Professor Daniela Bortoletto

Abstract:

A search is presented in proton-proton collisions at s=7TeV for fermionic triplet states expected in type III seesaw models. The search is performed using final states with three isolated charged leptons and an imbalance in transverse momentum. The data, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC, correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.9fb-1. No excess of events is observed above the background predicted by the standard model, and the results are interpreted in terms of limits on production cross sections and masses of the heavy partners of the neutrinos in type III seesaw models. Depending on the considered scenarios, lower limits are obtained on the mass of the heavy partner of the neutrino that range from 180 to 210GeV. These are the first limits on the production of type III seesaw fermionic triplet states reported by an experiment at the LHC. © 2012 CERN.

Abstract:

The results of a search for the pair production of a fourth-generation up-type quark (t') in proton-proton collisions at √s=7 TeV are presented, using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 5.0 fb-1 collected by the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment at the LHC. The t' quark is assumed to decay exclusively to a W boson and a b quark. Events with a single isolated electron or muon, missing transverse momentum, and at least four hadronic jets, of which at least one must be identified as a b jet, are selected. No significant excess of events over standard model expectations is observed. Upper limits for the t't' production cross section at 95% confidence level are set as a function of t' mass, and t'-quark production for masses below 570 GeV is excluded. The search is equally sensitive to nonchiral heavy quarks decaying to Wb. In this case, the results can be interpreted as upper limits on the production cross section times the branching fraction to Wb. © 2012 CERN.

Abstract:

Results are reported from a search for the production of three-jet resonances in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy √s=7TeV. The study uses the data sample collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2011, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0fb-1. Events with high jet multiplicity and a large scalar sum of jet transverse momenta are analyzed for the presence of resonances in the three-jet invariant mass spectrum. No evidence for a narrow resonance is found in the data, and limits are set on the cross section for gluino pair production in an R-parity-violating supersymmetry model, for gluino masses greater than 280 GeV. Assuming a branching fraction for gluino decay into three jets of 100%, gluino masses below 460 GeV are excluded at 95% confidence level. These results significantly extend the range of previous limits. © 2012 CERN.

Abstract:

A search for a doubly-charged Higgs boson in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV is presented. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4. 9 fb-1, collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The search is performed using events with three or more isolated charged leptons of any flavor, giving sensitivity to the decays of pair-produced triplet components Φ++Φ--, and Φ++Φ- from associated production. No excess is observed compared to the background prediction, and upper limits at the 95 % confidence level are set on the Φ++ production cross section, under specific assumptions on its branching fractions. Lower bounds on the Φ++ mass are reported, providing significantly more stringent constraints than previously published limits. © 2012 CERN for the benefit of the CMS collaboration.

Abstract:

The suppression of the individual Υ(nS) states in PbPb collisions with respect to their yields in pp data has been measured. The PbPb and pp data sets used in the analysis correspond to integrated luminosities of 150μb -1 and 230nb-1, respectively, collected in 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC, at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 2.76TeV. The Υ(nS) yields are measured from the dimuon invariant mass spectra. The suppression of the Υ(nS) yields in PbPb relative to the yields in pp, scaled by the number of nucleon-nucleon collisions, RAA, is measured as a function of the collision centrality. Integrated over centrality, the RAA values are 0.56±0.08(stat)±0.07(syst), 0.12±0.04(stat)±0.02(syst), and lower than 0.10 (at 95% confidence level), for the Υ(1S), Υ(2S), and Υ(3S) states, respectively. The results demonstrate the sequential suppression of the Υ(nS) states in PbPb collisions at LHC energies. © 2012 CERN.