Observation of room-temperature polar skyrmions.

Complex topological configurations are fertile ground for exploring emergent phenomena and exotic phases in condensed-matter physics. For example, the recent discovery of polarization vortices and their associated complex-phase coexistence and response under applied electric fields in superlattices of (PbTiO3)n/(SrTiO3)n suggests the presence of a complex, multi-dimensional system capable of interesting physical responses, such as chirality, negative capacitance and large piezo-electric responses1-3. Here, by varying epitaxial constraints, we discover room-temperature polar-skyrmion bubbles in a lead titanate layer confined by strontium titanate layers, which are imaged by atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy. Phase-field modelling and second-principles calculations reveal that the polar-skyrmion bubbles have a skyrmion number of +1, and resonant soft-X-ray diffraction experiments show circular dichroism, confirming chirality. Such nanometre-scale polar-skyrmion bubbles are the electric analogues of magnetic skyrmions, and could contribute to the advancement of ferroelectrics towards functionalities incorporating emergent chirality and electrically controllable negative capacitance.

Measurement of Energy Correlators inside Jets and Determination of the Strong Coupling α_{S}(m_{Z}).

Energy correlators that describe energy-weighted distances between two or three particles in a hadronic jet are measured using an event sample of sqrt[s]=13 TeV proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.3 fb^{-1}. The measured distributions are consistent with the trends in the simulation that reveal two key features of the strong interaction: confinement and asymptotic freedom. By comparing the ratio of the measured three- and two-particle energy correlator distributions with theoretical calculations that resum collinear emissions at approximate next-to-next-to-leading-logarithmic accuracy matched to a next-to-leading-order calculation, the strong coupling is determined at the Z boson mass: α_{S}(m_{Z})=0.1229_{-0.0050}^{+0.0040}, the most precise α_{S}(m_{Z}) value obtained using jet substructure observables.

Search for Baryon Number Violation in Top Quark Production and Decay Using Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV.

A search is presented for baryon number violating interactions in top quark production and decay. The analysis uses data from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC with an integrated luminosity of 138 fb^{-1}. Candidate events are selected by requiring two oppositely charged leptons (electrons or muons) and exactly one jet identified as originating from a bottom quark. Multivariate discriminants are used to separate the signal from the background. No significant deviation from the standard model prediction is observed. Upper limits are placed on the strength of baryon number violating couplings. For the first time the production of single top quarks via baryon number violating interactions is studied. This allows the search to set the most stringent constraints to date on the branching fraction of the top quark decay to a lepton, an up-type quark (u or c), and a down-type quark (d, s, or b). The results improve the previous bounds by 3 to 6 orders of magnitude based on the fermion flavor combination of the baryon number violating interactions.

Search for Narrow Trijet Resonances in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV.

The first search for singly produced narrow resonances decaying to three well-separated hadronic jets is presented. The search uses proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb^{-1} at sqrt[s]=13 TeV, collected at the CERN LHC. No significant deviations from the background predictions are observed between 1.75 and 9.00 TeV. The results provide the first mass limits on a right-handed boson Z_{R} decaying to three gluons and on an excited quark decaying via a vector boson to three quarks, as well as updated limits on a Kaluza-Klein gluon decaying via a radion to three gluons.

Observation of the ϒ(3S) Meson and Suppression of ϒ States in Pb-Pb Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02 TeV.

The production of ϒ(2S) and ϒ(3S) mesons in lead-lead (Pb-Pb) and proton-proton (pp) collisions is studied in their dimuon decay channel using the CMS detector at the LHC. The ϒ(3S) meson is observed for the first time in Pb-Pb collisions, with a significance above 5 standard deviations. The ratios of yields measured in Pb-Pb and pp collisions are reported for both the ϒ(2S) and ϒ(3S) mesons, as functions of transverse momentum and Pb-Pb collision centrality. These ratios, when appropriately scaled, are significantly less than unity, indicating a suppression of ϒ yields in Pb-Pb collisions. This suppression increases from peripheral to central Pb-Pb collisions. Furthermore, the suppression is stronger for ϒ(3S) mesons compared to ϒ(2S) mesons, extending the pattern of sequential suppression of quarkonium states in nuclear collisions previously seen for the J/ψ, ψ(2S), ϒ(1S), and ϒ(2S) mesons.

Observation of Enhanced Long-Range Elliptic Anisotropies Inside High-Multiplicity Jets in pp Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV.

A search for collective effects inside jets produced in proton-proton collisions is performed via correlation measurements of charged particles using the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. The analysis uses data collected at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt[s]=13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb^{-1}. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-k_{T} algorithm with a distance parameter of 0.8 and are required to have transverse momentum greater than 550 GeV and pseudorapidity |η^{jet}|<1.6. Two-particle correlations among the charged particles within the jets are studied as functions of the particles' azimuthal angle and pseudorapidity separations (Δϕ^{*} and Δη^{*}) in a jet coordinate basis, where particles' η^{*}, ϕ^{*} are defined relative to the direction of the jet. The correlation functions are studied in classes of in-jet charged-particle multiplicity up to N_{ch}^{j}≈100. Fourier harmonics are extracted from long-range azimuthal correlation functions to characterize azimuthal anisotropy for |Δη^{*}|>2. For low-N_{ch}^{j} jets, the long-range elliptic anisotropic harmonic, v_{2}^{*}, is observed to decrease with N_{ch}^{j}. This trend is well described by Monte Carlo event generators. However, a rising trend for v_{2}^{*} emerges at N_{ch}^{j}≳80, hinting at a possible onset of collective behavior, which is not reproduced by the models tested. This observation yields new insights into the dynamics of jet evolution in the vacuum.

Search for Scalar Leptoquarks Produced via τ-Lepton-Quark Scattering in pp Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV.

The first search for scalar leptoquarks produced in τ-lepton-quark collisions is presented. It is based on a set of proton-proton collision data recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb^{-1}. The reconstructed final state consists of a jet, significant missing transverse momentum, and a τ lepton reconstructed through its hadronic or leptonic decays. Limits are set on the product of the leptoquark production cross section and branching fraction and interpreted as exclusions in the plane of the leptoquark mass and the leptoquark-τ-quark coupling strength.

Observation of WWγ Production and Search for Hγ Production in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV.

The observation of WWγ production in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with an integrated luminosity of 138 fb^{-1} is presented. The observed (expected) significance is 5.6 (5.1) standard deviations. Events are selected by requiring exactly two leptons (one electron and one muon) of opposite charge, moderate missing transverse momentum, and a photon. The measured fiducial cross section for WWγ is 5.9±0.8(stat)±0.8(syst)±0.7(modeling) fb, in agreement with the next-to-leading order quantum chromodynamics prediction. The analysis is extended with a search for the associated production of the Higgs boson and a photon, which is generated by a coupling of the Higgs boson to light quarks. The result is used to constrain the Higgs boson couplings to light quarks.

New Structures in the J/ψJ/ψ Mass Spectrum in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV.

A search is reported for near-threshold structures in the J/ψJ/ψ invariant mass spectrum produced in proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV from data collected by the CMS experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 135 fb^{-1}. Three structures are found, and a model with quantum interference among these structures provides a good description of the data. A new structure is observed with a local significance above 5 standard deviations at a mass of 6638_{-38}^{+43}(stat)_{-31}^{+16}(syst) MeV. Another structure with even higher significance is found at a mass of 6847_{-28}^{+44}(stat)_{-20}^{+48}(syst) MeV, which is consistent with the X(6900) resonance reported by the LHCb experiment and confirmed by the ATLAS experiment. Evidence for another new structure, with a local significance of 4.7 standard deviations, is found at a mass of 7134_{-25}^{+48}(stat)_{-15}^{+41}(syst) MeV. Results are also reported for a model without interference, which does not fit the data as well and shows mass shifts up to 150 MeV relative to the model with interference.

Search for Inelastic Dark Matter in Events with Two Displaced Muons and Missing Transverse Momentum in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV.

A search for dark matter in events with a displaced nonresonant muon pair and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is performed using an integrated luminosity of 138 fb^{-1} of proton-proton (pp) collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV produced by the LHC in 2016-2018. No significant excess over the predicted backgrounds is observed. Upper limits are set on the product of the inelastic dark matter production cross section σ(pp→A^{'}→χ_{1}χ_{2}) and the decay branching fraction B(χ_{2}→χ_{1}µ^{+}µ^{-}), where A^{'} is a dark photon and χ_{1} and χ_{2} are states in the dark sector with near mass degeneracy. This is the first dedicated collider search for inelastic dark matter.

Chronic hyperglycemia and intracranial meningiomas.

Meningiomas are among the most common primary tumors of the central nervous system. Previous research into the meningioma histological appearance, genetic markers, transcriptome and epigenetic landscape has revealed that benign meningiomas significantly differ in their glucose metabolism compared to aggressive lesions. However, a correlation between the systemic glucose metabolism and the metabolism of the tumor hasn't yet been found. We hypothesized that chronic levels of glycaemia (approximated with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c)) are different in patients with aggressive and benign meningiomas. The study encompassed 71 patients with de novo intracranial meningiomas, operated on in three European hospitals, two in Croatia and one in Spain. Our results show that patients with WHO grade 2 meningiomas had significantly higher HbA1c values compared to patients with grade 1 lesions (P = 0.0290). We also found a significant number of patients (19/71; 26.7%) being hyperglycemic, harboring all the risks that such a condition entails. Finally, we found a significant correlation between our patients' age and their preoperative HbA1c levels (P = 0.0008, ρ(rho) = 0.388), suggesting that older meningioma patients are at a higher risk of having their glycaemia severely dysregulated. These findings are especially important considering the current routine and wide-spread use of corticosteroids as anti-edematous treatment. Further research in this area could lead to better understanding of meningiomas and have immediate clinical impact.

Search for Higgs Boson and Observation of Z Boson through Their Decay into a Charm Quark-Antiquark Pair in Boosted Topologies in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV.

A search for the standard model (SM) Higgs boson (H) produced with transverse momentum (p_{T}) greater than 450 GeV and decaying to a charm quark-antiquark (cc[over ¯]) pair is presented. The search is performed using proton-proton collision data collected at sqrt[s]=13 TeV by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb^{-1}. Boosted H→cc[over ¯] decay products are reconstructed as a single large-radius jet and identified using a deep neural network charm tagging technique. The method is validated by measuring the Z→cc[over ¯] decay process, which is observed in association with jets at high p_{T} for the first time with a signal strength of 1.00_{-0.14}^{+0.17}(syst)±0.08(theo)±0.06(stat), defined as the ratio of the observed process rate to the SM expectation. The observed (expected) upper limit on σ(H)B(H→cc[over ¯]) is set at 47 (39) times the SM prediction at 95% confidence level.

Search for Nonresonant Pair Production of Highly Energetic Higgs Bosons Decaying to Bottom Quarks.

A search for nonresonant Higgs boson (H) pair production via gluon and vector boson (V) fusion is performed in the four-bottom-quark final state, using proton-proton collision data at 13 TeV corresponding to 138 fb^{-1} collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The analysis targets Lorentz-boosted H pairs identified using a graph neural network. It constrains the strengths relative to the standard model of the H self-coupling and the quartic VVHH couplings, κ_{2V}, excluding κ_{2V}=0 for the first time, with a significance of 6.3 standard deviations when other H couplings are fixed to their standard model values.

Measurement of the Dependence of the Hadron Production Fraction Ratios f_{s}/f_{u} and f_{d}/f_{u} on B Meson Kinematic Variables in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV.

The dependence of the ratio between the B_{s}^{0} and B^{+} hadron production fractions, f_{s}/f_{u}, on the transverse momentum (p_{T}) and rapidity of the B mesons is studied using the decay channels B_{s}^{0}→J/ψϕ and B^{+}→J/ψK^{+}. The analysis uses a data sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment in 2018 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 61.6 fb^{-1}. The f_{s}/f_{u} ratio is observed to depend on the B p_{T} and to be consistent with becoming asymptotically constant at large p_{T}. No rapidity dependence is observed. The ratio of the B^{0} to B^{+} meson production fractions, f_{d}/f_{u}, is also measured, for the first time in proton-proton collisions, using the B^{0}→J/ψK^{*0} decay channel. The result is found to be within 1 standard deviation of unity and independent of p_{T} and rapidity, as expected from isospin invariance.

Azimuthal Correlations within Exclusive Dijets with Large Momentum Transfer in Photon-Lead Collisions.

The structure of nucleons is multidimensional and depends on the transverse momenta, spatial geometry, and polarization of the constituent partons. Such a structure can be studied using high-energy photons produced in ultraperipheral heavy-ion collisions. The first measurement of the azimuthal angular correlations of exclusively produced events with two jets in photon-lead interactions at large momentum transfer is presented, a process that is considered to be sensitive to the underlying nuclear gluon polarization. This study uses a data sample of ultraperipheral lead-lead collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.38 nb^{-1}, collected with the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measured second harmonic of the correlation between the sum and difference of the two jet transverse momentum vectors is found to be positive, and rising, as the dijet transverse momentum increases. A well-tuned model that has been successful at describing a wide range of proton scattering data from the HERA experiments fails to describe the observed correlations, suggesting the presence of gluon polarization effects.

Search for Higgs Boson Decay to a Charm Quark-Antiquark Pair in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV.

A search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying to a charm quark-antiquark pair, H→cc[over ¯], produced in association with a leptonically decaying V (W or Z) boson is presented. The search is performed with proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV collected by the CMS experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb^{-1}. Novel charm jet identification and analysis methods using machine learning techniques are employed. The analysis is validated by searching for Z→cc[over ¯] in VZ events, leading to its first observation at a hadron collider with a significance of 5.7 standard deviations. The observed (expected) upper limit on σ(VH)B(H→cc[over ¯]) is 0.94 (0.50_{-0.15}^{+0.22})pb at 95% confidence level (C.L.), corresponding to 14 (7.6_{-2.3}^{+3.4}) times the standard model prediction. For the Higgs-charm Yukawa coupling modifier, κ_{c}, the observed (expected) 95% C.L. interval is 1.1<|κ_{c}|<5.5 (|κ_{c}|<3.4), the most stringent constraint to date.

Probing Heavy Majorana Neutrinos and the Weinberg Operator through Vector Boson Fusion Processes in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV.

The first search exploiting the vector boson fusion process to probe heavy Majorana neutrinos and the Weinberg operator at the LHC is presented. The search is performed in the same-sign dimuon final state using a proton-proton collision dataset recorded at sqrt[s]=13 TeV, collected with the CMS detector and corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 138 fb^{-1}. The results are found to agree with the predictions of the standard model. For heavy Majorana neutrinos, constraints on the squared mixing element between the muon and the heavy neutrino are derived in the heavy neutrino mass range 50 GeV-25 TeV; for masses above 650 GeV these are the most stringent constraints from searches at the LHC to date. A first test of the Weinberg operator at colliders provides an observed upper limit at 95% confidence level on the effective µµ Majorana neutrino mass of 10.8 GeV.

Observation of Same-Sign WW Production from Double Parton Scattering in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV.

The first observation of the production of W^{±}W^{±} bosons from double parton scattering processes using same-sign electron-muon and dimuon events in proton-proton collisions is reported. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb^{-1} recorded at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV using the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. Multivariate discriminants are used to distinguish the signal process from the main backgrounds. A binned maximum likelihood fit is performed to extract the signal cross section. The measured cross section for production of same-sign W bosons decaying leptonically is 80.7±11.2(stat) _{-8.6}^{+9.5}(syst)±12.1(model) fb, whereas the measured fiducial cross section is 6.28±0.81(stat)±0.69(syst)±0.37(model) fb. The observed significance of the signal is 6.2 standard deviations above the background-only hypothesis.

Observation of the Rare Decay of the η Meson to Four Muons.

A search for the rare η→µ^{+}µ^{-}µ^{+}µ^{-} double-Dalitz decay is performed using a sample of proton-proton collisions, collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC with high-rate muon triggers during 2017 and 2018 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 101 fb^{-1}. A signal having a statistical significance well in excess of 5 standard deviations is observed. Using the η→µ^{+}µ^{-} decay as normalization, the branching fraction B(η→µ^{+}µ^{-}µ^{+}µ^{-})=[5.0±0.8(stat)±0.7(syst)±0.7(B_{2µ})]×10^{-9} is measured, where the last term is the uncertainty in the normalization channel branching fraction. This work achieves an improved precision of over 5 orders of magnitude compared to previous results, leading to the first measurement of this branching fraction, which is found to agree with theoretical predictions.

Search for Exotic Higgs Boson Decays H→AA→4γ with Events Containing Two Merged Diphotons in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV.

We present the first direct search for exotic Higgs boson decays H→AA, A→γγ in events with two photonlike objects. The hypothetical particle A is a low-mass spin-0 particle decaying promptly to a merged diphoton reconstructed as a single photonlike object. We analyze the data collected by the CMS experiment at sqrt[s]=13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 136 fb^{-1}. No excess above the estimated background is found. We set upper limits on the branching fraction B(H→AA→4γ) of (0.9-3.3)×10^{-3} at 95% confidence level for masses of A in the range 0.1-1.2 GeV.