@article{10902/38459, year = {2025}, month = {4}, url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10902/38459}, abstract = {A search is presented for fractionally charged particles with charges below 1e, using their small energy loss in the tracking detector as a key variable to observe a signal. The analyzed dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb-1 of proton-proton collisions collected at V¯s =13 TeV in 2016-2018 at the CERN LHC. This is the first search at the LHC for new particles with a charge between e/3 and 0.9e, including an extension of previous results at a charge of 2e/3. Masses up to 640 GeV and charges as low as e/3 are excluded at 95% confidence level. These are the most stringent limits to date for the considered Drell-Yan-like production mode.}, organization = {We congratulate our colleagues in the CERN accelerator departments for the excellent performance of the LHC and thank the technical and administrative staffs at CERN and at other CMS institutes for their contributions to the success of the CMS effort. In addition, we gratefully acknowledge the computing centers and personnel of the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid and other centers for delivering so effectively the computing infrastructure essential to our analyses. Finally, we acknowledge the enduring support for the construction and operation of the LHC, the CMS detector, and the supporting computing infrastructure provided by the following funding agencies: SC (Armenia), BMBWF and FWF (Austria); FNRS and FWO (Belgium); CNPq, CAPES, FAPERJ, FAPERGS, and FAPESP (Brazil); MES and BNSF (Bulgaria); CERN; CAS, MoST, and NSFC (China); MINCIENCIAS (Colombia); MSES and CSF (Croatia); RIF (Cyprus); SENESCYT (Ecuador); ERC PRG, RVTT3 and TK202 (Estonia); Academy of Finland, MEC, and HIP (Finland); CEA and CNRS/IN2P3 (France); SRNSF (Georgia); BMBF, DFG, and HGF (Germany); GSRI (Greece); NKFIH (Hungary); DAE and DST (India); IPM (Iran); SFI (Ireland); INFN (Italy); MSIP and NRF (Republic of Korea); MES (Latvia); LAS (Lithuania); MOE and UM (Malaysia); BUAP, CINVESTAV, CONACYT, LNS, SEP, and UASLP-FAI (Mexico); MOS (Montenegro); MBIE (New Zealand); PAEC (Pakistan); MES and NSC (Poland); FCT (Portugal); MESTD (Serbia); MCIN/AEI and PCTI (Spain); MOSTR (Sri Lanka); Swiss Funding Agencies (Switzerland); MST (Taipei); MHESI and NSTDA (Thailand); TUBITAK and TENMAK (Turkey); NASU (Ukraine); STFC (United Kingdom); DOE and NSF (USA).}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, publisher = {Physical Review Letters, 2025, 134, 131802}, title = {Search for fractionally charged particles in proton-proton collisions at V¯s=13 TeV}, author = {Bhowmik, Sandeep and Blanco Fernández, Sergio and Brochero Cifuentes, Javier Andrés and Cabrillo Bartolomé, José Ibán and Calderón Tazón, Alicia and Duarte Campderros, Jorge and Fernández García, Marcos and Fernández Madrazo, Celia and Gómez Gramuglio, Gervasio and Lasaosa García, Clara and Martínez Rivero, Celso and Martínez Ruiz del Árbol, Pablo and Matorras Weinig, Francisco and Matorras Cuevas, Pablo and Navarrete Ramos, Efrén and Piedra Gómez, Jonatan and Prieëls, Cedric and Scodellaro, Luca and Vila Álvarez, Iván and Vizán García, Jesús Manuel}, }