A measurement is presented of differential cross sections for the Higgs boson (H) production in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV. The analysis exploits the H to gamma gamma decay in data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The cross section is measured as a function of the kinematic properties of the diphoton system and of the associated jets. Results corrected for detector effects are compared with predictions at next-to-leading order and next-to-next-to-leading order in perturbative quantum chromodynamics, as well as with predictions beyond the standard model. For isolated photons with pseudorapidities abs(eta) < 2.5, and with the photon of largest and next-to-largest transverse momentum (pt[gamma]) divided by the diphoton mass m[gamma-gamma] satisfying the respective conditions of pt[gamma] / m[gamma-gamma] > 1/3 and > 1/4, the total fiducial cross section is 32 +/- 10 fb.
A search for a new scalar resonance decaying to a pair of Z bosons is performed in the mass range from 130 GeV to 3 TeV, and for various width scenarios. The analysis is based on proton-proton collisions recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2016, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$ at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The Z boson pair decays are reconstructed using the 4$\ell$, 2$\ell$2q, and 2$\ell$2$\nu$ final states, where $\ell =$ e or $\mu$. Both gluon fusion and electroweak production of the scalar resonance are considered, with a free parameter describing their relative cross sections. A dedicated categorization of events, based on the kinematic properties of associated jets, and matrix element techniques are employed for an optimal signal and background separation. A description of the interference between signal and background amplitudes for a resonance of an arbitrary width is included. No significant excess of events with respect to the standard model expectation is observed and limits are set on the product of the cross section for a new scalar boson and the branching fraction for its decay to ZZ for a large range of masses and widths.
A search is presented for quark contact interactions and extra spatial dimensions in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV using dijet angular distributions. The search is based on a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns collected by the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. Dijet angular distributions are found to be in agreement with the perturbative QCD predictions that include electroweak corrections. Limits on the contact interaction scale from a variety of models at next-to-leading order in QCD corrections are obtained. A benchmark model in which only left-handed quarks participate is excluded up to a scale of 9.0 (11.7) TeV for destructive (constructive) interference at 95% confidence level. Lower limits between 5.9 and 8.4 TeV on the scale of virtual graviton exchange are extracted for the Arkani-Hamed--Dimopoulos--Dvali model of extra spatial dimensions.
A measurement of differential cross sections for the production of a pair of isolated photons in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV is presented. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 inverse femtobarns collected with the CMS detector. A data-driven isolation template method is used to extract the prompt diphoton yield. The measured cross section for two isolated photons, with transverse energy above 40 and 25 GeV respectively, in the pseudorapidity range abs(eta) < 2.5, abs(eta) not in [1.44,1.57] and with an angular separation Delta R > 0.45, is 17.2 +/- 0.2 (stat.) +/- 1.9 (syst.) +/- 0.4 (lum.) pb. Differential cross sections are measured as a function of the diphoton invariant mass, the diphoton transverse momentum, the azimuthal angle difference between the two photons, and the cosine of the polar angle in the Collins-Soper reference frame of the diphoton system. The results are compared to theoretical predictions at leading, next-to-leading, and next-to-next-to-leading order in quantum chromodynamics.
Measurements of differential cross sections are presented for the production of a Z boson and at least one hadronic jet in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, recorded by the CMS detector, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.9 inverse femtobarns. The jet multiplicity distribution is measured for up to six jets. The differential cross sections are measured as a function of jet transverse momentum and pseudorapidity for the four highest transverse momentum jets. The distribution of the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta is also measured as a function of the jet multiplicity. The measurements are compared with theoretical predictions at leading and next-to-leading order in perturbative QCD.
A search is presented for standard model (SM) production of four top quarks (t t-bar t t-bar) in pp collisions in the lepton + jets channel. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.6 inverse femtobarns recorded at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. The expected cross section for SM four top quark production is approximately 1 fb. A combination of kinematic reconstruction and multivariate techniques is used to distinguish between the small signal and large background. The data are consistent with expectations of the SM, and an upper limit of 32 fb is set at a 95% confidence level on the cross section for producing four top quarks in the SM, where a limit of 32 +/- 17 fb is expected.
Pseudorapidity (eta) distributions of charged particles produced in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV are measured in the ranges abs(eta) < 2.2 and 5.3 < abs(eta) < 6.4 covered by the CMS and TOTEM detectors, respectively. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 45 inverse microbarns. Measurements are presented for three event categories. The most inclusive category is sensitive to 91-96% of the total inelastic proton-proton cross section. The other two categories are disjoint subsets of the inclusive sample that are either enhanced or depleted in single diffractive dissociation events. The data are compared to models used to describe high-energy hadronic interactions. None of the models considered provide a consistent description of the measured distributions.
The cross section for the production of Z gamma in proton-proton collisions at 8 TeV is measured based on data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 inverse femtobarns. Events with an oppositely-charged pair of muons or electrons together with an isolated photon are selected. The differential cross section as a function of the photon transverse momentum is measured inclusively and exclusively, where the exclusive selection applies a veto on central jets. The observed cross sections are compatible with the expectations of next-to-next-to-leading-order quantum chromodynamics. Limits on anomalous triple gauge couplings of Z Z gamma and Z gamma gamma are set that improve on previous experimental results obtained with the charged lepton decay modes of the Z boson.
The per-event yield of the highest transverse momentum charged particle and charged-particle jet, integrated above a given pt(min) threshold starting at pt(min) = 0.8 and 1 GeV, respectively, is studied in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV. The particles and the jets are measured in the pseudorapidity ranges abs(eta) < 2.4 and 1.9, respectively. The data are sensitive to the momentum scale at which parton densities saturate in the proton, to multiple partonic interactions, and to other key aspects of the transition between the soft and hard QCD regimes in hadronic collisions.
This Letter presents a search for new physics manifested as anomalous triple gauge boson couplings in WW and WZ diboson production in proton-proton collisions. The search is performed using events containing a W boson that decays leptonically and a W or Z boson whose decay products are merged into a single reconstructed jet. The data, collected at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC, correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19 inverse femtobarns. No evidence for anomalous triple gauge couplings is found and the following 95% confidence level limits are set on their values: lambda ([-0.011, 0.011]), Delta kappa[gamma] ([-0.044, 0.063]), and Delta g[1,Z] ([-0.0087, 0.024]). These limits are also translated into their effective field theory equivalents: c[WWW] / Lambda^2 ([-2.7, 2.7] TeV^{-2}), c[B] / Lambda^2 ([-14, 17] TeV^{-2}), and c[W] / Lambda^2 ([-2.0, 5.7] TeV^{-2}).
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