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Abstract On 2019 August 14 at 21:10:39 UTC, the LIGO/Virgo Collaboration (LVC) detected a possible neutron star–black hole merger (NSBH), the first ever identified. An extensive search for an optical counterpart of this event, designated GW190814, was undertaken using the Dark Energy Camera on the 4 m Victor M. Blanco Telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. Target of Opportunity interrupts were issued on eight separate nights to observe 11 candidates using the 4.1 m Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) telescope’s Goodman High Throughput Spectrograph in order to assess whether any of these transients was likely to be an optical counterpart of the possible NSBH merger. Here, we describe the process of observing with SOAR, the analysis of our spectra, our spectroscopic typing methodology, and our resultant conclusion that none of the candidates corresponded to the gravitational wave merger event but were all instead other transients. Finally, we describe the lessons learned from this effort. Application of these lessons will be critical for a successful community spectroscopic follow-up program for LVC observing run 4 (O4) and beyond. 

A description is presented of the algorithms used to reconstruct energy deposited in the CMS hadron calorimeter during Run 2 (2015–2018) of the LHC. During Run 2, the characteristic bunch-crossing spacing for proton-proton collisions was 25 ns, which resulted in overlapping signals from adjacent crossings. The energy corresponding to a particular bunch crossing of interest is estimated using the known pulse shapes of energy depositions in the calorimeter, which are measured as functions of both energy and time. A variety of algorithms were developed to mitigate the effects of adjacent bunch crossings on local energy reconstruction in the hadron calorimeter in Run 2, and their performance is compared.

 

A search for decays to invisible particles of Higgs bosons produced in association with a top-antitop quark pair or a vector boson, which both decay to a fully hadronic final state, has been performed using proton-proton collision data collected at$${\sqrt{s}=13\,\text {Te}\hspace{-.08em}\text {V}}$$$\sqrt{s}=13\text{Te}\text{V}$by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138$$\,\text {fb}^{-1}$$${\text{fb}}^{-1}$. The 95% confidence level upper limit set on the branching fraction of the 125$$\,\text {Ge}\hspace{-.08em}\text {V}$$$\text{Ge}\text{V}$Higgs boson to invisible particles,$${\mathcal {B}({\textrm{H}} \rightarrow \text {inv})}$$$B(\text{H}\to \text{inv})$, is 0.54 (0.39 expected), assuming standard model production cross sections. The results of this analysis are combined with previous$${\mathcal {B}({\textrm{H}} \rightarrow \text {inv})}$$$B(\text{H}\to \text{inv})$searches carried out at$${\sqrt{s}=7}$$$\sqrt{s}=7$, 8, and 13$$\,\text {Te}\hspace{-.08em}\text {V}$$$\text{Te}\text{V}$in complementary production modes. The combined upper limit at 95% confidence level on$${\mathcal {B}({\textrm{H}} \rightarrow \text {inv})}$$$B(\text{H}\to \text{inv})$is 0.15 (0.08 expected).