Measurement of the $Zγ → ν\overline{ν}γ$ production cross section in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 8 TeV and limits on anomalous ZZγ and Zγγ trilinear gauge boson couplings

Abstract

An inclusive measurement of the $Zγ → ν\overline{ν}γ$ production cross section in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$=8TeV is presented, using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.6 fb$^{−1}$ collected with the CMS detector at the LHC. This measurement is based on the observation of events with large missing energy and with a single photon with transverse momentum above 145 GeV and absolute pseudorapidity in the range |η|<1.44 . The measured Zγ→νν‾γ production cross section, 52.7±2.1 (stat)±6.4 (syst)±1.4 (lumi) fb , agrees well with the standard model prediction of 50.0−2.2+2.4 fb . A study of the photon transverse momentum spectrum yields the most stringent limits to date on the anomalous ZZγ and Zγγ trilinear gauge boson couplings.