Search for central exclusive production of top quark pairs with the CMS and TOTEM experiments

Abstract

A search for central exclusive production of top quark pairs ($\mathrm{t}\bar{\mathrm{t}}$) is presented using collision data collected by CMS and the CMS-TOTEM Precision Proton Spectrometer in 2017. A data-driven method to estimate the background from coincidences of inclusive events and pileup protons is described, as well as the development of a Boosted Decision Tree classifier to separate the exclusive $\mathrm{t}\bar{\mathrm{t}}$ signal from the inclusive $\mathrm{t}\bar{\mathrm{t}}$ background. The first-ever upper limits on the cross section of exclusive $\mathrm{t}\bar{\mathrm{t}}$ are shown.

Talk at the 15th International Workshop on Top Quark Physics, Durham, UK, 4-9 September 2022