Searches for vector-like quarks at CMS

Abstract

The CMS Collaboration has a robust program of searches for vector-like quarks. The first search available using 137 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data with $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV collected by the CMS experiment in Run 2 of the LHC is presented here. This search targets vector-like B quarks that decay to bH or bZ combinations in a hadronic final state. Lower limits on the mass of the B quark are determined for several branching fraction hypothesis, extending CMS sensitivity to these particles by 300 -- 500 GeV, depending on the decay mode