Search for a W' boson decaying to a $\tau$ lepton and a neutrino in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV

A search for new high-mass resonances decaying to a tau lepton and a neutrino is reported. The analysis uses proton-proton collision data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC at $\sqrt{s}=13~\mathrm{TeV}$, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $35.9~\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$. The search utilizes hadronically decaying tau leptons, $\tau_{\text{h}}$. No excess in the event yield is observed at high transverse masses of the $\tau_{\text{h}}$ and missing transverse momentum. An interpretation of results within the sequential standard model excludes W' boson masses below 4.0 TeV at $95\%$ confidence level. Existing limits are also improved on models in which the W' boson decays preferentially to fermions of the third generation. For further reinterpretations, a model-independent limit on potential signals for various transverse mass thresholds is also presented along with limits on the coupling of the W' to standard model particles.