SHERPA is a general-purpose Monte Carlo event generator for the simulation of particle collisions in high-energy collider experiments. We summarise essential features and improvements of the SHERPA 2.2 release series, which is heavily used for event generation in the analysis and interpretation of LHC Run 1 and Run 2 data. We highlight a decade of developments towards ever higher precision in the simulation of particle-collision events. Figure 1: Overview of the SHERPA 2.2 event generator framework. Interfaces/OutputsAMEGIC [6] and COMIX [7,8]. They are used for the simulation of parton-level events within the Standard Model and beyond, and for the decay of heavy resonances such as W , Z, or Higgs bosons or top quarks. Both include automated methods for efficient phase-space integration and algorithms for the subtraction of infrared divergences in calculations at next-to-leading order (NLO) in QCD [9, 10, 11] and the electroweak theory [12]. For the evaluation of virtual corrections at NLO accuracy SHERPA relies on interfaces to dedicated one-loop providers, e.g. BLACKHAT [13], OPENLOOPS [14] and RECOLA [15,16]. The default parton-showering algorithm of the SHERPA 2.2 series is the CSSHOWER [17], based on Catani-Seymour dipole factorisation [9,10,18]. As of version 2.2.0 SHERPA also features an independent second shower implementation, DIRE [19,20,21]. For the matching of NLO QCD matrix elements with parton showers SHERPA implements the MC@NLO method [22,23]. For NNLO QCD calculations the UN 2 LOPS method [24, 25] is used. The merging of multi-jet production processes at leading order [26,27,28] and next-to-leading order [29,30] is based on truncated parton showers. Multiple parton interactions are implemented via the Sjöstrand-van-Zijl model [31]. The hadronisation of partons into hadrons is modelled by a cluster fragmentation model [32]. Alternatively, in particular for uncertainty estimations, an interface to the Lund fragmentation model [33] of PYTHIA [34] is available. SHERPA provides a large library for the simulation of τ -lepton and hadron decays, including many form-factor models. Furthermore, a module for the simulation of QED final-state radiation in particle decays [35], which is accurate to first order in α for many channels is built-in. To account for spin correlations in production and subsequent decay processes the algorithm described in [36] is implemented. Events generated with SHERPA can be cast into various output formats for further processing, with the HEPMC [37] format being the most commonly used. In the specific case of parton-level events, at the leading and next-to-leading order in QCD, additional output formats are supported. They include Les Houches Event Files [38], NTUPLE files for NLO QCD events [39] and cross-section interpolation grids produced via MCGRID [40,41] in the APPLGRID [42] and FASTNLO [43,44] formats. To analyse events on-the-fly a runtime interface to the RIVET package [45] can be used conveniently.

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A search is presented for physics beyond the standard model (SM) using electron or muon pairs with high invariant mass. A data set of proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC at $$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 13 TeV from 2016 to 2018 corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of up to 140 fb−1 is analyzed. No significant deviation is observed with respect to the SM background expectations. Upper limits are presented on the ratio of the product of the production cross section and the branching fraction to dileptons of a new narrow resonance to that of the Z boson. These provide the most stringent lower limits to date on the masses for various spin-1 particles, spin-2 gravitons in the Randall-Sundrum model, as well as spin-1 mediators between the SM and dark matter particles. Lower limits on the ultraviolet cutoff parameter are set both for four-fermion contact interactions and for the Arkani-Hamed, Dimopoulos, and Dvali model with large extra dimensions. Lepton flavor universality is tested at the TeV scale for the first time by comparing the dimuon and dielectron mass spectra. No significant deviation from the SM expectation of unity is observed.

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