893 Search Results

Abstract The detection of gravitational waves (GWs) from a binary neutron star (BNS) merger by Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo (GW170817), together with its electromagnetic counterpart, the short gamma-ray burst GRB 170817A, heralded the birth of multimessenger astronomy. The detection of TeV emission from GRBs motivates follow-up observations with the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO), which is ideal for detecting such signals due to its unprecedented sensitivity, rapid response, and wide-field survey capabilities. The aim of this work is to evaluate GeV–TeV GW follow-up strategies for CTAO using a multistep simulation pipeline and to estimate the expected rate of joint GW–GRBmore » detections during observing run O5. Using a simulated sample of BNS systems with corresponding GW detections, gamma-ray emission is simulated through phenomenological prescriptions based on the observed population of short GRBs, including off-axis jet scenarios. CTAO observations are simulated to account for instrument response, sky tiling strategies, integration times, and varying observing conditions. Strategies with variable and constant integration times are investigated. We find that, via an optimized follow-up strategy, about 5% of simulated GW-associated short GRBs produce GeV–TeV radiation detectable by CTAO. Detectability is strongly influenced by the jet opening angle and viewing angle, suggesting that even rough estimates of the viewing angle in GW alerts could enhance targeting. This framework motivates future follow-ups of GW-detectable events, including neutron star–black hole mergers, and further supports the development of advanced strategies incorporating galaxy distributions and synergies with future detectors such as the Einstein Telescope.« less

We present updated forecasts for the scientific performance of the degree-scale (0.5 deg FWHM at 93 GHz), deep-field survey to be conducted by the Simons Observatory (SO). By 2027, the SO Small Aperture Telescope (SAT) complement will be doubled from three to six telescopes, including a doubling of the detector count in the 93 GHz and 145 GHz channels to 48,160 detectors. Combined with a planned extension of the survey duration to 2035, this expansion will significantly enhance SO's search for a B-mode signal in the polarisation of the cosmic microwave background, a potential signature of gravitational waves produced inmore » the very early Universe. Assuming a 1/f noise model with knee multipole ℓ_knee = 50 and a moderately complex model for Galactic foregrounds, we forecast a 1σ (or 68% confidence level) constraint on the tensor-to-scalar ratio r of σ_r = 1.2 × 10^-3, assuming no primordial B-modes are present. This forecast assumes that 70% of the B-mode lensing signal can ultimately be removed using high resolution observations from the SO Large Aperture Telescope (LAT) and overlapping large-scale structure surveys. For more optimistic assumptions regarding foregrounds and noise, and assuming the same level of delensing, this forecast constraint improves to σ_r = 7 × 10^-4. These forecasts represent a major improvement in SO's constraining power, being a factor of around 2.5 times better than what could be achieved with the originally planned campaign, which assumed the existing three SATs would conduct a five-year survey.« less

A hot and dense state of nuclear matter, known as the quark-gluon plasma, is created in collisions of ultrarelativistic heavy nuclei. Highly energetic quarks and gluons, collectively referred to as partons, lose energy as they travel through this matter, leading to suppressed production of particles with large transverse momenta (𝑝_T). Conversely, high-𝑝_T particle suppression has not been seen in proton-lead collisions, raising questions regarding the minimum system size required to observe parton energy loss. Oxygen-oxygen (OO) collisions examine a region of effective system size that lies between these two extreme cases. The CMS detector at the CERN LHC has beenmore » used to quantify charged-particle production in inclusive OO collisions for the first time via measurements of the nuclear modification factor (𝑅_AA). The 𝑅_AA is derived by comparing particle production to expectations based on proton-proton (𝑝⁢𝑝) data and has a value of unity in the absence of nuclear effects. The data for OO and 𝑝⁢𝑝 collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy $$\sqrt{s_{NN}}$$ = 5.36  TeV correspond to integrated luminosities of 6.1  nb⁻¹ and 1.02  pb⁻¹, respectively. The 𝑅_AA is below unity with a minimum of 0.69 ± 0.04 around 𝑝_T = 6  GeV. The data exhibit better agreement with theoretical models incorporating parton energy loss as compared to baseline models without energy loss.« less

At hadron colliders, the net transverse momentum of particles that do not interact with the detector (missing transverse momentum, $$^→_𝑝$$$$^{miss}_{T}$$) is a crucial observable in many analyses. In the standard model, $$^→_𝑝$$$$^{miss}_{T}$$ originates from neutrinos. Many beyond-the-standard-model particles, such as dark matter candidates, are also expected to leave the experimental apparatus undetected. This paper presents a novel deep neural network based $$^→_𝑝$$$$^{miss}_{T}$$ estimator, DeepMET, developed by the CMS Collaboration at the LHC. The DeepMET algorithm produces a weight for each reconstructed particle based on its properties. The estimator is based on the negative vector sum of the weighted transverse momentamore » of all reconstructed particles in an event. Compared with other estimators currently employed by CMS, DeepMET improves the $$^→_𝑝$$$$^{miss}_{T}$$ resolution by 10%–30%, shows improvement for a wide range of final states, is easier to train, and is more resilient against the effects of additional proton-proton interactions accompanying the collision of interest.« less

In 2021 May the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) collaboration began a 5 yr spectroscopic redshift survey to produce a detailed map of the evolving three-dimensional structure of the Universe between z = 0 and z ≈ 4. DESI’s principal scientific objectives are to place precise constraints on the equation of state of dark energy, the gravitationally driven growth of large-scale structure, and the sum of the neutrino masses, and to explore the observational signatures of primordial inflation. We present DESI DR1, which consists of all data acquired during the first 13 months of the DESI main survey, as well as amore » uniform reprocessing of the DESI Survey Validation data, which were previously made public in the DESI Early Data Release. The DR1 main survey includes high-confidence redshifts for 18.7M objects, of which 13.1M are spectroscopically classified as galaxies, 1.6M as quasars, and 4M as stars, making DR1 the largest sample of extragalactic redshifts ever assembled. We summarize the DR1 observations, the spectroscopic data-reduction pipeline and data products, large-scale structure catalogs, value-added catalogs, and describe how to access and interact with the data. In addition to fulfilling its core cosmological objectives with unprecedented precision, we expect DR1 to enable a wide range of transformational astrophysical studies and discoveries.« less

A measurement of the substructure of bottom quark jets (b jets) in proton-proton (pp) collisions is presented. The measurement uses data collected in pp collisions at $$\sqrt{s}=5.02$$ TeV, with a low number of simultaneous interactions per bunch crossing, recorded by the CMS experiment in 2017, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 301 pb⁻¹. An algorithm to identify and cluster the charged decay daughters of b hadrons is developed for this analysis, which facilitates the exposure of the gluon radiation pattern of b jets using iterative Cambridge-Aachen declustering. The soft-drop-groomed jet radius, R_g, and momentum balance, z_g, of b quark jetsmore » are presented. These observables can be used to test perturbative quantum chromodynamics predictions that account for mass effects. Because the b hadron is partially reconstructed from its charged decay daughters, only charged particles are used for the jet substructure studies. In addition, a jet fragmentation function, z_b,ch, is measured, which is defined as the distribution of the ratio of the transverse momentum (p_T) of the partially reconstructed b hadron with respect to the charged-particle component of the jet p_T. The substructure variable distributions are unfolded to the charged-particle level. The b jet substructure is compared to the substructure of jets in an inclusive jet sample that is dominated by light-quark and gluon jets in order to assess the role of the b quark mass. A strong suppression of emissions at small R_g values is observed for b jets when compared to inclusive jets, consistent with the dead-cone effect. The measurement is also compared with theoretical predictions from Monte Carlo event generators. This is the first substructure measurement of b jets that clusters together the b hadron decay daughters independent of the b hadron species and decay channel.« less

A search for a pair of light pseudoscalar bosons (a₁) produced in the decay of the 125 GeV Higgs boson is presented. The analysis examines decay modes where one a₁ decays into a pair of tau leptons and the other decays into either another pair of tau leptons or a pair of muons. The a1 boson mass probed in this study ranges from 4 to 15 GeV. The data sample was recorded by the CMS experiment in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb⁻¹. No excess above standard modelmore » (SM) expectations is observed. The study combines the 4τ and 2μ2τ channels to set upper limits at 95% confidence level (CL) on the product of the Higgs boson production cross section and the branching fraction to the 4τ final state, relative to the Higgs boson production cross section predicted by the SM. In this interpretation, the a₁ boson is assumed to have Yukawa-like couplings to fermions, with coupling strengths proportional to the respective fermion masses. The observed (expected) upper limits range between 0.007 (0.011) and 0.079 (0.066) across the mass range considered. The results are also interpreted in the context of models with two Higgs doublets and an additional complex singlet field (2HD+S). The tightest constraints are obtained for the Type III 2HD+S model. In this case, assuming the Higgs boson production cross section equals the SM prediction, values of the branching ratio for the Higgs boson decay into a pair of a1 bosons exceeding 16% are excluded at 95% CL for a1 boson masses between 5 and 15 GeV and tan β > 2, with the exception of scenarios in which the a1 boson mixes with charm or bottom quark-antiquark bound states.« less

A search is presented for narrow resonances, with a mass between 0.6 and 1.8 TeV, decaying to pairs of jets, in proton-proton collisions at $$\sqrt{s}=13$$ TeV. The search is performed using dijets that are reconstructed, selected, and recorded in a compact form by the high-level trigger in a technique referred to as “data scouting”, from data collected in 2016–2018 corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 117 fb⁻¹. The dijet mass spectra are well described by a smooth parameterization, and no significant evidence for the production of new particles is observed. Model-independent upper limits are presented on the product of themore » cross section, branching fraction, and acceptance for the individual cases of narrow quark-quark, quark-gluon, and gluon-gluon resonances, and are compared to the predictions from a variety of models of narrow dijet resonance production. The upper limit on the coupling of a dark matter mediator to quarks is presented as a function of the mediator mass. The sensitivity of this search goes beyond what is expected from statistical scaling with the integrated luminosity alone, as a consequence of the use of fewer parameters in the background function within a more robust statistical procedure.« less

Inclusive and differential cross section measurements of top quark pair $$(\textrm{t}\overline{\textrm{t}})$$ production in association with a photon (γ) are performed as a function of lepton, photon, top quark, and $$\textrm{t}\overline{\textrm{t}}$$ kinematic observables, using data from proton-proton collisions at $$\sqrt{s}=13$$ TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb⁻¹, collected at the CERN LHC with the CMS detector. Events containing two leptons (electrons or muons) and a photon in the final state are considered. The fiducial cross section of $$\textrm{t}\overline{\textrm{t}}$$γ is measured to be 137 ± 8 fb, in a phase space including events with a high momentum, isolated photon. Themore » fiducial cross section of $$\textrm{t}\overline{\textrm{t}}$$γ is also measured to be 56 ± 5 fb when considering only events where the photon is emitted in the production part of the process. Both measurements are in agreement with the theoretical predictions, of 126 ± 19 fb and 57 ± 5 fb, respectively. Differential measurements are performed at the particle and parton levels. Additionally, inclusive and differential ratios between the cross sections of $$\textrm{t}\overline{\textrm{t}}$$γ and $$\textrm{t}\overline{\textrm{t}}$$ production are measured. The inclusive ratio is found to be 0.0133 ± 0.0005, in agreement with the standard model prediction of 0.0127 ± 0.0008. The top quark charge asymmetry in $$\textrm{t}\overline{\textrm{t}}$$γ production is also measured to be −0.012 ± 0.042, compatible with both the standard model prediction and with no asymmetry.« less

The trigger system of the CMS detector is pivotal in the acquisition of data for physics measurements and searches. Studies of final states characterized by hadronic decays of tau leptons require the reconstruction and the identification of genuine tau leptons against quark- and gluon-initiated jets at the trigger level. This is a difficult task, particularly as improvements to the LHC have resulted in an increased number of interactions per bunch crossing in recent years. To address this challenge, a series of machine-learning algorithms with high identification efficiency and low computational cost have been incorporated into the high-level trigger for hadronicallymore » decaying tau leptons. In this paper, these developments and the trigger performance are summarized using data collected by the CMS experiment in proton-proton collisions at √(s) = 13.6 TeV in 2022–2023, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 62 fb^-1.« less