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CMS-TOP-21-013 ; CERN-EP-2023-214
Search for flavor changing neutral current interactions of the top quark in final states with a photon and additional jets in proton-proton collisions at $ \sqrt{s}= $ 13 TeV
Phys. Rev. D 109 (2024) 072004
Abstract: A search for the production of a top quark in association with a photon and additional jets via flavor changing neutral current interactions is presented. The analysis uses proton-proton collision data recorded by the CMS detector at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$ ^{-1} $. The search is performed by looking for processes where a single top quark is produced in association with a photon, or a pair of top quarks where one of the top quarks decays into a photon and an up or charm quark. Events with an electron or a muon, a photon, one or more jets, and missing transverse momentum are selected. Multivariate analysis techniques are used to discriminate signal and standard model background processes. No significant deviation is observed over the predicted background. Observed (expected) upper limits are set on the branching fractions of top quark decays: $ \mathcal{B}(\mathrm{t}\to\mathrm{u}\gamma) < $ 0.95 $\times$ 10$^{-5} $ (1.20 $ \times$ 10$^{-5} $) and $ \mathcal{B}(\mathrm{t}\to\mathrm{c}\gamma) < $ 1.51 $\times$ 10$^{-5} $ (1.54 $ \times$ 10$^{-5} $) at 95% confidence level, assuming a single nonzero coupling at a time. The obtained limit for $ \mathcal{B}(\mathrm{t}\to\mathrm{u}\gamma) $ is similar to the current best limit, while the limit for $ \mathcal{B}(\mathrm{t}\to\mathrm{c}\gamma) $ is significantly tighter than previous results.
Figures & Tables Summary References CMS Publications
Figures

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Figure 1:
LO Feynman diagrams for the production of a single top quark in association with a photon (left), and the decay of a top antiquark to a photon and a light antiquark in top quark pair production (right) via a $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{q}\gamma} $ FCNC, where $ \mathrm{q}=\mathrm{u} $, c. The leptonic decay of the W boson from the top quark decay is included. The charge conjugate diagrams are also included. The FCNC interaction vertex is marked as a filled red circle.

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Figure 2:
From upper to lower, expected and observed distributions of photon $ p_{\mathrm{T}} $, transverse mass of W boson candidate, reconstructed top quark mass, and $ \Delta R(\ell,\,\mathrm{b}\ \text{jet}) $ for the electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR1. For presentational purposes, the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ and $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ signal distributions are normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}} = \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma}} = $ 0.2 and are superimposed on the background expectations. The last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

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Figure 2-a:
From upper to lower, expected and observed distributions of photon $ p_{\mathrm{T}} $, transverse mass of W boson candidate, reconstructed top quark mass, and $ \Delta R(\ell,\,\mathrm{b}\ \text{jet}) $ for the electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR1. For presentational purposes, the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ and $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ signal distributions are normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}} = \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma}} = $ 0.2 and are superimposed on the background expectations. The last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

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Figure 2-b:
From upper to lower, expected and observed distributions of photon $ p_{\mathrm{T}} $, transverse mass of W boson candidate, reconstructed top quark mass, and $ \Delta R(\ell,\,\mathrm{b}\ \text{jet}) $ for the electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR1. For presentational purposes, the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ and $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ signal distributions are normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}} = \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma}} = $ 0.2 and are superimposed on the background expectations. The last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

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Figure 2-c:
From upper to lower, expected and observed distributions of photon $ p_{\mathrm{T}} $, transverse mass of W boson candidate, reconstructed top quark mass, and $ \Delta R(\ell,\,\mathrm{b}\ \text{jet}) $ for the electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR1. For presentational purposes, the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ and $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ signal distributions are normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}} = \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma}} = $ 0.2 and are superimposed on the background expectations. The last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

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Figure 2-d:
From upper to lower, expected and observed distributions of photon $ p_{\mathrm{T}} $, transverse mass of W boson candidate, reconstructed top quark mass, and $ \Delta R(\ell,\,\mathrm{b}\ \text{jet}) $ for the electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR1. For presentational purposes, the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ and $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ signal distributions are normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}} = \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma}} = $ 0.2 and are superimposed on the background expectations. The last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

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Figure 2-e:
From upper to lower, expected and observed distributions of photon $ p_{\mathrm{T}} $, transverse mass of W boson candidate, reconstructed top quark mass, and $ \Delta R(\ell,\,\mathrm{b}\ \text{jet}) $ for the electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR1. For presentational purposes, the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ and $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ signal distributions are normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}} = \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma}} = $ 0.2 and are superimposed on the background expectations. The last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

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Figure 2-f:
From upper to lower, expected and observed distributions of photon $ p_{\mathrm{T}} $, transverse mass of W boson candidate, reconstructed top quark mass, and $ \Delta R(\ell,\,\mathrm{b}\ \text{jet}) $ for the electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR1. For presentational purposes, the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ and $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ signal distributions are normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}} = \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma}} = $ 0.2 and are superimposed on the background expectations. The last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

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Figure 2-g:
From upper to lower, expected and observed distributions of photon $ p_{\mathrm{T}} $, transverse mass of W boson candidate, reconstructed top quark mass, and $ \Delta R(\ell,\,\mathrm{b}\ \text{jet}) $ for the electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR1. For presentational purposes, the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ and $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ signal distributions are normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}} = \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma}} = $ 0.2 and are superimposed on the background expectations. The last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

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Figure 2-h:
From upper to lower, expected and observed distributions of photon $ p_{\mathrm{T}} $, transverse mass of W boson candidate, reconstructed top quark mass, and $ \Delta R(\ell,\,\mathrm{b}\ \text{jet}) $ for the electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR1. For presentational purposes, the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ and $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ signal distributions are normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}} = \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma}} = $ 0.2 and are superimposed on the background expectations. The last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

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Figure 3:
From upper to lower, expected and observed distributions of photon $ p_{\mathrm{T}} $, transverse mass of W boson candidate, invariant mass of jet and photon, and reconstructed top quark mass, for the electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR2. For presentational purposes, the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ signal distributions are normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}}= $ 0.2 and are superimposed on the background expectations. The $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ distributions are not shown as they are the same as the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ distributions. The last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

png pdf
Figure 3-a:
From upper to lower, expected and observed distributions of photon $ p_{\mathrm{T}} $, transverse mass of W boson candidate, invariant mass of jet and photon, and reconstructed top quark mass, for the electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR2. For presentational purposes, the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ signal distributions are normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}}= $ 0.2 and are superimposed on the background expectations. The $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ distributions are not shown as they are the same as the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ distributions. The last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

png pdf
Figure 3-b:
From upper to lower, expected and observed distributions of photon $ p_{\mathrm{T}} $, transverse mass of W boson candidate, invariant mass of jet and photon, and reconstructed top quark mass, for the electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR2. For presentational purposes, the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ signal distributions are normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}}= $ 0.2 and are superimposed on the background expectations. The $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ distributions are not shown as they are the same as the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ distributions. The last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

png pdf
Figure 3-c:
From upper to lower, expected and observed distributions of photon $ p_{\mathrm{T}} $, transverse mass of W boson candidate, invariant mass of jet and photon, and reconstructed top quark mass, for the electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR2. For presentational purposes, the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ signal distributions are normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}}= $ 0.2 and are superimposed on the background expectations. The $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ distributions are not shown as they are the same as the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ distributions. The last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

png pdf
Figure 3-d:
From upper to lower, expected and observed distributions of photon $ p_{\mathrm{T}} $, transverse mass of W boson candidate, invariant mass of jet and photon, and reconstructed top quark mass, for the electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR2. For presentational purposes, the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ signal distributions are normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}}= $ 0.2 and are superimposed on the background expectations. The $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ distributions are not shown as they are the same as the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ distributions. The last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

png pdf
Figure 3-e:
From upper to lower, expected and observed distributions of photon $ p_{\mathrm{T}} $, transverse mass of W boson candidate, invariant mass of jet and photon, and reconstructed top quark mass, for the electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR2. For presentational purposes, the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ signal distributions are normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}}= $ 0.2 and are superimposed on the background expectations. The $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ distributions are not shown as they are the same as the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ distributions. The last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

png pdf
Figure 3-f:
From upper to lower, expected and observed distributions of photon $ p_{\mathrm{T}} $, transverse mass of W boson candidate, invariant mass of jet and photon, and reconstructed top quark mass, for the electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR2. For presentational purposes, the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ signal distributions are normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}}= $ 0.2 and are superimposed on the background expectations. The $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ distributions are not shown as they are the same as the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ distributions. The last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

png pdf
Figure 3-g:
From upper to lower, expected and observed distributions of photon $ p_{\mathrm{T}} $, transverse mass of W boson candidate, invariant mass of jet and photon, and reconstructed top quark mass, for the electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR2. For presentational purposes, the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ signal distributions are normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}}= $ 0.2 and are superimposed on the background expectations. The $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ distributions are not shown as they are the same as the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ distributions. The last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

png pdf
Figure 3-h:
From upper to lower, expected and observed distributions of photon $ p_{\mathrm{T}} $, transverse mass of W boson candidate, invariant mass of jet and photon, and reconstructed top quark mass, for the electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR2. For presentational purposes, the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ signal distributions are normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}}= $ 0.2 and are superimposed on the background expectations. The $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ distributions are not shown as they are the same as the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ distributions. The last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

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Figure 4:
The BDT output distributions for the data, the background predictions, and the expected $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ signal for electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR1 (upper) and SR2 (lower). The signal distribution is normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}}= $ 0.10 (0.01) for ST (TT) and is stacked on the background expectations. The first bins include underflows, and the last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

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Figure 4-a:
The BDT output distributions for the data, the background predictions, and the expected $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ signal for electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR1 (upper) and SR2 (lower). The signal distribution is normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}}= $ 0.10 (0.01) for ST (TT) and is stacked on the background expectations. The first bins include underflows, and the last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

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Figure 4-b:
The BDT output distributions for the data, the background predictions, and the expected $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ signal for electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR1 (upper) and SR2 (lower). The signal distribution is normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}}= $ 0.10 (0.01) for ST (TT) and is stacked on the background expectations. The first bins include underflows, and the last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

png pdf
Figure 4-c:
The BDT output distributions for the data, the background predictions, and the expected $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ signal for electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR1 (upper) and SR2 (lower). The signal distribution is normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}}= $ 0.10 (0.01) for ST (TT) and is stacked on the background expectations. The first bins include underflows, and the last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

png pdf
Figure 4-d:
The BDT output distributions for the data, the background predictions, and the expected $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ signal for electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR1 (upper) and SR2 (lower). The signal distribution is normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}}= $ 0.10 (0.01) for ST (TT) and is stacked on the background expectations. The first bins include underflows, and the last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

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Figure 5:
The BDT output distributions for the data, the background predictions, and the expected $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ signal for electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR1 (upper) and SR2 (lower). The signal distribution is normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma}}= $ 0.10 (0.01) for ST (TT) and is stacked on the background expectations. The first bins include underflows, and the last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

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Figure 5-a:
The BDT output distributions for the data, the background predictions, and the expected $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ signal for electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR1 (upper) and SR2 (lower). The signal distribution is normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma}}= $ 0.10 (0.01) for ST (TT) and is stacked on the background expectations. The first bins include underflows, and the last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

png pdf
Figure 5-b:
The BDT output distributions for the data, the background predictions, and the expected $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ signal for electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR1 (upper) and SR2 (lower). The signal distribution is normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma}}= $ 0.10 (0.01) for ST (TT) and is stacked on the background expectations. The first bins include underflows, and the last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

png pdf
Figure 5-c:
The BDT output distributions for the data, the background predictions, and the expected $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ signal for electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR1 (upper) and SR2 (lower). The signal distribution is normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma}}= $ 0.10 (0.01) for ST (TT) and is stacked on the background expectations. The first bins include underflows, and the last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.

png pdf
Figure 5-d:
The BDT output distributions for the data, the background predictions, and the expected $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ signal for electron (left) and muon (right) channels in SR1 (upper) and SR2 (lower). The signal distribution is normalized to a cross section corresponding to $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma}}= $ 0.10 (0.01) for ST (TT) and is stacked on the background expectations. The first bins include underflows, and the last bins include overflows. The vertical bars on the points depict the data statistical uncertainties and the hatched bands show the combined statistical and systematic uncertainties in the estimated background processes.
Tables

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Table 1:
Estimated background yields and observed event counts for the electron and muon channels in the signal regions SR1 and SR2. The uncertainties are the statistical and systematic contributions summed in quadrature.

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Table 2:
The expected and observed 95% CL upper limits using the $ \text{CL}_\text{s} $ criterion on the anomalous couplings $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}} $, $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma}} $ and the corresponding branching fractions $ \mathcal{B}(\mathrm{t}\to\mathrm{u}\gamma) $ and $ \mathcal{B}(\mathrm{t}\to\mathrm{c}\gamma) $ from the combination of the electron and muon channels at NLO for SR1, SR2, and combined (SR1+SR2).
Summary
The results of a search for flavor changing neutral current (FCNC) interactions in the top quark sector associated with the $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma} $ and $ \mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma} $ vertices have been presented. These vertices are probed by a simultaneous evaluation of single top quark production in association with a photon and top quark pair production with one of the top quarks decaying via FCNC. The search is performed using proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$ ^{-1} $, collected by the CMS detector at the LHC. The results are in agreement with the standard model prediction. Upper limits are set at 95% confidence level on the anomalous FCNC couplings of $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{u}\gamma}} < 6.2\times10^{-3} $ and $ \kappa_{\mathcal{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{c}\gamma}} < 7.7\times10^{-3} $. The upper limits on the corresponding branching fractions are $ \mathcal{B}(\mathrm{t}\to\mathrm{u}\gamma) < 0.95\times10^{-5} $ and $ \mathcal{B}(\mathrm{t}\to\mathrm{c}\gamma) < 1.51\times10^{-5} $. The obtained limit for $ \mathcal{B}(\mathrm{t}\to\mathrm{u}\gamma) $ is similar to the current best limit from the ATLAS experiment [14], while the limit for $ \mathcal{B}(\mathrm{t}\to\mathrm{c}\gamma) $ is significantly tighter.
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