Radiation Hard Hybrid Pixel Detectors, and a bb¯ Cross-Section Measurement at the CMS Experiment

Measurements of heavy flavor quark production at hadron colliders provide a good test of the perturbative quantum chromodynamics (pQCD) theory. It is also essential to have a good understanding of the heavy quark production in the search for new physics. Heavy quarks contribute to backgrounds and signals in measurements of higher mass objects, such as the Higgs boson. A key component to each of these measurements is good vertex resolution. In order to ensure reliable operation of the pixel detector, as well as confidence in the results of analyses utilizing it, it is important to study the effects of the radiation on the detector.;In the first part of this dissertation, the design of the CMS silicon pixel detector is described. Emphasis is placed on the effects of the high radiation environment on the detector operation. Measurements of the charge collection efficiency, interpixel capacitance, and other properties of the pixel sensors as a function of the radiation damage are presented.;In the second part, a measurement of the inclusive bb¯ production cross section using the b → μD 0X, D0 → Kπ decay chain with data from the CMS experiment at the LHC is presented. The data were recorded with the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (CERN) in 2010 using unprescaled single muon triggers corresponding to a total luminosity of 25 pb-1. The differential cross section is measured for pD0mT > 6 GeV/c and |η| < 2.4 corresponding to a total cross section of 4.36±0.54(stat.) +0.28-0.25 (sys.)±0.17( B )±0.23( L ) μ b.