Search for vector-like T' quarks using tools for the analysis of jet substructure with the CMS experiment

A search for pairs of vector-like T' quark produced in proton-proton collisions recorded with the CMS experiment at p s = 8 TeV is presented. The search is optimized for decays of T' quarks to top quarks and Higgs bosons, where the top quarks and Higgs bosons decay hadronically. The T'-quark mass range between 500 and 1000 GeV is investigated. The top quarks and Higgs bosons produced in decays of the heavy T' quarks acquire large Lorentz boosts. The signatures of these particles in the detector can overlap and are therefore dicult to resolve using classical jet reconstruction methods. Large-radius jets are reconstructed and subjets formed from their constituents. The decay products of particles with large Lorentz boosts are highly collimated and can all be found within a single one of these large-radius jets. Top jets containing hadronic top-quark decays are identied with a top-tagging algorithm that analyzes the jet substructure. A b-tagging algorithm is applied to the reconstructed subjets in order to nd bottom quarks within the jet substructure. In order to identify Higgs bosons with large Lorentz boosts decaying to pairs of bottom quarks, the Higgs-tagging algorithm searches for two b-tagged subjets within a single jet. This is the rst application of a top-tagging algorithm in conjunction with subjet b-tagging in an analysis of CMS data. Also, a Higgs-tagging algorithm is used for the rst time in a search for new physics. The main background contributions to this analysis consist of pair-produced top quarks and QCD-multijet events. More than 99% of these events are rejected by the event selection based on the new jet-substructure methods, while 6-8% of the signal events are retained. A description for the QCD-multijet background is obtained from data in a method also using jet-substructure information. Bayesian exclusion limits are derived from a likelihood ratio in which two discriminating variables are combined. T' quarks with masses below 745 GeV are excluded at 95% condence level for exclusive decays of T' ! tH. Furthermore, results for all combinations of the decay modes T' ! tH, T' ! tZ, and T'! bW are obtained. A statistical combination with other searches for T' quarks is performed. For dierent decay modes of the T' quark, the resulting mass limits range from 697 to 782 GeV