Results are reported from a search for physics beyond the standard model in
proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, focusing on the
signature with a single, isolated, high-transverse-momentum lepton (electron or
muon), energetic jets, and large missing transverse momentum. The data sample
comprises an integrated luminosity of 36 inverse picobarns, recorded by the CMS
experiment at the LHC. The search is motivated by models of new physics,
including supersymmetry. The observed event yields are consistent with standard
model backgrounds predicted using control samples obtained from the data. The
characteristics of the event sample are consistent with those expected for the
production of t t-bar and W +jets events. The results are interpreted in terms
of limits on the parameter space for the constrained minimal supersymmetric
extension of the standard model.
