The cross section for tt production in the all-jets final state is measured in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV at the LHC with the CMS detector, in data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 18.4 fb-1. The inclusive cross section is found to be 275.6 ±6.1 (stat) ± 37.8 (syst) ± 7.2 (lumi) pb. The normalized differential cross sections are measured as a function of the top quark transverse momenta, pT, and compared to predictions from quantum chromodynamics. The results are reported at detector, parton, and particle levels. In all cases, the measured top quark pT spectra are significantly softer than theoretical predictions.

This thesis introduces readers to the Standard Model, the top quark and its properties, before explaining the concept of spin correlation measurement. The first measurement of top quark spin correlations at the LHC in the lepton+jets decay channel is presented. As the heaviest elementary particle, the top quark plays an essential role in the Standard Model of elementary particle physics. In the case of top quarks being produced in pairs at hadron colliders, the Standard Model predicts their spins to be correlated. The degree of correlation depends on both the production mechanism and properties of the top quark. Any deviation from the Standard Model prediction can be an indicator for new physics phenomena. The thesis employs an advanced top quark reconstruction algorithm including dedicated identification of the up- and down-type quarks from the W boson decay.

A measurement of the top quark pair production (t-tbar) cross section in proton-proton collisions at the centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV is presented using data collected with the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.6 inverse-femtobarns. This analysis is performed in the t-tbar decay channels with one isolated, high transverse momentum electron or muon and at least four jets, at least one of which is required to be identified as originating from hadronization of a b quark. The calibration of the jet energy scale and the efficiency of b jet identification are determined from data. The measured t-tbar cross section is 228.5 +/- 3.8 (stat) +/- 13.7 (syst) +/- 6.0 (lumi) pb. This measurement is compared with an analysis of 7 TeV data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 inverse-femtobarns, to determine the ratio of 8 TeV to 7 TeV cross sections, which is found to be 1.43 +/- 0.04 (stat) +/- 0.07 (syst) +/- 0.05 (lumi). The measurements are in agreement with QCD predictions up to next-to-next-to-leading order.