A search is performed for neutral non-standard-model Higgs bosons decaying to two muons in the context of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM). Proton-proton collision data recorded by the CMS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at a center-of-mass energy of 13TeVwere used, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9fb-1. The search is sensitive to neutral Higgs bosons produced via the gluon fusion process or in association with a bbquark pair. No significant deviations from the standard model expectation are observed. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in the context of the mmod+hand phenomenological MSSM scenarios on the parameter tanβas a function of the mass of the pseudoscalar Aboson, in the range from 130 to 600GeV. The results are also used to set a model-independent limit on the product of the branching fraction for the decay into a muon pair and the cross section for the production of a scalar neutral boson, either via gluon fusion, or in association with bquarks, in the mass range from 130 to 1000GeV.

Central exclusive and semiexclusive production of [InlineEquation not available: see fulltext.] pairs is measured with the CMS detector in proton-proton collisions at the LHC at center-of-mass energies of 5.02 and 13TeV. The theoretical description of these nonperturbative processes, which have not yet been measured in detail at the LHC, poses a significant challenge to models. The two pions are measured and identified in the CMS silicon tracker based on specific energy loss, whereas the absence of other particles is ensured by calorimeter information. The total and differential cross sections of exclusive and semiexclusive central [InlineEquation not available: see fulltext.] production are measured as functions of invariant mass, transverse momentum, and rapidity of the [InlineEquation not available: see fulltext.] system in the fiducial region defined as transverse momentum [InlineEquation not available: see fulltext.] and pseudorapidity [InlineEquation not available: see fulltext.]. The production cross sections for the four resonant channels [InlineMediaObject not available: see fulltext.], [InlineEquation not available: see fulltext.], [InlineMediaObject not available: see fulltext.], and [InlineMediaObject not available: see fulltext.]are extracted using a simple model. These results represent the first measurement of this process at the LHC collision energies of 5.02 and 13TeV.

Normalised multi-differential cross sections for top quark pair (t t ¯) production are measured in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13TeV using events containing two oppositely charged leptons. The analysed data were recorded with the CMS detector in 2016 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35.9fb-1. The double-differential t t ¯ cross section is measured as a function of the kinematic properties of the top quark and of the t t ¯ system at parton level in the full phase space. A triple-differential measurement is performed as a function of the invariant mass and rapidity of the t t ¯ system and the multiplicity of additional jets at particle level. The data are compared to predictions of Monte Carlo event generators that complement next-to-leading-order (NLO) quantum chromodynamics (QCD) calculations with parton showers. Together with a fixed-order NLO QCD calculation, the triple-differential measurement is used to extract values of the strong coupling strength α and the top quark pole mass (mtpole) using several sets of parton distribution functions (PDFs). The measurement of mtpole exploits the sensitivity of the t t ¯ invariant mass distribution to mtpole near the production threshold. Furthermore, a simultaneous fit of the PDFs, α , and mtpole is performed at NLO, demonstrating that the new data have significant impact on the gluon PDF, and at the same time allow an accurate determination of α and mtpole. The values αS(mZ)=0.1135-0.0017+0.0021 and mtpole=170.5±0.8GeV are extracted, which account for experimental and theoretical uncertainties, the latter being estimated from NLO scale variations. Possible effects from Coulomb and soft-gluon resummation near the t t ¯ production threshold are neglected in these parameter extractions. A rough estimate of these effects indicates an expected correction of mtpole of the order of +1GeV, which can be regarded as additional theoretical uncertainty in the current mtpole extraction. S S S

The second- and third-order azimuthal anisotropy Fourier harmonics of charged particles produced in pPb collisions, at sNN=8.16TeV, are studied over a wide range of event multiplicities. Multiparticle correlations are used to isolate global properties stemming from the collision overlap geometry. The second-order "elliptic" harmonic moment is obtained with high precision through four-, six-, and eight-particle correlations and, for the first time, the third-order "triangular" harmonic moment is studied using four-particle correlations. A sample of peripheral PbPb collisions at sNN=5.02TeV that covers a similar range of event multiplicities as the pPb results is also analyzed. Model calculations of initial-state fluctuations in pPb and PbPb collisions can be directly compared to the high-precision experimental results. This work provides new insight into the fluctuation-driven origin of the v3 coefficients in pPb and PbPb collisions, and into the dominating overall collision geometry in PbPb collisions at the earliest stages of heavy ion interactions.