Evidence for Four-Top Quark Production at the LHC

TL;DR

This paper reports the first investigation of four-top quark production in the all-hadronic channel at the LHC, using advanced machine learning techniques to analyze Run 2 data and measure this rare process.

Contribution

It introduces a novel machine learning-based data-driven background estimation method for studying four-top quark production in the all-hadronic channel.

Findings

First all-hadronic channel analysis of four-top production.

Evidence consistent with standard model predictions.

Enhanced background estimation techniques demonstrated.

Abstract

The standard model production of four top quarks is predicted to have a cross section of the order of 12fb. The CMS Collaboration presents new results on this rare production mechanism for Run 2 data collected in 2016 through 2018 at 13 TeV, considering event signatures containing zero to four electrons or muons. This is the first time the all-hadronic channel is investigated in the study of four top quarks, made possible through novel machine learning based data-driven background estimation techniques.