Measurements of the total and differential cross sections with respect to transverse momentum and rapidity for B+ mesons produced in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV are presented. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 5.8 inverse picobarns collected by the CMS experiment operating at the LHC. The exclusive decay B+ to J/psi K+, with the J/psi decaying to an oppositely charged muon pair, is used to detect B+ mesons and to measure the production cross section as a function of the transverse momentum and rapidity of the B. The total cross section for p_t(B) > 5 GeV and |y(B)| < 2.4 is measured to be 28.1 +/- 2.4 +/- 2.0 +/- 3.1 microbarns, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the last is from the luminosity measurement.
Measurements of inclusive W and Z boson production cross sections in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV are presented, based on 2.9 inverse picobarns of data recorded by the CMS detector at the LHC. The measurements, performed in the electron and muon decay channels, are combined to give sigma(pp to WX) times B(W to muon or electron + neutrino) = 9.95 \pm 0.07(stat.) \pm 0.28(syst.) \pm 1.09(lumi.) nb and sigma(pp to ZX) times B(Z to oppositely charged muon or electron pairs) = 0.931 \pm 0.026(stat.) \pm 0.023(syst.) \pm 0.102(lumi.) nb. Theoretical predictions, calculated at the next-to-next-to-leading order in QCD using recent parton distribution functions, are in agreement with the measured cross sections. Ratios of cross sections, which incur an experimental systematic uncertainty of less than 4%, are also reported.
The Upsilon production cross section in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV is measured using a data sample collected with the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.1 +/- 0.3 inverse picobarns. Integrated over the rapidity range |y|<2, we find the product of the Upsilon(1S) production cross section and branching fraction to dimuons to be sigma(pp to Upsilon(1S) X) B(Upsilon(1S) to mu+ mu-) = 7.37 +/- 0.13^{+0.61}_{-0.42}\pm 0.81 nb, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third is associated with the estimation of the integrated luminosity of the data sample. This cross section is obtained assuming unpolarized Upsilon(1S) production. If the Upsilon(1S) production polarization is fully transverse or fully longitudinal the cross section changes by about 20%. We also report the measurement of the Upsilon(1S), Upsilon(2S), and Upsilon(3S) differential cross sections as a function of transverse momentum and rapidity.
A search for exotic decays of the Higgs boson to a pair of light pseudoscalar particles a$_1$ is performed under the hypothesis that one of the pseudoscalars decays to a pair of opposite sign muons and the other decays to b$\overline{\mathrm{b}}$. Such signatures are predicted in a number of extensions of the standard model (SM), including next-to-minimal supersymmetry and two-Higgs-doublet models with an additional scalar singlet. The results are based on a data set of proton-proton collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$, accumulated with the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC in 2016 at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. No statistically significant excess is observed with respect to the SM backgrounds in the search region for pseudoscalar masses from 20 GeV to half of the Higgs boson mass. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the product of the production cross section and branching fraction, $\sigma_{\mathrm{h}}\mathcal{B}$(h $\to$ a$_1$ a$_1$ $\to$ $\mu^+\mu^-\mathrm{b}\bar{\mathrm{b}}$), ranging from 5 to 33 fb, depending on the pseudoscalar mass. Corresponding limits on the branching fraction, assuming the SM prediction for $\sigma_{\mathrm{h}}$, are (1$-$7)$\times$ 10$^{-4}$.
A data sample of events from proton-proton collisions with at least two jets, and two isolated same-sign or three or more charged leptons, is studied in a search for signatures of new physics phenomena. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb$^{-1}$ at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected in 2016-2018 by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The search is performed using a total of 168 signal regions defined using several kinematic variables. The properties of the events are found to be consistent with the expectations from standard model processes. Exclusion limits at 95% confidence level are set on cross sections for the pair production of gluinos or squarks for various decay scenarios in the context of supersymmetric models conserving or violating R parity. The observed lower mass limits are as large as 2.1 TeV for gluinos and 0.9 TeV for top and bottom squarks. To facilitate reinterpretations, model-independent limits are provided in a set of simplified signal regions.
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 production of J/psi mesons is studied in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV with the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measurement is based on a dimuon sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 314 inverse nanobarns. The J/psi differential cross section is determined, as a function of the J/psi transverse momentum, in three rapidity ranges. A fit to the decay length distribution is used to separate the prompt from the non-prompt (b hadron to J/psi) component. Integrated over J/psi transverse momentum from 6.5 to 30 GeV/c and over rapidity in the range |y| < 2.4, the measured cross sections, times the dimuon decay branching fraction, are 70.9 \pm 2.1 (stat.) \pm 3.0 (syst.) \pm 7.8(luminosity) nb for prompt J/psi mesons assuming unpolarized production and 26.0 \pm 1.4 (stat.) \pm 1.6 (syst.) \pm 2.9 (luminosity) nb for J/psi mesons from b-hadron decays.
A search is presented for pairs of light pseudoscalar bosons, in the mass range from 4 to 15 GeV, produced from decays of the 125 GeV Higgs boson. The decay modes considered are final states that arise when one of the pseudoscalars decays to a pair of tau leptons, and the other one either into a pair of tau leptons or muons. The search is based on proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment in 2016 at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV that correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb${-1}$. The 2$\mu$2$\tau$ and 4$\tau$ channels are used in combination to constrain the product of the Higgs boson production cross section and the branching fraction into 4$\tau$ final state, $\sigma\mathcal{B}$, exploiting the linear dependence of the fermionic coupling strength of pseudoscalar bosons on the fermion mass. No significant excess is observed beyond the expectation from the standard model. The observed and expected upper limits at 95% confidence level on $\sigma\mathcal{B}$, relative to the standard model Higgs boson production cross section, are set respectively between 0.022 and 0.23 and between 0.027 and 0.19 in the mass range probed by the analysis.
Production cross sections of $\Upsilon$(1S), $\Upsilon$(2S), and $\Upsilon$(3S) states decaying into $\mu^+\mu^-$ in proton-lead (pPb) collisions are reported using data collected by the CMS experiment at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}} =$ 5.02 TeV. A comparison is made with corresponding cross sections obtained with pp data measured at the same collision energy and scaled by the Pb nucleus mass number. The nuclear modification factor for $\Upsilon$(1S) is found to be $R_\mathrm{pPb}(\Upsilon(1S))$ = 0.806 $\pm$ 0.024 (stat) $\pm$ 0.059 (syst). Similar results for the excited states indicate a sequential suppression pattern, such that $R_\mathrm{pPb}(\Upsilon(1S))$$\gt$$R_\mathrm{pPb}(\Upsilon(2S))$$\gt$$R_\mathrm{pPb}(\Upsilon(3S))$. The suppression is much less pronounced in pPb than in PbPb collisions, and independent of transverse momentum $p_\mathrm{T}^\Upsilon$ and center-of-mass rapidity $y_\mathrm{CM}^\Upsilon$ of the individual $\Upsilon$ state in the studied range $p_\mathrm{T}^\Upsilon$$\lt$ 30 GeV$/c$ and $\vert y_\mathrm{CM}^\Upsilon\vert$$\lt$ 1.93. Models that incorporate sequential suppression of bottomonia in pPb collisions are in better agreement with the data than those which only assume initial-state modifications.
A measurement of the differential cross sections for a W boson produced in association with jets in the muon decay channel is presented. The measurement is based on 13 TeV proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.2 inverse femtobarns, recorded by the CMS detector at the LHC. The cross sections are reported as functions of jet multiplicity, jet transverse momentum pT, jet rapidity, the scalar pT sum of the jets, and angular correlations between the muon and the jet for different jet multiplicities. The measured cross sections are in agreement with predictions that include multileg leading-order (LO) and next-to-LO matrix element calculations interfaced with parton showers, as well as a next-to-next-to-LO calculation for the W boson and one jet production.
Four-lepton production in proton-proton collisions, $\mathrm{pp}\to (\mathrm{Z}/ \gamma^*)(\mathrm{Z}/\gamma^*) \to 4\ell$, where $\ell = \mathrm{e}$ or $\mu$, is studied at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. The ZZ production cross section, $\sigma(\mathrm{pp} \to \mathrm{Z}\mathrm{Z}) = 17.2 \pm 0.5\text{ (stat) }\pm 0.7\text{ (syst) }\pm 0.4(\mathrm{theo}) \pm 0.4\text{ (lumi)}$ pb, measured using events with two opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pairs produced in the mass region $60 < m_{\ell^+\ell^-} < $120 GeV, is consistent with standard model predictions. Differential cross sections are measured and are well described by the theoretical predictions. The Z boson branching fraction to four leptons is measured to be $\mathcal{B}(\mathrm{Z}\to 4\ell) = 4.8 \pm 0.2\text{ (stat) }\pm 0.2\text{ (syst) } \pm 0.1\text{ (theo) }\pm 0.1\text{ (lumi) }\times 10^{-6}$ for events with a four-lepton invariant mass in the range 80 $ < m_{4\ell} < $ 100 GeV and a dilepton mass $m_{\ell\ell} > $4 GeV for all opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pairs. The results agree with standard model predictions. The invariant mass distribution of the four-lepton system is used to set limits on anomalous ZZZ and ZZ$\gamma$ couplings at 95% confidence level: $-0.0012 < f_4^\mathrm{Z} < 0.0010$, $-0.0010 < f_5^\mathrm{Z} < 0.0013$, $-0.0012 < f_4^{\gamma} < 0.0013$, $-0.0012 < f_5^{\gamma} < 0.0013$.
Differential production cross sections of J/$\psi$ and $\psi$(2S) charmonium and $\Upsilon$(nS) (n = 1, 2, 3) bottomonium states are measured in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV, with data collected by the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.3 fb$^{-1}$ for the J/$\psi$ and 2.7 fb$^{-1}$ for the other mesons. The five quarkonium states are reconstructed in the dimuon decay channel, for dimuon rapidity $|y| <$ 1.2. The double-differential cross sections for each state are measured as a function of $y$ and transverse momentum, and compared to theoretical expectations. In addition, ratios are presented of cross sections for prompt $\psi$(2S) to J/$\psi$, $\Upsilon$(2S) to $\Upsilon$(1S), and $\Upsilon$(3S) to $\Upsilon$(1S) production.
A measurement of vector boson scattering and constraints on anomalous quartic gauge couplings from events with two Z bosons and two jets are presented. The analysis is based on a data sample of proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 13 TeV collected with the CMS detector and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 inverse femtobarns. The search is performed in the fully leptonic final state ZZ to lll'l', where l, l' = e, mu. The electroweak production of two Z bosons in association with two jets is measured with an observed (expected) significance of 2.7 (1.6) standard deviations. A fiducial cross section for the electroweak production is measured to be sigma[EW](pp -> ZZjj -> lll'l'jj) = 0.40 -0.16 +0.21 (stat) -0.09 +0.13 (syst) fb, which is consistent with the standard model prediction. Limits on anomalous quartic gauge couplings are determined in terms of the effective field theory operators T0, T1, T2, T8, and T9. This is the first measurement of vector boson scattering in the ZZ channel at the LHC.
Measurements are presented of W gamma gamma and Z gamma gamma production in proton-proton collisions. Fiducial cross sections are reported based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.4 inverse femtobarns collected with the CMS detector at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. Signal is identified through the W to l nu and Z to ll decay modes, where l is a muon or an electron. The production of W gamma gamma and Z gamma gamma, measured with significances of 2.6 and 5.9 standard deviations, respectively, is consistent with standard model predictions. In addition, limits on anomalous quartic gauge couplings in W gamma gamma production are determined in the context of a dimension-8 effective field theory.
The B^0_s differential production cross section is measured as functions of the transverse momentum and rapidity in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the J/Psi phi decay, and compared with predictions based on perturbative QCD calculations at next-to-leading order. The data sample, collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 40 inverse picobarns. The B^0_s is reconstructed from the decays J/Psi to an oppositely charged muon pair and phi to K+ K-. The integrated B^0_s cross section times B^0_s to J/Psi phi branching fraction in the range 8 < pt(B) < 50 GeV/c and |y(b)| < 2.4 is measured to be 6.9 +/- 0.6 +/- 0.6 nb, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic.
Measurements of the differential production cross sections in transverse momentum and rapidity for B0 mesons produced in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV are presented. The dataset used was collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 40 inverse picobarns. The production cross section is measured from B0 meson decays reconstructed in the exclusive final state J/Psi K-short, with the subsequent decays J/Psi to mu^+ mu^- and K-short to pi^+ pi^-. The total cross section for pt(B0) > 5 GeV and y(B0) < 2.2 is measured to be 33.2 +/- 2.5 +/- 3.5 microbarns, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic.
The production yields of Upsilon(1S), Upsilon(2S), and Upsilon(3S) quarkonium states are measured through their decays into muon pairs in the CMS detector, in PbPb and pp collisions at the centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 2.76 TeV. The data correspond to integrated luminosities of 166 inverse microbarns and 5.4 inverse picobarns for PbPb and pp collisions, respectively. Differential production cross sections are reported as functions of Upsilon rapidity y up to 2.4, and transverse momentum pT up to 20 GeV/c. A strong centrality-dependent suppression is observed in PbPb relative to pp collisions, by factors of up to approximately 2 and 8, for the Upsilon(1S) and Upsilon(2S) states, respectively. No significant dependence of this suppression is observed as a function of y or pT. The Upsilon(3S) state is not observed in PbPb collisions, which corresponds to a suppression for the centrality-integrated data by at least a factor of approximately 7 at a 95% confidence level. The observed suppression is in agreement with theoretical scenarios modeling the sequential melting of quarkonium states in a quark gluon plasma.
Quasireal photons exchanged in relativistic heavy ion interactions are powerful probes of the gluonic structure of nuclei. The coherent J/$\psi$ photoproduction cross section in ultraperipheral lead-lead collisions is measured as a function of photon-nucleus center-of-mass energies per nucleon (W$^\text{Pb}_{\gamma\text{N}}$), over a wide range of 40 $\lt$ W$^\text{Pb}_{\gamma\text{N}}$$\lt$ 400 GeV. Results are obtained using data at the nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.52 nb$^{-1}$. The cross section is observed to rise rapidly at low W$^\text{Pb}_{\gamma\text{N}}$, and plateau above W$^\text{Pb}_{\gamma\text{N}}$$\approx$ 40 GeV, up to 400 GeV, a new regime of small Bjorken-$x$ ($\approx$ 6 $\times$ 10$^{-5}$) gluons being probed in a heavy nucleus. The observed energy dependence is not predicted by current quantum chromodynamic models.
A search for supersymmetry in the context of general gauge-mediated (GGM) breaking with the lightest neutralino as the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle and the gravitino as the lightest is presented. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 36 inverse picobarns recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The search is performed using events containing two or more isolated photons, at least one hadronic jet, and significant missing transverse energy. No excess of events at high missing transverse energy is observed. Upper limits on the signal cross section for GGM supersymmetry between 0.3 and 1.1 pb at the 95% confidence level are determined for a range of squark, gluino, and neutralino masses, excluding supersymmetry parameter space that was inaccessible to previous experiments.
A measurement of inclusive W and Z production cross sections in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV is presented. The electron and muon decay channels are analyzed in a data sample collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 inverse picobarns. The measured inclusive cross sections are sigma(pp-> WX) B(W-> l nu) = 10.30 +/- 0.02 (stat.) +/- 0.10 (syst.) +/- 0.10 (th.) +/- 0.41 (lumi.) nb and sigma(pp -> ZX) B(Z-> l^+l^-) = 0.974 +/- 0.007 (stat.) +/- 0.007 (syst.) +/- 0.018 (th.) +/- 0.039 (lumi.) nb, limited to the dilepton invariant mass range 60 to 120 GeV. The luminosity-independent cross section ratios are [sigma(pp->WX) B(W-> l nu)]/[sigma(pp-> ZX) B(Z->l^+l^-)] = 10.54 +/- 0.07 (stat.) +/- 0.08 (syst.) +/- 0.16 (th.) and [sigma(pp->W^+X) B(W^+ -> l^+nu)] / [sigma(pp->W^- X) B(W^- -> l^- nu)] = 1.421 +/- 0.006 (stat.) +/- 0.014 (syst.) +/- 0.029 (th.). The measured values agree with next-to-next-to-leading order QCD cross section calculations based on recent parton distribution functions.
A measurement of WW production in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV and a search for the Higgs boson are reported. The WW candidates are selected in events with two leptons, either electrons or muons. The measurement is performed using LHC data recorded with the CMS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 inverse picobarns. The pp to WW cross section is measured to be 41.1 +/- 15.3 (stat) +/- 5.8 (syst) +/- 4.5 (lumi) pb, consistent with the standard model prediction. Limits on WW gamma and WWZ anomalous triple gauge couplings are set. The search for the standard model Higgs boson in the WW decay mode does not reveal any evidence of excess above backgrounds. Limits are set on the production of the Higgs boson in the context of the standard model and in the presence of a sequential fourth family of fermions with high masses. In the latter context, a Higgs boson with mass between 144 and 207 GeV is ruled out at 95% confidence level.
The observation of the production of four top quarks in proton-proton collisions is reported, based on a data sample collected by the CMS experiment at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV in 2016-2018 at the CERN LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. Events with two same-sign, three, or four charged leptons (electrons and muons) and additional jets are analyzed. Compared to previous results in these channels, updated identification techniques for charged leptons and jets originating from the hadronization of b quarks, as well as a revised multivariate analysis strategy to distinguish the signal process from the main backgrounds, lead to an improved expected signal significance of 4.9 standard deviations above the background-only hypothesis. Four top quark production is observed with a significance of 5.6 standard deviations, and its cross section is measured to be 17.7 $^{+3.7}_{-3.5}$ (stat) $^{+2.3}_{-1.9}$ (syst) fb, in agreement with the available standard model predictions.
Four-lepton production in proton-proton collisions, pp to (Z/gamma*)(Z/gamma*) to l+l-l'+l'-, where l, l' = e or mu, is studied at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 2.6 inverse femtobarns. The ZZ production cross section, sigma(pp to ZZ) = 14.6 +1.9/-1.8 (stat) +0.5/-0.3 (syst) +/- 0.2 (theo) +/- 0.4 (lumi) pb, is measured for events with two opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pairs produced in the mass region 60 < m[l+l-], m[l'+l'-] < 120 GeV. The Z boson branching fraction to four leptons is measured to be B(Z to l+l-l'+l'-) = 4.9 +0.8/-0.7 (stat) +0.3/-0.2 (syst) +0.2/-0.1 (theo) +/- 0.1 (lumi) x E-6 for the four-lepton invariant mass in the range 80 < m[l+l-l'+l'-] < 100 GeV and dilepton mass m[l+l-] > 4 GeV for all opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pairs. The results are in agreement with standard model predictions.
Measurements are presented of the cross section for the production of at least four jets, of which at least two originate from b quarks, in proton-proton collisions. Data collected with the CMS detector at the LHC at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV are used, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 inverse picobarns. The cross section is measured as a function of the jet transverse momentum for pt > 20 GeV, and of the jet pseudorapidity for abs(eta) < 2.4 (b jets), 4.7 (untagged jets). The correlations in azimuthal angle and pt between the jets are also studied. The inclusive cross section is measured to be sigma(pp to 2 b + 2 j + X) = 69 +/- 3 (stat) +/- 24 (syst) nb. The eta and pt distributions of the four jets and the correlations between them are well reproduced by event generators that combine perturbative QCD calculations at next-to-leading-order accuracy with contributions from parton showers and multiparton interactions.
The WZ production cross section in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 13 TeV is measured with the CMS experiment at the LHC using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.3 inverse femtobarns. The measurement is performed in the leptonic decay modes WZ to l nu l' l', where l, l'= e, mu. The measured cross section for the range 60 < m[l'l'] < 120 GeV is sigma(pp to WZ) = 39.9 +/- 3.2 (stat) +2.9/-3.1 (syst) +/- 0.4 (theo) +/- 1.3 (lumi) pb, consistent with the standard model prediction.
The production cross section of a W boson in association with two b jets is measured using a sample of proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 19.8 inverse femtobarns. The W bosons are reconstructed via their leptonic decays, W to l nu, where l = mu or e. The fiducial region studied contains exactly one lepton with transverse momentum pt[l] > 30 GeV and pseudorapidity abs(eta[l]) < 2.1, with exactly two b jets with pt > 25 GeV and abs(eta) < 2.4 and no other jets with pt > 25 GeV and abs(eta) < 4.7. The cross section is measured to be sigma(pp to W (l nu)+ bb-bar) = 0.64 +/- 0.03 (stat) +/- 0.10 (syst) +/- 0.06 (theo) +/- 0.02 (lumi) pb, in agreement with standard model predictions.
The cross section for Higgs boson production in pp collisions is studied using the H to WW decay mode, followed by leptonic decays of the W bosons to an oppositely charged electron-muon pair in the final state. The measurements are performed using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.4 inverse femtobarns. The Higgs boson transverse momentum (pT) is reconstructed using the lepton pair pT and missing pT. The differential cross section times branching fraction is measured as a function of the Higgs boson pT in a fiducial phase space defined to match the experimental acceptance in terms of the lepton kinematics and event topology. The production cross section times branching fraction in the fiducial phase space is measured to be 39 +/- 8 (stat) +/- 9 (syst) fb. The measurements are found to agree, within experimental uncertainties, with theoretical calculations based on the standard model.
A measurement is presented of the cross section for the electroweak production of a Z boson and a photon in association with two jets in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s)= 8 TeV. The Z bosons are identified through their decays to electron or muon pairs. The measurement is based on data collected with the CMS detector corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns. The electroweak contribution has a significance of 3.0 standard deviations, and the measured fiducial cross section is 1.86 +0.90/-0.75 (stat) +0.34/-0.26 (syst) +/- 0.05 (lumi) fb, while the summed electroweak and quantum chromodynamic total cross section in the same region is observed to be 5.94 +1.53/-1.35 (stat) +0.43/-0.37 (syst) +/- 0.13 (lumi) fb. Both measurements are consistent with the leading-order standard model predictions. Limits on anomalous quartic gauge couplings are set based on the Z gamma mass distribution.
A measurement of electroweak-induced production of W gamma and two jets is performed, where the W boson decays leptonically. The data used in the analysis correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns collected by the CMS experiment in sqrt(s) = 8 TeV proton-proton collisions produced at the LHC. Candidate events are selected with exactly one muon or electron, missing transverse momentum, one photon, and two jets with large rapidity separation. An excess over the hypothesis of the standard model without electroweak production of W gamma with two jets is observed with a significance of 2.7 standard deviations. The cross section measured in the fiducial region is 10.8 +/- 4.1 (stat) +/- 3.4 (syst) +/- 0.3 (lumi) fb, which is consistent with the standard model electroweak predictions. The total cross section for W gamma production in association with 2 jets in the same fiducial region is measured to be 23.2 +/- 4.3 (stat) +/- 1.7 (syst) +/- 0.6 (lumi) fb, which is consistent with the standard model prediction from the combination of electroweak- and quantum chromodynamics-induced processes. No deviations are observed from the standard model predictions and experimental limits on anomalous quartic gauge couplings f[M, 0-7] / Lambda^4, f[T, 0-2] / Lambda^4, and f[T, 5-7] / Lambda^4 are set at 95% confidence level.
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.
Differential cross sections for a W boson produced in association with jets are measured in a data sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV recorded with the CMS detector and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.6 inverse femtobarns. The W bosons are identified through their decay mode W to mu nu. The cross sections are reported as functions of jet multiplicity, transverse momenta, and the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT) for different jet multiplicities. Distributions of the angular correlations between the jets and the muon are examined, as well as the average number of jets as a function of HT and as a function of angular variables. The measured differential cross sections are compared with tree-level and higher-order recent event generators, as well as next-to-leading-order and next-to-next-to-leading-order theoretical predictions. The agreement of the generators with the measurements builds confidence in their use for the simulation of W+jets background processes in searches for new physics at the LHC.
The WZ production cross section is measured by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC in proton-proton collision data samples corresponding to integrated luminosities of 4.9 inverse femtobarns collected at sqrt(s)= 7 TeV, and 19.6 inverse femtobarns at sqrt(s)= 8 TeV. The measurements are performed using the fully-leptonic WZ decay modes with electrons and muons in the final state. The measured cross sections for 71 < m[Z] < 111 GeV are sigma(pp to WZ; sqrt(s)= 7 TeV) = 20.14 +/- 1.32 (stat) +/- 1.13 (syst) +/- 0.44 (lumi) pb and sigma(pp to WZ; sqrt(s)= 8 TeV) = 24.09 +/- 0.87 (stat) +/- 1.62 (syst) +/- 0.63 (lumi) pb. Differential cross sections with respect to the Z boson pt, the leading jet pt, and the number of jets are obtained using the sqrt(s)= 8 TeV data. The results are consistent with standard model predictions and constraints on anomalous triple gauge couplings are obtained.
Cross sections for the production of a Z boson in association with jets in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 8 TeV are measured using a data sample collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC corresponding to 19.6 inverse femtobarns. Differential cross sections are presented as functions of up to three observables that describe the jet kinematics and the jet activity. Correlations between the azimuthal directions and the rapidities of the jets and the Z boson are studied in detail. The predictions of a number of multileg generators with leading or next-to-leading order accuracy are compared with the measurements. The comparison shows the importance of including multi-parton contributions in the matrix elements and the improvement in the predictions when next-to-leading order terms are included.
A search is presented for additional neutral Higgs bosons in the $\tau\tau$ final state in proton-proton collisions at the LHC. The search is performed in the context of the minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model (MSSM), using the data collected with the CMS detector in 2016 at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. To enhance the sensitivity to neutral MSSM Higgs bosons, the search includes production of the Higgs boson in association with b quarks. No significant deviation above the expected background is observed. Model-independent limits at 95% confidence level (CL) are set on the product of the branching fraction for the decay into $\tau$ leptons and the cross section for the production via gluon fusion or in association with b quarks. These limits range from 18 pb at 90 GeV to 3.5 fb at 3.2 TeV for gluon fusion and from 15 pb (at 90 GeV) to 2.5 fb (at 3.2 TeV) for production in association with b quarks, assuming a narrow width resonance. In the m$_{\text{h}}^{\text{mod+}}$ scenario these limits translate into a 95% CL exclusion of $\tan\beta>$ 6 for neutral Higgs boson masses below 250 GeV, where $\tan\beta$ is the ratio of the vacuum expectation values of the neutral components of the two Higgs doublets. The 95% CL exclusion contour reaches 1.6 TeV for $\tan\beta=$ 60.
A search for a new heavy particle decaying to a pair of vector bosons (WW or WZ) is presented using data from the CMS detector corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$ collected in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV in 2016. One of the bosons is required to be a W boson decaying to e$\nu$ or $\mu\nu$, while the other boson is required to be reconstructed as a single massive jet with substructure compatible with that of a highly-energetic quark pair from a W or Z boson decay. The search is performed in the resonance mass range between 1.0 and 4.5 TeV. The largest deviation from the background-only hypothesis is observed for a mass near 1.4 TeV and corresponds to a local significance of 2.5 standard deviations. The result is interpreted as an upper bound on the resonance production cross section. Comparing the excluded cross section values and the expectations from theoretical calculations in the bulk graviton and heavy vector triplet models, spin-2 WW resonances with mass smaller than 1.07 TeV and spin-1 WZ resonances lighter than 3.05 TeV, respectively, are excluded at 95% confidence level.
The cross section of top quark pair production is measured in the $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}\to (\ell\nu_{\ell})(\tau_\mathrm{h}\nu_{\tau})\mathrm{b\bar{b}}$ final state, where $\tau_\mathrm{h}$ refers to the hadronic decays of the $\tau$ lepton, and $\ell$ is either an electron or a muon. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$ collected in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=$ 13 TeV with the CMS detector. The measured cross section is $\sigma_{\mathrm{t\bar{t}}} =$ 781 $\pm$ 7 (stat) $\pm$ 62 (syst) $\pm$ 20 (lum) pb, and the ratio of the partial width $\Gamma($t$\to\tau\nu_{\tau}$b) to the total decay width of the top quark is measured to be 0.1050 $\pm$ 0.0009 (stat) $\pm$ 0.0071 (syst). This is the first measurement of the $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$ production cross section in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=$ 13 TeV that explicitly includes $\tau$ leptons. The ratio of the cross sections in the $\ell\tau_\mathrm{h}$ and $\ell\ell$ final states yields a value $R_{\ell\tau_\mathrm{h}/\ell\ell}=$ 0.973 $\pm$ 0.009 (stat) $\pm$ 0.066 (syst), consistent with lepton universality.
A search is presented for massive narrow resonances decaying either into two Higgs bosons, or into a Higgs boson and a W or Z boson. The decay channels considered are HH$\to \mathrm{b\overline{b}}\tau^{+}\tau^{-}$ and VH$ \to \mathrm{q\overline{q}}\tau^{+}\tau^{-}$, where H denotes the Higgs boson, and V denotes the W or Z boson. This analysis is based on a data sample of proton-proton collisions collected at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV by the CMS Collaboration, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. For the TeV-scale mass resonances considered, substructure techniques provide ways to differentiate among the hadronization products from vector boson decays to quarks, Higgs boson decays to bottom quarks, and quark- or gluon-induced jets. Reconstruction techniques are used that have been specifically optimized to select events in which the tau lepton pair is highly boosted. The observed data are consistent with standard model expectations and upper limits are set at 95% confidence level on the product of cross section and branching fraction for resonance masses between 0.9 and 4.0 TeV. Exclusion limits are set in the context of bulk radion and graviton models: spin-0 radion resonances are excluded below a mass of 2.7 TeV at 95% confidence level. In the spin-1 heavy vector triplet framework, mass-degenerate W' and Z' resonances with dominant couplings to the standard model gauge bosons are excluded below a mass of 2.8 TeV at 95% confidence level. There are the first limits for these decay channels at $\sqrt{s}=$ 13 TeV.
A measurement is reported of the jet mass distribution in hadronic decays of boosted top quarks produced in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV. The data were collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. The measurement is performed in the lepton+jets channel of $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$ events, where the lepton is an electron or muon. The products of the hadronic top quark decay t $\to$ bW $\to$ bq$\mathrm{\bar{q}}'$ are reconstructed as a single jet with transverse momentum larger than 400 GeV. The $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$ cross section as a function of the jet mass is unfolded at the particle level and used to extract a value of the top quark mass of 172.6 $\pm$ 2.5 GeV. A novel jet reconstruction technique is used for the first time at the LHC, which improves the precision by a factor of three relative to an earlier measurement. This highlights the potential of measurements using boosted top quarks, where the new technique will enable future precision measurements.
The production of a Z boson, decaying to two charged leptons, in association with jets in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV is measured. Data recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC are used that correspond to an integrated luminosity of 2.19 fb$^{-1}$. The cross section is measured as a function of the jet multiplicity and its dependence on the transverse momentum of the Z boson, the jet kinematic variables (transverse momentum and rapidity), the scalar sum of the jet momenta, which quantifies the hadronic activity, and the balance in transverse momentum between the reconstructed jet recoil and the Z boson. The measurements are compared with predictions from four different calculations. The first two merge matrix elements with different parton multiplicities in the final state and parton showering, one of which includes one-loop corrections. The third is a fixed-order calculation with next-to-next-to-leading order accuracy for the process with a Z boson and one parton in the final state. The fourth combines the fully differential next-to-next-to-leading order calculation with next-to-next-to-leading logarithm resummation and parton showering.
A measurement of the inelastic proton-proton cross section with the CMS detector at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV is presented. The analysis is based on events with energy deposits in the forward calorimeters, which cover pseudorapidities of -6.6 $< \eta $ 4.1 GeV and/or $M_\mathrm{Y} >$ 13 GeV, where $M_\mathrm{X}$ and $M_\mathrm{Y}$ are the masses of the diffractive dissociation systems at negative and positive pseudorapidities, respectively. The results are compared with those from other experiments as well as to predictions from high-energy hadron-hadron interaction models.
A search for Higgs bosons that decay into a bottom quark-antiquark pair and are accompanied by at least one additional bottom quark is performed with the CMS detector. The data analyzed were recorded in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.7 fb$^{-1}$. The final state considered in this analysis is particularly sensitive to signatures of a Higgs sector beyond the standard model, as predicted in the generic class of two Higgs doublet models (2HDMs). No signal above the standard model background expectation is observed. Stringent upper limits on the cross section times branching fraction are set for Higgs bosons with masses up to 1300 GeV. The results are interpreted within several MSSM and 2HDM scenarios.
Two related searches for phenomena beyond the standard model (BSM) are performed using events with hadronic jets and significant transverse momentum imbalance. The results are based on a sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2016-2018 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb$^{-1}$. The first search is inclusive, based on signal regions defined by the hadronic energy in the event, the jet multiplicity, the number of jets identified as originating from bottom quarks, and the value of the kinematic variable $M_\mathrm{T2}$ for events with at least two jets. For events with exactly one jet, the transverse momentum of the jet is used instead. The second search looks in addition for disappearing tracks produced by BSM long-lived charged particles that decay within the volume of the tracking detector. No excess event yield is observed above the predicted standard model background. This is used to constrain a range of BSM models that predict the following: the pair production of gluinos and squarks in the context of supersymmetry models conserving $R$-parity, with or without intermediate long-lived charginos produced in the decay chain; the resonant production of a colored scalar state decaying to a massive Dirac fermion and a quark; or the pair production of scalar and vector leptoquarks each decaying to a neutrino and a top, bottom, or light-flavor quark. In most of the cases, the results obtained are the most stringent constraints to date.
A search for the production of events containing three W bosons predicted by the standard model is reported. The search is based on a data sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC and corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. The search is performed in final states with three leptons (electrons or muons), or with two same-charge leptons plus two jets. The observed (expected) significance of the signal for W$^\pm$W$^\pm$W$^\mp$ production is 0.60 (1.78) standard deviations, and the ratio of the measured signal yield to that expected from the standard model is 0.34 $^{+0.62}_{-0.34}$. Limits are placed on three anomalous quartic gauge couplings and on the production of massive axionlike particles.
A measurement is presented of the cross section for electroweak production of a Z boson and a photon in association with two jets (Z$\gamma$jj) in proton-proton collisions. The Z boson candidates are selected through their decay into a pair of electrons or muons. The process of interest, electroweak Z$\gamma$jj production, is isolated by selecting events with a large dijet mass and a large pseudorapidity gap between the two jets. The measurement is based on data collected at the CMS experiment at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. The observed significance of the signal is 3.9 standard deviations, where a significance of 5.2 standard deviations is expected in the standard model. These results are combined with published results by CMS at $\sqrt{s} =$ 8 TeV, which leads to observed and expected respective significances of 4.7 and 5.5 standard deviations. From the 13 TeV data, a value is obtained for the signal strength of electroweak Z$\gamma$jj production and bounds are given on quartic vector boson interactions in the framework of dimension-eight effective field theory operators.
The cross sections for $\Upsilon$(1S), $\Upsilon$(2S), and $\Upsilon$(3S) production in lead-lead (PbPb) and proton-proton (pp) collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_\mathrm{NN}}} =$ 5.02 TeV have been measured using the CMS detector at the LHC. The nuclear modification factors, R$_\mathrm{AA}$, derived from the PbPb-to-pp ratio of yields for each state, are studied as functions of meson rapidity and transverse momentum, as well as PbPb collision centrality. The yields of all three states are found to be significantly suppressed, and compatible with a sequential ordering of the suppression, R$_\mathrm{AA}$($\Upsilon$(1S)) $>$ R$_\mathrm{AA}$($\Upsilon$(2S)) $>$ R$_\mathrm{AA}$($\Upsilon$(3S)) . The suppression of $\Upsilon$(1S) is larger than that seen at $\sqrt{s_{_\mathrm{NN}}} =$ 2.76 TeV, although the two are compatible within uncertainties. The upper limit on the R$_\mathrm{AA}$ of $\Upsilon$(3S) integrated over $p_\mathrm{T}$ and rapidity is 0.094 at 95% confidence level, which is the strongest suppression observed for any hadron species in heavy ion collisions to date.
A search for exclusive or quasi-exclusive gamma gamma to W+W- production, via pp to p(*) W+W- p(*) to p(*) mu+/- e-/+ at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV, is reported using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns. Events are selected by requiring the presence of an electron-muon pair with large transverse momentum pt(mu+/- e-/+) > 30 GeV, and no associated charged particles detected from the same vertex. The 8 TeV results are combined with the previous 7 TeV results (obtained for 5.05 inverse femtobarns of data). In the signal region, 13 (2) events are observed over an expected background of 3.9 +/- 0.6 (0.84 +/-0.15) events for 8 (7) TeV, resulting in a combined excess of 3.4 standard deviations over the background-only hypothesis. The observed yields and kinematic distributions are compatible with the standard model prediction for exclusive and quasi-exclusive gamma gamma to W+W- production. Upper limits on the anomalous quartic gauge coupling operators a[W;0,C] (dimension-6) and f[M0,1,2,3] (dimension-8), the most stringent to date, are derived from the measured dilepton transverse momentum spectrum.
A measurement is presented of the cross section for the electroweak production of a W boson in association with two jets in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The data set was collected with the CMS detector and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 19.3 inverse femtobarns. The measured fiducial cross section for W bosons decaying to electrons or muons and for pT(j1) > 60 GeV, pT(j2) > 50 GeV, |eta(j)| < 4.7, and m(jj) > 1000 GeV is 0.42 +/- 0.04 (stat) +/- 0.09 (syst) +/- 0.01 (lumi) pb. This result is consistent with the standard model leading-order prediction of 0.50 +/- 0.02 (scale) +/- 0.02 (PDF) pb obtained with MADGRAPH5_aMC@NLO 2.1 interfaced to PYTHIA 6.4. This is the first cross section measurement for this process.
A measurement is presented of the production of Z bosons that decay into two electrons or muons in association with jets, in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The data were recorded by the CMS Collaboration at the LHC with an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. The differential cross sections are measured as a function of the transverse momentum ($p_\mathrm{T}$) of the Z boson and the transverse momentum and rapidities of the five jets with largest $p_\mathrm{T}$. The jet multiplicity distribution is measured for up to eight jets. The hadronic activity in the events is estimated using the scalar sum of the $p_\mathrm{T}$ of all the jets. All measurements are unfolded to the stable particle-level and compared with predictions from various Monte Carlo event generators, as well as with expectations at leading and next-to-leading orders in perturbative quantum chromodynamics.
A measurement is presented of the associated production of a single top quark and a Z boson. The study uses data from proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV recorded by the CMS experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. Using final states with three leptons (electrons or muons), the tZq production cross section is measured to be $\sigma$(pp$\to$tZq$\to$Wb$\ell^+\ell^-$q) = $123 ^{+33}_{-31}$ (stat) $^{+29}_{-23}$ (syst) fb, where $\ell$ stands for electrons, muons, or $\tau$ leptons, with observed and expected significances of 3.7 and 3.1 standard deviations, respectively.
A search for the pair production of heavy fermionic partners of the top quark with charge 5/3 (X$_{5/3}$) is performed in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. The data sample analyzed corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. The X$_{5/3}$ quark is assumed always to decay into a top quark and a W boson. Both the right-handed and left-handed X$_{5/3}$ couplings to the W boson are considered. Final states with either a pair of same-sign leptons or a single lepton are studied. No significant excess of events is observed above the expected standard model background. Lower limits at 95% confidence level on the X$_{5/3}$ quark mass are set at 1.33 and 1.30 TeV respectively for the case of right-handed and left-handed couplings to W bosons in a combination of the same-sign dilepton and single-lepton final states.