22 Search Results

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

In the standard model of particle physics, the masses of the W and Z bosons, the carriers of the weak interaction, are uniquely related. A precise determination of their masses is important because quantum loops of heavy, undiscovered particles could modify this relationship. Although the Z mass is known to the remarkable precision of 22 parts per million (2.0 MeV), the W mass is known much less precisely. A global fit to measured electroweak observables predicts the W mass with 6 MeV uncertainty [1$$-$$3]. Reaching a comparable experimental precision would be a sensitive and fundamental test of the standard model,more » made even more urgent by a recent challenge to the global fit prediction by a measurement from the CDF Collaboration at the Fermilab Tevatron collider [4]. Here we report the measurement of the W mass by the CMS Collaboration at the CERN LHC, based on a large data sample of $$W \to \mu \nu$$ events collected in 2016 at the proton-proton collision energy of 13 TeV. The measurement exploits a high-granularity maximum likelihood fit to the kinematic properties of muons produced in W decays. By combining an accurate determination of experimental effects with marked in situ constraints of theoretical inputs, we reach a precise measurement of the W mass, of 80 360.2 $$\pm$$ 9.9 MeV, in agreement with the standard model prediction.« less

A search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying to a charm quark-antiquark pair, 𝐻→$$c\bar{c}$$, produced in association with a top quark-antiquark pair ($$t\bar{t}$$𝐻) is presented. The search is performed with data from proton-proton collisions at √𝑠 =13  TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138  fb−1. Advanced machine learning techniques are employed for jet flavor identification and event classification. The Higgs boson decay to a bottom quark-antiquark pair is measured simultaneously and the observed $$t\bar{t}$$𝐻(𝐻→$$b\bar{b}$$) event rate relative to the standard model expectation is 0.91$$^{+0.26}_{−0.22}$$. The observed (expected) upper limit on the product of production cross section and branching fraction 𝜎⁡($$t\bar{t}$$𝐻)⁢ℬ⁡(𝐻→$$c\bar{c}$$)more » is 0.11 (0.13) pb at 95% confidence level, corresponding to 7.8 (8.7) times the standard model prediction. When combined with the previous search for 𝐻 →$$c\bar{c}$$ via associated production with a 𝑊 or 𝑍 boson, the observed (expected) 95% confidence interval on the Higgs-charm Yukawa coupling modifier, 𝜅_𝑐, is |𝜅_𝑐| < 3.5 (2.7), the most stringent constraint to date.« less

A search for t-channel exchange of leptoquarks (LQs) is performed in dimuon and dielectron spectra using proton-proton collision data collected at $$\sqrt{s}=13$$ TeV with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb⁻¹. Eight scenarios are considered, in which up or down quarks couple to muons or electrons via a scalar or vector LQ exchange, for dilepton invariant masses above 500 GeV. The LQ masses are probed up to 5 TeV, beyond a regime probed by previous pair-production and single-production searches. The differential distributions of dilepton events are fit to templates thatmore » model the nonresonant LQ exchange and various standard model background processes. Limits are set on LQ-fermion coupling strengths for scalar and vector LQ masses in the 1–5 TeV range at 95% confidence level, establishing stringent limits on first- and second-generation LQs.« less

Measurements in the highly Lorentz-boosted regime provoke increased interest in probing the Higgs boson properties and in searching for particles beyond the standard model at the LHC. In the CMS Collaboration, various boosted-object tagging algorithms, designed to identify hadronic jets originating from a massive particle decaying to bb̅ or cc̅, have been developed and deployed across a range of physics analyses. This paper highlights their performance on simulated events, and summarizes novel calibration techniques using proton-proton collision data collected at √(s) = 13 TeV during the 2016–2018 LHC data-taking period. Three dedicated methods are used for the calibration in multijetmore » events, leveraging either machine learning techniques, the presence of muons within energetic boosted jets, or the reconstruction of hadronically decaying high-energy Z bosons. The calibration results, obtained through a combination of these approaches, are presented and discussed.« less

Several new physics models including versions of supersymmetry (SUSY) characterized by R-parity violation (RPV) or with additional hidden sectors predict the production of events with top quarks, low missing transverse momentum, and many additional quarks or gluons. The results of a search for top squarks decaying to two top quarks and six additional light-flavor quarks or gluons are reported. The search employs a novel machine learning method for background estimation from control samples in data using decorrelated discriminators. The search is performed using events with 0, 1, or 2 electrons or muons in conjunction with at least six jets. Nomore » requirement is placed on the magnitude of the missing transverse momentum. The result is based on a sample of proton-proton collisions at $$\sqrt{s}=13$$ TeV corresponding to 138 fb⁻¹ of integrated luminosity collected with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2016–2018. With no statistically significant excess of events observed beyond the expected contributions from the standard model, the data are used to determine upper limits on the top squark pair production cross section in the frameworks of RPV and stealth SUSY. Models with top squark masses less than 700 (930) GeV are excluded at 95% confidence level for RPV (stealth) SUSY scenarios.« less

A measurement is presented of the cross section in proton-proton collisions for the production of two 𝑊 bosons and one 𝑍 boson. It is based on data recorded by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC at center-of-mass energies $$\sqrt{𝑠}$$ = 13 and 13.6 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 200 fb⁻¹. Events with four charged leptons (electrons or muons) in the final state are selected. Both nonresonant 𝑊⁢𝑊⁢𝑍 production and 𝑍⁢𝐻 production, with the Higgs boson decaying into two 𝑊 bosons, are reported. For the first time, the two processes are measured separately in a simultaneous fit. Combiningmore » the two modes, signal strengths relative to the standard model (SM) predictions of 0.75$$^{+0.34}_{−0.29}$$ and 1.74$$^{+0.71}_{−0.60}$$ are measured for $$\sqrt{𝑠}$$ = 13 and 13.6 TeV, respectively. The observed (expected) significance for the triboson signal is 3.8 (2.5) standard deviations for $$\sqrt{𝑠}$$ = 13.6 TeV, thus providing the first evidence for triboson production at this center-of-mass energy. Combining the two modes and the two center-of-mass energies, the inclusive signal strength relative to the SM prediction is measured to be 1.03$$^{+0.31}_{−0.28}$$, with an observed (expected) significance of 4.5 (5.0) standard deviations.« less

A measurement of the 𝑊⁢𝑍⁢𝛾 triboson production cross section is presented. The analysis is based on a data sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $$\sqrt{s}$$ =13 TeV recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb⁻¹. The analysis focuses on the final state with three charged leptons, ℓ^±⁢𝜈⁢ℓ⁺⁢ℓ⁻, where ℓ = 𝑒 or 𝜇, accompanied by an additional photon. The observed (expected) significance of the 𝑊⁢𝑍⁢𝛾 signal is 5.4 (3.8) standard deviations. The cross section is measured in a fiducial region, where events with an ℓ originating from a taumore » lepton decay are excluded, to be 5.48 ± 1.11 fb, which is compatible with the prediction of 3.69 ± 0.24 fb at next-to-leading order in quantum chromodynamics. Exclusion limits are set on anomalous quartic gauge couplings and on the production cross sections of massive axionlike particles.« less

The first measurement of the dijet transverse momentum balance xj in proton-lead (pPb) collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of $$\sqrt{s_{NN}}$$ = 8.16 TeV is presented. The xj observable, defined as the ratio of the subleading over leading jet transverse momentum in a dijet pair, is used to search for jet quenching effects. The data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 174.6 nb⁻¹, were collected with the CMS detector in 2016. The x_j distributions and their average values are studied as functions of the charged-particle multiplicity of the events and for various dijet rapidity selections. The latter enables probing hardmore » scattering of partons carrying distinct nucleon momentum fractions x in the proton- and lead-going directions. The former, aided by the high-multiplicity triggers, allows probing for potential jet quenching effects in high-multiplicity events (with up to 400 charged particles), for which collective phenomena consistent with quark-gluon plasma (QGP) droplet formation were previously observed. The ratios of x_j distributions for high- to low-multiplicity events are used to quantify the possible medium effects. These ratios are consistent with simulations of the hard-scattering process that do not include QGP production. These measurements set an upper limit on medium-induced energy loss of the subleading jet of 1.26% of its transverse momentum at the 90% confidence level in high multiplicity pPb events.« less

Nuclear medium effects on 𝐵⁺ meson production are studied using the binary-collision scaled cross section ratio between events of different charged-particle multiplicities from proton-lead collisions. Data, collected by the CMS experiment in 2016 at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of $$\sqrt{𝑠_{NN}}$$ = 8.16 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 175 nb⁻¹, were used. The scaling factors in the ratio are determined using a novel approach based on the 𝑍 → 𝜇⁻⁢𝜇⁺ cross sections measured in the same events. The scaled ratio for 𝐵⁺ is consistent with unity for all event multiplicities, putting stringent constraints on nuclear modification for heavy flavor.