Measurement of the underlying event activity at the LHC with √s = 7 TeV and comparison with √s = 0:9 TeV

A measurement of the underlying activity in events with a jet of transverse momentum in the several GeV region is performed in proton-proton collisions at √ s = 0:9 and 7TeV, using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The production of charged particles with pseudorapidity |η|<2 and transverse momentum pT >0:5 GeV/c is studied in the azimuthal region transverse to that of the leading set of charged particles forming a track-jet. A significant growth of the average multiplicity and scalar-pT sum of the particles in the transverse region is observed with increasing pT of the leading trackjet, followed by a much slower rise above a few GeV/c. For track-jet pT larger than a few GeV/c, the activity in the transverse region is approximately doubled with a centreof- mass energy increase from 0:9 to 7TeV. Predictions of several QCD-inspired models as implemented in pythia are compared to the data.

Combination of CDF and D0 measurements of the W boson helicity in top quark decays

We report the combination of recent measurements of the helicity of the W boson from top quark decay by the CDF and D0 collaborations, based on data samples corresponding to integrated luminosities of 2.7-5.4fb -1 of pp̄ collisions collected during Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron collider. Combining measurements that simultaneously determine the fractions of W bosons with longitudinal (f 0) and right-handed (f +) helicities, we find f 0=0.722±0.081[±0.062(stat)±0.052(syst)] and f +=-0.033±0.046[±0.034(stat)±0.031(syst)]. Combining measurements where one of the helicity fractions is fixed to the value expected in the standard model, we find f 0=0.682±0. 057[±0.035(stat)±0.046(syst)] for fixed f + and f +=-0.015±0.035[±0.018(stat)±0.030(syst)] for fixed f 0. The results are consistent with standard model expectations. © 2012 American Physical Society.

Measurement of the underlying event activity in pp collisions at √s = 0.9 and 7 TeV with the novel jet-area/median approach

The first measurement of the charged component of the underlying event using the novel jet-area/median approach is presented for proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 0.9 and 7 TeV. The data were recorded in 2010 with the CMS experiment at the LHC. A new observable, sensitive to soft particle production, is introduced and investigated inclusively and as a function of the event scale defined by the transverse momentum of the leading jet. Various phenomenological models are compared to data, with and without corrections for detector effects. None of the examined models describe the data satisfactorily. © 2012 SISSA.

Absence of genotoxic effects of the coumarin derivative 4-methylesculetin in vivo and its potential chemoprevention against doxorubicin-induced DNA damage

4-Methylesculetin (4-ME) is a synthetic derivative of coumarin that displays a potent reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger and metal chelating agent and therefore has been produced to help reduce the risk of human disease. The main objective of this study was to investigate the in vivo genotoxicity of 4-ME and initially to verify its potential antigenotoxicity on doxorubicin (DXR)-induced DNA damage. Different doses of 4-ME (500, 1000 and 2000mgkg -1 body weight) were administered by gavage only or with a simultaneous intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of DXR (80mgkg -1). The following endpoints were analyzed: DNA damage in peripheral blood, liver, bone marrow, brain and testicle cells according to an alkaline (pH>13) comet assay and micronucleus induction in bone marrow cells. Cytotoxicity was assessed by scoring polychromatic (PCE) and normochromatic (NCE) erythrocytes (PCE/NCE ratio). No differences were observed between the negative control and the groups treated with a 4-ME dose for any of the endpoints analyzed, indicating that it lacks genotoxic and cytotoxic effects. Moreover, 4-ME demonstrated protective effects against DXR-induced DNA damage at all tested doses and in all analyzed cell types, which ranged from 34.1% to 93.3% in the comet assay and 54.4% to 65.9% in the micronucleus test.

Combination of the top-quark mass measurements from the Tevatron collider

The top quark is the heaviest known elementary particle, with a mass about 40 times larger than the mass of its isospin partner, the bottom quark. It decays almost 100% of the time to a W boson and a bottom quark. Using top-antitop pairs at the Tevatron proton-antiproton collider, the CDF and D0 Collaborations have measured the top quark's mass in different final states for integrated luminosities of up to 5.8fb -1. This paper reports on a combination of these measurements that results in a more precise value of the mass than any individual decay channel can provide. It describes the treatment of the systematic uncertainties and their correlations. The mass value determined is 173.18±0.56(stat)±0.75(syst)GeV or 173.18±0.94GeV, which has a precision of ±0.54%, making this the most precise determination of the top-quark mass. © 2012 American Physical Society.

Measurement of the single-top-quark t-channel cross section in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

A measurement of the single-top-quark t-channel production cross section in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC is presented. Two different and complementary approaches have been followed. The first approach exploits the distributions of the pseudorapidity of the recoil jet and reconstructed top-quark mass using background estimates determined from control samples in data. The second approach is based on multivariate analysis techniques that probe the compatibility of the candidate events with the signal. Data have been collected for the muon and electron final states, corresponding to integrated luminosities of 1.17 and 1.56 fb-1, respectively. The single-top-quark production cross section in the t-channel is measured to be 67.2±6.1 pb, in agreement with the approximate next-to-next-to-leading- order standard model prediction. Using the standard model electroweak couplings, the CKM matrix element |V tb| is measured to be 1.020 ± 0.046 (meas.) ± 0.017 (theor.). © 2012 CERN for the benefit of the CMS collaboration.

Measurement of the top-quark mass in t̄t events with lepton+jets final states in pp collisions at √s =7 TeV

The mass of the top quark is measured using a sample of t̄t candidate events with one electron or muon and at least four jets in the final state, collected by CMS in pp collisions at √s =7 TeV at the LHC. A total of 5174 candidate events is selected from data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb-1. For each event the mass is reconstructed from a kinematic fit of the decay products to a t̄t hypothesis. The top-quark mass is determined simultaneously with the jet energy scale (JES), constrained by the known mass of the W boson in q̄q decays, to be 173.49 ± 0.43 (stat. + JES) ±0.98 (syst.) GeV. © 2012 CERN for the benefit of the CMS collaboration.

Measurement of the elliptic anisotropy of charged particles produced in PbPb collisions at √sNN=2.76 TeV

The anisotropy of the azimuthal distributions of charged particles produced in √sNN=2.76 TeV PbPb collisions is studied with the CMS experiment at the LHC. The elliptic anisotropy parameter, v2, defined as the second coefficient in a Fourier expansion of the particle invariant yields, is extracted using the event-plane method, two- and four-particle cumulants, and Lee-Yang zeros. The anisotropy is presented as a function of transverse momentum (pT), pseudorapidity (η) over a broad kinematic range, 0.3of collision centrality from 0 to 80%. The results are compared to those obtained at lower center-of-mass energies, and various scaling behaviors are examined. When scaled by the geometric eccentricity of the collision zone, the elliptic anisotropy is found to obey a universal scaling with the transverse particle density for different collision systems and center-of-mass energies. © 2013 CERN. Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

Measurement of the azimuthal anisotropy of neutral pions in Pb-Pb collisions at √sNN=2.76 TeV

First measurements of the azimuthal anisotropy of neutral pions produced in Pb-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy of √sNN=2.76 TeV are presented. The amplitudes of the second Fourier component (v2) of the π0 azimuthal distributions are extracted using an event-plane technique. The values of v2 are studied as a function of the neutral pion transverse momentum (pT) for different classes of collision centrality in the kinematic range 1.6the pseudorapidity interval |η|<0.8. The CMS measurements of v 2(pT) are similar to previously reported π0 azimuthal anisotropy results from √sNN=200 GeV Au-Au collisions at RHIC, despite a factor of ∼14 increase in the center-of-mass energy. In the momentum range 2.5the neutral pion anisotropies are found to be smaller than those observed by CMS for inclusive charged particles. © 2013 CERN.

Measurement of the sum of WW and WZ production with W+dijet events in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV

A measurement of the inclusive WW+WZ diboson production cross section in proton-proton collisions is reported, based on events containing a leptonically decaying W boson and exactly two jets. The data sample, collected at √s = 7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5. 0 fb-1. The measured value of the sum of the inclusive WW and WZ cross sections is σ(pp→WW+WZ)=68. 9±8. 7 (stat.)±9. 7 (syst.)±1. 5 (lum.) pb, consistent with the standard model prediction of 65. 6±2. 2 pb. This is the first measurement of WW+WZ production in pp collisions using this signature. No evidence for anomalous triple gauge couplings is found and upper limits are set on their magnitudes. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the CMS collaboration.

Measurement of the υ(1S), υ(2S), and υ(3S) polarizations in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

The polarizations of the υ(1S), υ(2S), and υ(3S) mesons are measured in proton-proton collisions at √s=7 TeV, using a data sample of υ(nS)→μ+μ- decays collected by the CMS experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.9 fb-1. The dimuon decay angular distributions are analyzed in three different polarization frames. The polarization parameters λ™, λφ, and λ, as well as the frame-invariant quantity λ, are presented as a function of the υ(nS) transverse momentum between 10 and 50 GeV, in the rapidity ranges |y|<0.6 and 0.6<|y|<1.2. No evidence of large transverse or longitudinal polarizations is seen in the explored kinematic region. © 2013 CERN.

Study of the mass and spin-parity of the Higgs boson candidate via its decays to Z boson pairs

A study is presented of the mass and spin-parity of the new boson recently observed at the LHC at a mass near 125 GeV. An integrated luminosity of 17.3 fb-1, collected by the CMS experiment in proton-proton collisions at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV, is used. The measured mass in the ZZ channel, where both Z bosons decay to e or μ pairs, is 126.2±0.6(stat) ±0.2(syst) GeV. The angular distributions of the lepton pairs in this channel are sensitive to the spin-parity of the boson. Under the assumption of spin 0, the present data are consistent with the pure scalar hypothesis, while disfavoring the pure pseudoscalar hypothesis. © 2013 CERN. Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

Measurement of the tt̄ production cross section in the τ+jets channel in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV

The top-quark pair production cross section in 7 TeV center-of-mass energy proton-proton collisions is measured using data collected by the CMS detector at the LHC. The measurement uses events with one jet identified as a hadronically decaying τ lepton and at least four additional energetic jets, at least one of which is identified as coming from a b quark. The analyzed data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 3.9 fb-1 recorded by a dedicated multijet plus hadronically decaying τ trigger. A neural network has been developed to separate the top-quark pairs from the W+jets and multijet backgrounds. The measured value of σtt̄= 152 ± 12,(stat.) ± 32,(syst.) ±,(lum.) pb is consistent with the standard model predictions. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the CMS collaboration.

Measurement of the t̄t production cross section in the all-jet final state in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

A measurement is presented of the t̄t production cross section σt̄t in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, in the all-jet final state that contains at least six jets, two of which are tagged as originating from b quarks. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 3.54 fb-1, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC. The cross section is determined through an unbinned maximum likelihood fit of background and t̄t signal to the reconstructed mass spectrum of t̄t candidates in the data, in which events are subjected to a kinematic fit assuming a t̄t → W+bW-̄b → 6 jets hypothesis. The measurement yields σt̄t = 139±10(stat.)±26(syst.)±3(lum.)pb, a result consistent with those obtained in other t̄t decay channels, as well as with predictions of the standard model. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the CMS collaboration.

Measurement of the λb 0 lifetime in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

A measurement of the λb 0 lifetime using the decay λb 0-1, was recorded with the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider using triggers that selected dimuon events in the J/ψ mass region. The λb 0 lifetime is measured to be 1.503 ± 0.052 (stat.) ± 0.031 (syst.) ps. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2013 Cern for the benefit of the CMS collaboration.