Evidence for the associated production of a single top quark and a photon in proton-proton collisions at s=\sqrt{s}= 13 TeV

The first evidence of events consistent with the production of a single top quark in association with a photon is reported. The analysis is based on proton-proton collisions at s=13  TeV and recorded by the CMS experiment in 2016, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9  fb-1. Events are selected by requiring the presence of a muon (μ), a photon (γ), an imbalance in transverse momentum from an undetected neutrino (ν), and at least two jets (j) of which exactly one is identified as associated with the hadronization of a b quark. A multivariate discriminant based on topological and kinematic event properties is employed to separate signal from background processes. An excess above the background-only hypothesis is observed, with a significance of 4.4 standard deviations. A fiducial cross section is measured for isolated photons with transverse momentum greater than 25 GeV in the central region of the detector. The measured product of the cross section and branching fraction is σ(pp→tγj)B(t→μνb)=115±17(stat)±30(syst)  fb, which is consistent with the standard model prediction.Peer Reviewe

Combined search for electroweak production of charginos and neutralinos in proton-proton collisions at s=\sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

A statistical combination of several searches for the electroweak production of charginos and neutralinos is presented. All searches use proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV, recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2016 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{−1}$. In addition to the combination of previous searches, a targeted analysis requiring three or more charged leptons (electrons or muons) is presented, focusing on the challenging scenario in which the difference in mass between the two least massive neutralinos is approximately equal to the mass of the Z boson. The results are interpreted in simplified models of chargino-neutralino or neutralino pair production. For chargino-neutralino production, in the case when the lightest neutralino is massless, the combination yields an observed (expected) limit at the 95% confidence level on the chargino mass of up to 650 (570) GeV, improving upon the individual analysis limits by up to 40 GeV. If the mass difference between the two least massive neutralinos is approximately equal to the mass of the Z boson in the chargino-neutralino model, the targeted search requiring three or more leptons obtains observed and expected exclusion limits of around 225 GeV on the second neutralino mass and 125 GeV on the lightest neutralino mass, improving the observed limit by about 60 GeV in both masses compared to the previous CMS result. In the neutralino pair production model, the combined observed (expected) exclusion limit on the neutralino mass extends up to 650–750 (550–750) GeV, depending on the branching fraction assumed. This extends the observed exclusion achieved in the individual analyses by up to 200 GeV. The combined result additionally excludes some intermediate gaps in the mass coverage of the individual analyses.Peer Reviewe

Search for pair production of excited top quarks in the lepton + jets final state

A search is performed for the pair production of spin-3/2 excited top quarks, each decaying to a top quark and a gluon. The search uses the data collected with the CMS detector from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 inverse femtobarns. Events are selected by requiring an isolated muon or electron, an imbalance in the transverse momentum, and at least six jets of which exactly two must be compatible with originating from the fragmentation of a bottom quark. No significant excess over the standard model predictions is found. A lower limit of 1.2 TeV is set at 95% confidence level on the mass of the spin-3/2 excited top quark in an extension of the Randall-Sundrum model, assuming a 100% branching fraction of its decay into a top quark and a gluon. These are the best limits to date in a search for excited top quarks and the first at 13 TeV.Peer Reviewe

Combination of searches for heavy resonances decaying to WW, WZ, ZZ, WH, and ZH boson pairs in proton–proton collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 and 13 TeV

A statistical combination of searches is presented for massive resonances decaying to WW, WZ, ZZ, WH, and ZH boson pairs in proton–proton collision data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The data were taken at centre-of-mass energies of 8 and 13 TeV, corresponding to respective integrated luminosities of 19.7 and up to 2.7 fb −1 . The results are interpreted in the context of heavy vector triplet and singlet models that mimic properties of composite-Higgs models predicting W′ and Z′ bosons decaying to WZ, WW, WH, and ZH bosons. A model with a bulk graviton that decays into WW and ZZ is also considered. This is the first combined search for WW, WZ, WH, and ZH resonances and yields lower limits on masses at 95% confidence level for W′ and Z′ singlets at 2.3 TeV, and for a triplet at 2.4 TeV. The limits on the production cross section of a narrow bulk graviton resonance with the curvature scale of the warped extra dimension k˜=0.5 , in the mass range of 0.6 to 4.0 TeV, are the most stringent published to date.Peer Reviewe

Search for two Higgs bosons in final states containing two photons and two bottom quarks in proton-proton collisions at 8 TeV

A search is presented for the production of two Higgs bosons in final states containing two photons and two bottom quarks. Both resonant and nonresonant hypotheses are investigated. The analyzed data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.7  fb-1 of proton-proton collisions at s=8  TeV collected with the CMS detector. Good agreement is observed between data and predictions of the standard model (SM). Upper limits are set at 95% confidence level on the production cross section of new particles and compared to the prediction for the existence of a warped extra dimension. When the decay to two Higgs bosons is kinematically allowed, assuming a mass scale ΛR=1  TeV for the model, the data exclude a radion scalar at masses below 980 GeV. The first Kaluza-Klein excitation mode of the graviton in the RS1 Randall-Sundrum model is excluded for masses between 325 and 450 GeV. An upper limit of 0.71 pb is set on the nonresonant two-Higgs-boson cross section in the SM-like hypothesis. Limits are also derived on nonresonant production assuming anomalous Higgs-boson couplings.Peer Reviewe

Search for neutral MSSM Higgs bosons decaying into a pair of bottom quarks

A search for neutral Higgs bosons decaying into a $\mathrm{b}\overline{\mathrm{b}}$ quark pair and produced in association with at least one additional b quark is presented. This signature is sensitive to the Higgs sector of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) with large values of the parameter tan β. The analysis is based on data from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV collected with the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb$^{−1}$. The results are combined with a previous analysis based on 7 TeV data. No signal is observed. Stringent upper limits on the cross section times branching fraction are derived for Higgs bosons with masses up to 900 GeV, and the results are interpreted within different MSSM benchmark scenarios, m$_{h}^{max}$ , m$_{h}^{mod +}$ , m$_{h}^{mod −}$ , light-stau and light-stop. Observed 95% confidence level upper limits on tan β, ranging from 14 to 50, are obtained in the m$_{h}^{mod +}$ benchmark scenario.Peer Reviewe

Measurement and QCD analysis of double-differential inclusive jet cross sections in pp collisions at s=8 \sqrt{s}=8 TeV and cross section ratios to 2.76 and 7 TeV

A measurement of the double-differential inclusive jet cross section as a function of the jet transverse momentum pT and the absolute jet rapidity abs(y) is presented. Data from LHC proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns, have been collected with the CMS detector. Jets are reconstructed using the anti-kT clustering algorithm with a size parameter of 0.7 in a phase space region covering jet pT from 74 GeV up to 2.5 TeV and jet absolute rapidity up to abs(y) = 3.0. The low-pT jet range between 21 and 74 GeV is also studied up to abs(y) = 4.7, using a dedicated data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.6 inverse picobarns. The measured jet cross section is corrected for detector effects and compared with the predictions from perturbative QCD at next-to-leading order (NLO) using various sets of parton distribution functions (PDF). Cross section ratios to the corresponding measurements performed at 2.76 and 7 TeV are presented. From the measured double-differential jet cross section, the value of the strong coupling constant evaluated at the Z mass is alpha[S(M[Z]) = 0.1164 +0.0060 -0.0043, where the errors include the PDF, scale, nonperturbative effects and experimental uncertainties, using the CT10 NLO PDFs. Improved constraints on PDFs based on the inclusive jet cross section measurement are presented.Peer Reviewe

Measurements of the charm jet cross section and nuclear modification factor in pPb collisions at sNN\sqrt{{s}_{NN}} = 5.02 TeV

The CMS Collaboration presents the first measurement of the differential cross section of jets from charm quarks produced in proton–lead (pPb) collisions at a nucleon–nucleon center-of-mass energy of sNN=5.02TeV , as well as results from charm quark jets in proton–proton (pp) collisions at s=2.76 and 5.02 TeV . By comparing the yields of the pPb and pp collision systems at the same energy, a nuclear modification factor for charm jets from 55 to 400  GeV/c in pPb collisions at sNN=5.02TeV of RpA=0.92±0.07(stat)±0.11(syst) is obtained. This is consistent with an absence of final-state energy loss for charm quarks in pPb collisions. In addition, the fraction of jets coming from charm quarks is found to be consistent with that predicted by pythia 6 for pp collisions at s=2.76 and 5.02 TeV , and is independent of the jet transverse momentum from 55 to 400  GeV/c .Peer Reviewe

Measurement of the inclusive energy spectrum in the very forward direction in proton-proton collisions at s=13 \sqrt{s}=13 TeV

The differential cross section for inclusive particle production as a function of energy in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV is measured in the very forward region of the CMS detector. The measurement is based on data collected with the CMS apparatus at the LHC, and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 0.35 inverse microbarns. The energy is measured in the CASTOR calorimeter, which covers the pseudorapidity region -6.6 < eta < -5.2. The results are given as a function of the total energy deposited in CASTOR, as well as of its electromagnetic and hadronic components. The spectra are sensitive to the modeling of multiparton interactions in pp collisions, and provide new constraints for hadronic interaction models used in collider and in high energy cosmic ray physics.Peer Reviewe

Search for supersymmetry in electroweak production with photons and large missing transverse energy in pp collisions at s=8\sqrt s = 8 TeV

Results are reported from a search for supersymmetry with gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking in electroweak production. Final states with photons and large missing transverse energy ( ETmiss ) were examined. The data sample was collected in pp collisions at s=8TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to 7.4 fb−1 . The analysis focuses on scenarios in which the lightest neutralino has bino- or wino-like components, resulting in decays to photons and gravitinos, where the gravitinos escape undetected. The data were obtained using a specially designed trigger with dedicated low thresholds, providing good sensitivity to signatures with photons, ETmiss , and low hadronic energy. No excess of events over the standard model expectation is observed. The results are interpreted using the model of general gauge mediation. With the wino mass fixed at 10 GeV above that of the bino, wino masses below 710 GeV are excluded at 95% confidence level. Constraints are also set in the context of two simplified models, for which the analysis sets the lowest cross section limits on the electroweak production of supersymmetric particles.Peer Reviewe