Measurement of Inclusive W and Z Boson Production Cross Sections in pp Collisions at s√=8 TeV

A measurement of total and fiducial inclusive W and Z boson production cross sections in pp collisions at s√=8  TeV is presented. Electron and muon final states are analyzed in a data sample collected with the CMS detector corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 18.2±0.5  pb−1. The measured total inclusive cross sections times branching fractions are σ(pp→WX)×B(W→ℓν)=12.21±0.03(stat)±0.24(syst)±0.32(lum)  nb and σ(pp→ZX)×B(Z→ℓ+ℓ−)=1.15±0.01(stat)±0.02(syst)±0.03(lum)  nb for the dilepton mass in the range of 60—120 GeV. The measured values agree with next-to-next-to-leading-order QCD cross section calculations. Ratios of cross sections are reported with a precision of 2%. This is the first measurement of inclusive W and Z boson production in proton-proton collisions at s√=8  TeV

Trail Pheromone Disruption of Argentine Ant Trail Formation and Foraging

Trail pheromone disruption of invasive ants is a novel tactic that builds on the development of pheromonebased pest management in other insects. Argentine ant trail pheromone, (Z)-9-hexadecenal, was formulated as a microencapsulated sprayable particle and applied against Argentine ant populations in 400 m2 field plots in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. A widely dispersed point source strategy for trail pheromone disruption was used. Traffic rates of ants in bioassays of treated filter paper, protected from rainfall and sunlight, indicated the presence of behaviorally significant quantities of pheromone being released from the formulation for up to 59 days. The proportion of plots, under trade wind conditions (2–3 m s−1), with visible trails was reduced for up to 14 days following treatment, and the number of foraging ants at randomly placed tuna-bait cards was similarly reduced. The success of these trail pheromone disruption trials in a natural ecosystem highlights the potential of this method for control of invasive ant species in this and other environments

Hybrid Gear Preliminary Results-Application of Composites to Dynamic Mechanical Components

Composite spur gears were fabricated and then tested at NASA Glenn Research Center. The composite material served as the web of the gear between the gear teeth and a metallic hub for mounting to the torque-applying shaft. The composite web was bonded only to the inner and outer hexagonal features that were machined from an initially all-metallic aerospace quality spur gear. The Hybrid Gear was tested against an all-steel gear and against a mating Hybrid Gear. As a result of the composite to metal fabrication process used, the concentricity of the gears were reduced from their initial high-precision value. Regardless of the concentricity error, the hybrid gears operated successfully for over 300 million cycles at 10000 rpm and 490 in.*lbs torque. Although the design was not optimized for weight, the composite gears were found to be 20% lighter than the all-steel gears. Free vibration modes and vibration/noise tests were also conduct to compare the vibration and damping characteristic of the Hybrid Gear to all-steel gears. The initial results indicate that this type of hybrid design may have a dramatic effect on drive system weight without sacrificing strength

Measurement of the hadronic activity in events with a Z and two jets and extraction of the cross section for the electroweak production of a Z with two jets in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FJHEP10%282013%29062.The first measurement of the electroweak production cross section of a Z boson with two jets (Zjj) in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV is presented, based on a data sample recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC with an integrated luminosity of 5 fb(−1). The cross section is measured for the ℓℓjj (ℓ = e, μ) final state in the kinematic region m(ℓℓ) > 50 GeV, m(jj) > 120 GeV, transverse momenta p(j)(T)>25 GeV and pseudorapidity |η(j)| < 4.0. The measurement, combining the muon and electron channels, yields σ = 154 ± 24 (stat.) ± 46 (exp. syst.) ± 27 (th. syst.) ± 3 (lum.) fb, in agreement with the theoretical cross section. The hadronic activity, in the rapidity interval between the jets, is also measured. These results establish an important foundation for the more general study of vector boson fusion processes, of relevance for Higgs boson searches and for measurements of electroweak gauge couplings and vector boson scattering

Measurement of the Λ(0)(b) lifetime in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FJHEP07%282013%29163.A measurement of the Λ(0)(b) lifetime using the decay Λ(0)(b)→J/ψΛ in protonproton collisions at s√=7 TeV is presented. The data set, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 5 fb(−1), was recorded with the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider using triggers that selected dimuon events in the J/ψ mass region. The Λ(0)(b) lifetime is measured to be 1.503 ± 0.052 (stat.) ± 0.031 (syst.) ps

Search for new physics in events with same-sign dileptons and b jets in pp collisions at s√=8 TeV

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FJHEP03%282013%29037.A search for new physics is performed using events with isolated same-sign leptons and at least two bottom-quark jets in the final state. Results are based on a sample of proton-proton collisions collected at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the CMS detector and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 10.5 fb(−1). No excess above the standard model background is observed. Upper limits are set on the number of events from non-standard-model sources and are used to constrain a number of new physics models. Information on acceptance and efficiencies is also provided so that the results can be used to confront an even broader class of new physics models

Measurement of the production cross section for Zγ→ν(ν-bar)γ in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV and limits on ZZγ and Zγγ triple gauge boson couplings

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FJHEP10%282013%29164.A measurement of the Zγ→ν(ν-bar)γ cross section in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV is presented, using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb(−1) collected with the CMS detector. This measurement is based on the observation of events with an imbalance of transverse energy in excess of 130 GeV and a single photon in the absolute pseudorapidity range |η| < 1.4 with transverse energy above 145 GeV. The Zγ→ν(ν-bar)γ production cross section is measured to be 21.1 ± 4.2 (stat.) ± 4.3 (syst.) ± 0.5 (lum.) fb, which agrees with the standard model prediction of 21.9 ± 1.1 fb. The results are combined with the CMS measurement of Zγ production in the ℓ (+) ℓ (−) γ final state (where ℓ is an electron or a muon) to yield the most stringent limits to date on triple gauge boson couplings: ∣∣h(Z)(3)∣∣<2.7×10(−3) , ∣∣h(Z)(4)∣∣<1.3×10(−5) for ZZγ and ∣∣h(γ)(3)∣∣<2.9×10(−3) , ∣∣h(γ)(4)∣∣<1.5×10(−5) for Zγγ couplings

Measurement of the W-boson helicity in top-quark decays from tt-bar production in lepton+jets events in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FJHEP10%282013%29167.The W-boson helicity fractions in top-quark decays are measured with tt-bar events in the lepton+jets final state, using proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, collected in 2011 with the CMS detector at the LHC. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb(−1). The measured fractions of longitudinal, left-, and right-handed helicity are F 0 = 0.682 ± 0.030 (stat.) ± 0.033 (syst.), F L = 0.310 ± 0.022 (stat.) ± 0.022 (syst.), and F R = 0.008 ± 0.012 (stat.) ± 0.014 (syst.), consistent with the standard model predictions. The measured fractions are used to probe the existence of anomalous Wtb couplings. Exclusion limits on the real components of the anomalous couplings g L , g R are also derived

Search for pair-produced dijet resonances in four-jet final states in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.141802.A search for the pair production of a heavy, narrow resonance decaying into two jets has been performed using events collected in s√=7  TeV pp collisions with the CMS detector at the LHC. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0  fb(−1). Events are selected with at least four jets and two dijet combinations with similar dijet mass. No resonances are found in the dijet mass spectrum. The upper limit at 95% confidence level on the product of the resonance pair production cross section, the branching fractions into dijets, and the acceptance varies from 0.22 to 0.005 pb, for resonance masses between 250 and 1200 GeV. Pair-produced colorons decaying into qq-bar are excluded for coloron masses between 250 and 740 GeV