Three of the most significant measured deviations from standard model predictions, the enhanced decay rate for B→D(*)τν, hints of lepton universality violation in B→K(*)ℓℓ decays, and the anomalous ...magnetic moment of the muon, can be explained by the existence of leptoquarks (LQs) with large couplings to third-generation quarks and masses at the TeV scale. The existence of these states can be probed at the LHC in high energy proton-proton collisions. A novel search is presented for pair production of LQs coupled to a top quark and a muon using data at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb-1, recorded by the CMS experiment. No deviation from the standard model prediction has been observed and scalar LQs decaying exclusively into tμ are excluded up to masses of 1420 GeV. The results of this search are combined with those from previous searches for LQ decays into tτ and bν, which excluded scalar LQs below masses of 900 and 1080 GeV. Vector LQs are excluded up to masses of 1190 GeV for all possible combinations of branching fractions to tμ, tτ and bν. With this analysis, all relevant couplings of LQs with an electric charge of -1/3 to third-generation quarks are probed for the first time.
The elliptic azimuthal anisotropy coefficient ($v_2$) is measured for charm (D$^0$) and strange (K$_\mathrm{S}^0$, $\Lambda$, $\Xi^-$, and $\Omega^-$) hadrons, using a data sample of pPb collisions ...collected by the CMS experiment, at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s_{_\mathrm{NN}}} =$ 8.16 TeV. A significant positive $v_2$ signal from long-range azimuthal correlations is observed for all particle species in high-multiplicity pPb collisions. The measurement represents the first observation of possible long-range collectivity for open heavy flavor hadrons in small systems. The results suggest that charm quarks have a smaller $v_2$ than the lighter quarks, probably reflecting a weaker collective behavior. This effect is not seen in the larger PbPb collision system at $\sqrt{s_{_\mathrm{NN}}} =$ 5.02 TeV, also presented.
A search for the pair production of the lightest supersymmetric partner of the top quark ($\widetilde{\mathrm{t}}_1$) is presented. The search focuses on a compressed scenario where the mass ...difference between the top squark and the lightest supersymmetric particle, often considered to be the lightest neutralino ($\widetilde{\chi}^0_1$), is smaller than the mass of the W boson. The proton-proton collision data were recorded by the CMS experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. In this search, two decay modes of the top squark are considered: a four-body decay into a bottom quark, two additional fermions, and a $\widetilde{\chi}^0_1$; and a decay via an intermediate chargino. Events are selected using the presence of a high-momentum jet, significant missing transverse momentum, and a low transverse momentum electron or muon. Two analysis techniques are used, targeting different decay modes of the $\widetilde{\mathrm{t}}_1$: a sequential selection and a multivariate technique. No evidence for the production of top squarks is found, and mass limits at 95% confidence level are set that reach up to 560 GeV, depending on the $m(\widetilde{\mathrm{t}}_1) - m(\widetilde{\chi}^0_1)$ mass difference and the decay mode.
A search for charged Higgs boson decaying to a charm and a bottom quark ( $ {\mathrm{H}}^{+}\to \mathrm{c}\overline{\mathrm{b}} $ ) is performed using 19.7 fb$^{−1}$ of pp collision data at $ ...\sqrt{s}=8 $ TeV. The production mechanism investigated in this search is $ \mathrm{t}\overline{\mathrm{t}} $ pair production in which one top quark decays to a charged Higgs boson and a bottom quark and the other decays to a charged lepton, a neutrino, and a bottom quark. Charged Higgs boson decays to $ \mathrm{c}\overline{\mathrm{b}} $ are searched for, resulting in a final state containing at least four jets, a charged lepton (muon or electron), and missing transverse momentum. A kinematic fit is performed to identify the pair of jets least likely to be the bottom quarks originating from direct top quark decays and the invariant mass of this pair is used as the final observable in the search. No evidence for the presence of a charged Higgs boson is observed and upper limits at 95% confidence level of 0.8–0.5% are set on the branching fraction ℬ(t → H$^{+}$b), assuming ℬ(H$^{+}$ → $ \mathrm{c}\overline{\mathrm{b}} $ ) = 1.0 and ℬ(t → H$^{+}$b) + ℬ(t → Wb) = 1.0, for the charged Higgs boson mass range 90–150 GeV.
A search for physics beyond the standard model is performed using a sample of high-mass diphoton events produced in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV. The data sample was collected in ...2016 with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. The search is performed for both resonant and nonresonant new physics signatures. At 95% confidence level, lower limits on the mass of the first Kaluza-Klein excitation of the graviton in the Randall-Sundrum warped extra-dimensional model are determined to be in the range of 2.3 to 4.6 TeV, for values of the associated coupling parameter between 0.01 and 0.2. Lower limits on the production of scalar resonances and model-independent cross section upper limits are also provided. For the large extra-dimensional model of Arkani-Hamed, Dimopoulos, and Dvali, lower limits are set on the string mass scale $M_S$ ranging from 5.6 to 9.7 TeV, depending on the model parameters. The first exclusion limits are set in the two-dimensional parameter space of a continuum clockwork model.
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 $σ(pp→tγj)\mathcal{B}(t→μνb)=115±17(stat)±30(syst)$ fb, which is consistent with the standard model prediction.
The observation of the standard model (SM) Higgs boson decay to a pair of bottom quarks is presented. The main contribution to this result is from processes in which Higgs bosons are produced in ...association with a W or Z boson (VH), and are searched for in final states including 0, 1, or 2 charged leptons and two identified bottom quark jets. The results from the measurement of these processes in a data sample recorded by the CMS experiment in 2017, comprising 41.3 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV, are described. When combined with previous VH measurements using data collected at $\sqrt{s}=$ 7, 8, and 13 TeV, an excess of events is observed at $m_\mathrm{H} =$ 125.09 GeV with a significance of 4.8 standard deviations, where the expectation for the SM Higgs boson is 4.9. The corresponding measured signal strength is 1.01$\pm$0.22. The combination of this result with searches by the CMS experiment for H$\to\mathrm{b\overline{b}}$ in other production processes yields an observed (expected) significance of 5.6 (5.5) standard deviations and a signal strength of 1.04$\pm$0.20.
A measurement is presented of the associated production of a single top quark and a W boson in proton-proton collisions at $ \sqrt{s}=13 $ TeV by the CMS Collaboration at the CERN LHC. The data ...collected corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{−1}$. The measurement is performed using events with one electron and one muon in the final state along with at least one jet originated from a bottom quark. A multivariate discriminant, exploiting the kinematic properties of the events, is used to separate the signal from the dominant $ \mathrm{t}\overline{\mathrm{t}} $ background. The measured cross section of 63.1 ± 1.8(stat) ± 6.4(syst) ± 2.1 (lumi) pb is in agreement with the standard model expectation.
The angular distribution of the flavor-changing neutral current decay B$\mathrm{^{+}\to}$ K$\mathrm{^+\mu^+\mu^-}$ is studied in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The ...analysis is based on data collected with the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.5 fb$^{-1}$. The forward-backward asymmetry A$_{FB}$ of the dimuon system and the contribution FH from the pseudoscalar, scalar, and tensor amplitudes to the decay width are measured as a function of the dimuon mass squared. The measurements are consistent with the standard model expectations.
A general search for the pair production of resonances, each decaying to two quarks, is reported. The search is conducted separately for heavier resonances (masses above 400 GeV), where each of the ...four final-state quarks generates a hadronic jet resulting in a four-jet signature, and for lighter resonances (masses between 80 and 400 GeV), where the pair of quarks from each resonance is collimated and reconstructed as a single jet resulting in a two-jet signature. In addition, a b-tagged selection is applied to target resonances with a bottom quark in the final state. The analysis uses data collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$, from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The mass spectra are analyzed for the presence of new resonances, and are found to be consistent with standard model expectations. The results are interpreted in the framework of $R$-parity-violating supersymmetry assuming the pair production of scalar top quarks decaying via the hadronic coupling $λ^{"}_{312}$ or$λ^{"}_{323}$ and upper limits on the cross section as a function of the top squark mass are set. These results probe a wider range of masses than previously explored at the LHC, and extend the top squark mass limits in the $\widetilde{t} → qq′$ scenario.
