Physics and Astronomy Publications

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Search for a charged Higgs boson decaying into a heavy neutral Higgs boson and a W boson in proton-proton collisions at $$ \sqrt{s} $$= 13 TeV
(Springer Nature, 2023) The CMS collaboration
A search for a charged Higgs boson H± decaying into a heavy neutral Higgs boson H and a W boson is presented. The analysis targets the H decay into a pair of tau leptons with at least one of them decaying hadronically and with an additional electron or muon present in the event. The search is based on proton-proton collision data recorded by the CMS experiment during 2016–2018 at $$ \sqrt{s} $$= 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1. The data are consistent with standard model background expectations. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the product of the cross section and branching fraction for an H± in the mass range of 300–700 GeV, assuming an H with a mass of 200 GeV. The observed limits range from 0.085 pb for an H± mass of 300 Ge V to 0.019 pb for a mass of 700 GeV. These are the first limits on H± production in the H± → HW± decay channel at the LHC.
Search for new Higgs bosons via same-sign top quark pair production in association with a jet in proton-proton collisions at s=13TeV
(Elsevier, 2024) The CMS Collaboration
A search is presented for new Higgs bosons in proton-proton (pp) collision events in which a same-sign top quark pair is produced in association with a jet, via the pp→tH/A→ttc‾ and pp→tH/A→ttu‾ processes. Here, H and A represent the extra scalar and pseudoscalar boson, respectively, of the second Higgs doublet in the generalized two-Higgs-doublet model (g2HDM). The search is based on pp collision data collected at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138fb−1. Final states with a same-sign lepton pair in association with jets and missing transverse momentum are considered. New Higgs bosons in the 200–1000 GeV mass range and new Yukawa couplings between 0.1 and 1.0 are targeted in the search, for scenarios in which either H or A appear alone, or in which they coexist and interfere. No significant excess above the standard model prediction is observed. Exclusion limits are derived in the context of the g2HDM.
Measurements of the azimuthal anisotropy of prompt and nonprompt charmonia in PbPb collisions at $$ \sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}} $$= 5.02 TeV
(Springer Nature, 2023) The CMS collaboration
The second-order (v2) and third-order (v3) Fourier coefficients describing the azimuthal anisotropy of prompt and nonprompt (from b-hadron decays) J/ψ, as well as prompt ψ(2S) mesons are measured in lead-lead collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of $$ \sqrt{s_{\textrm{NN}}} $$= 5.02 TeV. The analysis uses a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.61 nb−1 recorded with the CMS detector. The J/ψ and ψ(2S) mesons are reconstructed using their dimuon decay channel. The v2 and v3 coefficients are extracted using the scalar product method and studied as functions of meson transverse momentum and collision centrality. The measured v2 values for prompt J/ψ mesons are found to be larger than those for nonprompt J/ψ mesons. The prompt J/ψ v2 values at high pT are found to be underpredicted by a model incorporating only parton energy loss effects in a quark-gluon plasma medium. Prompt and nonprompt J/ψ meson v3 and prompt ψ(2S) v2 and v3 values are also reported for the first time, providing new information about heavy quark interactions in the hot and dense medium created in heavy ion collisions.
Symmetry Breaking and Ascending in the Magnetic Kagome Metal FeGe
(American Physical Society, 2024) Wu, Shangfei; Klemm, Mason L.; Shah, Jay; Ritz, Ethan T.; Duan, Chunruo; Teng, Xiaokun; Gao, Bin; Ye, Feng; Matsuda, Masaaki; Li, Fankang; Xu, Xianghan; Yi, Ming; Birol, Turan; Dai, Pengcheng; Blumberg, Girsh
Spontaneous symmetry breaking—the phenomenon in which an infinitesimal perturbation can cause the system to break the underlying symmetry—is a cornerstone concept in the understanding of interacting solid-state systems. In a typical series of temperature-driven phase transitions, higher-temperature phases are more symmetric due to the stabilizing effect of entropy that becomes dominant as the temperature is increased. However, the opposite is rare but possible when there are multiple degrees of freedom in the system. Here, we present such an example of a symmetry-ascending phenomenon upon cooling in a magnetic kagome metal FeGe by utilizing neutron Larmor diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. FeGe has a kagome lattice structure with simple A-type antiferromagnetic order below Néel temperature TN≈400 K and a charge density wave (CDW) transition at TCDW≈110 K, followed by a spin-canting transition at around 60 K. In the paramagnetic state at 460 K, we confirm that the crystal structure is indeed a hexagonal kagome lattice. On cooling to around TN, the crystal structure changes from hexagonal to monoclinic with in-plane lattice distortions on the order of 10−4 and the associated splitting of the double-degenerate phonon mode of the pristine kagome lattice. Upon further cooling to TCDW, the kagome lattice shows a small negative thermal expansion, and the crystal structure gradually becomes more symmetric upon further cooling. A tendency of increasing the crystalline symmetry upon cooling is unusual; it originates from an extremely weak structural instability that coexists and competes with the CDW and magnetic orders. These observations are against the expectations for a simple model with a single order parameter and hence can only be explained by a Landau free energy expansion that takes into account multiple lattice, charge, and spin degrees of freedom. Thus, the determination of the crystalline lattice symmetry as well as the unusual spin-lattice coupling is a first step towards understanding the rich electronic and magnetic properties of the system, and it sheds new light on intertwined orders where the lattice degree of freedom is no longer dominant.
Quantum information scrambling and chemical reactions
(National Academy of Sciences, 2024) Zhang, Chenghao; Kundu, Sohang; Makri, Nancy; Gruebele, Martin; Wolynes, Peter G.; Center for Theoretical Biological Physics
The ultimate regularity of quantum mechanics creates a tension with the assumption of classical chaos used in many of our pictures of chemical reaction dynamics. Out-of-time-order correlators (OTOCs) provide a quantum analog to the Lyapunov exponents that characterize classical chaotic motion. Maldacena, Shenker, and Stanford have suggested a fundamental quantum bound for the rate of information scrambling, which resembles a limit suggested by Herzfeld for chemical reaction rates. Here, we use OTOCs to study model reactions based on a double-well reaction coordinate coupled to anharmonic oscillators or to a continuum oscillator bath. Upon cooling, as one enters the tunneling regime where the reaction rate does not strongly depend on temperature, the quantum Lyapunov exponent can approach the scrambling bound and the effective reaction rate obtained from a population correlation function can approach the Herzfeld limit on reaction rates: Tunneling increases scrambling by expanding the state space available to the system. The coupling of a dissipative continuum bath to the reaction coordinate reduces the scrambling rate obtained from the early-time OTOC, thus making the scrambling bound harder to reach, in the same way that friction is known to lower the temperature at which thermally activated barrier crossing goes over to the low-temperature activationless tunneling regime. Thus, chemical reactions entering the tunneling regime can be information scramblers as powerful as the black holes to which the quantum Lyapunov exponent bound has usually been applied.
Switching the spin cycloid in BiFeO3 with an electric field
(Springer Nature, 2024) Meisenheimer, Peter; Moore, Guy; Zhou, Shiyu; Zhang, Hongrui; Huang, Xiaoxi; Husain, Sajid; Chen, Xianzhe; Martin, Lane W.; Persson, Kristin A.; Griffin, Sinéad; Caretta, Lucas; Stevenson, Paul; Ramesh, Ramamoorthy; Rice Advanced Materials Institute
Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) is a multiferroic material that exhibits both ferroelectricity and canted antiferromagnetism at room temperature, making it a unique candidate in the development of electric-field controllable magnetic devices. The magnetic moments in BiFeO3 are arranged into a spin cycloid, resulting in unique magnetic properties which are tied to the ferroelectric order. Previous understanding of this coupling has relied on average, mesoscale measurements. Using nitrogen vacancy-based diamond magnetometry, we observe the magnetic spin cycloid structure of BiFeO3 in real space. This structure is magnetoelectrically coupled through symmetry to the ferroelectric polarization and this relationship is maintained through electric field switching. Through a combination of in-plane and out-of-plane electrical switching, coupled with ab initio studies, we have discovered that the epitaxy from the substrate imposes a magnetoelastic anisotropy on the spin cycloid, which establishes preferred cycloid propagation directions. The energy landscape of the cycloid is shaped by both the ferroelectric degree of freedom and strain-induced anisotropy, restricting the spin spiral propagation vector to changes to specific switching events.
Global-Scale Processes and Effects of Magnetic Reconnection on the Geospace Environment
(Springer Nature, 2024) Fuselier, S. A.; Petrinec, S. M.; Reiff, P. H.; Birn, J.; Baker, D. N.; Cohen, I. J.; Nakamura, R.; Sitnov, M. I.; Stephens, G. K.; Hwang, J.; Lavraud, B.; Moore, T. E.; Trattner, K. J.; Giles, B. L.; Gershman, D. J.; Toledo-Redondo, S.; Eastwood, J. P.
Recent multi-point measurements, in particular from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft, have advanced the understanding of micro-scale aspects of magnetic reconnection. In addition, the MMS mission, as part of the Heliospheric System Observatory, combined with recent advances in global magnetospheric modeling, have furthered the understanding of meso- and global-scale structure and consequences of reconnection. Magnetic reconnection at the dayside magnetopause and in the magnetotail are the drivers of the global Dungey cycle, a classical picture of global magnetospheric circulation. Some recent advances in the global structure and consequences of reconnection that are addressed here include a detailed understanding of the location and steadiness of reconnection at the dayside magnetopause, the importance of multiple plasma sources in the global circulation, and reconnection consequences in the magnetotail. These advances notwithstanding, there are important questions about global reconnection that remain. These questions focus on how multiple reconnection and reconnection variability fit into and complicate the Dungey Cycle picture of global magnetospheric circulation.
Sites of Planet Formation in Binary Systems. I. Evidence for Disk−Orbit Alignment in the Close Binary FO Tau
(IOP Publishing, 2024) Tofflemire, Benjamin M.; Prato, Lisa; Kraus, Adam L.; Segura-Cox, Dominique; Schaefer, G. H.; Akeson, Rachel; Andrews, Sean; Jensen, Eric L. N.; Johns-Krull, Christopher M.; Zanazzi, J. J.; Simon, M.
Close binary systems present challenges to planet formation. As binary separations decrease, so do the occurrence rates of protoplanetary disks in young systems and planets in mature systems. For systems that do retain disks, their disk masses and sizes are altered by the presence of the binary companion. Through the study of protoplanetary disks in binary systems with known orbital parameters, we seek to determine the properties that promote disk retention and therefore planet formation. In this work, we characterize the young binary−disk system FO Tau. We determine the first full orbital solution for the system, finding masses of and 0.34 ± 0.05 M ⊙ for the stellar components, a semimajor axis of au, and an eccentricity of . With long-baseline Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array interferometry, we detect 1.3 mm continuum and 12CO (J = 2–1) line emission toward each of the binary components; no circumbinary emission is detected. The protoplanetary disks are compact, consistent with being truncated by the binary orbit. The dust disks are unresolved in the image plane, and the more extended gas disks are only marginally resolved. Fitting the continuum and CO visibilities, we determine the inclination of each disk, finding evidence for alignment of the disk and binary orbital planes. This study is the first of its kind linking the properties of circumstellar protoplanetary disks to a precisely known binary orbit. In the case of FO Tau, we find a dynamically placid environment (coplanar, low eccentricity), which may foster its potential for planet formation.
FAUST - XIII. Dusty cavity and molecular shock driven by IRS7B in the Corona Australis cluster
(EDP Sciences, 2024) Sabatini, G.; Podio, L.; Codella, C.; Watanabe, Y.; Simone, M. De; Bianchi, E.; Ceccarelli, C.; Chandler, C. J.; Sakai, N.; Svoboda, B.; Testi, L.; Aikawa, Y.; Balucani, N.; Bouvier, M.; Caselli, P.; Caux, E.; Chahine, L.; Charnley, S.; Cuello, N.; Dulieu, F.; Evans, L.; Fedele, D.; Feng, S.; Fontani, F.; Hama, T.; Hanawa, T.; Herbst, E.; Hirota, T.; Isella, A.; Jímenez-Serra, I.; Johnstone, D.; Lefloch, B.; Gal, R. Le; Loinard, L.; Liu, H. B.; López-Sepulcre, A.; Maud, L. T.; Maureira, M. J.; Menard, F.; Miotello, A.; Moellenbrock, G.; Nomura, H.; Oba, Y.; Ohashi, S.; Okoda, Y.; Oya, Y.; Pineda, J.; Rimola, A.; Sakai, T.; Segura-Cox, D.; Shirley, Y.; Vastel, C.; Viti, S.; Watanabe, N.; Zhang, Y.; Zhang, Z. E.; Yamamoto, S.
Context.The origin of the chemical diversity observed around low-mass protostars probably resides in the earliest history of these systems.Aims. We aim to investigate the impact of protostellar feedback on the chemistry and grain growth in the circumstellar medium of multiple stellar systems. Methods. In the context of the ALMA Large Program FAUST, we present high-resolution (50 au) observations of CH3OH, H2CO, and SiO and continuum emission at 1.3 mm and 3 mm towards the Corona Australis star cluster.Results. Methanol emission reveals an arc-like structure at ∼1800 au from the protostellar system IRS7B along the direction perpendicular to the major axis of the disc. The arc is located at the edge of two elongated continuum structures that define a cone emerging from IRS7B. The region inside the cone is probed by H2CO, while the eastern wall of the arc shows bright emission in SiO, a typical shock tracer. Taking into account the association with a previously detected radio jet imaged with JVLA at 6 cm, the molecular arc reveals for the first time a bow shock driven by IRS7B and a two-sided dust cavity opened by the mass-loss process. For each cavity wall, we derive an average H 2 column density of ∼7 × 1021 cm−2, a mass of ∼9 × 10−3 M⊙, and a lower limit on the dust spectral index of 1.4.Conclusions. These observations provide the first evidence of a shock and a conical dust cavity opened by the jet driven by IRS7B, with important implications for the chemical enrichment and grain growth in the envelope of Solar System analogues.
Fragility of Surface States in Non-Wigner-Dyson Topological Insulators
(American Physical Society, 2024) Altland, Alexander; Brouwer, Piet W.; Dieplinger, Johannes; Foster, Matthew S.; Moreno-Gonzalez, Mateo; Trifunovic, Luka; Rice Center for Quantum Materials
Topological insulators and superconductors support extended surface states protected against the otherwise localizing effects of static disorder. Specifically, in the Wigner-Dyson insulators belonging to the symmetry classes A, AI, and AII, a band of extended surface states is continuously connected to a likewise extended set of bulk states forming a “bridge” between different surfaces via the mechanism of spectral flow. In this work we show that this mechanism is absent in the majority of non-Wigner-Dyson topological superconductors and chiral topological insulators. In these systems, there is precisely one point with granted extended states, the center of the band, E=0. Away from it, states are spatially localized, or can be made so by the addition of spatially local potentials. Considering the three-dimensional insulator in class AIII and winding number ν=1 as a paradigmatic case study, we discuss the physical principles behind this phenomenon, and its methodological and applied consequences. In particular, we show that low-energy Dirac approximations in the description of surface states can be treacherous in that they tend to conceal the localizability phenomenon. We also identify markers defined in terms of Berry curvature as measures for the degree of state localization in lattice models, and back our analytical predictions by extensive numerical simulations. A main conclusion of this work is that the surface phenomenology of non-Wigner-Dyson topological insulators is a lot richer than that of their Wigner-Dyson siblings, extreme limits being spectrumwide quantum critical delocalization of all states versus full localization except at the E=0 critical point. As part of our study we identify possible experimental signatures distinguishing between these different alternatives in transport or tunnel spectroscopy.
Concise Spectrotemporal Studies of Magnetar SGR J1935+2154 Bursts
(IOP Publishing, 2024) Keskin, Özge; Göğüş, Ersin; Kaneko, Yuki; Demirer, Mustafa; Yamasaki, Shotaro; Baring, Matthew G.; Lin, Lin; Roberts, Oliver J.; Kouveliotou, Chryssa
SGR J1935+2154 has truly been the most prolific magnetar over the last decade: it has been entering into burst active episodes once every 1–2 yr since its discovery in 2014, it emitted the first Galactic fast radio burst associated with an X-ray burst in 2020, and it has emitted hundreds of energetic short bursts. Here, we present the time-resolved spectral analysis of 51 bright bursts from SGR J1935+2154. Unlike conventional time-resolved X-ray spectroscopic studies in the literature, we follow a two-step approach to probe true spectral evolution. For each burst, we first extract spectral information from overlapping time segments, fit them with three continuum models, and employ a machine-learning-based clustering algorithm to identify time segments that provide the largest spectral variations during each burst. We then extract spectra from those nonoverlapping (clustered) time segments and fit them again with the three models: the cutoff power-law model, the sum of two blackbody functions, and the model considering the emission of a modified blackbody undergoing resonant cyclotron scattering, which is applied systematically at this scale for the first time. Our novel technique allowed us to establish the genuine spectral evolution of magnetar bursts. We discuss the implications of our results and compare their collective behavior with the average burst properties of other magnetars.
Measurements of inclusive and differential cross sections for the Higgs boson production and decay to four-leptons in proton-proton collisions at $$ \sqrt{s} $$= 13 TeV
(Springer Nature, 2023) The CMS collaboration
Measurements of the inclusive and differential fiducial cross sections for the Higgs boson production in the H → ZZ → 4ℓ (ℓ = e, μ) decay channel are presented. The results are obtained from the analysis of proton-proton collision data recorded by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1. The measured inclusive fiducial cross section is 2.73 ± 0.26 fb, in agreement with the standard model expectation of 2.86 ± 0.1 fb. Differential cross sections are measured as a function of several kinematic observables sensitive to the Higgs boson production and decay to four leptons. A set of double-differential measurements is also performed, yielding a comprehensive characterization of the four leptons final state. Constraints on the Higgs boson trilinear coupling and on the bottom and charm quark coupling modifiers are derived from its transverse momentum distribution. All results are consistent with theoretical predictions from the standard model.
Mapping the Vertical Gas Structure of the Planet-hosting PDS 70 Disk
(IOP Publishing, 2024) Law, Charles J.; Benisty, Myriam; Facchini, Stefano; Teague, Richard; Bae, Jaehan; Isella, Andrea; Kamp, Inga; Öberg, Karin I.; Portilla-Revelo, Bayron; Rampinelli, Luna
PDS 70 hosts two massive, still-accreting planets and the inclined orientation of its protoplanetary disk presents a unique opportunity to directly probe the vertical gas structure of a planet-hosting disk. Here, we use high-spatial-resolution (≈0.″1; 10 au) observations in a set of CO isotopologue lines and HCO+ J = 4−3 to map the full 2D (r, z) disk structure from the disk atmosphere, as traced by 12CO, to closer to the midplane, as probed by less abundant isotopologues and HCO+. In the PDS 70 disk, 12CO traces a height of z/r ≈ 0.3, 13CO is found at z/r ≈ 0.1, and C18O originates at, or near, the midplane. The HCO+ surface arises from z/r ≈ 0.2 and is one of the few non-CO emission surfaces constrained with high-fidelity in disks to date. In the 12CO J = 3−2 line, we resolve a vertical dip and steep rise in height at the cavity wall, making PDS 70 the first transition disk where this effect is directly seen in line-emitting heights. In the outer disk, the CO emission heights of PDS 70 appear typical for its stellar mass and disk size and are not substantially altered by the two inner embedded planets. By combining CO isotopologue and HCO+ lines, we derive the 2D gas temperature structure and estimate a midplane CO snowline of ≈ 56–85 au. This implies that both PDS 70b and 70c are located interior to the CO snowline and are likely accreting gas with a high C/O ratio of ≈ 1.0, which provides context for future planetary atmospheric measurements from, e.g., JWST, and for properly modeling their formation histories.
Jet-hadron correlations with respect to the event plane in $\sqrt{{s}_{NN}}=200$ GeV $\mathrm{Au}+\mathrm{Au}$ collisions in STAR
(American Physical Society, 2024) STAR Collaboration
Angular distributions of charged particles relative to jet axes are studied in √sNN=200 GeV Au+Au collisions as a function of the jet orientation with respect to the event plane. This differential study tests the expected path-length dependence of energy loss experienced by a hard-scattered parton as it traverses the hot and dense medium formed in heavy-ion collisions. A second-order event plane is used in the analysis as an experimental estimate of the reaction plane formed by the collision impact parameter and the beam direction. Charged-particle jets with 15
Search for the lepton flavor violating τ → 3μ decay in proton-proton collisions at s=13TeV
(Elsevier, 2024) The CMS Collaboration
A search for the lepton flavor violating τ→3μ decay is performed using proton-proton collision events at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2017–2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 97.7 fb−1. Tau leptons produced in both heavy-flavor hadron and W boson decays are exploited in the analysis. No evidence for the decay is observed. The results of this search are combined with an earlier null result based on data collected in 2016 to obtain a total integrated luminosity of 131 fb−1. The observed (expected) upper limits on the branching fraction B(τ→3μ) at confidence levels of 90 and 95% are 2.9×10−8 (2.4×10−8) and 3.6×10−8 (3.0×10−8), respectively.
Results on elastic cross sections in proton–proton collisions at s=510 GeV with the STAR detector at RHIC
(Elsevier, 2024) The STAR Collaboration
We report results on an elastic cross section measurement in proton–proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy s=510 GeV, obtained with the Roman Pot setup of the STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The elastic differential cross section is measured in the four-momentum transfer squared range 0.23≤−t≤0.67 GeV2. This is the only measurement of the proton-proton elastic cross section in this t range for collision energies above the Intersecting Storage Rings (ISR) and below the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) colliders. We find that a constant slope B does not fit the data in the aforementioned t range, and we obtain a much better fit using a second-order polynomial for B(t). This is the first measurement below the LHC energies for which the non-constant behavior B(t) is observed. The t dependence of B is also determined using six subintervals of t in the STAR measured t range, and is in good agreement with the phenomenological models. The measured elastic differential cross section dσ/dt agrees well with the results obtained at s=540 GeV for proton–antiproton collisions by the UA4 experiment. We also determine that the integrated elastic cross section within the STAR t-range is σelfid=462.1±0.9(stat.)±1.1(syst.)±11.6(scale) μb.
Searches for additional Higgs bosons and for vector leptoquarks in ττ final states in proton-proton collisions at $$ \sqrt{s} $$= 13 TeV
(Springer Nature, 2023) The CMS collaboration
Three searches are presented for signatures of physics beyond the standard model (SM) in ττ final states in proton-proton collisions at the LHC, using a data sample collected with the CMS detector at $$ \sqrt{s} $$= 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1. Upper limits at 95% confidence level (CL) are set on the products of the branching fraction for the decay into τ leptons and the cross sections for the production of a new boson ϕ, in addition to the H(125) boson, via gluon fusion (ggϕ) or in association with b quarks, ranging from $$ \mathcal{O} $$(10 pb) for a mass of 60 GeV to 0.3 fb for a mass of 3.5 TeV each. The data reveal two excesses for ggϕ production with local p-values equivalent to about three standard deviations at mϕ = 0.1 and 1.2 TeV. In a search for t-channel exchange of a vector leptoquark U1, 95% CL upper limits are set on the dimensionless U1 leptoquark coupling to quarks and τ leptons ranging from 1 for a mass of 1 TeV to 6 for a mass of 5 TeV, depending on the scenario. In the interpretations of the $$ {M}_{\textrm{h}}^{125} $$and $$ {M}_{\textrm{h},\textrm{EFT}}^{125} $$minimal supersymmetric SM benchmark scenarios, additional Higgs bosons with masses below 350 GeV are excluded at 95% CL.
Search for resonant and nonresonant production of pairs of dijet resonances in proton-proton collisions at $$ \sqrt{s} $$= 13 TeV
(Springer Nature, 2023) The CMS collaboration
A search for pairs of dijet resonances with the same mass is conducted in final states with at least four jets. Results are presented separately for the case where the four jet production proceeds via an intermediate resonant state and for nonresonant production. The search uses a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1 collected by the CMS detector in proton-proton collisions at $$ \sqrt{s} $$= 13 TeV. Model-independent limits, at 95% confidence level, are reported on the production cross section of four-jet and dijet resonances. These first LHC limits on resonant pair production of dijet resonances via high mass intermediate states are applied to a signal model of diquarks that decay into pairs of vector-like quarks, excluding diquark masses below 7.6 TeV for a particular model scenario. There are two events in the tails of the distributions, each with a four-jet mass of 8 TeV and an average dijet mass of 2 TeV, resulting in local and global significances of 3.9 and 1.6 standard deviations, respectively, if interpreted as a signal. The nonresonant search excludes pair production of top squarks with masses between 0.50 TeV to 0.77 TeV, with the exception of a small interval between 0.52 and 0.58 TeV, for supersymmetric R-parity-violating decays to quark pairs, significantly extending previous limits. Here, the most significant excess above the predicted background occurs at an average dijet mass of 0.95 TeV, for which the local and global significances are 3.6 and 2.5 standard deviations, respectively.
Measurement of the cross section of top quark-antiquark pair production in association with a W boson in proton-proton collisions at $$ \sqrt{s} $$= 13 TeV
(Springer Nature, 2023) The CMS collaboration
The production of a top quark-antiquark pair in association with a W boson ($$ \textrm{t}\overline{\textrm{t}}\textrm{W} $$) is measured in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The analyzed data was recorded by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1. Events with two or three leptons (electrons and muons) and additional jets are selected. In events with two leptons, a multiclass neural network is used to distinguish between the signal and background processes. Events with three leptons are categorized based on the number of jets and of jets originating from b quark hadronization, and the lepton charges. The inclusive $$ \textrm{t}\overline{\textrm{t}}\textrm{W} $$production cross section in the full phase space is measured to be 868 ± 40(stat) ± 51(syst) fb. The $$ \textrm{t}\overline{\textrm{t}}\textrm{W} $$+ and $$ \textrm{t}\overline{\textrm{t}}\textrm{W} $$− cross sections are also measured as 553 ± 30(stat) ± 30(syst) and 343 ± 26(stat) ± 25(syst) fb, respectively, and the corresponding ratio of the two cross sections is found to be $$ 1.61\pm 0.15{\left(\textrm{stat}\right)}_{-0.05}^{+0.07}\left(\textrm{syst}\right) $$. The measured cross sections are larger than but consistent with the standard model predictions within two standard deviations, and represent the most precise measurement of these cross sections to date.
Search for Higgs boson pairs decaying to WW*WW*, WW*ττ, and ττττ in proton-proton collisions at $$ \sqrt{s} $$= 13 TeV
(Springer Nature, 2023) The CMS collaboration
The results of a search for Higgs boson pair (HH) production in the WW*WW*, WW*ττ, and ττττ decay modes are presented. The search uses 138 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV from 2016 to 2018. Analyzed events contain two, three, or four reconstructed leptons, including electrons, muons, and hadronically decaying tau leptons. No evidence for a signal is found in the data. Upper limits are set on the cross section for nonresonant HH production, as well as resonant production in which a new heavy particle decays to a pair of Higgs bosons. For nonresonant production, the observed (expected) upper limit on the cross section at 95% confidence level (CL) is 21.3 (19.4) times the standard model (SM) prediction. The observed (expected) ratio of the trilinear Higgs boson self-coupling to its value in the SM is constrained to be within the interval −6.9 to 11.1 (−6.9 to 11.7) at 95% CL, and limits are set on a variety of new-physics models using an effective field theory approach. The observed (expected) limits on the cross section for resonant HH production range from 0.18 to 0.90 (0.08 to 1.06) pb at 95% CL for new heavy-particle masses in the range 250–1000 GeV.

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