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CMS Collaboration

Publications and source records attributed to CMS Collaboration.

At least 1,243 records · Page 69Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

Alignment of the CMS tracker with LHC and cosmic ray data

The central component of the CMS detector is the largest silicon tracker ever built. The precise alignment of this complex device is a formidable challenge, and only achievable with a significant extension of the technologies routinely used for tracking detectors in the past. This article describes the full-scale alignment procedure as it is used during LHC operations. Among the specific features of the method are the simultaneous determination of up to 200,000 alignment parameters with tracks, the measurement of individual sensor curvature parameters, the control of systematic misalignment effects, and the implementation of the whole procedure in a multi-processor environment for high execution speed. Overall, the achieved statistical accuracy on the module alignment is found to be significantly better than 10 micrometers.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2014

Search for jet extinction in the inclusive jet-pt spectrum from proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV

The first search at the LHC for the extinction of QCD jet production is presented, using data collected with the CMS detector corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 10.7 inverse femtobarns of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The extinction model studied in this analysis is motivated by the search for signatures of strong gravity at the TeV scale (terascale gravity) and assumes the existence of string couplings in the strong-coupling limit. In this limit, the string model predicts the suppression of all high-transverse-momentum standard model processes, including jet production, beyond a certain energy scale. To test this prediction, the measured transverse-momentum spectrum is compared to the theoretical prediction of the standard model. No significant deficit of events is found at high transverse momentum. A 95% confidence level lower limit of 3.3 TeV is set on the extinction mass scale.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Search for anomalous production of events with three or more leptons in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV

A search for physics beyond the standard model in events with at least three leptons is presented. The data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 inverse femtobarns of proton-proton collisions with center-of-mass energy sqrt(s) = 8 TeV, was collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC during 2012. The data are divided into exclusive categories based on the number of leptons and their flavor, the presence or absence of an opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pair (OSSF), the invariant mass of the OSSF pair, the presence or absence of a tagged bottom-quark jet, the number of identified hadronically decaying tau leptons, and the magnitude of the missing transverse energy and of the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta. The numbers of observed events are found to be consistent with the expected numbers from standard model processes, and limits are placed on new-physics scenarios that yield multilepton final states. In particular, scenarios that predict Higgs boson production in the context of supersymmetric decay chains are examined. We also place a 95% confidence level upper limit of 1.3% on the branching fraction for the decay of a top quark to a charm quark and a Higgs boson (t to c H), which translates to a bound on the left- and right-handed top-charm flavor-violating Higgs Yukawa couplings, lambda[H, tc] and lambda[H, ct], respectively, of sqrt(abs(lambda[H, tc])^2 + abs(lambda[H, ct])^2) < 0.21.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Measurement of jet multiplicity distributions in t t-bar production in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The normalised differential top quark-antiquark production cross section is measured as a function of the jet multiplicity in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV at the LHC with the CMS detector. The measurement is performed in both the dilepton and lepton + jets decay channels using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 inverse femtobarns. Using a procedure to associate jets to decay products of the top quarks, the differential cross section of the t t-bar production is determined as a function of the additional jet multiplicity in the lepton + jets channel. Furthermore, the fraction of events with no additional jets is measured in the dilepton channel, as a function of the threshold on the jet transverse momentum. The measurements are compared with predictions from perturbative quantum chromodynamics and no significant deviations are observed.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Determination of the top-quark pole mass and strong coupling constant from the t t-bar production cross section in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The inclusive cross section for top-quark pair production measured by the CMS experiment in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is compared to the QCD prediction at next-to-next-to-leading order with various parton distribution functions to determine the top-quark pole mass, mtpole, or the strong coupling constant, alphaS. With the parton distribution function set NNPDF2.3, a pole mass of 176.7 +3.0 -2.8 GeV is obtained when constraining alphaS at the scale of the Z boson mass, mZ, to the current world average. Alternatively, by constraining mtpole to the latest average from direct mass measurements, a value of alphaS(mZ) = 0.1151 +0.0028 -0.0027 is extracted. This is the first determination of alphaS using events from top-quark production.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Search for invisible decays of Higgs bosons in the vector boson fusion and associated ZH production modes

A search for invisible decays of Higgs bosons is performed using the vector boson fusion and associated ZH production modes. In the ZH mode, the Z boson is required to decay to a pair of charged leptons or a b b-bar quark pair. The searches use the 8 TeV pp collision dataset collected by the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of up to 19.7 inverse femtobarns. Certain channels include data from 7 TeV collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.9 inverse femtobarns. The searches are sensitive to non-standard-model invisible decays of the recently observed Higgs boson, as well as additional Higgs bosons with similar production modes and large invisible branching fractions. In all channels, the observed data are consistent with the expected standard model backgrounds. Limits are set on the production cross section times invisible branching fraction, as a function of the Higgs boson mass, for the vector boson fusion and ZH production modes. By combining all channels, and assuming standard model Higgs boson cross sections and acceptances, the observed (expected) upper limit on the invisible branching fraction at m[H] = 125 GeV is found to be 0.58 (0.44) at 95% confidence level. We interpret this limit in terms of a Higgs-portal model of dark matter interactions.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Search for top-squark pairs decaying into Higgs or Z bosons in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV

A search for supersymmetry through the direct pair production of top squarks, with Higgs (H) or Z bosons in the decay chain, is performed using a data sample of proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV collected in 2012 with the CMS detector at the LHC. The sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 inverse femtobarns. The search is performed using a selection of events containing leptons and bottom-quark jets. No evidence for a significant excess of events over the standard model background prediction is observed. The results are interpreted in the context of simplified supersymmetric models with pair production of a heavier top-squark mass eigenstate stop[2] decaying to a lighter top-squark mass eigenstate stop[1] via either stop[2] to H stop[1] or stop[2] to Z stop[1], followed in both cases by stop[1] to t neutralino, where neutralino is an undetected, stable, lightest supersymmetric particle. The interpretation is performed in the region where the mass difference between the stop[1] and neutralino states is approximately equal to the top-quark mass (m[stop[1]] - m[neutralino] ~= m[t]), which is not probed by searches for direct stop[1] squark pair production. The analysis excludes top squarks with masses m[stop[2]] < 575 GeV and m[stop[1]] < 400 GeV at a 95% confidence level.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Measurement of WZ and ZZ production in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV in final states with b-tagged jets

Measurements are reported of the WZ and ZZ production cross sections in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV in final states where one Z boson decays to b-tagged jets. The other gauge boson, either W or Z, is detected through its leptonic decay (either W to e nu, mu nu or Z to e+ e-, mu+ mu-, or nu anti-nu). The results are based on data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 18.9 inverse femtobarns collected with the CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The measured cross sections, sigma(pp to WZ) = 30.7 +/- 9.3 (stat.) +/- 7.1 (syst.) +/- 4.1 (th.) +/- 1.0 (lum.) pb and sigma(pp to ZZ) = 6.5 +/- 1.7 (stat.) +/- 1.0 (syst.) +/- 0.9 (th.) +/- 0.2 (lum.) pb, are consistent with next-to-leading order quantum chromodynamics calculations.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Inclusive b-jet production in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV

The inclusive b-jet production cross section in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is measured using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The cross section is presented as a function of the jet transverse momentum in the range 18 < pT < 200 GeV for several rapidity intervals. The results are also given as the ratio of the b-jet production cross section to the inclusive jet production cross section. The measurement is performed with two different analyses, which differ in their trigger selection and b-jet identification: a jet analysis that selects events with a b jet using a sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 inverse picobarns, and a muon analysis requiring a b jet with a muon based on an integrated luminosity of 3 inverse picobarns. In both approaches the b jets are identified by requiring a secondary vertex. The results from the two methods are in agreement with each other and with next-to-leading order calculations, as well as with predictions based on the PYTHIA event generator.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Search for quark compositeness in dijet angular distributions from pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for quark compositeness using dijet angular distributions from pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV is presented. The search has been carried out using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.2 inverse femtobarns, recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC. Normalized dijet angular distributions have been measured for dijet invariant masses from 0.4 TeV to above 3 TeV and compared with a variety of contact interaction models, including those which take into account the effects of next-to-leading-order QCD corrections. The data are found to be in agreement with the predictions of perturbative QCD, and lower limits are obtained on the contact interaction scale, ranging from 7.5 up to 14.5 TeV at 95% confidence level.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Search for heavy, top-like quark pair production in the dilepton final state in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The results of a search for pair production of a heavy, top-like quark, t', in the decay mode (t' anti-t') to (b anti-W anti-b W) to (b anti-lepton neutrino anti-b lepton anti-neutrino) are presented. The search is performed with a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 inverse femtobarns in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The observed number of events agrees with the expectation from standard model processes, and no evidence of t' anti-t' production is found. Upper limits on the production cross section as a function of t' mass are presented, and t' masses below 557 GeV/c^2 are excluded at the 95% confidence level.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Constraints on the Higgs boson width from off-shell production and decay to Z-boson pairs

Constraints are presented on the total width of the recently discovered Higgs boson, Gamma[H], using its relative on-shell and off-shell production and decay rates to a pair of Z bosons, where one Z boson decays to an electron or muon pair, and the other to an electron, muon, or neutrino pair. The analysis is based on the data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2011 and 2012, corresponding to integrated luminosities of 5.1 inverse femtobarns at a centre-of-mass energy sqrt(s) = 7 TeV and 19.7 inverse femtobarns at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV. A simultaneous maximum likelihood fit to the measured kinematic distributions near the resonance peak and above the Z-boson pair production threshold leads to an upper limit on the Higgs boson width of Gamma[H] < 22 MeV at a 95% confidence level, which is 5.4 times the expected value in the standard model at the measured mass.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Measurement of the ratio B(t to Wb)/B(t to Wq) in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV

The ratio of the top-quark branching fractions R = B(t to Wb)/B(t to Wq), where the denominator includes the sum over all down-type quarks (q = b, s, d), is measured in the t t-bar dilepton final state with proton-proton collision data at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV from an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns, collected with the CMS detector. In order to quantify the purity of the signal sample, the cross section is measured by fitting the observed jet multiplicity, thereby constraining the signal and background contributions. By counting the number of b jets per event, an unconstrained value of R = 1.014 +/- 0.003 (stat.) +/- 0.032 (syst.) is measured, in good agreement with current precision measurements in electroweak and flavour sectors. A lower limit R > 0.955 at the 95% confidence level is obtained after requiring R <= 1, and a lower limit on the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element abs(V[tb]) > 0.975 is set at 95% confidence level. The result is combined with a previous CMS measurement of the t-channel single-top-quark cross section to determine the top-quark total decay width, Gamma[t] = 1.36 +/- 0.02 (stat.) +0.14/-0.11 (syst.) GeV.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Measurement of the production cross section for a W boson and two b jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The production cross section for a W boson and two b jets is measured using proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV in a data sample collected with the CMS experiment at the LHC corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 inverse femtobarns. The W + b b-bar events are selected in the W to mu nu decay mode by requiring a muon with transverse momentum pt > 25 GeV and pseudorapidity abs(eta) < 2.1, and exactly two b-tagged jets with pt > 25 GeV and abs(eta) < 2.4. The measured W + b b-bar production cross section in the fiducial region, calculated at the level of final-state particles, is sigma(pp to W + b b-bar) x B(W to mu nu) = 0.53 +/- 0.05 (stat.) +/- 0.09 (syst.) +/- 0.06 (theo.) +/- 0.01 (lum.) pb, in agreement with the standard model prediction. In addition, kinematic distributions of the W + b b-bar system are in agreement with the predictions of a simulation using MADGRAPH and PYTHIA.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Search for W' to tb decays in the lepton + jets final state in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV

Results are presented from a search for the production of a heavy gauge boson W' decaying into a top and a bottom quark, using a data set collected by the CMS experiment at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 inverse femtobarns. Various models of W'-boson production are studied by allowing for an arbitrary combination of left- and right-handed couplings. The analysis is based on the detection of events with a lepton (e, mu), jets, and missing transverse energy in the final state. No evidence for W'-boson production is found and 95% confidence level upper limits on the production cross section times branching fraction are obtained. For W' bosons with purely right-handed couplings, and for those with left-handed couplings assuming no interference effects, the observed 95% confidence level limit is M(W') > 2.05 TeV. For W' bosons with purely left-handed couplings, including interference effects, the observed 95% confidence level limit is M(W') > 1.84 TeV. The results presented in this paper are the most stringent limits published to date.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Measurement of the triple-differential cross section for photon + jets production in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A measurement of the triple-differential cross section (sigma as a function of the photon pt and eta and the jet eta) in photon + jets final states using a data sample from proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV is presented. This sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 2.14 inverse femtobarns collected by the CMS detector at the LHC. Photons and jets are reconstructed within a pseudorapidity range of abs(eta) < 2.5, and are required to have transverse momenta in the range 40 < pt(gamma) < 300 GeV and pt(jet) > 30 GeV, respectively. The measurements are compared to theoretical predictions from the SHERPA leading-order QCD Monte Carlo event generator and the next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD calculation from JETPHOX. The predictions are found to be consistent with the data over most of the examined kinematic region.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Search for new physics in the multijet and missing transverse momentum final state in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV

A search for new physics is performed in multijet events with large missing transverse momentum produced in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 inverse femtobarns collected with the CMS detector at the LHC. The data sample is divided into three jet multiplicity categories (3-5, 6-7, and 8 or more jets), and studied further in bins of two variables: the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta and the missing transverse momentum. The observed numbers of events in various categories are consistent with backgrounds expected from standard model processes. Exclusion limits are presented for several simplified supersymmetric models of squark or gluino pair production.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2014

Measurement of the t-channel single-top-quark production cross section and of the |Vtb| CKM matrix element in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV

Measurements are presented of the t-channel single-top-quark production cross section in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV. The results are based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC. The cross section is measured inclusively, as well as separately for top (t) and antitop (t-bar), in final states with a muon or an electron. The measured inclusive t-channel cross section is sigma[t-ch] = 83.6 +/- 2.3 (stat.) +/- 7.4 (syst.) pb. The single t and t-bar cross sections are measured to be sigma[t-ch,t] = 53.8 +/- 1.5 (stat.) +/- 4.4 (syst.) pb and sigma[t-ch,t-bar] = 27.6 +/- 1.3 (stat.) +/- 3.7 (syst.) pb, respectively. The measured ratio of cross sections is R[t-ch] = sigma[t-ch,t]/sigma[t-ch,t-bar] = 1.95 +/- 0.10 (stat.) +/- 0.19 (syst.), in agreement with the standard model prediction. The modulus of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element Vtb is extracted and, in combination with a previous CMS result at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, a value abs(Vtb) = 0.998 +/- 0.038 (exp.) +/- 0.016 (theo.) is obtained.

hep-ex↗