The first observation of the associated production of a single top quark and a W boson is presented. The analysis is based on a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 12.2 inverse femtobarns of proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC. Events with two leptons and a jet originating from a b quark are selected. A multivariate analysis based on kinematic and topological properties is used to separate the signal from the dominant t t-bar background. An excess consistent with the signal hypothesis is observed, with a significance which corresponds to 6.1 standard deviations above a background-only hypothesis. The measured production cross section is 23.4 +- 5.4 pb, in agreement with the standard model prediction.
Measured cross section for associated production of a single top quark and a W boson, where the uncertainty is mainly systematic.
A search for the production of heavy partners of the top quark with charge 5/3 is performed in events with a pair of same-sign leptons. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 inverse femtobarns and was collected at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV by the CMS experiment. No significant excess is observed in the data above the expected background and the existence of top-quark partners with masses below 800 GeV is excluded at a 95% confidence level, assuming they decay exclusively to tW. This is the first limit on these particles from the LHC, and it is significantly more restrictive than previous limits.
The distribution of HT for all channels combined after the full selection except for the HT requirement itself.
Expected and observed 95% CL limits on the $\mathrm{T}_{5/3}$ production cross section times the branching fraction for decay to same-sign dileptons.
The distribution of HT for all channels combined, after the requirement of same- sign dileptons, the Z-boson veto, and a requirement of at least two jets.
A search is performed for pair-produced spin-3/2 excited top quarks ($t^*\bar{t}^*$), each decaying to a top quark and a gluon. The search uses data collected with the CMS detector from pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$=8 TeV, selecting events that have a single isolated muon or electron, an imbalance in transverse momentum, and at least six jets, of which one must be compatible with originating from the fragmentation of a b quark. The data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 inverse femtobarns, show no significant excess over standard model predictions, and provide a lower limit of 803 GeV at 95% confidence on the mass of the spin-3/2 t* quark in an extension of the Randall-Sundrum model, assuming a 100% branching fraction of its decay into a top quark and a gluon. This is the first search for a spin-3/2 excited top quark performed at the LHC.
Kinematic distributions of single l + > 5-jet events in data (points), compared to MC simulation normalized to the number of events observed in data. Shown are pT spectra for muons (a) and electrons (b), and jet spectra for the channels $\mu$+jets (c) and e+jets (d). The reconstructed mtg distribution is shown for the $\mu$+jets channel in (e) and for e+jets in (f).
Kinematic distributions of single l + > 5-jet events in data (points), compared to MC simulation normalized to the number of events observed in data. Shown are pT spectra for muons (a) and electrons (b), and jet spectra for the channels $\mu$+jets (c) and e+jets (d). The reconstructed mtg distribution is shown for the $\mu$+jets channel in (e) and for e+jets in (f).
Kinematic distributions of single l + > 5-jet events in data (points), compared to MC simulation normalized to the number of events observed in data. Shown are pT spectra for muons (a) and electrons (b), and jet spectra for the channels $\mu$+jets (c) and e+jets (d). The reconstructed mtg distribution is shown for the $\mu$+jets channel in (e) and for e+jets in (f).
A search for baryon number violation (BNV) in top-quark decays is performed using pp collisions produced by the LHC at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV. The top-quark decay considered in this search results in one light lepton (muon or electron), two jets, but no neutrino in the final state. Data used for the analysis were collected by the CMS detector and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 inverse femtobarns. The event selection is optimized for top quarks produced in pairs, with one undergoing the BNV decay and the other the standard model hadronic decay to three jets. No significant excess of events over the expected yield from standard model processes is observed. The upper limits at 95% confidence level on the branching fraction of the BNV top-quark decay are calculated to be 0.0016 and 0.0017 for the muon and the electron channels, respectively. Assuming lepton universality, an upper limit of 0.0015 results from the combination of the two channels. These limits are the first that have been obtained on a BNV process involving the top quark.
Muon channel: expected and observed yields in the tight selections for an assumed BNV decay branching fraction of zero. The uncertainties include both statistical and systematic contributions.
Electron channel: expected and observed yields in the tight selections for an assumed BNV decay branching fraction of zero. The uncertainties include both statistical and systematic contributions.
Expected and observed 95% CL upper limits on the BNV decay branching fraction.
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