Search for resonant tt¯ production in proton-proton collisions at s√=13 TeV

A search for a heavy resonance decaying into a top quark and antiquark (tt¯) pair is performed using proton-proton collisions at s√=13 TeV. The search uses the data set collected with the CMS detector in 2016, which corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb−1. The analysis considers three exclusive final states and uses reconstruction techniques that are optimized for top quarks with high Lorentz boosts, which requires the use of nonisolated leptons and jet substructure techniques. No significant excess of events relative to the expected yield from standard model processes is observed. Upper limits on the production cross section of heavy resonances decaying to a tt¯ pair are calculated. Limits are derived for a leptophobic topcolor Z′ resonance with widths of 1, 10, and 30%, relative to the mass of the resonance, and exclude masses up to 3.80, 5.25, and 6.65 TeV, respectively. Kaluza-Klein excitations of the gluon in the Randall-Sundrum model are excluded up to 4.55 TeV. To date, these are the most stringent limits on tt¯ resonances

Search for excited leptons in final states in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search is presented for excited electrons and muons in ℓℓγ final states at the LHC. The search is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected with the CMS detector in 2016. This is the first search for excited leptons at s√ = 13 TeV. The observation is consistent with the standard model background prediction, and the most stringent exclusion limits to date are set on the excited lepton mass and the compositeness scale, at 95% confidence level. Excited electrons and muons are excluded for masses below 3.9 and 3.8 TeV, respectively, under the assumption that the excited lepton mass equals the compositeness scale. The best observed limit on the compositeness scale is obtained with an excited lepton mass of around 1.0 TeV, excluding values below 25 TeV for both excited electrons and muons

Measurement of prompt ψ(2S) production cross sections in proton–lead and proton–proton collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV

Measurements of prompt ψ(2S) meson production cross sections in proton–lead (pPb) and proton–proton (pp) collisions at a nucleon–nucleon center-of-mass energy of √sNN = 5.02 TeV are reported. The results are based on pPb and pp data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to integrated luminosities of 34.6 nb−1 and 28.0 pb−1, respectively. The nuclear modification factor RpPb is measured for prompt ψ(2S) in the transverse momentum range 4 < pT < 30 GeV/c and the center-of-mass rapidity range −2.4 < yCM < 1.93. The results on ψ(2S) RpPb are compared to the corresponding modification factor for prompt J/ψ mesons. The results point to different nuclear effects at play in the production of the excited charmonium state compared to the ground state, in the region of backward rapidity and for pT < 10 GeV/c

Challenges in establishing and maintaining functional school libraries: Lessons from Limpopo Province, South Africa

Most governments, particularly in poor and developing African countries, are hesitant to pledge themselves through a legislated school library policy to roll out an active and sustainable library and information service for their schools to improve the quality of education. In South Africa, providing schools with a well-resourced and well-staffed library and information service is even more challenging because of the inheritance of the apartheid education system prior to 1994. The article is limited to just one part of a research project which investigated the resource provision in public high schools in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The purpose of the study was to investigate challenges that negatively affect the establishment and sustainability of an active and vigorous library and information service for all schools in Limpopo Province. The study was largely quantitative, blended with triangulation of both quantitative and qualitative methods for data collection. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data from the principals or teacher-librarians at schools, while an interview schedule was used to collect qualitative data from education officials through faceto- face interviews. The findings established that there are daunting challenges which hinder effective establishment and maintenance of functional school library and information service. The national Department of Basic Education has a responsibility to ensure that school library policy is formulated, endorsed and implemented as a matter of urgency. The Government should also fast-track rural development to enable teachers and learners, particularly those in historically disadvantaged rural black communities, to access library materials in other amenities.Information Scienc