Measurements of the associated production of a W boson and a charm (c) quark in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV are reported. The analysis uses a data sample corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb$^{-1}$ collected by the CMS detector at the LHC. The W bosons are identified through their leptonic decays to an electron or a muon, and a neutrino. Charm quark jets are selected using distinctive signatures of charm hadron decays. The product of the cross section and branching fraction $\sigma$(pp $\to$ W + c + X) $\mathcal{B}$(W $\to$$\ell\nu$), where $\ell$ = e or $\mu$, and the cross section ratio $\sigma$(pp $\to$ W$^+$ + c + X) / $\sigma$(pp $\to$ W$^-$ + $\mathrm{\bar{c}}$ + X) are measured inclusively and differentially as functions of the pseudorapidity and of the transverse momentum of the lepton from the W boson decay. The results are compared with theoretical predictions. The impact of these measurements on the determination of the strange quark distribution is assessed.

Measurements of the top quark-antiquark (t t-bar) spin correlations and the top quark polarization are presented for t t-bar pairs produced in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 inverse femtobarns collected with the CMS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using events with two oppositely charged leptons (electrons or muons) and two or more jets, where at least one of the jets is identified as originating from a bottom quark. The spin correlations and polarization are measured from the angular distributions of the two selected leptons, both inclusively and differentially, with respect to the invariant mass, rapidity, and transverse momentum of the t t-bar system. The measurements are unfolded to the parton level and found to be in agreement with predictions of the standard model. A search for new physics in the form of anomalous top quark chromo moments is performed. No evidence of new physics is observed, and exclusion limits on the real part of the chromo-magnetic dipole moment and the imaginary part of the chromo-electric dipole moment are evaluated.

A search for physics beyond the standard model in events with at least three leptons is presented. The data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 inverse femtobarns of proton-proton collisions with center-of-mass energy sqrt(s) = 8 TeV, was collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC during 2012. The data are divided into exclusive categories based on the number of leptons and their flavor, the presence or absence of an opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pair (OSSF), the invariant mass of the OSSF pair, the presence or absence of a tagged bottom-quark jet, the number of identified hadronically decaying tau leptons, and the magnitude of the missing transverse energy and of the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta. The numbers of observed events are found to be consistent with the expected numbers from standard model processes, and limits are placed on new-physics scenarios that yield multilepton final states. In particular, scenarios that predict Higgs boson production in the context of supersymmetric decay chains are examined. We also place a 95% confidence level upper limit of 1.3% on the branching fraction for the decay of a top quark to a charm quark and a Higgs boson (t to c H), which translates to a bound on the left- and right-handed top-charm flavor-violating Higgs Yukawa couplings, lambda[H, tc] and lambda[H, ct], respectively, of sqrt(abs(lambda[H, tc])^2 + abs(lambda[H, ct])^2) < 0.21.

The angular distributions and the differential branching fraction of the decay B0 to K*0(892) mu mu are studied using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.5 inverse femtobarns collected with the CMS detector at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV. From 1430 signal decays, the forward-backward asymmetry of the muons, the K*0(892) longitudinal polarization fraction, and the differential branching fraction are determined as a function of the dimuon invariant mass squared. The measurements are among the most precise to date and are in good agreement with standard model predictions.

A search for resonances and quantum black holes is performed using the dijet mass spectra measured in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns. In a search for narrow resonances that couple to quark-quark, quark-gluon, or gluon-gluon pairs, model-independent upper limits, at 95% confidence level, are obtained on the production cross section of resonances, with masses above 1.2 TeV. When interpreted in the context of specific models the limits exclude: string resonances with masses below 5.0 TeV; excited quarks below 3.5 TeV; scalar diquarks below 4.7 TeV; W' bosons below 1.9 TeV or between 2.0 and 2.2 TeV; Z' bosons below 1.7 TeV; and Randall-Sundrum gravitons below 1.6 TeV. A separate search is conducted for narrow resonances that decay to final states including b quarks. The first exclusion limit is set for excited b quarks, with a lower mass limit between 1.2 and 1.6 TeV depending on their decay properties. Searches are also carried out for wide resonances, assuming for the first time width-to-mass ratios up to 30%, and for quantum black holes with a range of model parameters. The wide resonance search excludes axigluons and colorons with mass below 3.6 TeV, and color-octet scalars with mass below 2.5 TeV. Lower bounds between 5.0 and 6.3 TeV are set on the masses of quantum black holes.

A search is performed for a massive new vector-like quark T, with charge 2/3, that is pair produced together with its antiparticle in proton-proton collisions. The data were collected by the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider in 2012 at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 inverse femtobarns. The T quark is assumed to decay into three different final states, bW, tZ, and tH. The search is carried out using events with at least one isolated lepton. No deviations from standard model expectations are observed, and lower limits are set on the T quark mass at 95% confidence level. The lower limit lies between 687 and 782 GeV for all possible values of the branching fractions into the three different final states assuming strong production. These limits are the most stringent constraints to date on the existence of such a quark.

Measurements of the cross sections for top quark pairs produced in association with a W or Z boson are presented, using 8 TeV pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 inverse femtobarns, collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. Final states are selected in which the associated W boson decays to a charged lepton and a neutrino or the Z boson decays to two charged leptons. Signal events are identified by matching reconstructed objects in the detector to specific final state particles from ttW or ttZ decays. The ttW cross section is measured to be 382 +117 -102 fb with a significance of 4.8 standard deviations from the background-only hypothesis. The ttZ cross section is measured to be 242 +65 -55 fb with a significance of 6.4 standard deviations from the background-only hypothesis. These measurements are used to set bounds on five anomalous dimension-six operators that would affect the ttW and ttZ cross sections.

Angular distributions of the decay B$^+$$\to$ K$^*$(892)$^+\mu^+\mu^-$ are studied using events collected with the CMS detector in $\sqrt{s} =$ 8 TeV proton-proton collisions at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.0 fb$^{-1}$. The forward-backward asymmetry of the muons and the longitudinal polarization of the K$^*$(892)$^+$ meson are determined as a function of the square of the dimuon invariant mass. These are the first results from this exclusive decay mode and are in agreement with a standard model prediction.

A search for pair production of third-generation scalar leptoquarks and supersymmetric top quark partners, top squarks, in final states involving tau leptons and bottom quarks is presented. The search uses events from a data sample of proton-proton collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC with sqrt(s) = 8 TeV. The number of observed events is found to be in agreement with the expected standard model background. Third-generation scalar leptoquarks with masses below 740 GeV are excluded at 95% confidence level, assuming a 100% branching fraction for the leptoquark decay to a tau lepton and a bottom quark. In addition, this mass limit applies directly to top squarks decaying via an R-parity violating coupling lambda'[333]. The search also considers a similar signature from top squarks undergoing a chargino-mediated decay involving the R-parity violating coupling lambda'[3jk]. Each top squark decays to a tau lepton, a bottom quark, and two light quarks. Top squarks in this model with masses below 580 GeV are excluded at 95% confidence level. The constraint on the leptoquark mass is the most stringent to date, and this is the first search for top squarks decaying via lambda'[3jk].

A first measurement of the top quark mass using the decay channel t to (W to l nu) (b to J/psi + X to mu+ mu- + X) is presented. The analysis uses events selected from the proton-proton collisions recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns, with 666 t t-bar and single top quark candidate events containing a reconstructed J/psi candidate decaying into an oppositely-charged muon pair. The mass of the (J/psi + l) system, where l is an electron or a muon from W boson decay, is used to extract a top quark mass of 173.5 +/- 3.0 (stat) +/- 0.9 (syst) GeV.