Observation of <i>tWZ</i> Production at the CMS Experiment


Hayrapetyan A., Makarenko V., Tumasyan A., Adam W., Andrejkovic J., Benato L., ...More

PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS, vol.136, no.8, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 136 Issue: 8
  • Publication Date: 2026
  • Doi Number: 10.1103/rk6w-1pcl
  • Journal Name: PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Chemical Abstracts Core, Compendex, INSPEC, MathSciNet, zbMATH, DIALNET, Nature Index
  • Istanbul University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

The first observation of single top quark production in association with a W and a Z boson in proton-proton collisions is reported. The analysis uses data at center-of-mass energies of 13 and 13.6 TeV recorded with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC, corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 200 fb(-1). Events with three or four charged leptons, which can be electrons or muons, are selected. Advanced machine-learning algorithms and improved reconstruction methods, compared to an earlier analysis, result in an unprecedented sensitivity to tWZ production. The measured cross sections for tWZ production are 248 +/- 52 fb and 242 +/- 77 fb for root s = 13 and 13.6 TeV, respectively. The signal is established with a statistical significance of 5.8 standard deviations, with 3.5 expected, compared to the background-only hypothesis.