Search for single production of a vector-like T quark decaying to a top quark and a Z boson in the final state with jets and missing transverse momentum at root s=13 TeV

A search is presented for single production of a vector-like T quark with charge 2/3 e, in the decay channel featuring a top quark and a Z boson, with the top quark decaying hadronically and the Z boson decaying to neutrinos. The search uses data collected by the CMS experiment in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb(-1) recorded at the CERN LHC in 2016-2018. The search is sensitive to a T quark mass between 0.6 and 1.8 TeV with decay widths ranging from negligibly small up to 30% of the T quark mass. Reconstruction strategies for the top quark are based on the degree of Lorentz boosting of its final state. At 95% confidence level, the upper limit on the product of the cross section and branching fraction for a T quark of small decay width varies between 15 and 602 fb, depending on its mass. For a T quark with decay widths between 10 and 30% of its mass, this upper limit ranges between 16 and 836 fb. For most of the studied range, the results provide the best limits to date. This is the first search for single T quark production based on the full Run 2 data set of the LHC.Peer reviewe

Analysis of the CP structure of the Yukawa coupling between the Higgs boson and tau leptons in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

The first measurement of the CP structure of the Yukawa coupling between the Higgs boson and tau leptons is presented. The measurement is based on data collected in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV by the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb(-1). The analysis uses the angular correlation between the decay planes of tau leptons produced in Higgs boson decays. The effective mixing angle between CP-even and CP-odd tau Yukawa couplings is found to be -1 +/- 19 degrees, compared to an expected value of 0 +/- 21 degrees at the 68.3% confidence level. The data disfavour the pure CP-odd scenario at 3.0 standard deviations. The results are compatible with predictions for the standard model Higgs boson.Peer reviewe

Strategies and performance of the CMS silicon tracker alignment during LHC Run 2

The strategies for and the performance of the CMS silicon tracking system alignment during the 2015-2018 data-taking period of the LHC are described. The alignment procedures during and after data taking are explained. Alignment scenarios are also derived for use in the simulation of the detector response. Systematic effects, related to intrinsic symmetries of the alignment task or to external constraints, are discussed and illustrated for different scenarios.Peer reviewe

Measurement of the production cross section for Z plus b jets in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

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Evidence for WW/WZ vector boson scattering in the decay channel l nu qq produced in association with two jets in proton-proton collisions at root s=13TeV

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A new calibration method for charm jet identification validated with proton-proton collision events at root s=13 TeV

Many measurements at the LHC require efficient identification of heavy-flavour jets, i.e. jets originating from bottom (b) or charm (c) quarks. An overview of the algorithms used to identify c jets is described and a novel method to calibrate them is presented. This new method adjusts the entire distributions of the outputs obtained when the algorithms are applied to jets of different flavours. It is based on an iterative approach exploiting three distinct control regions that are enriched with either b jets, c jets, or light-flavour and gluon jets. Results are presented in the form of correction factors evaluated using proton-proton collision data with an integrated luminosity of 41.5 fb(-1) at root s = 13 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment in 2017. The closure of the method is tested by applying the measured correction factors on simulated data sets and checking the agreement between the adjusted simulation and collision data. Furthermore, a validation is performed by testing the method on pseudodata, which emulate various mismodelling conditions. The calibrated results enable the use of the full distributions of heavy-flavour identification algorithm outputs, e.g. as inputs to machine-learning models. Thus, they are expected to increase the sensitivity of future physics analyses.Peer reviewe

Search for higgsinos decaying to two Higgs bosons and missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

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Search for flavor-changing neutral current interactions of the top quark and the Higgs boson decaying to a bottom quark-antiquark pair at root s=13 TeV

A search for flavor-changing neutral current interactions of the top quark (t) and the Higgs boson (H) is presented. The search is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb(-1) recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13TeV. Events containing exactly one lepton (muon or electron) and at least three jets, among which at least two are identified as originating from the hadronization of a bottom quark, are analyzed. A set of deep neural networks is used for kinematic event reconstruction, while boosted decision trees distinguish the signal from the background events. No significant excess over the background predictions is observed, and upper limits on the signal production cross sections are extracted. These limits are interpreted in terms of top quark decay branching fractions (B) to the Higgs boson and an up (u) or a charm quark (c). Assuming one nonvanishing extra coupling at a time, the observed (expected) upper limits at 95% confidence level are B(t -> Hu) Hc) < 0.094 (0.086)%.Peer reviewe

Search for new physics in the lepton plus missing transverse momentum final state in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search for physics beyond the standard model (SM) in final states with an electron or muon and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis uses data from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2016-2018 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb(-1). No significant deviation from the SM prediction is observed. Model-independent limits are set on the production cross section of W' bosons decaying into lepton-plus-neutrino final states. Within the framework of the sequential standard model, with the combined results from the electron and muon decay channels a W' boson with mass less than 5.7 TeV is excluded at 95% confidence level. Results on a SM precision test, the determination of the oblique electroweak W parameter, are presented using LHC data for the first time. These results together with those from the direct W' resonance search are used to extend existing constraints on composite Higgs scenarios. This is the first experimental exclusion on compositeness parameters using results from LHC data other than Higgs boson measurements.Peer reviewe

Search for heavy resonances decaying to WW, WZ, or WH boson pairs in a final state consisting of a lepton and a large-radius jet in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search for new heavy resonances decaying to pairs of bosons (WW, WZ, or WH) is presented. The analysis uses data from proton-proton collisions collected with the CMS detector at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb(-1). One of the bosons is required to be a W boson decaying to an electron or muon and a neutrino, while the other boson is required to be reconstructed as a single jet with mass and substructure compatible with a quark pair from a W, Z, or Higgs boson decay. The search is performed in the resonance mass range between 1.0 and 4.5 TeVand includes a specific search for resonances produced via vector boson fusion. The signal is extracted using a twodimensional maximum likelihood fit to the jet mass and the diboson invariant mass distributions. No significant excess is observed above the estimated background. Model-independent upper limits on the production cross sections of spin-0, spin-1, and spin-2 heavy resonances are derived as functions of the resonance mass and are interpreted in the context of bulk radion, heavy vector triplet, and bulk graviton models. The reported bounds are the most stringent to date.Peer reviewe