Search for new physics in events with opposite-sign dileptons and missing transverse energy

A search is presented for physics beyond the standard model (SM) in final states with opposite-sign isolated lepton pairs accompanied by hadronic jets and missing transverse energy. Two complementary search strategies are performed using LHC data recorded at a center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}=7$~TeV with the CMS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.98~fb$^{-1}$. The first search probes models with a specific dilepton production mechanism, which leads to a characteristic kinematic edge in the dilepton mass distribution. The second search probes models with heavy, colored objects which decay to final states including invisible particles, leading to very large hadronic activity and missing transverse energy. No evidence for an event yield beyond SM expectations is found. Upper limits on the non-SM contributions to the signal regions are deduced from the results, which are used to exclude a region of the parameter space of the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model. Additional information related to detector efficiencies and response is provided to allow testing whether specific models of new physics are excluded by these results.