The inelastic hadronic cross section in proton-lead collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 5.02 TeV is measured with the CMS detector at the LHC. The data sample, corresponding to ...an integrated luminosity of 12.6 +/- 0.4 inverse nanobarns, has been collected with an unbiased trigger for inclusive particle production. The cross section is obtained from the measured number of proton-lead collisions with hadronic activity produced in the pseudorapidity ranges 3<abs(eta)<5 and/or -5<abs(eta)<-3, corrected for photon-induced contributions, experimental acceptance, and other instrumental effects. The inelastic cross section is measured to be sigmainel,pPb=2061 +/- 3 (stat) +/- 34 (syst) +/- 72 (lum) mb. Various Monte Carlo generators, commonly used in heavy ion and cosmic ray physics, are found to reproduce the data within uncertainties. The value of sigmainel,pPb is compatible with that expected from the proton-proton cross section at 5.02 TeV scaled up within a simple Glauber approach to account for multiple scatterings in the lead nucleus, indicating that further net nuclear corrections are small.
The charge asymmetry in t t-bar events is measured using dilepton final states produced in pp collisions at the LHC at sqrt(s)=8 TeV. The data sample, collected with the CMS detector, corresponds to ...an integrated luminosity of 19.5 inverse femtobarns. The measurements are performed using events with two oppositely charged leptons (electrons or muons) and two or more jets, where at least one of the jets is identified as originating from a bottom quark. The charge asymmetry is measured from differences in kinematic distributions, unfolded to the parton level, of positively and negatively charged top quarks and leptons. The t t-bar and leptonic charge asymmetries are found to be 0.011 +/- 0.011 (stat) +/- 0.007 (syst) and 0.003 +/- 0.006 (stat) +/- 0.003 (syst), respectively. These results, as well as charge asymmetry measurements made as a function of t t-bar system kinematic properties, are in agreement with predictions of the standard model.
A search is presented for exotic decays of a Higgs boson into undetectable particles and one or two isolated photons in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The data correspond to an ...integrated luminosity of up to 19.4 inverse femtobarns collected with the CMS detector at the LHC. Higgs bosons produced in gluon-gluon fusion and in association with a Z boson are investigated, using models in which the Higgs boson decays into a gravitino and a neutralino or a pair of neutralinos, followed by the decay of the neutralino to a gravitino and a photon. The selected events are consistent with the background-only hypothesis, and limits are placed on the product of cross sections and branching fractions. Assuming a standard model Higgs boson production cross-section, a 95% confidence level upper limit is set on the branching fraction of a 125 GeV Higgs boson decaying into undetectable particles and one or two isolated photons as a function of the neutralino mass. For neutralino masses from 1 to 120 GeV an upper limit in the range of 7 to 13% is obtained. Further results are given as a function of the neutralino lifetime, and also for a range of Higgs boson masses.
We present a measurement of b jet transverse momentum (pt) spectra in proton-lead (pPb) collisions using a dataset corresponding to about 35 inverse nanobarns collected with the CMS detector at the ...LHC. Jets from b quark fragmentation are found by exploiting the long lifetime of hadrons containing a b quark through tagging methods using distributions of the secondary vertex mass and displacement. Extracted cross sections for b jets are scaled by the effective number of nucleon-nucleon collisions and are compared to a reference obtained from PYTHIA simulations of pp collisions. The PYTHIA-based estimate of the nuclear modification factor is found to be 1.22 +/- 0.15 (stat+syst pPb) +/- 0.27 (syst PYTHIA) averaged over all jets with pt between 55 and 400 GeV/c and with abs(etalab)<2. We also compare this result to predictions from models using perturbative calculations in quantum chromodynamics.
A direct search for lepton flavour violating decays of the Higgs boson (H) in the H to e tau and H to e mu channels is described. The data sample used in the search was collected in proton-proton ...collisions at sqrt(s)=8 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns. No evidence is found for lepton flavour violating decays in either final state. Upper limits on the branching fractions, B(H to e tau )<0.69% and B(H to e mu)< 0.035%, are set at the 95% confidence level. The constraint set on B(H to e tau) is an order of magnitude more stringent than the existing indirect limits. The limits are used to constrain the corresponding flavour violating Yukawa couplings, absent in the standard model.
The CP-violating weak phase phis of the Bs meson and the decay width difference DeltaGammas of the Bs light and heavy mass eigenstates are measured with the CMS detector at the LHC using a data ...sample of Bs to J/Psi phi(1020) to mu+mu-K+K- decays. The analysed data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns collected in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. A total of 49200 reconstructed Bs decays are used to extract the values of phis and DeltaGammas by performing a time-dependent and flavour-tagged angular analysis of the mu+mu-K+K- final state. The weak phase is measured to be phis = -0.075 +/- 0.097 (stat) +/- 0.031 (sys) rad, and the decay width difference is DeltaGammas = 0.095 +/- 0.013 (stat) +/- 0.007 (sys) inverse picoseconds.
The t t-bar charge asymmetry is measured in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The data, collected with the CMS experiment at the LHC, correspond to an integrated ...luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns. Selected events contain an electron or a muon and four or more jets, where at least one jet is identified as originating from b-quark hadronization. The inclusive charge asymmetry is found to be 0.0010 +/- 0.0068 (stat) +/- 0.0037 (syst). In addition, differential charge asymmetries as a function of rapidity, transverse momentum, and invariant mass of the t t-bar system are studied. For the first time at the LHC, the measurements are also performed in a reduced fiducial phase space of top quark pair production, with an integrated result of -0.0035 +/- 0.0072 (stat) +/- 0.0031 (syst). All measurements are consistent within two standard deviations with zero asymmetry as well as with the predictions of the standard model.
A search is described for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons, one of which has an internal conversion to a muon or an electron pair (ll gamma). The analysis is performed using proton-proton ...collision data recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns. The events selected have an opposite-sign muon or electron pair and a high transverse momentum photon. No excess above background has been found in the three-body invariant mass range 120 < mll gamma < 150 GeV, and limits have been derived for the Higgs boson production cross section times branching fraction for the decay H to gamma* gamma to ll gamma, where the dilepton invariant mass is less than 20 GeV. For a Higgs boson with mH = 125 GeV, a 95% confidence level (CL) exclusion observed (expected) limit is 6.7 (5.9 +2.8/-1.8) times the standard model prediction. Additionally, an upper limit at 95% CL on the branching fraction of H to J/Psi gamma for the 125 GeV Higgs boson is set at 1.5E-3.
Four-lepton production in proton-proton collisions, pp to (Z/gamma*)(Z/gamma*) to l+l-l'+l'-, where $l, l' = e or mu, is studied at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. ...The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 2.6 inverse femtobarns. The ZZ production cross section, sigma(pp to ZZ) = 14.6 +1.9/-1.8 (stat) +0.5/-0.3 (syst) +/- 0.2 (theo) +/- 0.4 (lumi) pb, is measured for events with two opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pairs produced in the mass region 60 < ml+l-, ml'+l'- < 120 GeV. The Z boson branching fraction to four leptons is measured to be B(Z to l+l-l'+l'-) = 4.9 +0.8/-0.7 (stat) +0.3/-0.2}(syst) +0.2/-0.1 (theo) +/- 0.1 (lumi)E-6 for the four-lepton invariant mass in the range 80 < ml+l-l'+l'- < 100 GeV and dilepton mass ml+l'- > 4 GeV for all opposite-sign lepton pairs. The results are in agreement with standard model predictions.
Results are presented from a search for supersymmetric particles in scenarios with a compressed mass spectrum. The data sample corresponds to 19.7 inverse femtobarns of proton-proton collisions ...recorded by the CMS experiment at sqrt(s)=8 TeV. The search targets top squark pair production in scenarios with mass differences Delta m = m(top squark) - m(neutralino) below the W-boson mass and with top-squark decays in the four-body mode (top squark to b l nu neutralino), where the neutralino is assumed to be the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP). The signature includes a high transverse momentum (pt) jet associated with initial-state radiation, one or two low-pt leptons, and significant missing transverse energy. The event yields observed in data are consistent with the expected background contributions from standard model processes. Limits are set on the cross section for top squark pair production as a function of the top squark and LSP masses. Assuming a 100% branching fraction for the four-body decay mode, top-squark masses below 316 GeV are excluded for Delta m=25 GeV at 95% CL. The dilepton data are also interpreted under the assumption of chargino-neutralino production, with subsequent decays to sleptons or sneutrinos. Assuming a difference between the common lightest chargino/next lightest neutralino mass and the LSP mass of 20 GeV and a tau-enriched decay scenario, masses in the range m(chargino)<307 GeV are excluded at 95% CL.
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