Measurements of the variation of anisotropic flow-plane angles ($Ψ_n$) with rapidity, commonly known as the flow-plane decorrelation, provide important insights into the initial conditions of the matter produced in heavy-ion collisions. In this paper, using data collected by the STAR experiment, we report the first measurement of the four-plane correlator observable $T_{n}\{ba;dc\}=\langle\langle\sin [n(Ψ^{b}_{n}-Ψ^{a}_{n})]\sin[n(Ψ^{d}_{n}-Ψ^{c}_{n})]\rangle\rangle$, where superscripts $a$, $b$, $c$, and $d$ denote sequential pseudorapidity ($η$) regions with $a$ corresponding to the most backward region, $b$ and $c$ close to mid-rapidity with $η_b<0$ and $η_c>0$, and $d$ being the most forward. The measurement is performed for the elliptic and triangular flow (i.e. $n=2$ and $3$) in Au+Au and isobar (Ru+Ru, Zr+Zr) collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{\mathrm{NN}}}}$ = 200 GeV. The goal of calculating the correlation of the flow-plane angle variations from backward to mid-central, and from mid-central to forward regions, is to probe the systematic variation of flow angle over a wide $η$ range. In mid-central collisions ($10-30\%$ centrality), we find $T_{2}\{ba;dc\}= -0.004\pm 0.001 (\rm stat)\pm0.002(\rm syst)$ independent of the collision system. Such a small value of $T_{2}$ favors a ''random-walk'' variation of the flow-plane angles, where the rapidity correlation length is smaller than the entire region under study. These measurements provide new information on the decorrelation patterns in the system and offer a quantitative estimate of possible systematic variations in anisotropic flow angles such as ''twist'' between forward and backward regions. This opens new opportunities for understanding the three-dimensional structure and the time evolution of the quark-gluon plasma created in heavy-ion collisions.
This letter presents the first measurement of the angle between different jet axes (denoted as ${\Delta}R$) in Pb$-$Pb collisions. The measurement is carried out in the 0$-$10% most-central events at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV. Jets are assembled by clustering charged particles at midrapidity using the anti-$k_{\rm T}$ algorithm with resolution parameters $R=0.2$ and $0.4$ and transverse momenta in the intervals $40 < p_{\rm T}^{\rm ch jet} < 140$ GeV/$c$ and $80 < p_{\rm T}^{\rm ch jet} < 140$ GeV/$c$, respectively. Measurements at these low transverse momenta enhance the sensitivity to quark$-$gluon plasma (QGP) effects. A comparison to models implementing various mechanisms of jet energy loss in the QGP shows that the observed narrowing of the Pb$-$Pb distribution relative to pp can be explained if quark-initiated jets are more likely to emerge from the medium than gluon-initiated jets. These new measurements discard intra-jet $p_{\rm T}$ broadening as described in a model calculation with the BDMPS formalism as the main mechanism of energy loss in the QGP. The data are sensitive to the angular scale at which the QGP can resolve two independent splittings, favoring mechanisms that incorporate incoherent energy loss.
The Higgs boson (H) decay width is determined from the ratio of off- and on-shell production of H $\to$ WW $\to$ e$νμν$ using proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$ collected at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The off-shell signal strength is measured as $μ_\text{off-shell}$ = 1.2$^{+0.8}_{-0.7}$. The Higgs boson total decay width is $Γ_\text{H}$ = 3.9$^{+2.7}_{-2.2}$ MeV, in agreement with the standard model prediction. The uncertainty in this result represents a factor of three improvement over the previous CMS result in this decay channel.
A search is conducted for standard model Higgs bosons with large transverse momentum ($p_\mathrm{T}$) decaying to bottom quark pairs and produced in association with a hadronically decaying W or Z boson at the LHC. The result is based on a dataset of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected with the CMS detector in 2016$-$2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. Boosted Higgs, W, and Z boson decays are reconstructed using large-radius jets with $p_\mathrm{T}$$\gt$ 450 GeV and identified with heavy-flavor classifiers based on a graph convolutional neural network. The observed signal strength relative to the standard model expectation is $μ$ = 0.7$2^{+0.75}_{-0.71}$ including statistical and systematic uncertainties.
Production fraction ratios of B$^+$, B$^0$, and B$^0_\mathrm{s}$ mesons are measured in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV using a special data set recorded in 2018 with high-rate triggers designed to collect an unbiased sample of $10^{10}$ b hadrons with the CMS experiment at the LHC. These data allow the use of the open-charm decays of B mesons (B$_\mathrm{(s)}$$\to$$π$D$_\mathrm{(s)}$) where the D meson decays into fully hadronic final states. Production fraction ratios as functions of B meson transverse momentum ($p_\mathrm{T}$) and rapidity ($y$) are measured using the open-charm decays in the kinematic range of 8 $\lt$$p_\mathrm{T}$$\lt$ 60 GeV and $\lvert y \rvert$$\lt$ 2.25. In addition, the same data are used to measure the relative production fraction ratios with the charmonium decay channels (B$_\mathrm{(s)}$$\to$ X$\,$J/$ψ$ with X indicating a K$^+$, K$^*$(892)$^0$, or $ϕ$(1020) meson) with the J/$ψ$ meson decaying into a pair of muons. By utilizing known branching fractions, precision theoretical calculations, and the open-charm results, the production fraction ratios in the charmonium samples are determined with an absolute normalization for the first time. These results also improve several world-average values of the ratios of branching fractions of B meson decays to charmonium and open-charm states. Finally, we test isospin invariance in B meson production in proton-proton collisions and observe that it holds within the experimental precision.
In this letter, the first measurement of the femtoscopic correlation of protons and $Σ^+$ hyperons is presented and used to study the p$-Σ^+$ interaction. The measurement is performed with the ALICE detector in high-multiplicity triggered pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV. The $Σ^+$ hyperons are reconstructed using a missing-mass approach in the decay channel to $\textrm{p} + π^0$ with $π^0\rightarrowγγ$, while both $Σ^+$ and protons are identified using a machine learning approach. These techniques result in a high reconstruction efficiency and purity, which allows the measurement of the p$-Σ^+$ correlation function for the first time. Thanks to the high significance achieved in the p$-Σ^+$ correlation signal, it is possible to discriminate between the predictions of different models of the N$-Σ$ interaction and to accomplish a first determination of the p$-Σ^+$ scattering parameters.
A search for heavy long-lived charged particles at the LHC is presented. Particles interacting with the CMS muon detector across several bunch crossings are searched for using a data sample of proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13.6 TeV collected with the CMS detector in 2024, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.7 fb$^{-1}$. This is the first search relying on the novel level-1 trigger scouting data set collected without any trigger selection, allowing correlations between bunch crossings to be analyzed. The results are interpreted as upper limits on the cross sections of several benchmark processes with pair production of heavy long-lived charged particles. Upper limits on the fiducial cross section of a heavy long-lived charged particle with $p_\mathrm{T}$$\gt$ 500 GeV and $\lvertη\rvert$$\lt$ 0.83 are also set in different ranges of $β=v/c$. This analysis is a crucial proof of concept for the level-1 trigger data scouting system and complements existing searches for heavy long-lived charged particles by extending the sensitivity to lower $β$ values.
Utilizing the 2012 transversely polarized proton data from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory, the forward $η$-meson transverse single-spin asymmetry ($A_N$) was measured for $p^{\uparrow}+p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV as a function of Feynman-x ($x_F$) for $0.2<|x_F|<0.8$ and transverse momentum ($p_T$) for $1.0<p_T<5.0$ GeV/$c$. Large asymmetries at positive $x_F$ are observed ($\left<A_N\right>=0.086 \pm 0.019$), agreeing well with previous measurements of $π^{0}$ and $η$$A_N$, but with reach to higher $x_F$ and $p_T$. The contribution of initial-state spin-momentum correlations to the asymmetry, as calculated in the collinear twist-3 framework, appears insufficient to describe the data and suggests a significant impact on the asymmetry from fragmentation.
The observation of associated production of an $Υ$(1S) meson with a Z boson and a measurement of the ratio of its fiducial cross section to the fiducial cross section of the Z boson are presented. Both the $Υ$(1S) meson and the Z boson are identified via decays into a pair of opposite-sign muons. The analysis is based on proton-proton (pp) collision data at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV, collected with the CMS detector in 2016$-$2018 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. Using the production of the Z boson decaying into four muons as a normalization channel, the ratio of the fiducial cross sections $σ$(pp $\to$ Z $+$$Υ$(1S))$\mathcal{B}$(Z $\to$$μ^+μ^-$)$\mathcal{B}$($Υ$(1S) $\to$$μ^+μ^-$ ) to $σ$(pp $\to$ Z)$\mathcal{B}$(Z $\to$ 4$μ$) is measured to be $\mathcal{R}_{\mathrm{Z+Υ}\mathrm{(1S)}}$ = (21.1 $\pm$ 55 (stat) $\pm$ 0.6 (syst) $\times$ 10$^{-3}$), where stat and syst denote the statistical and systematic uncertainties, respectively. The result is used to extract the effective double-parton scattering cross section $σ_\text{eff}$ = 13.0$^{+7.7}_{-3.4}$. In addition, for the first time, $σ_\text{eff}$ is measured in bins of the transverse momentum of the $Υ$(1S) meson or of the Z boson.
A search for new physics in events featuring a single photon and missing transverse momentum is presented, using proton-proton $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 101 fb$^{-1}$ collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC between 2017 and 2018. This analysis, combined with a previous study of 36 fb$^{-1}$ of 2016 data (totaling 137 fb$^{-1}$), reveals no significant deviations from standard model expectations. The results are then used to establish 95% confidence level limits on parameters in theoretical models involving dark matter and large extra dimensions. Compared to the 2016-only analysis, this search achieves up to a 14% improvement in exclusion reach for mediator masses in simplified dark matter models, along with 11% and 1% enhancements in the limits on the effective field theory suppression scale and the fundamental Planck scale, respectively. These results are the most stringent constraints on these parameters to date.
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