Search for the Pair-Production of First Generation Leptoquarks in pp Collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV

Abstract

The quark and lepton sectors of the standard model (SM) are strikingly similar in terms of the number of particles and generations. This hints at a fundamental symmetry existing between the two sectors. Indeed, such a symmetry is part of many beyond-the-SM theories such as composite models [6], technicolor, grand unified SU(5), Pati-Salam SU(4) [7] and E6 superstring-inspired theories. These models give rise to a new class of bosons called leptoquarks (LQs) that carry both baryon and lepton numbers—a signature of their coupling to quarks and leptons. We perform a dedicated search for pair-produced first generation scalar leptoquarks, resulting in a final state of two electrons and at least two jets, using proton-proton collision data taken at centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The data were recorded by the CMS detector [8] during the 2015 running of the LHC, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 2.6 ${\text {fb}}^{-1}$.