to be reconstructed as a single massive jet with substructure compatible with that of a highly-energetic quark pair from a W or Z boson decay. The search is performed in the resonance mass range between 1.0 and 4.5 TeV. The largest deviation from the background-only hypothesis is observed for a mass near 1.4 TeV and corresponds to a local significance of 2.5 standard deviations. The result is interpreted as an upper bound on the resonance production cross section. Comparing the excluded cross section values and the expectations from theoretical calculations in the bulk graviton and heavy vector triplet models, spin-2 WW resonances with mass smaller than 1.07 TeV and spin-1 WZ resonances lighter than 3.05 TeV, respectively, are excluded at 95% confidence level.
Exclusion limits on the product of the production cross section and the branching fraction for a new spin-2 resonance decaying to WW, as a function of the resonance mass hypothesis.
Exclusion limits on the product of the production cross section and the branching fraction for a new spin-1 resonance decaying to WZ, as a function of the resonance mass hypothesis.
Signal selection efficiency times acceptance as a function of resonance mass for a spin-2 bulk graviton decaying to WW and a spin-1 W' decaying to WZ.
A search for a Higgs boson decaying into a pair of electrons or muons and a photon is described. Higgs boson decays to a Z boson and a photon (H $\to$ Z$\gamma\to\ell\ell\gamma$, $\ell =$ e or $\mu$), or to two photons, one of which has an internal conversion into a muon pair (H $\to\gamma^{*}\gamma\to\mu\mu\gamma$) were considered. The analysis is performed using a data set recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. No significant excess above the background prediction has been found. Limits are set on the cross section for a standard model Higgs boson decaying to opposite-sign electron or muon pairs and a photon. The observed limits on cross section times the corresponding branching fractions vary between 1.4 and 4.0 (6.1 and 11.4) times the standard model cross section for H $\to\gamma^{*}\gamma\to\mu\mu\gamma$ (H $\to$ Z$\gamma\to\ell\ell\gamma$) in the 120-130 GeV mass range of the $\ell\ell\gamma$ system. The H $\to\gamma^*\gamma\to\mu\mu\gamma$ and H $\to$ Z$\gamma\to\ell\ell\gamma$ analyses are combined for $m_\mathrm{H} =$ 125 GeV, obtaining an observed (expected) 95% confidence level upper limit of 3.9 (2.0) times the standard model cross section.
Exclusion limit, at 95% CL, on the cross section of the $H \rightarrow \gamma^{*}\gamma \rightarrow \mu\mu\gamma$ process relative to the SM prediction, as a function of the Higgs boson mass.
Exclusion limit, at 95% CL, on the cross section of the $H \rightarrow Z\gamma \rightarrow ll\gamma$ process relative to the SM prediction, as a function of the Higgs boson mass.
Exclusion limit, at 95% CL, on the cross section of the $H \rightarrow ll\gamma$ relative to the SM prediction, for an SM Higgs boson of $m_{H} = 125$ GeV. The upper limits of each analysis category, as well as their combinations, are shown.
Measurements of the inclusive and differential fiducial cross sections of the Higgs boson are presented, using the $\tau$ lepton decay channel. The differential cross sections are measured as functions of the Higgs boson transverse momentum, jet multiplicity, and transverse momentum of the leading jet in the event if any. The analysis is performed using proton-proton data collected with the CMS detector at the LHC at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. These are the first differential measurements of the Higgs boson cross section in the final state of two $\tau$ leptons, and they constitute a significant improvement over measurements in other final states in events with a large jet multiplicity or with a Lorentz-boosted Higgs boson.
The fiducial differential signal strength and cross section in each Higgs pT bin. Both the unregularized and regularized signal strengths are given; they do not include uncertainties in the SM signal normalization. The fiducial cross section and its full uncertainty in each bin are also given. The last bin is inclusive.
The fiducial differential signal strength and cross section in each jet multiplicity bin. Both the unregularized and regularized signal strengths are given; they do not include uncertainties in the SM signal normalization. The fiducial cross section and its full uncertainty in each bin are also given. The last bin is inclusive.
The fiducial differential signal strength and cross section in each leading jet pT bin. Both the unregularized and regularized signal strengths are given; they do not include uncertainties in the SM signal normalization. The fiducial cross section and its full uncertainty in each bin are also given. The last bin is inclusive.
Measurements of the ZZ production cross sections in proton-proton collisions at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV are presented. Candidate events for the leptonic decay mode ZZ to 2 l 2 nu, where l denotes an electron or a muon, are reconstructed and selected from data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.1 (19.6) inverse femtobarns at 7 (8) TeV collected with the CMS experiment. The measured cross sections, sigma(pp to ZZ) = 5.1 -1.4 +1.5 (stat) -1.1 +1.4 (syst) +/- 0.1 (lumi) pb at 7 TeV, and 7.2 -0.8 +0.8 (stat.) -1.5 +1.9 (syst) +/- 0.2 (lumi) pb at 8 TeV, are in good agreement with the standard model predictions with next-to-leading-order accuracy. The selected data are analyzed to search for anomalous triple gauge couplings involving the ZZ final state. In the absence of any deviation from the standard model predictions, limits are set on the relevant parameters. These limits are then combined with the previously published CMS results for ZZ in 4 l final states, yielding the most stringent constraints on the anomalous couplings.
Using a maximum-likelihood fit to the reduced-MET data distributions, with all the systematic uncertainties incorporated as nuisance parameters, we obtain the following cross sections for the pp->ZZ process (with both Z bosons in the mass range 60-120 GeV). The first systematic uncertainty is the combined systematic uncertainty excluding luminosity, the second is the luminosity. The theory calculations are 6.2+0.3-0.2 pb at 7 TeV and 7.6+0.4-0.3 pb at 8 TeV, including NLO QCD and NLO EW corrections.
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