Evidence for the Higgs boson decay to a $Z$ boson and a photon at the LHC

The ATLAS & CMS collaborations Aad, Georges ; Abbott, Braden Keim ; Abeling, Kira ; et al.
Phys.Rev.Lett. 132 (2024) 021803, 2024.
Inspire Record 2666787 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.142406

The first evidence for the Higgs boson decay to a $Z$ boson and a photon is presented, with a statistical significance of 3.4 standard deviations. The result is derived from a combined analysis of the searches performed by the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations with proton-proton collision data sets collected at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) from 2015 to 2018. These correspond to integrated luminosities of around 140 fb$^{-1}$ for each experiment, at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The measured signal yield is $2.2\pm0.7$ times the Standard Model prediction, and agrees with the theoretical expectation within 1.9 standard deviations.

1 data table

The negative profile log-likelihood test statistic, where $\Lambda$ represents the likelihood ratio, as a function of the signal strength $\mu$ derived from the ATLAS data, the CMS data, and the combined result.


Search for new physics in the $\tau$ lepton plus missing transverse momentum final state in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV

The CMS collaboration Tumasyan, A. ; Adam, W. ; Andrejkovic, J.W. ; et al.
JHEP 09 (2023) 051, 2023.
Inspire Record 2626189 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.135472

A search for physics beyond the standard model (SM) in the final state with a hadronically decaying tau lepton and a neutrino is presented. This analysis is based on data recorded by the CMS experiment from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV at the LHC, corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{=1}$. The transverse mass spectrum is analyzed for the presence of new physics. No significant deviation from the SM prediction is observed. Limits are set on the production cross section of a W' boson decaying into a tau lepton and a neutrino. Lower limits are set on the mass of the sequential SM-like heavy charged vector boson and the mass of a quantum black hole. Upper limits are placed on the couplings of a new boson to the SM fermions. Constraints are put on a nonuniversal gauge interaction model and an effective field theory model. For the first time, upper limits on the cross section of $t$-channel leptoquark (LQ) exchange are presented. These limits are translated into exclusion limits on the LQ mass and on its coupling in the $t$-channel. The sensitivity of this analysis extends into the parameter space of LQ models that attempt to explain the anomalies observed in B meson decays. The limits presented for the various interpretations are the most stringent to date. Additionally, a model-independent limit is provided.

15 data tables

The transverse mass distribution of $ au$ leptons and missing transverse momentum observed in the Run-2 data (black dots with statistical uncertainty) as well as the expectation from SM processes (stacked histograms). Different signal hypotheses normalized to 10 fb$^{-1}$ are illustrated as dashed lines for exemplary SSM W$\prime$ boson, QBH and EFT signal hypotheses. The ratios of the background-subtracted data yields to the expected background yields are presented in the lower panel. The combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the background are represented by the grey shaded band in the ratio panel.

Bayesian upper exclusion limits at 95% CL on the product of the cross section and branching fraction of a W$\prime$ boson decaying to a $\tau$ lepton and a neutrino in the SSM model. For this model, W$\prime$ boson masses of up to 4.8 TeV can be excluded. The limit is given by the intersection of the observed (solid) limit and the theoretical cross section (blue dotted curve). The 68 and 95% quantiles of the limits are represented by the green and yellow bands, respectively. The $\sigma \mathcal{B}$ for an SSM W' boson, along with its associated uncertainty, calculated at NNLO precision in QCD is shown.

Bayesian 95% CL model-independent upper limit on the product of signal cross sections and branching fraction for the $\tau+\nu$ decay for a back-to-back $\tau$ lepton plus $p_{T}^{miss}$ topology. To calculate this limit, all events for signal, background, and data are summed starting from a minimum $m_{T}$ threshold and then divided by the total number of events. No assumption on signal shape is included in this limit. The expected (dashed line) and observed (solid line) limits are shown as well as the 68% and 95% CL uncertainty bands (green and yellow, respectively).

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Search for high-mass exclusive $\gamma\gamma\to WW$ and $\gamma\gamma\to ZZ$ production in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV

The CMS & TOTEM collaborations Tumasyan, Armen ; Adam, Wolfgang ; Andrejkovic, Janik Walter ; et al.
JHEP 07 (2023) 229, 2023.
Inspire Record 2605178 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.135991

A search is performed for exclusive high-mass $\gamma\gamma$$\to$ WW and $\gamma\gamma$$\to$ ZZ production in proton-proton collisions using intact forward protons reconstructed in near-beam detectors, with both weak bosons decaying into boosted and merged jets. The analysis is based on a sample of proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS and TOTEM experiments at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 100 fb$^{-1}$. No excess above the standard model background prediction is observed, and upper limits are set on the pp $\to$ pWWp and pp $\to$ pZZp cross sections in a fiducial region defined by the diboson invariant mass $m$(VV) $\lt$ 1 TeV (with V = W, Z) and proton fractional momentum loss 0.04 $\lt$$\xi$$\lt$ 0.20. The results are interpreted as new limits on dimension-6 and dimension-8 anomalous quartic gauge couplings.

10 data tables

Expected and observed upper limits on the AQGC operators $a^W_0/\Lambda^2$, with no unitarization. The $y$ axis shows the limit on the ratio of the observed cross section to the cross section predicted for each anomalous coupling value ($\sigma_\mathrm{AQGC}$).

Expected and observed upper limits on the AQGC operators $a^W_C/\Lambda^2$, with no unitarization. The $y$ axis shows the limit on the ratio of the observed cross section to the cross section predicted for each anomalous coupling value ($\sigma_\mathrm{AQGC}$).

Expected and observed upper limits on the AQGC operators $a^Z_0/\Lambda^2$, with no unitarization. The $y$ axis shows the limit on the ratio of the observed cross section to the cross section predicted for each anomalous coupling value ($\sigma_\mathrm{AQGC}$).

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Search for pair production of vector-like quarks in leptonic final states in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV

The CMS collaboration Tumasyan, Armen ; Adam, Wolfgang ; Andrejkovic, Janik Walter ; et al.
JHEP 07 (2023) 020, 2023.
Inspire Record 2152227 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.129875

A search is presented for vector-like T and B quark-antiquark pairs produced in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. Data were collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC in 2016-2018, with an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. Events are separated into single-lepton, same-sign charge dilepton, and multilepton channels. In the analysis of the single-lepton channel a multilayer neural network and jet identification techniques are employed to select signal events, while the same-sign dilepton and multilepton channels rely on the high-energy signature of the signal to distinguish it from standard model backgrounds. The data are consistent with standard model background predictions, and the production of vector-like quark pairs is excluded at 95% confidence level for T quark masses up to 1.54 TeV and B quark masses up to 1.56 TeV, depending on the branching fractions assumed, with maximal sensitivity to decay modes that include multiple top quarks. The limits obtained in this search are the strongest limits to date for $\mathrm{T\overline{T}}$ production, excluding masses below 1.48 TeV for all decays to third generation quarks, and are the strongest limits to date for $\mathrm{B\overline{B}}$ production with B quark decays to tW.

46 data tables

Distribution of ST in the training region for the $T\overline{T}$ MLP. The observed data are shown along with the predicted $T\overline{T}$ signal with mass of 1.2 (1.5) TeV in the singlet scenario and the background. Statistical and systematic uncertainties in the background prediction before performing the fit to data are also shown. The signal predictions of 1.2 TeV and 1.5 TeV signals have been scaled by factors of x300 and x600, respectively, for visibility.

Distribution of the leading jet’s DEEPAK8 light quark or gluon score in the training region for the $T\overline{T}$ MLP. The observed data are shown along with the predicted $T\overline{T}$ signal with mass of 1.2 (1.5) TeV in the singlet scenario and the background. Statistical and systematic uncertainties in the background prediction before performing the fit to data are also shown. The signal predictions of 1.2 TeV and 1.5 TeV signals have been scaled by factors of x300 and x600, respectively, for visibility.

Distribution of the MLP T quark score in the SR for the $T\overline{T}$ search. The observed data, predicted $T\overline{T}$ signal with mass of 1.2 (1.5) TeV in the singlet scenario, and the background are all shown. Statistical and systematic uncertainties in the background prediction before performing the fit to data are also shown. The signal predictions of 1.2 TeV and 1.5 TeV signals have been scaled by factors of x10 and x20, respectively, for visibility.

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Version 2
Measurement of the Higgs boson inclusive and differential fiducial production cross sections in the diphoton decay channel with pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV

The CMS collaboration Tumasyan, Armen ; Adam, Wolfgang ; Andrejkovic, Janik Walter ; et al.
JHEP 07 (2023) 091, 2023.
Inspire Record 2142341 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.132906

The measurements of the inclusive and differential fiducial cross sections of the Higgs boson decaying to a pair of photons are presented. The analysis is performed using proton-proton collisions data recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb$^{-1}$. The inclusive fiducial cross section is measured to be $\sigma_\mathrm{fid}$ = 73.4 $_{-5.3}^{+5.4}$ (stat) ${}_{-2.2}^{+2.4}$ (syst) fb, in agreement with the standard model expectation of 75.4 $\pm$ 4.1 fb. The measurements are also performed in fiducial regions targeting different production modes and as function of several observables describing the diphoton system, the number of additional jets present in the event, and other kinematic observables. Two double differential measurements are performed. No significant deviations from the standard model expectations are observed.

116 data tables

Differential fiducial higgs to diphoton cross section with respect to $p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\gamma\gamma}$. The last bin in the differential observable extends to infinity and the measured fiducial cross section in this bin is devided by the given bin width

Differential fiducial higgs to diphoton cross section with respect to $p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\gamma\gamma}$. The last bin in the differential observable extends to infinity and the measured fiducial cross section in this bin is devided by the given bin width

Correlation between the measured fiducial cross sections in the different bins of $p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\gamma\gamma}$

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Searches for additional Higgs bosons and for vector leptoquarks in $\tau\tau$ final states in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV

The CMS collaboration Tumasyan, Armen ; Adam, Wolfgang ; Andrejkovic, Janik Walter ; et al.
JHEP 07 (2023) 073, 2023.
Inspire Record 2132368 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.128147

Three searches are presented for signatures of physics beyond the standard model (SM) in $\tau\tau$ final states in proton-proton collisions at the LHC, using a data sample collected with the CMS detector at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. Upper limits at 95% confidence level (CL) are set on the products of the branching fraction for the decay into $\tau$ leptons and the cross sections for the production of a new boson $\phi$, in addition to the H(125) boson, via gluon fusion (gg$\phi$) or in association with b quarks, ranging from $\mathcal{O}$(10 pb) for a mass of 60 GeV to 0.3 fb for a mass of 3.5 TeV each. The data reveal two excesses for gg$\phi$ production with local $p$-values equivalent to about three standard deviations at $m_\phi$ = 0.1 and 1.2 TeV. In a search for $t$-channel exchange of a vector leptoquark U$_1$, 95% CL upper limits are set on the dimensionless U$_1$ leptoquark coupling to quarks and $\tau$ leptons ranging from 1 for a mass of 1 TeV to 6 for a mass of 5 TeV, depending on the scenario. In the interpretations of the $M_\mathrm{h}^{125}$ and $M_\mathrm{h, EFT}^{125}$ minimal supersymmetric SM benchmark scenarios, additional Higgs bosons with masses below 350 GeV are excluded at 95% CL.

313 data tables

Expected and observed $95\%\text{ CL}$ upper limits on the product of the cross sections and branching fraction for the decay into $\tau$ leptons for $gg\phi$ production in a mass range of $60\leq m_\phi\leq 3500\text{ GeV}$, in addition to $\text{H}(125)$. The central $68$ and $95\%$ intervals are given in addition to the expected median value. In this case, $bb\phi$ production rate has been profiled. The peak in the expected $gg\phi$ limit is tribute to a loss of sensitivity around $90\text{ GeV}$ due to the background from $Z/\gamma^\ast\rightarrow\tau\tau$ events. Numerical values provided in this table correspond to Figure 10a of the publication.

Expected and observed $95\%\text{ CL}$ upper limits on the product of the cross sections and branching fraction for the decay into $\tau$ leptons for $bb\phi$ production in a mass range of $60\leq m_\phi\leq 3500\text{ GeV}$, in addition to $\text{H}(125)$. The central $68$ and $95\%$ intervals are given in addition to the expected median value. In this case, $gg\phi$ production rate has been profiled. Numerical values provided in this table correspond to Figure 10b of the publication.

Expected and observed $95\%\text{ CL}$ upper limits on the product of the cross sections and branching fraction for the decay into $\tau$ leptons for $gg\phi$ production in a mass range of $60\leq m_\phi\leq 3500\text{ GeV}$, in addition to $\text{H}(125)$. The central $68$ and $95\%$ intervals are given in addition to the expected median value. In this case, $bb\phi$ production rate has been fixed to zero. Numerical values provided in this table correspond to Figure 37 of the auxilliary material of the publication.

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Version 2
Measurement of the top quark pole mass using $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$+jet events in the dilepton final state in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV

The CMS collaboration Tumasyan, Armen ; Adam, Wolfgang ; Andrejkovic, Janik Walter ; et al.
JHEP 07 (2023) 077, 2023.
Inspire Record 2106483 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.127990

A measurement of the top quark pole mass $m_\mathrm{t}^\text{pole}$ in events where a top quark-antiquark pair ($\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$) is produced in association with at least one additional jet ($\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$+jet) is presented. This analysis is performed using proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC, corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 36.3 fb$^{-1}$. Events with two opposite-sign leptons in the final state (e$^+$e$^-$, $\mu^+\mu^-$, e$^\pm\mu^\mp$) are analyzed. The reconstruction of the main observable and the event classification are optimized using multivariate analysis techniques based on machine learning. The production cross section is measured as a function of the inverse of the invariant mass of the $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$+jet system at the parton level using a maximum likelihood unfolding. Given a reference parton distribution function (PDF), the top quark pole mass is extracted using the theoretical predictions at next-to-leading order. For the ABMP16NLO PDF, this results in $m_\mathrm{t}^\text{pole}$ = 172.93 $\pm$ 1.36 GeV.

10 data tables

Absolute differential cross section as a function of the rho observable at parton level.

Covariance matrix for the total uncertainty (i.e. fit including stat., not extrapolation) for the measurement of the absolute differential cross section as a function of the rho observable at parton level.

Covariance matrix for the statistical uncertainty for the measurement of the absolute differential cross section as a function of the rho observable at parton level.

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Search for a charged Higgs boson decaying into a heavy neutral Higgs boson and a W boson in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV

The CMS collaboration Tumasyan, Armen ; Adam, Wolfgang ; Andrejkovic, Janik Walter ; et al.
JHEP 09 (2023) 032, 2023.
Inspire Record 2105345 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.130491

A search for a charged Higgs boson H$^\pm$ decaying into a heavy neutral Higgs boson H and a W boson is presented. The analysis targets the H decay into a pair of tau leptons with at least one of them decaying hadronically and with an additional electron or muon present in the event. The search is based on proton-proton collision data recorded by the CMS experiment during 2016-2018 at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. The data are consistent with standard model background expectations. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the product of the cross section and branching fraction for an H$^\pm$ in the mass range of 300-700 GeV, assuming an H with a mass of 200 GeV. The observed limits range from 0.085 pb for an H$^\pm$ mass of 300 GeV to 0.019 pb for a mass of 700 GeV. These are the first limits on H$^\pm$ production in the H$^\pm$ $\to$ HW$^\pm$ decay channel at the LHC.

1 data table

Expected and observed upper limits at 95% CL on the product of cross section and branching fraction as a function of mH+ and assuming mH = 200 GeV for the combination of all final states considered.


Search for resonant and nonresonant production of pairs of dijet resonances in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV

The CMS collaboration Tumasyan, Armen ; Adam, Wolfgang ; Andrejkovic, Janik Walter ; et al.
JHEP 07 (2023) 161, 2023.
Inspire Record 2098256 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.130817

A search for pairs of dijet resonances with the same mass is conducted in final states with at least four jets. Results are presented separately for the case where the four jet production proceeds via an intermediate resonant state and for nonresonant production. The search uses a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$ collected by the CMS detector in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV. Model-independent limits, at 95% confidence level, are reported on the production cross section of four-jet and dijet resonances. These first LHC limits on resonant pair production of dijet resonances via high mass intermediate states are applied to a signal model of diquarks that decay into pairs of vector-like quarks, excluding diquark masses below 7.6 TeV for a particular model scenario. There are two events in the tails of the distributions, each with a four-jet mass of 8 TeV and an average dijet mass of 2 TeV, resulting in local and global significances of 3.9 and 1.6 standard deviations, respectively, if interpreted as a signal. The nonresonant search excludes pair production of top squarks with masses between 0.50 TeV to 0.77 TeV, with the exception of a small interval between 0.52 and 0.58 TeV, for supersymmetric $R$-parity-violating decays to quark pairs, significantly extending previous limits. Here, the most significant excess above the predicted background occurs at an average dijet mass of 0.95 TeV, for which the local and global significances are 3.6 and 2.5 standard deviations, respectively.

19 data tables

The observed 95% CL upper limits on the product of the cross section, branching fraction, and acceptance for resonant production of paired dijet resonances decaying to a quark-gluon pair, with $M(X)/M(Y) = 0.11$. The corresponding expected limits and their variations at the 1 and 2 standard deviation levels are also shown. Limits are compared to predictions for a scalar diquark with couplings to pairs of up quarks, $y_{uu}$ = 0.4, and to pairs of vector-like quarks, $y_{χ}$ = 0.6.

The observed 95% CL upper limits on the product of the cross section, branching fraction, and acceptance for resonant production of paired dijet resonances decaying to a quark-gluon pair, with $M(X)/M(Y) = 0.13$. The corresponding expected limits and their variations at the 1 and 2 standard deviation levels are also shown. Limits are compared to predictions for a scalar diquark with couplings to pairs of up quarks, $y_{uu}$ = 0.4, and to pairs of vector-like quarks, $y_{χ}$ = 0.6.

The observed 95% CL upper limits on the product of the cross section, branching fraction, and acceptance for resonant production of paired dijet resonances decaying to a quark-gluon pair, with $M(X)/M(Y) = 0.15$. The corresponding expected limits and their variations at the 1 and 2 standard deviation levels are also shown. Limits are compared to predictions for a scalar diquark with couplings to pairs of up quarks, $y_{uu}$ = 0.4, and to pairs of vector-like quarks, $y_{χ}$ = 0.6.

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Version 2
Search for long-lived particles decaying to a pair of muons in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV

The CMS collaboration Tumasyan, Armen ; Adam, Wolfgang ; Andrejkovic, Janik Walter ; et al.
JHEP 05 (2023) 228, 2023.
Inspire Record 2083735 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.129518

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.

150 data tables

Level-1 muon trigger efficiency in cosmic-ray muon data (blue) and signal simulation (red) as a function of $d_0$, for the Level-1 trigger $p_T$ threshold used in the 2016 analysis triggers. The denominator in the efficiency calculation is the number of STA muons with $|\eta| < 1.2$ and $p_T > 33$ GeV.

Level-1 muon trigger efficiency in cosmic-ray muon data (blue) and signal simulation (red) as a function of $d_0$, for the Level-1 trigger $p_T$ threshold used in the 2016 analysis triggers. The denominator in the efficiency calculation is the number of STA muons with $|\eta| < 1.2$ and $p_T > 33$ GeV.

Level-1 muon trigger efficiency in cosmic-ray muon data (blue) and signal simulation (red) as a function of $d_0$, for the Level-1 trigger $p_T$ threshold used in the 2018 analysis triggers. The denominator in the efficiency calculation is the number of STA muons with $|\eta| < 1.2$ and $p_T > 28$ GeV.

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