A search for beyond-the-standard-model neutral Higgs bosons decaying to a pair of bottom quarks, and produced in association with at least one additional bottom quark, is performed with the CMS detector. The data were recorded in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV at the CERN LHC, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 36.7-126.9 fb$^{-1}$ depending on the probed mass range. No signal above the standard model background expectation is observed. Upper limits on the production cross section times branching fraction are set for Higgs bosons in the mass range of 125-1800 GeV. The results are interpreted in benchmark scenarios of the minimal supersymmetric standard model, as well as suitable classes of two-Higgs-doublet models.

The first search for a heavy neutral spin-1 gauge boson (Z') with nonuniversal fermion couplings produced via vector boson fusion processes and decaying to tau leptons or W bosons is presented. The analysis is performed using LHC data at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV, collected from 2016 to 2018 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. The data are consistent with the standard model predictions. Upper limits are set on the product of the cross section for production of the Z' boson and its branching fraction to $ττ$ or WW. The presence of a Z' boson decaying to $τ^+τ^-$ (W$^+$W$^-$) is excluded for masses up to 2.45 (1.60) TeV, depending on the Z' boson coupling to SM weak bosons, and assuming a Z' $\to$$τ^+τ^-$ (W$^+$W$^-$) branching fraction of 50%.

A search for a pair of light pseudoscalar bosons (a$_1$) produced in the decay of the 125 GeV Higgs boson is presented. The analysis examines decay modes where one a$_1$ decays into a pair of tau leptons and the other decays into either another pair of tau leptons or a pair of muons. The a$_1$ boson mass probed in this study ranges from 4 to 15 GeV. The data sample was recorded by the CMS experiment in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. No excess above standard model (SM) expectations is observed. The study combines the 4$τ$ and 2$μ$2$τ$ channels to set upper limits at 95% confidence level (CL) on the product of the Higgs boson production cross section and the branching fraction to the 4$τ$ final state, relative to the Higgs boson production cross section predicted by the SM. In this interpretation, the a$_1$ boson is assumed to have Yukawa-like couplings to fermions, with coupling strengths proportional to the respective fermion masses. The observed (expected) upper limits range between 0.007 (0.011) and 0.079 (0.066) across the mass range considered. The results are also interpreted in the context of models with two Higgs doublets and an additional complex singlet field (2HD+S). The tightest constraints are obtained for the Type III 2HD+S model. In this case, assuming the Higgs boson production cross section equals the SM prediction, values of the branching ratio for the Higgs boson decay into a pair of a$_1$ bosons exceeding 16% are excluded at 95% CL for a$_1$ boson masses between 5 and 15 GeV and $\tanβ$ $\gt$ 2, with the exception of scenarios in which the a$_1$ boson mixes with charm or bottom quark-antiquark bound states.

Studies of the correlations of the two highest transverse momentum (leading) jets in individual Pb+Pb collision events can provide information about the mechanism of jet quenching by the hot and dense matter created in such collisions. In Pb+Pb and pp collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_\text{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV, measurements of the leading dijet transverse momentum ($p_{\mathrm{T}}$) correlations are presented. Additionally, measurements in Pb+Pb collisions of the dijet pair nuclear modification factors projected along leading and subleading jet $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ are made. The measurements are performed using the ATLAS detector at the LHC with 260 pb$^{-1}$ of pp data collected in 2017 and 2.2 nb$^{-1}$ of Pb+Pb data collected in 2015 and 2018. An unfolding procedure is applied to the two-dimensional leading and subleading jet $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ distributions to account for experimental effects in the measurement of both jets. Results are provided for dijets with leading jet $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ greater than 100 GeV. Measurements of the dijet-yield-normalized $x_{\mathrm{J}}$ distributions in Pb+Pb collisions show an increased fraction of imbalanced jets compared to pp collisions; these measurements are in agreement with previous measurements of the same quantity at 2.76 TeV in the overlapping kinematic range. Measurements of the absolutely-normalized dijet rate in Pb+Pb and pp collisions are also presented, and show that balanced dijets are significantly more suppressed than imbalanced dijets in Pb+Pb collisions. It is observed in the measurements of the pair nuclear modification factors that the subleading jets are significantly suppressed relative to leading jets with $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ between 100 and 316 GeV for all centralities in Pb+Pb collisions.

A search for heavy resonances decaying into a Higgs boson (H) or a Z boson and a photon ($γ$), with the H or Z bosons decaying to a bottom quark-antiquark pair ($\mathrm{b\bar{b}}$) is presented. The analysis is performed using proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. The analyzed events contain a photon and a massive large-radius jet originating from a Lorentz-boosted $\mathrm{b\bar{b}}$ system. An advanced transformer-based algorithm classifies jets according to their substructure and quark flavors, forming a tagger that identifies jets as candidates from H/Z $\to$$\mathrm{b\bar{b}}$ decays. A set of parametric functions is used to fit the photon-jet invariant mass spectrum and to extract potential signals. No significant excess is observed above the standard model expectations. The results set upper limits at 95% confidence level on the product of the cross section and the branching fraction for spin-1 H$γ$ resonances and spin-0 Z$γ$ resonances, below 0.1 and 0.3 fb, respectively, representing the most stringent limits to date.

A search is presented for new particles produced at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV, using events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 101 fb$^{-1}$, collected in 2017-2018 with the CMS detector. Machine learning techniques are used to define separate categories for events with narrow jets from initial-state radiation and events with large-radius jets consistent with a hadronic decay of a W or Z boson. A statistical combination is made with an earlier search based on a data sample of 36 fb$^{-1}$, collected in 2016. No significant excess of events is observed with respect to the standard model background expectation determined from control samples in data. The results are interpreted in terms of limits on the branching fraction of an invisible decay of the Higgs boson, as well as constraints on simplified models of dark matter, on first-generation scalar leptoquarks decaying to quarks and neutrinos, and on models with large extra dimensions. Several of the new limits, specifically for spin-1 dark matter mediators, pseudoscalar mediators, colored mediators, and leptoquarks, are the most restrictive to date.

A generic search is presented for the associated production of a Z boson or a photon with an additional unspecified massive particle X, pp $\to$ pp + Z/$\gamma$ + X, in proton-tagged events from proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV, recorded in 2017 with the CMS detector and the CMS-TOTEM precision proton spectrometer. The missing mass spectrum is analysed in the 600-1600 GeV range and a fit is performed to search for possible deviations from the background expectation. No significant excess in data with respect to the background predictions has been observed. Model-independent upper limits on the visible production cross section of pp $\to$ pp + Z/$\gamma$ + X are set.

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 $\alpha_\mathrm{S}$.

The forward-backward asymmetry in Drell-Yan production and the effective leptonic electroweak mixing angle are measured in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. The measurement uses both dimuon and dielectron events, and is performed as a function of the dilepton mass and rapidity. The unfolded angular coefficient $A_4$ is also extracted, as a function of the dilepton mass and rapidity. Using the CT18Z set of parton distribution functions, we obtain $\sin\theta^\ell_\text{eff}$ = 0.23152 $\pm$ 0.00031, where the uncertainty includes the experimental and theoretical contributions. The measured value agrees with the standard model fit result to global experimental data. This is the most precise $\sin\theta^\ell_\text{eff}$ measurement at a hadron collider, with a precision comparable to the results obtained at LEP and SLD.

For the first time at LHC energies, the forward rapidity gap spectra from proton-lead collisions for both proton and lead dissociation processes are presented. The analysis is performed over 10.4 units of pseudorapidity at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 8.16 TeV, almost 300 times higher than in previous measurements of diffractive production in proton-nucleus collisions. For lead dissociation processes, which correspond to the pomeron-lead event topology, the EPOS-LHC generator predictions are a factor of two below the data, but the model gives a reasonable description of the rapidity gap spectrum shape. For the pomeron-proton topology, the EPOS-LHC, QGSJET II, and HIJING predictions are all at least a factor of five lower than the data. The latter effect might be explained by a significant contribution of ultra-peripheral photoproduction events mimicking the signature of diffractive processes. These data may be of significant help in understanding the high energy limit of quantum chromodynamics and for modeling cosmic ray air showers.