Search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu decay channel, where l = e or mu, in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented. The data were collected at the LHC, with the CMS detector, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 inverse femtobarns. No significant excess is observed above the background expectation, and upper limits are set on the Higgs boson production cross section. The presence of the standard model Higgs boson with a mass in the 270-440 GeV range is excluded at 95% confidence level.Comment: Submitted to JHE

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

A six-year longitudinal study of neurocognitive problems in children with epilepsy

INTRODUCTION: This study describes the specific neuropsychological abnormalities among children with epilepsy (CH-E) living in Georgia. METHODS: A cohort of CH-E and children without epilepsy (CH-NoE), aged 6-13 years, admitted to the epilepsy center of the Institute of Neurology and Neuropsychology from 1st January 2010 to 31st December 2015, was selected and investigated with a structured protocol. Neurological/epileptological assessments were made and neuropsychological testing was done on all study subjects. RESULTS: Abnormalities in praxis, verbal functions, verbal learning, visual-spatial matching, visual-motor ability, and fine motor skills, working memory, and phonological memory span were often revealed in CH-E as compared to CH-NoE. Early age of seizure onset, epilepsy duration, and anti-seizure medication (ASM) use, in combination with brain structural abnormalities on neuroimaging, and structural etiology were independent predictors of impaired functioning in various neuropsychological domains. DISCUSSION: More than half of children with epilepsy have a variety of cognitive impairments, which may increase with ASM therapy, especially when the cause of seizures is structural damage to the brain. Therefore, in the process of diagnosing epilepsy, evaluation of cognitive functions should become an integral part to ensure effective management of the disorder

Performance and Operation of the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter

The operation and general performance of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter using cosmic-ray muons are described. These muons were recorded after the closure of the CMS detector in late 2008. The calorimeter is made of lead tungstate crystals and the overall status of the 75848 channels corresponding to the barrel and endcap detectors is reported. The stability of crucial operational parameters, such as high voltage, temperature and electronic noise, is summarised and the performance of the light monitoring system is presented

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Measurement of the t-channel single top quark production cross section in pp collisions at √s =7 TeV

Peer reviewe

Search for Evidence of the Type-III Seesaw Mechanism in Multilepton Final States in Proton-Proton Collisions at root s=13 TeV

Peer reviewe

Mechanical stability of the CMS strip tracker measured with a laser alignment system

Peer reviewe

Does high-latitude ionospheric electrodynamics exhibit hemispheric mirror symmetry?

Abstract Ionospheric electrodynamics is a problem of mechanical stress balance mediated by electromagnetic forces. Joule heating (the total rate of frictional heating of thermospheric gases and ionospheric plasma) and ionospheric Hall and Pedersen conductances comprise three of the most basic descriptors of this problem. More than half a century after identification of their central role in ionospheric electrodynamics, several important questions about these quantities, including the degree to which they exhibit hemispheric symmetry under reversal of the sign of dipole tilt and the sign of the y component of the interplanetary magnetic field (so-called “mirror symmetry”), remain unanswered. While global estimates of these key parameters can be obtained by combining existing empirical models, one often encounters some frustrating sources of uncertainty: the measurements from which such models are derived, usually magnetic field and electric field or ion drift measurements, are typically measured separately and do not necessarily align. The models to be combined moreover often use different input parameters, different assumptions about hemispheric symmetry, and/or different coordinate systems. We eliminate these sources of uncertainty in model predictions of electromagnetic work J⋅E (in general not equal to Joule heating ηJ2) and ionospheric conductances by combining two new empirical models of the high-latitude ionospheric electric potential and ionospheric currents that are derived in a mutually consistent fashion: these models do not assume any form of symmetry between the two hemispheres; are based on Apex magnetic coordinates (denoted Apex), spherical harmonics, and the same model input parameters; and are derived exclusively from convection and magnetic field measurements made by the Swarm and CHAMP satellites. The model source code is open source and publicly available. Comparison of high-latitude distributions of electromagnetic work in each hemisphere as functions of dipole tilt and interplanetary magnetic field clock angle indicates that the typical assumption of mirror symmetry is largely justified. Model predictions of ionospheric Hall and Pedersen conductances exhibit a degree of symmetry, but clearly asymmetric responses to dipole tilt and solar wind driving conditions are also identified. The distinction between electromagnetic work and Joule heating allows us to identify where and under what conditions the assumption that the neutral wind corotates with the Earth is not likely to be physically consistent with predicted Hall and Pedersen conductances.Abstract Ionospheric electrodynamics is a problem of mechanical stress balance mediated by electromagnetic forces. Joule heating (the total rate of frictional heating of thermospheric gases and ionospheric plasma) and ionospheric Hall and Pedersen conductances comprise three of the most basic descriptors of this problem. More than half a century after identification of their central role in ionospheric electrodynamics, several important questions about these quantities, including the degree to which they exhibit hemispheric symmetry under reversal of the sign of dipole tilt and the sign of the y component of the interplanetary magnetic field (so-called “mirror symmetry”), remain unanswered. While global estimates of these key parameters can be obtained by combining existing empirical models, one often encounters some frustrating sources of uncertainty: the measurements from which such models are derived, usually magnetic field and electric field or ion drift measurements, are typically measured separately and do not necessarily align. The models to be combined moreover often use different input parameters, different assumptions about hemispheric symmetry, and/or different coordinate systems. We eliminate these sources of uncertainty in model predictions of electromagnetic work J⋅E (in general not equal to Joule heating ηJ2) and ionospheric conductances by combining two new empirical models of the high-latitude ionospheric electric potential and ionospheric currents that are derived in a mutually consistent fashion: these models do not assume any form of symmetry between the two hemispheres; are based on Apex magnetic coordinates (denoted Apex), spherical harmonics, and the same model input parameters; and are derived exclusively from convection and magnetic field measurements made by the Swarm and CHAMP satellites. The model source code is open source and publicly available. Comparison of high-latitude distributions of electromagnetic work in each hemisphere as functions of dipole tilt and interplanetary magnetic field clock angle indicates that the typical assumption of mirror symmetry is largely justified. Model predictions of ionospheric Hall and Pedersen conductances exhibit a degree of symmetry, but clearly asymmetric responses to dipole tilt and solar wind driving conditions are also identified. The distinction between electromagnetic work and Joule heating allows us to identify where and under what conditions the assumption that the neutral wind corotates with the Earth is not likely to be physically consistent with predicted Hall and Pedersen conductances