The first measurement of the cross section for top-quark pair production in pp collisions at the LHC at center-of-mass energy sqrt(s)= 7 TeV has been performed using 3.1 {\pm} 0.3 inverse pb of data recorded by the CMS detector. This result utilizes the final state with two isolated, highly energetic charged leptons, large missing transverse energy, and two or more jets. Backgrounds from Drell-Yan and non-W/Z boson production are estimated from data. Eleven events are observed in the data with 2.1 {\pm} 1.0 events expected from background. The measured cross section is 194 {\pm} 72 (stat.) {\pm} 24 (syst.) {\pm} 21 (lumi.) pb, consistent with next-to-leading order predictions.
The top-quark pair production cross section in 7 TeV center-of-mass energy proton–proton collisions is measured using data collected by the CMS detector at the LHC. The measurement uses events with one jet identified as a hadronically decaying τ lepton and at least four additional energetic jets, at least one of which is identified as coming from a b quark. The analyzed data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 3.9 fb(−1) recorded by a dedicated multijet plus hadronically decaying τ trigger. A neural network has been developed to separate the top-quark pairs from the W+jets and multijet backgrounds. The measured value of is consistent with the standard model predictions.
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.
The W-boson helicity fractions in top-quark decays are measured with ttbar events in the lepton+jets final state, using proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, collected in 2011 with the CMS detector at the LHC. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 inverse femtobarns. The measured fractions of longitudinal, left-, and right-handed helicity are F0 = 0.682 +/- 0.030 (stat.) +/- 0.033 (syst.), FL = 0.310 +/- 0.022 (stat.) +/- 0.022 (syst.), and FR = 0.008 +/- 0.012 (stat.) +/- 0.014 (syst.), consistent with the standard model predictions. The measured fractions are used to probe the existence of anomalous Wtb couplings. Exclusion limits on the real components of the anomalous couplings gL, gR are also derived.
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.
A search is presented for standard model (SM) production of four top quarks (t t-bar t t-bar) in pp collisions in the lepton + jets channel. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.6 inverse femtobarns recorded at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. The expected cross section for SM four top quark production is approximately 1 fb. A combination of kinematic reconstruction and multivariate techniques is used to distinguish between the small signal and large background. The data are consistent with expectations of the SM, and an upper limit of 32 fb is set at a 95% confidence level on the cross section for producing four top quarks in the SM, where a limit of 32 +/- 17 fb is expected.
A measurement of the W boson helicity is presented, where the W boson originates from the decay of a top quark produced in pp collisions. The event selection, optimized for reconstructing a single top quark in the final state, requires exactly one isolated lepton (muon or electron) and exactly two jets, one of which is likely to originate from the hadronization of a bottom quark. The analysis is performed using data recorded at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC in 2012. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns. The measured helicity fractions are F[L] = 0.298 +/- 0.028 (stat) +\- 0.032 (syst), F[0] = 0.720 +/- 0.039 (stat) +/- 0.037 (syst), and F[R] = -0.018 +/- 0.019 (stat) +/- 0.011 (syst). These results are used to set limits on the real part of the tWb anomalous couplings, gL and gR.
The normalized differential cross section for top quark pair (tt-bar) production is measured in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV at the CERN LHC using the CMS detector in data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns. The measurements are performed in the lepton + jets (e/mu + jets) and in the dilepton (e+e-, mu+mu-, and e+-mu-+) decay channels. The tt-bar cross section is measured as a function of the kinematic properties of the charged leptons, the jets associated to b quarks, the top quarks, and the tt-bar system. The data are compared with several predictions from perturbative quantum chromodynamics up to approximate next-to-next-to-leading-order precision. No significant deviations are observed relative to the standard model predictions.
This paper presents distributions of topological observables in inclusive three- and four-jet events produced in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV with a data sample collected by the CMS experiment corresponding to a luminosity of 5.1 inverse femtobarns. The distributions are corrected for detector effects, and compared with several event generators based on two- and multi-parton matrix elements at leading order. Among the considered calculations, MADGRAPH interfaced with PYTHIA6 displays the best overall agreement with data.
A search for a standard model Higgs boson produced in association with a top-quark pair and decaying to bottom quarks is presented. Events with hadronic jets and one or two oppositely charged leptons are selected from a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 inverse femtobarns collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. In order to separate the signal from the larger t t-bar + jets background, this analysis uses a matrix element method that assigns a probability density value to each reconstructed event under signal or background hypotheses. The ratio between the two values is used in a maximum likelihood fit to extract the signal yield. The results are presented in terms of the measured signal strength modifier, mu, relative to the standard model prediction for a Higgs boson mass of 125 GeV. The observed (expected) exclusion limit at a 95% confidence level is mu < 4.2 (3.3), corresponding to a best fit value mu-hat = 1.2 +1.6 -1.5.
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