Search for new physics in final states with low transverse energy photon and missing transverse energy in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV
With the recent discovery of the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the next set of goals for the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment includes characterizing the newly discovered particle and probing for new physics beyond the Standard Model. Results from a search for new physics in the final state with a low transverse energy photon and missing transverse energy, using a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 7.3/fb collected in proton-proton collisions at 8 TeV with the CMS detector is presented. Due to the large background rate for this final state, a novel strategy was used to collect this dataset from August through December of 2012. Such final state can arise from models involving dark matter production or exotic decays of the Higgs boson in low-scale supersymmetry breaking scenarios. In the absence of deviations from the Standard Model predictions, limits are set on the probability of an exotic decay of the Higgs boson. The phase space consisting of a photon with a transverse energy of at least 45 GeV and significant missing transverse energy was further examined in a model independent way by varying the selection requirements on the missing transverse energy and the transverse mass of the system. Upper limits at the 95% confidence level on production cross section of possible processes resulting in this final state were set. Additional and complementary results from a search for new physics in the final states containing a high-energy photon and missing transverse energy are also presented, using the data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.6/fb collected in proton-proton collisions at 8 TeV. In the absence of any significant deviation from the Standard Model predictions, improved limits are set on dark matter production and on the parameters of a model with large extra dimensions. Upper limits at a 95% confidence level on the production cross section of possible processes resulting in the final state with the photon transverse momentum greater than 145 GeV and missing transverse energy greater than 140 GeV were set.