The search for dark matter is an exciting topic that is pursued in different communities over a wide range of masses and using a variety of experimental approaches. The result is a strongly correlated matrix of activities across Europe and beyond, both on the experimental and the theoretical side. We suggest to encourage and foster the collaboration of the involved institutions on technical, scientific and organisational level, in order to realise the synergies that are required to increase the impact of dark matter research and to cope with the increasing experiment sizes. The suggested network – loosely titled "DMInfraNet" – could be realised as a new initiative of the European strategy or be based on existing structures like iDMEu or DRD. The network can also serve as a nucleus for future joint funding proposals.

A muon collider would enable the big jump ahead in energy reach that is needed for a fruitful exploration of fundamental interactions. The challenges of producing muon collisions at high luminosity and 10 TeV centre of mass energy are being investigated by the recently-formed International Muon Collider Collaboration. This Review summarises the status and the recent advances on muon colliders design, physics and detector studies. The aim is to provide a global perspective of the field and to outline directions for future work.

Cryogenic solid state detectors are widely used in dark matter and neutrino experiments, and require a sensible raw data analysis. For this purpose, we present Cait, an open source Python package with all essential methods for the analysis of detector modules fully integrable with the Python ecosystem for scientific computing and machine learning. It comes with methods for triggering of events from continuously sampled streams, identification of particle recoils and artifacts in a low signal-to-noise ratio environment, the reconstruction of deposited energies, and the simulation of a variety of typical event types. Furthermore, by connecting Cait with existing machine learning frameworks we introduce novel methods for better automation in data cleaning and background rejection.

Angular distributions of the decay B$^+$ $\to$ K$^*$(892)$^+\mu^+\mu^-$ are studied using events collected with the CMS detector in $\sqrt{s}=$ 8 TeV proton-proton collisions at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.0 fb$^{-1}$. The forward-backward asymmetry of the muons and the longitudinal polarization of the K$^*$(892)$^+$ meson are determined as a function of the square of the dimuon invariant mass. These are the first results from this exclusive decay mode and are in agreement with a standard model prediction.

The first measurement of the dependence of $\\gamma\\gamma \\to \\mu^{+}\\mu^{-}$ production on the multiplicity of neutrons emitted very close to the beam direction in ultraperipheral heavy ion collisions is reported. Data for lead-lead interactions at $\\sqrt{s_\\mathrm{NN}} =$ 5.02 TeV, with an integrated luminosity of approximately 1.5 nb$^{-1}$, were collected using the CMS detector at the LHC. The azimuthal correlations between the two muons in the invariant mass region 8 $\\lt m_{\\mu\\mu} \\lt$ 60 GeV are extracted for events including zero, one, or at least two neutrons detected in the forward pseudorapidity range $|\\eta| \\lt$ 8.3. The back-to-back correlation structure from leading-order photon-photon scattering is found to be significantly broader for events with a larger number of emitted neutrons from each nucleus, corresponding to interactions with a smaller impact parameter. This observation provides a data-driven demonstration that the average transverse momentum of photons emitted from relativistic heavy ions has an impact parameter dependence. These results provide new constraints on models of photon-induced interactions in ultraperipheral collisions. They also provide a baseline to search for possible final-state effects on lepton pairs caused by traversing a quark-gluon plasma produced in hadronic heavy ion collisions.

The strong Coulomb field created in ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions is expected to produce a rapidity-dependent difference ($\Delta v_2$) in the second Fourier coefficient of the azimuthal distribution (elliptic flow, $v_2$) between $\mathrm{D}^0$ ($\mathrm{\bar{u}c}$) and $\overline{\mathrm{D}}^0$ ($\mathrm{u\bar{c}}$) mesons. Motivated by the search for evidence of this field, the CMS detector at the LHC is used to perform the first measurement of $\Delta v_2$. The rapidity-averaged value is found to be $\langle\Delta v_2 \rangle =$ 0.001 $\pm$ 0.001 (stat) $\pm$ 0.003 (syst) in PbPb collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}} =$ 5.02 TeV. In addition, the influence of the collision geometry is explored by measuring the $\mathrm{D}^0$ and $\overline{\mathrm{D}}^0$ mesons $v_2$ and triangular flow coefficient ($v_3$) as functions of rapidity, transverse momentum ($p_\mathrm{T}$), and event centrality (a measure of the overlap of the two Pb nuclei). A clear centrality dependence of prompt $\mathrm{D}^0$ meson $v_2$ values is observed, while the $v_3$ is largely independent of centrality. These trends are consistent with expectations of flow driven by the initial-state geometry.

The $CP$-violating weak phase $\phi_\mathrm{s}$ and the decay width difference $\Delta\Gamma_\mathrm{s}$ between the light and heavy B$^0_\mathrm{s}$ mass eigenstates are measured with the CMS detector at the LHC in a sample of 48500 reconstructed B$^0_\mathrm{s}\to$ J$/\psi\, \phi$(1020) $\to \mu^+\mu^-$K$^+$K$^-$ events. The measurement is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 96.4 fb$^{-1}$, collected in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV in 2017-2018. To extract the values of $\phi_\mathrm{s}$ and $\Delta\Gamma_\mathrm{s}$, a time-dependent and flavor-tagged angular analysis of the $ \mu^+\mu^-$K$^+$K$^-$ final state is performed. The analysis employs a dedicated tagging trigger and a novel opposite-side muon flavor tagger based on machine learning techniques. The measurement yields $\phi_\mathrm{s} = -$11 $\pm$ 50 (stat) $\pm$ 10 (syst) mrad and $\Delta\Gamma_\mathrm{s} =$ 0.114 $\pm$ 0.014 (stat) $\pm$ 0.007 (syst) ps$^{-1}$, in agreement with the standard model predictions. When combined with the previous CMS measurement at $\sqrt{s} =$ 8 TeV, the following values are obtained: $\phi_\mathrm{s} = -$21 $\pm$ 45 mrad, $\Delta\Gamma_\mathrm{s} =$ 0.1073 $\pm$ 0.0097 ps$^{-1}$, a significant improvement over the 8 TeV result.

Measurements of the total and differential fiducial cross sections for the Z boson decaying into two neutrinos are presented at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The data were collected by the CMS detector in 2016 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. In these measurements, events are selected containing an imbalance in transverse momentum and one or more energetic jets. The fiducial differential cross section is measured as a function of the Z boson transverse momentum. The results are combined with a previous measurement of charged-lepton decays of the Z boson.

Results of the Model Unspecific Search in CMS (MUSiC), using proton-proton collision data recorded at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$, are presented. The MUSiC analysis searches for anomalies that could be signatures of physics beyond the standard model. The analysis is based on the comparison of observed data with the standard model prediction, as determined from simulation, in several hundred final states and multiple kinematic distributions. Events containing at least one electron or muon are classified based on their final state topology, and an automated search algorithm surveys the observed data for deviations from the prediction. The sensitivity of the search is validated using multiple methods. No significant deviations from the predictions have been observed. For a wide range of final state topologies, agreement is found between the data and the standard model simulation. This analysis complements dedicated search analyses by significantly expanding the range of final states covered using a model independent approach with the largest data set to date to probe phase space regions beyond the reach of previous general searches.

Combined measurements of the production and decay rates of the Higgs boson, as well as its couplings to vector bosons and fermions, are presented. The analysis uses the LHC proton-proton collision data set recorded with the CMS detector in 2016 at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. The combination is based on analyses targeting the five main Higgs boson production mechanisms (gluon fusion, vector boson fusion, and associated production with a W or Z boson, or a top quark-antiquark pair) and the following decay modes: H $\to$ $\gamma\gamma$, ZZ, WW, $\tau\tau$, bb, and $\mu\mu$. Searches for invisible Higgs boson decays are also considered. The best-fit ratio of the signal yield to the standard model expectation is measured to be $\mu$ $=$ 1.17 $\pm$ 0.10, assuming a Higgs boson mass of 125.09 GeV. Additional results are given for parametrizations with varying assumptions on the scaling behavior of the different production and decay modes, including generic ones based on ratios of cross sections and branching fractions or coupling modifiers. The results are compatible with the standard model predictions in all parametrizations considered. In addition, constraints are placed on various two Higgs doublet models.

A search for new physics using events containing an imbalance in transverse momentum and one or more energetic jets arising from initial-state radiation or the hadronic decay of W or Z bosons is presented. A data sample of proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = $ 13 TeV, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$, is used. The observed data are found to be in agreement with the expectation from standard model processes. The results are interpreted as limits on the dark matter production cross section in simplified models with vector, axial-vector, scalar, and pseudoscalar mediators. Interpretations in the context of fermion portal and nonthermal dark matter models are also provided. In addition, the results are interpreted in terms of invisible decays of the Higgs boson and set stringent limits on the fundamental Planck scale in the Arkani-Hamed, Dimopoulos, and Dvali model with large extra spatial dimensions.

Abstract A search for a new high-mass resonance decaying to a τ lepton and a neutrino is reported. The analysis uses proton-proton collision data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC at s = 13 TeV , corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb − 1 . The search utilizes hadronically decaying τ leptons. No excess in the event yield is observed at high transverse masses of the τ and missing transverse momentum. An interpretation of results within the sequential standard model excludes W ′ boson masses below 4.0 TeV at 95% confidence level. Existing limits are also improved on models in which the W ′ boson decays preferentially to fermions of the third generation. Heavy W ′ bosons with masses less than 1.7–3.9 TeV, depending on the coupling in the non-universal G(221) model, are excluded at 95% confidence level. These are the most stringent limits on this model to date.