We report measurements of the inclusive transverse momentum pT distribution of centrally produced kshort, kstar(892), and phi(1020) mesons up to pT = 10 GeV/c in minimum-bias events, and kshort and lambda particles up to pT = 20 GeV/c in jets with transverse energy between 25 GeV and 160 GeV in pbar p collisions. The data were taken with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV. We find that as pT increases, the pT slopes of the three mesons (kshort, kstar, and phi) are similar, and the ratio of lambda to kshort as a function of pT in minimum-bias events becomes similar to the fairly constant ratio in jets at pT ~ 5 GeV/c. This suggests that the particles with pT >~ 5 GeV/c in minimum-bias events are from soft jets, and that the pT slope of particles in jets is insensitive to light quark flavor (u, d, or s) and to the number of valence quarks. We also find that for pT <~ 4 GeV relatively more lambda baryons are produced in minimum-bias events than in jets.

We present measurements of the forward-backward asymmetry in the angular distribution of leptons from decays of top quarks and antiquarks produced in proton-antiproton collisions. We consider the final state containing a lepton and at least three jets. The entire sample of data collected by the D0 experiment during Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron Collider, corresponding to 9.7 inverse fb of integrated luminosity, is used. The asymmetry measured for reconstructed leptons is $A_{FB}^l = \big(2.9 \pm 2.1(stat.) ^{+1.5}_{-1.7}(syst.) \big)$%. When corrected for efficiency and resolution effects within the lepton rapidity coverage of $|y_l|<1.5$, the asymmetry is found to be $A_{FB}^l = \big(4.2 \pm 2.3(stat.) ^{+1.7}_{-2.0}(syst.) \big)$%. Combination with the asymmetry measured in the dilepton final state yields $A_{FB}^l = \big(4.2 \pm 2.0(stat.) \pm 1.4(syst.) \big)$%. We examine the dependence of $A_{FB}^l$ on the transverse momentum and rapidity of the lepton. The results are in agreement with predictions from the next-to-leading-order QCD generator \mcatnlo, which predicts an asymmetry of $A_{FB}^l = 2.0$% for $|y_l|<1.5$.

The production cross section for a W boson and two b jets is measured using proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV in a data sample collected with the CMS experiment at the LHC corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 inverse femtobarns. The W + b b-bar events are selected in the W to mu nu decay mode by requiring a muon with transverse momentum pt > 25 GeV and pseudorapidity abs(eta) < 2.1, and exactly two b-tagged jets with pt > 25 GeV and abs(eta) < 2.4. The measured W + b b-bar production cross section in the fiducial region, calculated at the level of final-state particles, is sigma(pp to W + b b-bar) x B(W to mu nu) = 0.53 +/- 0.05 (stat.) +/- 0.09 (syst.) +/- 0.06 (theo.) +/- 0.01 (lum.) pb, in agreement with the standard model prediction. In addition, kinematic distributions of the W + b b-bar system are in agreement with the predictions of a simulation using MADGRAPH and PYTHIA.

Measurements of jet characteristics from inclusive jet production in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV are presented. The data sample was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC during 2010 and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 36 inverse picobarns. The mean charged hadron multiplicity, the differential and integral jet shape distributions, and two independent moments of the shape distributions are measured as functions of the jet transverse momentum for jets reconstructed with the anti-kT algorithm. The measured observables are corrected to the particle level and compared with predictions from various QCD Monte Carlo generators.

A search is presented for quark contact interactions and extra spatial dimensions in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV using dijet angular distributions. The search is based on a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns collected by the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. Dijet angular distributions are found to be in agreement with the perturbative QCD predictions that include electroweak corrections. Limits on the contact interaction scale from a variety of models at next-to-leading order in QCD corrections are obtained. A benchmark model in which only left-handed quarks participate is excluded up to a scale of 9.0 (11.7) TeV for destructive (constructive) interference at 95% confidence level. Lower limits between 5.9 and 8.4 TeV on the scale of virtual graviton exchange are extracted for the Arkani-Hamed--Dimopoulos--Dvali model of extra spatial dimensions.

This paper presents a measurement of the inclusive 3-jet production differential cross section at a proton-proton centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 inverse femtobarns collected with the CMS detector. The analysis is based on the three jets with the highest transverse momenta. The cross section is measured as a function of the invariant mass of the three jets in a range of 445-3270 GeV and in two bins of the maximum rapidity of the jets up to a value of 2. A comparison between the measurement and the prediction from perturbative QCD at next-to-leading order is performed. Within uncertainties, data and theory are in agreement. The sensitivity of the observable to the strong coupling constant alpha[S] is studied. A fit to all data points with 3-jet masses larger than 664 GeV gives a value of the strong coupling constant of alpha[S](MZ) = 0.1171 +/- 0.0013 (exp) +0.0073/-0.0047 (theo).

A measurement is presented of the ratio of the inclusive 3-jet cross section to the inclusive 2-jet cross section as a function of the average transverse momentum, <pT[1,2]>, of the two leading jets in the event. The data sample was collected during 2011 at a proton-proton centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 inverse femtobarns. The strong coupling constant at the scale of the Z boson mass is determined to be alphaS[MZ] = 0.1148 +/- 0.0014 (exp.) +/- 0.0018 (PDF) +/- 0.0050 (theory), by comparing the ratio in the range 0.42 < <pT[1,2]> < 1.39 TeV to the predictions of perturbative QCD at next-to-leading order. This is the first determination of alphaS[MZ] from measurements at momentum scales beyond 0.6 TeV. The predicted ratio depends only indirectly on the evolution of the parton distribution functions of the proton such that this measurement also serves as a test of the evolution of the strong coupling constant. No deviation from the expected behaviour is observed.

We present measurements of the differential cross section dsigma/dpT_gamma for the inclusive production of a photon in association with a b-quark jet for photons with rapidities |y_gamma|< 1.0 and 30<pT_gamma <300 GeV, as well as for photons with 1.5<|y_gamma|< 2.5 and 30< pT_gamma <200 GeV, where pT_gamma is the photon transverse momentum. The b-quark jets are required to have pT>15 GeV and rapidity |y_jet| < 1.5. The results are based on data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 8.7 fb^-1, recorded with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron $p\bar{p}$ Collider at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV. The measured cross sections are compared with next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations using different sets of parton distribution functions as well as to predictions based on the kT-factorization QCD approach, and those from the Sherpa and Pythia Monte Carlo event generators.

Rapidity distributions are presented for events containing either a Z boson or a photon with a single jet in proton-proton collisions produced at the CERN LHC. The data, collected with the CMS detector at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV, correspond to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 inverse femtobarns. The individual rapidity distributions of the boson and the jet are consistent within 5% with expectations from perturbative QCD. However, QCD predictions for the sum and the difference in rapidities of the two final-state objects show discrepancies with CMS data. In particular, next-to-leading-order QCD calculations, and two common Monte Carlo event generators using different methods to match matrix-element partons with parton showers, appear inconsistent with the data as well as with each other.

The production of jets associated to bottom quarks is measured for the first time in PbPb collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 2.76 TeV per nucleon pair. Jet spectra are reported in the transverse momentum (pt) range of 80-250 GeV, and within pseudorapidity abs(eta < 2). The nuclear modification factor (R[AA]) calculated from these spectra shows a strong suppression in the b-jet yield in PbPb collisions relative to the yield observed in pp collisions at the same energy. The suppression persists to the largest values of pt studied, and is centrality dependent. The R[AA] is about 0.4 in the most central events, similar to previous observations for inclusive jets. This implies that jet quenching does not have a strong dependence on parton mass and flavor in the jet pt range studied.