Precise knowledge of hadron production rates in the generation of neutrino beams is necessary for accelerator-based neutrino experiments to achieve their physics goals. NA61/SHINE, a large-acceptance hadron spectrometer, has recorded hadron+nucleus interactions relevant to ongoing and future long-baseline neutrino experiments at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. This paper presents three analyses of interactions of 60 GeV/$c$ $\pi^+$ with thin, fixed carbon and beryllium targets. Integrated production and inelastic cross sections were measured for both of these reactions. In an analysis of strange, neutral hadron production, differential production multiplicities of $K^0_{S}$, $\Lambda$ and anti-$\Lambda$ were measured. Lastly, in an analysis of charged hadron production, differential production multiplicities of $\pi^+$, $\pi^-$, $K^+$, $K^-$ and protons were measured. These measurements will enable long-baseline neutrino experiments to better constrain predictions of their neutrino flux in order to achieve better precision on their neutrino cross section and oscillation measurements.
The observation of the $\Lambda_\mathrm{b}^0 \to$J/$\psi \Lambda \phi$ decay is reported using proton-proton collision data collected at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 60 fb$^{-1}$. The ratio of the branching fractions $\mathcal{B}(\Lambda_\mathrm{b}^0 \to$J/$\psi \Lambda \phi)/\mathcal{B}(\Lambda_\mathrm{b}^0\to\psi \Lambda)$ is measured to be (8.26$\pm$0.90 (stat) $\pm$ 0.68 (syst) $\pm$ 0.11 $(\mathcal{B}))\times $10$^{-2}$, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the last uncertainty reflects the uncertainties in the world-average branching fractions of $\phi$ and $\psi$(2S) decays to the reconstructed final states.
A study of excited $\Lambda_\mathrm{b}^0$ baryons is reported, based on a data sample collected in 2016-2018 with the CMS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of up to 140 fb$^{-1}$. The existence of four excited $\Lambda_\mathrm{b}^0$ states: $\Lambda_\mathrm{b}$(5912)$^0$, $\Lambda_\mathrm{b}$(5920)$^0$, $\Lambda_\mathrm{b}$(6146)$^0$, and $\Lambda_\mathrm{b}$(6152)$^0$ in the $\Lambda_\mathrm{b}^0\pi^+\pi^-$ mass spectrum is confirmed, and their masses are measured. The $\Lambda_\mathrm{b}^0\pi^+\pi^-$ mass distribution exhibits a broad excess of events in the region of 6040-6100 MeV, whose origin cannot be discerned with the present data.
Measurements of prompt $\psi$(2S) meson production cross sections in proton-lead (pPb) and proton-proton (pp) collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s_{_\mathrm{NN}}}=$ 5.02 TeV are reported. The results are based on pPb and pp data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to integrated luminosities of 34.6 nb$^{-1}$ and 28.0 pb$^{-1}$, respectively. The nuclear modification factor $R_\mathrm{pPb}$ is measured for prompt $\psi$(2S) in the transverse momentum range 4 $<$ p$_\mathrm{T}$ $<$ 30 GeV$/c$ and the center-of-mass rapidity range $-$2.4 $< y_\mathrm{cm} <$ 1.93. The results on $\psi$(2S) $R_\mathrm{pPb}$ are compared to the corresponding modification factor for prompt J$/\psi$ mesons and are found to be more suppressed than the J$/\psi$ states over the entire kinematic range studied.
A search is presented for a charged Higgs boson heavier than the top quark, produced in association with a top quark, or with a top and a bottom quark, and decaying into a top-bottom quark-antiquark pair. The search is performed using proton-proton collision data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. Events are selected by the presence of a single isolated charged lepton (electron or muon) or an opposite-sign dilepton (electron or muon) pair, categorized according to the jet multiplicity and the number of jets identified as originating from b quarks. Multivariate analysis techniques are used to enhance the discrimination between signal and background in each category. The data are compatible with the standard model, and 95% confidence level upper limits of 9.6-0.01 pb are set on the charged Higgs boson production cross section times branching fraction to a top-bottom quark-antiquark pair, for charged Higgs boson mass hypotheses ranging from 200 GeV to 3 TeV. The upper limits are interpreted in different minimal supersymmetric extensions of the standard model.
The differential cross sections for inclusive production of B+ hadrons are measured as a function of the B+ transverse momentum pT[B] and rapidity y[B] in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, using data collected by the CMS experiment that correspond to an integrated luminosity of 49.4 inverse picobarns. The measurement uses the exclusive decay channel B+ to J/psi K+, with J/psi mesons that decay to a pair of muons. The results show a reasonable agreement with theoretical calculations within the uncertainties.
The polarizations of promptly produced $\chi_\mathrm{c1}$ and $\chi_\mathrm{c2}$ mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = $ 8 TeV. The $\chi_\mathrm{c}$ states are reconstructed via their radiative decays $\chi_\mathrm{c}$ $\to$ $\mathrm{J}/\psi\, \gamma$, with the photons being measured through conversions to e$^+$e$^-$, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the $\chi_\mathrm{c2}$ to $\chi_\mathrm{c1}$ yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the $\mathrm{J}/\psi$ $\to$ $\mu^+\mu^-$ decay, in three ranges of $\mathrm{J}/\psi$ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum.
A search for physics beyond the standard model in events with at least three charged leptons (electrons or muons) is presented. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2016-2018. The two targeted signal processes are pair production of type-III seesaw heavy fermions and production of a light scalar or pseudoscalar boson in association with a pair of top quarks. The heavy fermions may be manifested as an excess of events with large values of leptonic transverse momenta or missing transverse momentum. The light scalars or pseudoscalars may create a localized excess in the dilepton mass spectra. The results exclude heavy fermions of the type-III seesaw model for masses below 880 GeV at 95% confidence level in the scenario of equal branching fractions to each lepton flavor. This is the most restrictive limit on the flavor-democratic scenario of the type-III seesaw model to date. Assuming a Yukawa coupling of unit strength to top quarks, branching fractions of new scalar (pseudoscalar) bosons to dielectrons or dimuons above 0.004 (0.03) and 0.04 (0.03) are excluded at 95% confidence level for masses in the range 15-75 and 108-340 GeV, respectively. These are the first limits in these channels on an extension of the standard model with scalar or pseudoscalar particles.
A search is performed for a pseudoscalar Higgs boson, A, decaying into a 125 GeV Higgs boson h and a Z boson. The h boson is specifically targeted in its decay into a pair of tau leptons, while the Z boson decays into a pair of electrons or muons. A data sample of proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV is used, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. No excess above the standard model background expectations is observed in data. A model-independent upper limit is set on the product of the gluon fusion production cross section for the A boson and the branching fraction to Zh$\to\ell\ell\tau\tau$. The observed upper limit at 95% confidence level ranges from 27 to 5 fb for A boson masses from 220 to 400 GeV, respectively. The results are used to constrain the extended Higgs sector parameters for two benchmark scenarios of the minimal supersymmetric standard model.
A search for anomalous electroweak production of WW, WZ, and ZZ boson pairs in association with two jets in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV at the LHC is reported. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$ collected with the CMS detector. Events are selected by requiring two jets with large rapidity separation and invariant mass, one or two leptons (electrons or muons), and a W or Z boson decaying hadronically. No excess of events with respect to the standard model background predictions is observed and constraints on the structure of quartic vector boson interactions in the framework of dimension-8 effective field theory operators are reported. Stringent limits on parameters of the effective field theory operators are obtained. The observed 95% confidence level limits for the S0, M0, and T0 operators are $-$2.7 $<$ f$_{\mathrm{S0}}/ \Lambda^{4}$ $<$ 2.7, $-$1.0 $<$ f$_{\mathrm{M0}}/ \Lambda^{4}$ $<$ 1.0, and $-$0.17 $<$ f$_{\mathrm{T0}}/ \Lambda^{4}$ $<$ 0.16, in units of TeV$^{-4}$. Constraints are also reported on the product of the cross section and branching fraction for vector boson fusion production of charged Higgs bosons as a function of mass from 600 to 2000 GeV. The results are interpreted in the context of the Georgi-Machacek model.
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