Precision luminosity measurement in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider

Abstract

Discovering new fundamental physics requires spotting subtle deviations between theoretical predictions and experimental data. This delicate comparison hinges on the precise knowledge of the integrated luminosity, the measure of how many particle interactions were actually delivered by the collider. Here, we report a landmark measurement of the integrated luminosity by the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment for proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). By calibrating multiple independent monitors through specialized beam-separation techniques and rigorously validating their long-term stability against well-understood Z boson production rates, we comprehensively map and minimize systematic uncertainties. Combining the findings yields a total integrated luminosity precision of 0.73% for the entire data set. This marks the most precise luminosity measurement ever achieved at a bunched-beam hadron collider. Crossing the sub-percent precision threshold per data taking year fundamentally sharpens our ability to test the standard model and establishes a vital baseline for the upcoming High-Luminosity LHC era.