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Search for new physics in the lepton plus missing transverse momentum final state in proton-proton collisions at $$\sqrt{s}$$ = 13 TeV
A bstract 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.
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Award ID(s):
Publication Date:
NSF-PAR ID:
10374140
Journal Name:
Journal of High Energy Physics
Volume:
2022
Issue:
7
ISSN:
1029-8479
1. A bstract A search is presented for a right-handed W boson (W R ) and a heavy neutrino (N), in a final state consisting of two same-flavor leptons (ee or μμ) and two quarks. The search is performed with the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC using a data sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb − 1 . The search covers two regions of phase space, one where the decay products of the heavy neutrino are merged into a single large-area jet, and one where the decay products are well separated. The expected signal is characterized by an excess in the invariant mass distribution of the final-state objects. No significant excess over the standard model background expectations is observed. The observations are interpreted as upper limits on the product of W R production cross sections and branching fractions assuming that couplings are identical to those of the standard model W boson. For N masses m N equal to half the W R mass $${m}_{{\mathrm{W}}_{\mathrm{R}}}$$ m W R ( m N = 0 . 2 TeV), $${m}_{{\mathrm{W}}_{\mathrm{R}}}$$ m W R is excluded at 95%more »
2. A bstract A search for new heavy resonances decaying to a pair of Higgs bosons (HH) in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV is presented. Data were collected with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2016–2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb − 1 . Resonances with a mass between 0.8 and 4.5 TeV are considered using events in which one Higgs boson decays into a bottom quark pair and the other into final states with either one or two charged leptons. Specifically, the single-lepton decay channel $$\mathrm{HH}\to \mathrm{b}\overline{\mathrm{b}}{\mathrm{WW}}^{\ast}\to \mathrm{b}\overline{\mathrm{b}}\ell v\mathrm{q}{\overline{\mathrm{q}}}^{\prime }$$ HH → b b ¯ WW ∗ → b b ¯ ℓ v q q ¯ ′ and the dilepton decay channels $$\mathrm{HH}\to \mathrm{b}\overline{\mathrm{b}}{\mathrm{WW}}^{\ast}\to \mathrm{b}\overline{\mathrm{b}}\ell v\ell v$$ HH → b b ¯ WW ∗ → b b ¯ ℓ v ℓ v and $$\mathrm{HH}\to \mathrm{b}\overline{\mathrm{b}}\uptau \uptau \to \mathrm{b}\overline{\mathrm{b}}\ell vv\ell vv$$ HH → b b ¯ ττ → b b ¯ ℓ vv ℓ vv are examined, where ℓ in the final state corresponds to an electron or muon. The signal is extracted using a two-dimensional maximum likelihood fit of the $$\mathrm{H}\to \mathrm{b}\overline{\mathrm{b}}$$ H →more »
3. A bstract A search for long-lived particles (LLPs) produced in association with a Z boson is presented. The study is performed using data from proton-proton collisions with a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the CMS experiment during 2016–2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 117 fb − 1 . The LLPs are assumed to decay to a pair of standard model quarks that are identified as displaced jets within the CMS tracker system. Triggers and selections based on Z boson decays to electron or muon pairs improve the sensitivity to light LLPs (down to 15 GeV). This search provides sensitivity to beyond the standard model scenarios which predict LLPs produced in association with a Z boson. In particular, the results are interpreted in the context of exotic decays of the Higgs boson to a pair of scalar LLPs (H → SS). The Higgs boson decay branching fraction is constrained to values less than 6% for proper decay lengths of 10–100 mm and for LLP masses between 40 and 55 GeV. In the case of low-mass ( ≈ 15 GeV) scalar particles that subsequently decay to a pair of b quarks, the search is sensitive to branching fractions $$more » 4. A bstract The first collider search for dark matter arising from a strongly coupled hidden sector is presented and uses a data sample corresponding to 138 fb −1 , collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC, at$$ \sqrt{s} s = 13 TeV. The hidden sector is hypothesized to couple to the standard model (SM) via a heavy leptophobic Z′ mediator produced as a resonance in proton-proton collisions. The mediator decay results in two “semivisible” jets, containing both visible matter and invisible dark matter. The final state therefore includes moderate missing energy aligned with one of the jets, a signature ignored by most dark matter searches. No structure in the dijet transverse mass spectra compatible with the signal is observed. Assuming the Z′ boson has a universal coupling of 0.25 to the SM quarks, an inclusive search, relevant to any model that exhibits this kinematic behavior, excludes mediator masses of 1.5–4.0 TeV at 95% confidence level, depending on the other signal model parameters. To enhance the sensitivity of the search for this particular class of hidden sector models, a boosted decision tree (BDT) is trained using jet substructure variables to distinguish between semivisible jets and SM jetsmore » 5. A bstract A search for a light pseudoscalar Higgs boson (a) decaying from the 125 GeV (or a heavier) scalar Higgs boson (H) is performed using the 2016 LHC proton-proton collision data at \sqrt{s}  s = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35 . 9 fb − 1 , collected by the CMS experiment. The analysis considers gluon fusion and vector boson fusion production of the H, followed by the decay H → aa → μμττ , and considers pseudoscalar masses in the range 3 . 6 < m a < 21 GeV. Because of the large mass difference between the H and the a bosons and the small masses of the a boson decay products, both the μμ and the ττ pairs have high Lorentz boost and are collimated. The ττ reconstruction efficiency is increased by modifying the standard technique for hadronic τ lepton decay reconstruction to account for a nearby muon. No significant signal is observed. Model-independent limits are set at 95% confidence level, as a function of m a , on the branching fraction (ℬ) for H → aa → μμττ , down to 1 . 5 (2 . 0) × 10 −more »