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A search for beyond the standard model spin-0 bosons,$\varphi$, that decay into pairs of electrons, muons, or tau leptons is presented. The search targets the associated production of such bosons with a$W$or$Z$gauge boson, or a top quark-antiquark pair, and uses events with three or four charged leptons, including hadronically decaying tau leptons. The proton-proton collision data set used in the analysis was collected at the LHC from 2016 to 2018 at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of$138{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$. The observations are consistent with the predictions from standard model processes. Upper limits are placed on the product of cross sections and branching fractions of such new particles over the mass range of 15 to 350 GeV with scalar, pseudoscalar, or Higgs-boson-like couplings, as well as on the product of coupling parameters and branching fractions. Several model-dependent exclusion limits are also presented. For a Higgs-boson-like$\varphi$model, limits are set on the mixing angle of the Higgs boson with the$\varphi$boson. For the associated production of a$\varphi$boson with a top quark-antiquark pair, limits are set on the coupling to top quarks. Finally, limits are set for the first time on a fermiophilic dilaton-like model with scalar couplings and a fermiophilic axion-like model with pseudoscalar couplings.

A combination of the results of several searches for the electroweak production of the supersymmetric partners of standard model bosons, and of charged leptons, is presented. All searches use proton-proton collision data at$\sqrt{s}=13\mathrm{TeV}$recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2016–2018. The analyzed data correspond to an integrated luminosity of up to$137{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$. The results are interpreted in terms of simplified models of supersymmetry. Two new interpretations are added with this combination: a model spectrum with the bino as the lightest supersymmetric particle together with mass-degenerate Higgsinos decaying to the bino and a standard model boson, and the compressed-spectrum region of a previously studied model of slepton pair production. Improved analysis techniques are employed to optimize sensitivity for the compressed spectra in the wino and slepton pair production models. The results are consistent with expectations from the standard model. The combination provides a more comprehensive coverage of the model parameter space than the individual searches, extending the exclusion by up to 125 GeV, and also targets some of the intermediate gaps in the mass coverage.

A search for exotic decays of the Higgs boson ($$\text {H}$$$\text{H}$) with a mass of 125$$\,\text {Ge}\hspace{-.08em}\text {V}$$$\text{Ge}\text{V}$to a pair of light pseudoscalars$$\text {a}_{1} $$${\text{a}}_1$is performed in final states where one pseudoscalar decays to two$${\textrm{b}}$$$\text{b}$quarks and the other to a pair of muons or$$\tau $$$\tau$leptons. A data sample of proton–proton collisions at$$\sqrt{s}=13\,\text {Te}\hspace{-.08em}\text {V} $$$\sqrt{s}=13\text{Te}\text{V}$corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138$$\,\text {fb}^{-1}$$${\text{fb}}^{-1}$recorded with the CMS detector is analyzed. No statistically significant excess is observed over the standard model backgrounds. Upper limits are set at 95% confidence level ($$\text {CL}$$$\text{CL}$) on the Higgs boson branching fraction to$$\upmu \upmu \text{ b } \text{ b } $$$\mu \mu \text{b}\text{b}$and to$$\uptau \uptau \text{ b } \text{ b },$$$\tau \tau \text{b}\text{b},$via a pair of$$\text {a}_{1} $$${\text{a}}_1$s. The limits depend on the pseudoscalar mass$$m_{\text {a}_{1}}$$$m_{{\text{a}}_1}$and are observed to be in the range (0.17–3.3) $$\times 10^{-4}$$$\times {10}^{-4}$and (1.7–7.7) $$\times 10^{-2}$$$\times {10}^{-2}$in the$$\upmu \upmu \text{ b } \text{ b } $$$\mu \mu \text{b}\text{b}$and$$\uptau \uptau \text{ b } \text{ b } $$$\tau \tau \text{b}\text{b}$final states, respectively. In the framework of models with two Higgs doublets and a complex scalar singlet (2HDM+S), the results of the two final states are combined to determine upper limits on the branching fraction$${\mathcal {B}}(\text {H} \rightarrow \text {a}_{1} \text {a}_{1} \rightarrow \ell \ell \text{ b } \text{ b})$$$B(\text{H}\to {\text{a}}_1{\text{a}}_1\to \ell \ell \text{b}\text{b})$at 95%$$\text {CL}$$$\text{CL}$, with$$\ell $$$\ell$being a muon or a$$\uptau $$$\tau$lepton. For different types of 2HDM+S, upper bounds on the branching fraction$${\mathcal {B}}(\text {H} \rightarrow \text {a}_{1} \text {a}_{1} )$$$B(\text{H}\to {\text{a}}_1{\text{a}}_1)$are extracted from the combination of the two channels. In most of the Type II 2HDM+S parameter space,$${\mathcal {B}}(\text {H} \rightarrow \text {a}_{1} \text {a}_{1} )$$$B(\text{H}\to {\text{a}}_1{\text{a}}_1)$values above 0.23 are excluded at 95%$$\text {CL}$$$\text{CL}$for$$m_{\text {a}_{1}}$$$m_{{\text{a}}_1}$values between 15 and 60$$\,\text {Ge}\hspace{-.08em}\text {V}$$$\text{Ge}\text{V}$.

A search for new physics in top quark production with additional final-state leptons is performed using data collected by the CMS experiment in proton-proton collisions at$$ \sqrt{s} $$$\sqrt{s}$= 13 TeV at the LHC during 2016–2018. The data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb⁻¹. Using the framework of effective field theory (EFT), potential new physics effects are parametrized in terms of 26 dimension-six EFT operators. The impacts of EFT operators are incorporated through the event-level reweighting of Monte Carlo simulations, which allows for detector-level predictions. The events are divided into several categories based on lepton multiplicity, total lepton charge, jet multiplicity, and b-tagged jet multiplicity. Kinematic variables corresponding to the transverse momentum (p_T) of the leading pair of leptons and/or jets as well as thep_Tof on-shell Z bosons are used to extract the 95% confidence intervals of the 26 Wilson coefficients corresponding to these EFT operators. No significant deviation with respect to the standard model prediction is found.