A search for the rare $\eta$$\to$$\mu^+\mu^-\mu^+\mu^-$ double-Dalitz decay is performed using a sample of proton-proton collisions, collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC with high-rate muon triggers in 2017-2018 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 101 fb$^{-1}$. A signal having a statistical significance well in excess of 5 standard deviations is observed. Using the $\eta$$\to$$\mu^+ \mu^-$ decay as normalization, the branching fraction $\mathcal{B}(\eta$$\to$$\mu^+\mu^-\mu^+\mu^-)$ = [5.0 $\pm$ 0.8 (stat) $\pm$ 0.7 (syst) $\pm$ 0.7 ($\mathcal{B}_{2\mu}$)] $\times$ 10$^{-9}$ is measured, where the last term is the uncertainty in the normalization channel branching fraction. This work achieves an improved precision of over five orders of magnitude compared to previous results, leading to the first measurement of this branching fraction, which is found to agree with theoretical predictions.
A search for dark matter in events with a displaced nonresonant muon pair and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is performed using an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton (pp) collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV produced by the LHC in 2016-2018. No significant excess over the predicted backgrounds is observed. Upper limits are set on the product of the inelastic dark matter production cross section $\sigma$(pp $\to$ A' $\to$$\chi_1$$\chi_2$) and the decay branching fraction $\mathcal{B}$($\chi_2$$\to$$\chi_1 \mu^+ \mu^-$), where A' is a dark photon and $\chi_1$ and $\chi_2$ are states in the dark sector with near mass degeneracy. This is the first dedicated collider search for inelastic dark matter.
This article presents a search for a heavy charged Higgs boson produced in association with a top quark and a bottom quark, and decaying into a $W$ boson and a $125$ GeV Higgs boson $h$. The search is performed in final states with one charged lepton, missing transverse momentum, and jets using proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the LHC at CERN. This data set corresponds to a total integrated luminosity of 140 fb$^{-1}$. The search is conducted by examining the reconstructed invariant mass distribution of the $Wh$ candidates for evidence of a localised excess in the charged Higgs boson mass range from $250$ GeV to $3$ TeV. No significant excess is observed and 95% confidence-level upper limits between $2.8$ pb and $1.2$ fb are placed on the production cross-section times branching ratio for charged Higgs bosons decaying into $Wh$.
Results are presented of a search for a heavy Majorana neutrino N$_\ell$ decaying into two same-flavor leptons $\ell$ (electrons or muons) and a quark-pair jet. A model is considered in which the N$_\ell$ is an excited neutrino in a compositeness scenario. The analysis is performed using a sample of proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV recorded by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. The data are found to be in agreement with the standard model prediction. For the process in which the N$_\ell$ is produced in association with a lepton, followed by the decay of the N$_\ell$ to a same-flavor lepton and a quark pair, an upper limit at 95% confidence level on the product of the cross section and branching fraction is obtained as a function of the N$_\ell$ mass \mhcmn and the compositeness scale $\Lambda$. For this model the data exclude the existence of N$_\text{e}$ (N$_\mu$) for $m_{\text{N}_\ell}$ below 6.0 (6.1) TeV, at the limit where $m_{\text{N}_\ell}$ is equal to $\Lambda$. For $m_{\text{N}_\ell}$ $\approx$ 1 TeV, values of $\Lambda$ less than 20 (23) TeV are excluded. These results represent a considerable improvement in sensitivity, covering a larger parameter space than previous searches in pp collisions at 13 TeV.
A search is presented for single production of a vector-like T quark with charge 2/3 $e$, in the decay channel featuring a top quark and a Z boson, with the top quark decaying hadronically and the Z boson decaying to neutrinos. The search uses data collected by the CMS experiment in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb$^{-1}$ recorded at the CERN LHC in 2016-2018. The search is sensitive to a T quark mass between 0.6 and 1.8 TeV with decay widths ranging from negligibly small up to 30% of the T quark mass. Reconstruction strategies for the top quark are based on the degree of Lorentz boosting of its final state. At 95% confidence level, the upper limit on the product of the cross section and branching fraction for a T quark of small decay width varies between 15 and 602 fb, depending on its mass. For a T quark with decay widths between 10 and 30% of its mass, this upper limit ranges between 16 and 836 fb. For most of the studied range, the results provide the best limits to date. This is the first search for single T quark production based on the full Run 2 data set of the LHC.
A search for new heavy resonances decaying to WW, WZ, ZZ, WH, or ZH boson pairs in the all-jets final state is presented. The analysis is based on proton-proton collision data recorded by the CMS detector in 2016-2018 at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV at the CERN LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. The search is sensitive to resonances with masses between 1.3 and 6 TeV, decaying to bosons that are highly Lorentz-boosted such that each of the bosons forms a single large-radius jet. Machine learning techniques are employed to identify such jets. No significant excess over the estimated standard model background is observed. A maximum local significance of 3.6 standard deviations, corresponding to a global significance of 2.3 standard deviations, is observed at masses of 2.1 and 2.9 TeV. In a heavy vector triplet model, spin-1 Z' and W' resonances with masses below 4.8 TeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level (CL). These limits are the most stringent to date. In a bulk graviton model, spin-2 gravitons and spin-0 radions with masses below 1.4 and 2.7 TeV, respectively, are excluded at 95% CL. Production of heavy resonances through vector boson fusion is constrained with upper cross section limits at 95% CL as low as 0.1 fb.
A search is presented for a heavy resonance decaying into a Z boson and a Higgs (H) boson. The analysis is based on data from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$, recorded with the CMS experiment in the years 2016-2018. Resonance masses between 1.4 and 5 TeV are considered, resulting in large transverse momenta of the Z and H bosons. Final states that result from Z boson decays to pairs of electrons, muons, or neutrinos are considered. The H boson is reconstructed as a single large-radius jet, recoiling against the Z boson. Machine-learning flavour-tagging techniques are employed to identify decays of a Lorentz-boosted H boson into pairs of charm or bottom quarks, or into four quarks via the intermediate H $\to$ WW* and ZZ* decays. The analysis targets H boson decays that were not generally included in previous searches using the H $\to$$\mathrm{b\bar{b}}$ channel. Compared with previous analyses, the sensitivity for high resonance masses is improved significantly in the channel where at most one b quark is tagged.
A search for physics beyond the standard model (SM) in final states with an electron or muon and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis uses data from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2016–2018 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1. No significant deviation from the SM prediction is observed. Model-independent limits are set on the production cross section of W’ bosons decaying into lepton-plus-neutrino final states. Within the framework of the sequential standard model, with the combined results from the electron and muon decay channels a W’ boson with mass less than 5.7 TeV is excluded at 95% confidence level. Results on a SM precision test, the determination of the oblique electroweak W parameter, are presented using LHC data for the first time. These results together with those from the direct W’ resonance search are used to extend existing constraints on composite Higgs scenarios. This is the first experimental exclusion on compositeness parameters using results from LHC data other than Higgs boson measurements.
A search for a new massive charged gauge boson, $W'$, is performed with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The dataset used in this analysis was collected from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} =13$ TeV, and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. The reconstructed $tb$ invariant mass is used to search for a $W'$ boson decaying into a top quark and a bottom quark. The result is interpreted in terms of a $W'$ boson with purely right-handed or left-handed chirality in a mass range of 0.5-6 TeV. Different values for the coupling of the $W'$ boson to the top and bottom quarks are considered, taking into account interference with single-top-quark production in the $s$-channel. No significant deviation from the background prediction is observed. The results are expressed as upper limits on the $W' \rightarrow tb$ production cross-section times branching ratio as a function of the $W'$-boson mass and in the plane of the coupling vs the $W'$-boson mass.
A generic search is presented for the associated production of a Z boson or a photon with an additional unspecified massive particle X, pp $\to$ pp + Z/$\gamma$ + X, in proton-tagged events from proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV, recorded in 2017 with the CMS detector and the CMS-TOTEM precision proton spectrometer. The missing mass spectrum is analysed in the 600-1600 GeV range and a fit is performed to search for possible deviations from the background expectation. No significant excess in data with respect to the background predictions has been observed. Model-independent upper limits on the visible production cross section of pp $\to$ pp + Z/$\gamma$ + X are set.
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