The inclusive jet cross section is measured as a function of jet transverse momentum $p_\mathrm{T}$ and rapidity $y$. The measurement is performed using proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s}$ = 5.02 TeV, recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 27.4 pb$^{-1}$. The jets are reconstructed with the anti-$k_\mathrm{T}$ algorithm using a distance parameter of $R$ = 0.4, within the rapidity interval $\lvert y\rvert$$\lt$ 2, and across the kinematic range 0.06 $\lt$$p_\mathrm{T}$$\lt$ 1 TeV. The jet cross section is unfolded from detector to particle level using the determined jet response and resolution. The results are compared to predictions of perturbative quantum chromodynamics, calculated at both next-to-leading order and next-to-next-to-leading order. The predictions are corrected for nonperturbative effects, and presented for a variety of parton distribution functions and choices of the renormalization / factorization scales and the strong coupling $\alpha_\mathrm{S}$.
An inclusive search for long-lived exotic particles decaying to a pair of muons is presented. The search uses data collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV in 2016 and 2018 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 97.6 fb$^{-1}$. The experimental signature is a pair of oppositely charged muons originating from a common secondary vertex spatially separated from the pp interaction point by distances ranging from several hundred $\mu$m to several meters. The results are interpreted in the frameworks of the hidden Abelian Higgs model, in which the Higgs boson decays to a pair of long-lived dark photons Z$_\mathrm{D}$, and of a simplified model, in which long-lived particles are produced in decays of an exotic heavy neutral scalar boson. For the hidden Abelian Higgs model with $m_\mathrm{Z_D}$ greater than 20 GeV and less than half the mass of the Higgs boson, they provide the best limits to date on the branching fraction of the Higgs boson to dark photons for $c\tau$(Z$_\mathrm{D}$) (varying with $m_\mathrm{Z_D}$) between 0.03 and ${\approx}$ 0.5 mm, and above ${\approx}$ 0.5 m. Our results also yield the best constraints on long-lived particles with masses larger than 10 GeV produced in decays of an exotic scalar boson heavier than the Higgs boson and decaying to a pair of muons.
A measurement of jet substructure observables is presented using \ttbar events in the lepton+jets channel from proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=$ 13 TeV recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. Multiple jet substructure observables are measured for jets identified as bottom, light-quark, and gluon jets, as well as for inclusive jets (no flavor information). The results are unfolded to the particle level and compared to next-to-leading-order predictions from POWHEG interfaced with the parton shower generators PYTHIA 8 and HERWIG 7, as well as from SHERPA 2 and DIRE2. A value of the strong coupling at the Z boson mass, $\alpha_S(m_\mathrm{Z}) = $ 0.115$^{+0.015}_{-0.013}$, is extracted from the substructure data at leading-order plus leading-log accuracy.
An analysis of the decay $\Lambda_b \to J/\psi(\to\mu^+\mu^-)\Lambda(\to p \pi^-)$ decay is performed to measure the $\Lambda_b$ polarization and three angular parameters in data from pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 7 and 8 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The $\Lambda_b$ polarization is measured to be 0.00 $\pm$ 0.06 (stat) $\pm$ 0.06 (syst) and the parity-violating asymmetry parameter is determined to be 0.14 $\pm$ 0.14 (stat) $\pm$ 0.10 (syst). The measurements are compared to various theoretical predictions, including those from perturbative quantum chromodynamics.
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.
The measurement of the charge asymmetry in top quark pair events with highly Lorentz-boosted top quarks decaying to a single lepton and jets is presented. The analysis is performed using proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. The selection is optimized for top quarks produced with large Lorentz boosts, resulting in nonisolated leptons and overlapping jets. The top quark charge asymmetry is measured for events with a $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$ invariant mass larger than 750 GeV and corrected for detector and acceptance effects using a binned maximum likelihood fit. The measured top quark charge asymmetry of (0.42 $_{-0.69}^{+0.64}$)% is in good agreement with the standard model prediction at next-to-next-to-leading order in quantum chromodynamic perturbation theory with next-to-leading-order electroweak corrections. The result is also presented for two invariant mass ranges, 750-900 and $\gt$ 900 GeV.
The first study of charm quark diffusion with respect to the jet axis in heavy ion collisions is presented. The measurement is performed using jets with $p_\mathrm{T}^\mathrm{jet}$$>$ 60 GeV and D$^0$ mesons with $p_\mathrm{T}^\mathrm{D}$$>$ 4 GeV in lead-lead (PbPb) and proton-proton (pp) collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}} =$ 5.02 TeV, recorded by the CMS detector at the LHC. The radial distribution of D$^0$ mesons with respect to the jet axis is sensitive to the production mechanisms of the meson, as well as to the energy loss and diffusion processes undergone by its parent parton inside the strongly interacting medium produced in PbPb collisions. When compared to Monte Carlo event generators, the radial distribution in pp collisions is found to be well-described by PYTHIA, while the slope of the distribution predicted by SHERPA is steeper than that of the data. In PbPb collisions, compared to the pp results, the D$^0$ meson distribution for 4 $<$$p_\mathrm{T}^\mathrm{D}$$<$ 20 GeV hints at a larger distance on average with respect to the jet axis, reflecting a diffusion of charm quarks in the medium created in heavy ion collisions. At higher $p_\mathrm{T}^\mathrm{D}$, the PbPb and pp radial distributions are found to be similar.
Measurements of the polarization and spin correlation in top quark pairs ($\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$) are presented using events with a single electron or muon and jets in the final state. The measurements are based on proton-proton collision data from the LHC at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV collected by the CMS experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. All coefficients of the polarization vectors and the spin correlation matrix are extracted simultaneously by performing a binned likelihood fit to the data. The measurement is performed inclusively and in bins of additional observables, such as the mass of the $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$ system and the top quark scattering angle in the $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$ rest frame. The measured polarization and spin correlation are in agreement with the standard model. From the measured spin correlation, conclusions on the $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$ spin entanglement are drawn by applying the Peres-Horodecki criterion. The standard model predicts entangled spins for $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$ states at the production threshold and at high masses of the $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$ system. Entanglement is observed for the first time in events at high $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$ mass, where a large fraction of the $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$ decays are space-like separated, with an expected and observed significance of above 5 standard deviations.
The first observation of coherent $\phi$(1020) meson photoproduction off heavy nuclei is presented using ultraperipheral lead-lead collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 5.36 TeV. The data were collected by the CMS experiment and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 1.68 $\mu$b$^{-1}$. The $\phi$(1020) meson signals are reconstructed via the K$^+$K$^-$ decay channel. The production cross section is presented as a function of the $\phi$(1020) meson rapidity in the range 0.3 $\lt$$\lvert y\rvert$$\lt$ 1.0, probing gluons that carry a fraction of the nucleon momentum ($x$) around $10^{-4}$. The observed cross section exhibits little dependence on rapidity and is significantly suppressed, by a factor of ${\sim}$5, compared to a baseline model that treats a nucleus as a collection of free nucleons. Theoretical models that incorporate either nuclear shadowing or gluon saturation predict suppression of the $\phi$(1020) meson cross section with only a small dependence on rapidity, but the magnitude of the predicted suppression varies greatly. Models considering only nuclear shadowing effects result in the best agreement with the experimental data. This study establishes a powerful new tool for exploring nuclear effects and nuclear gluonic structure in the small-$x$ regime at a unique energy scale bridging the perturbative and nonperturbative quantum chromodynamics domains.
An inclusive search for the standard model Higgs boson ($\mathrm{H}$) produced with large transverse momentum ($p_\mathrm{T}$) and decaying to a bottom quark-antiquark pair ($\mathrm{b}\overline{\mathrm{b}}$) is performed using a data set of pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=$ 13 TeV collected with the CMS experiment at the LHC. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. A highly Lorentz-boosted Higgs boson decaying to $\mathrm{b}\overline{\mathrm{b}}$ is reconstructed as a single, large radius jet and is identified using jet substructure and dedicated $\mathrm{b}$ tagging techniques. The method is validated with $\mathrm{Z}\to\mathrm{b}\overline{\mathrm{b}}$ decays. The $\mathrm{Z}\to\mathrm{b}\overline{\mathrm{b}}$ process is observed for the first time in the single-jet topology with a local significance of 5.1 standard deviations (5.8 expected). For a Higgs boson mass of 125 GeV, an excess of events above the expected background is observed (expected) with a local significance of 1.5 (0.7) standard deviations. The measured cross section times branching fraction for production via gluon fusion of $\mathrm{H} \rightarrow \mathrm{b}\overline{\mathrm{b}}$ with $p_\mathrm{T} > $450 GeV and in the pseudorapidity range $-$2.5 $< \eta <$ 2.5 is 74 $\pm$ 48 (stat) $_{-10}^{+17}$ (syst) fb, which is consistent within uncertainties with the standard model prediction.
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