This letter documents a search for flavour-changing neutral currents (FCNCs), which are strongly suppressed in the Standard Model, in events with a photon and a top quark with the ATLAS detector. The analysis uses data collected in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV during Run 2 of the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1. Both FCNC top-quark production and decay are considered. The final state consists of a charged lepton, missing transverse momentum, a b-tagged jet, one high-momentum photon and possibly additional jets. A multiclass deep neural network is used to classify events either as signal in one of the two categories, FCNC production or decay, or as background. No significant excess of events over the background prediction is observed and 95% CL upper limits are placed on the strength of left- and right-handed FCNC interactions. The 95% CL bounds on the branching fractions for the FCNC top-quark decays, estimated (expected) from both top-quark production and decay, are B(t → uγ ) < 0.85 (0.88) × 10−5 and B(t → cγ ) < 4.2 (3.40) × 10−5 for a left-handed tqγ coupling, and B(t → uγ ) < 1.2 (1.20)×10−5 and B(t → cγ ) < 4.5 (3.70)×10−5 for a right-handed coupling.
A search for heavy long-lived multi-charged particles is performed using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Data collected in 2015-2018 at √s = 13 TeV from pp collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1 are examined. Particles producing anomalously high ionization, consistent with long-lived spin-½ massive particles with electric charges from |q| = 2e to |q| = 7e are searched for. No statistically significant evidence of such particles is observed, and 95% confidence level cross-section upper limits are calculated and interpreted as the lower mass limits for a Drell-Yan plus photon-fusion production mode. The least stringent limit, 1060 GeV, is obtained for |q| = 2e particles, and the most stringent one, 1600 GeV, is for |q| = 6e particles.
Constraints on the Higgs boson self-coupling are set by combining double-Higgs boson analyses in the b¯bb¯b, b¯bτ +τ − and b¯bγγ decay channels with single-Higgs boson analyses targeting the γγ , Z Z∗, W W ∗, τ +τ − and b¯b decay channels. The data used in these analyses were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton–proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 126–139 fb−1. The combination of the double-Higgs analyses sets an upper limit of μH H < 2.4 at 95% confidence level on the double-Higgs production cross-section normalised to its Standard Model prediction. Combining the single-Higgs and double-Higgs analyses, with the assumption that new physics affects only the Higgs boson self-coupling (λHHH ), values outside the interval −0.4 < κλ = (λHHH /λ ) < 6.3 are excluded at 95% confidence level. The combined single-Higgs and double-Higgs analyses provide results with fewer assumptions, by adding in the fit more coupling modifiers introduced to account for the Higgs boson interactions with the other Standard Model particles. In this relaxed scenario, the constraint becomes −1.4 < κλ < 6.1 at 95% CL
measurement of the polarisation of W bosons produced in top-quark decays is presented, using proton–proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s=13 TeV. The data were collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1. The measurement is performed selecting events decaying into final states with two charged leptons (electrons or muons) and at least two b-tagged jets. The polarisation is extracted from the differential cross-section distribution of the cosθ* variable, where θ* is the angle between the momentum direction of the charged lepton from the W boson decay and the reversed momentum direction of the b-quark from the top-quark decay, both calculated in the W boson rest frame. Parton-level results, corrected for the detector acceptance and resolution, are presented for the cosθ* angle. The measured fractions of longitudinal, left- and right-handed polarisation states are found to be f0=0.684±0.005(stat.)±0.014(syst.), fL=0.318±0.003(stat.)±0.008(syst.) and fR=−0.002±0.002(stat.)±0.014(syst.), in agreement with the Standard Model prediction.
Measurements of joint-polarisation states of W and Z gauge bosons in W±Z production are presented. The data set used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1 of proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The W±Z candidate events are reconstructed using leptonic decay modes of the gauge bosons into electrons and muons. The simultaneous pair-production of longitudinally polarised vector bosons is measured for the first time with a significance of 7.1 standard deviations. The measured joint helicity fractions integrated over the fiducial region are f00=0.067±0.010, f0T=0.110±0.029, fT0=0.179±0.023 and fTT=0.644±0.032, in agreement with the next-to-leading-order Standard Model predictions. Individual helicity fractions of the W and Z bosons are also measured and found to be consistent with joint helicity fractions within the expected amounts of correlation. Both the joint and individual helicity fractions are also measured separately in W+Z and W−Z events. Inclusive and differential cross sections for several kinematic observables sensitive to polarisation are presented.
The inclusive top-quark-pair production cross section 𝜎𝑡𝑡̄ and its ratio to the 𝑍-boson production cross section have been measured in proton–proton collisions at √𝑠 = 13.6 TeV, using 29 fb−1 of data collected in 2022 with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Using events with an opposite-charge electron-muon pair and 𝑏-tagged jets, and assuming Standard Model decays, the top-quark-pair production cross section is measured to be 𝜎𝑡𝑡̄ = 850± 3(stat.) ± 18(syst.) ± 20(lumi.) pb. The ratio of the 𝑡𝑡̄ and the 𝑍-boson production cross sections is also measured, where the 𝑍-boson contribution is determined for inclusive 𝑒+𝑒− and 𝜇+𝜇− events in a fiducial phase space. The relative uncertainty on the ratio is reduced compared to the 𝑡𝑡̄ cross section, thanks to the cancellation of several systematic uncertainties. The result for the ratio, 𝑅𝑡𝑡̄∕𝑍 = 1.145 ± 0.003(stat.) ± 0.021(syst.)±0.002(lumi.) is consistent with the Standard Model prediction using the PDF4LHC21 PDF set.
Many extensions of the Standard Model predict the production of dark matter particles at the LHC. Sufficiently light dark matter particles may be produced in decays of the Higgs boson that would appear invisible to the detector. This Letter presents a statistical combination of searches for H→invisible decays where multiple production modes of the Standard Model Higgs boson are considered. These searches are performed with the ATLAS detector using 139 fb−1 of proton–proton collisions at a centre–of–mass energy of at the LHC. In combination with the results at √s=7TeV and 8TeV, an upper limit on the H→invisible branching ratio of 0.107 (0.077) at the 95% confidence level is observed (expected). These results are also interpreted in the context of models where the 125 GeV Higgs boson acts as a portal to dark matter, and limits are set on the scattering cross-section of weakly interacting massive particles and nucleons.
Searches for the exclusive decays of the Higgs boson to an 𝜔 meson and a photon or a 𝐾* meson and a photon can probe flavour-conserving and flavour-violating Higgs boson couplings to light quarks, respectively. Searches for these decays, along with the analogous 𝑍 boson decay to an 𝜔 meson and a photon, are performed with a 𝑝𝑝 collision data sample corresponding to integrated luminosities of up to 134 fb−1 collected at √𝑠 = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The obtained 95% confidence-level upper limits on the respective branching fractions are (𝐻 → 𝜔𝛾) < 5.5 × 10−4, (𝐻 → 𝐾*𝛾) < 2.2 × 10−4 and (𝑍 → 𝜔𝛾) < 3.9 × 10−6. The limits for 𝐻 → 𝜔𝛾 and 𝑍 → 𝜔𝛾 are 370 times and 140 times the Standard Model expected values, respectively. The result for 𝑍 → 𝜔𝛾 corresponds to a two-orders-of-magnitude improvement over the limit obtained by the DELPHI experiment at LEP.
Semi-visible jets, with a significant contribution to the event's missing transverse momentum, can arise in strongly interacting dark sectors. This results in an event topology where one of the jets can be aligned with the direction of the missing transverse momentum. The first search for semi-visible jets produced via a t-channel mediator exchange is presented. The analysis uses proton-proton collisions with an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1 and a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected with the ATLAS detector during the Run 2 of the LHC. No excess over Standard Model predictions is observed. Assuming a coupling strength of unity between the mediator, a Standard Model quark and a dark quark, mediator masses up to 2.7 TeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level. Upper limits on the coupling strength are also derived.
Heavy-flavour hadron production provides information about the transport properties and microscopic structure of the quark–gluon plasma created in ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. A measurement of the muons from semileptonic decays of charm and bottom hadrons produced in Pb+Pb and pp collisions at a nucleon–nucleon centre-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is presented. The Pb+Pb data were collected in 2015 and 2018 with sampled integrated luminosities of 208μb−1 and 38μb−1, respectively, and pp data with a sampled integrated luminosity of 1.17pb−1 were collected in 2017. Muons from heavy-flavour semileptonic decays are separated from the light-flavour hadronic background using the momentum imbalance between the inner detector and muon spectrometer measurements, and muons originating from charm and bottom decays are further separated via the muon track's transverse impact parameter. Differential yields in Pb+Pb collisions and differential cross sections in pp collisions for such muons are measured as a function of muon transverse momentum from 4 GeV to 30 GeV in the absolute pseudorapidity interval |η|<2. Nuclear modification factors for charm and bottom muons are presented as a function of muon transverse momentum in intervals of Pb+Pb collision centrality. The bottom muon results are the most precise measurement of b quark nuclear modification at low transverse momentum where reconstruction of B hadrons is challenging. The measured nuclear modification factors quantify a significant suppression of the yields of muons from decays of charm and bottom hadrons, with stronger effects for muons from charm hadron decays.
This search, a type not previously performed at ATLAS, uses a comparison of the production cross sections for e+μ− and e−μ+ pairs to constrain physics processes beyond the Standard Model. It uses 139fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded at √s=13 TeV at the LHC. Targeting sources of new physics which prefer final states containing e+μ− to e−μ+, the search contains two broad signal regions which are used to provide model-independent constraints on the ratio of cross sections at the 2% level. The search also has two special selections targeting supersymmetric models and leptoquark signatures. Observations using one of these selections are able to exclude, at 95% confidence level, singly produced smuons with masses up to 640 GeV in a model in which the only other light sparticle is a neutralino when the R-parity-violating coupling λ231′ is close to unity. Observations using the other selection exclude scalar leptoquarks with masses below 1880 GeV when geu1R=gμc1R=1, at 95% confidence level. The limit on the coupling reduces to geu1R=gμc1R=0.46 for a mass of 1420 GeV.
A search for the pair-production of vector-like quarks optimized for decays into a Z boson and a third-generation Standard Model quark is presented, using the full Run 2 dataset corresponding to 139 fb−1 of pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV, collected in 2015–2018 with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The targeted final state is characterized by the presence of a Z boson with high transverse momentum, reconstructed from a pair of same-flavour leptons with opposite-sign charges, as well as by the presence of b-tagged jets and high-transverse-momentum large-radius jets reconstructed from calibrated smaller-radius jets. Events with exactly two or at least three leptons are used, which are further categorized by the presence of boosted W , Z, and Higgs bosons and top quarks. The categorization is performed using a neural-network-based boosted object tagger to enhance the sensitivity to signal relative to the background. No significant excess above the background expectation is observed and exclusion limits at 95% confidence level are set on the masses of the vector-like partners T and B of the top and bottom quarks, respectively. The limits depend on the branching ratio configurations and, in the case of 100% branching ratio for T → Zt and 100% branching ratio for B → Zb, this search sets the most stringent limits to date, allowing mT > 1.60 TeV and mB > 1.42 TeV, respectively.
The study of quark jets in e+e− reactions at LEP has demonstrated that the hadronisation process is reproduced well by the Lund string model. However, our understanding of gluon fragmentation is less complete. In this study enriched quark and gluon jet samples of different purities are selected in three-jet events from hadronic decays of the Z collected by the DELPHI experiment in the LEP runs during 1994 and 1995. The leading systems of the two kinds of jets are defined by requiring a rapidity gap and their sum of charges is studied. An excess of leading systems with total charge zero is found for gluon jets in all cases, when compared to Monte Carlo simulations with JETSET (with and without Bose–Einstein correlations included) and ARIADNE. The corresponding leading systems of quark jets do not exhibit such an excess. The influence of the gap size and of the gluon purity on the effect is studied and a concentration of the excess of neutral leading systems at low invariant masses (2 GeV/c2) is observed, indicating that gluon jets might have an additional hitherto undetected fragmentation mode via a two-gluon system. This could be an indication of a possible production of gluonic states as predicted by QCD.
The quark model does not exclude states composed of more than three quarks, like pentaquark systems. Controversial evidence for such states has been published in the last years, in particular: for a strange pentaquark Theta(1540)(+); for a double-strange state, the Xi(1862)(--), subsequently called Phi(1860)--; and for a charmed state, the Theta(c)(3100)(0). If confirmed, a full pentaquark family might exist; such pentaquark states could be produced in e(+)e(-) annihilations near the Z energy. In this Letter a search for pentaquarks is described using the DELPHI detector at LEP, characterized by powerful particle identification sub-systems crucial in the separation of the signal from the background for these states. At 95% CL, upper limits are set on the production rates N of such particles and their charge-conjugate state per Z decay: N-Theta+ x Br(Theta(+) -> pK(S)(0)) < 5.1 x 10(-4), N Theta++ < 1.6 x 10(-3), N Phi(1860)-- x Br((P(1860)-- -> Xi(-)pi(-)) < 2.9 x 10(-4), N-Theta c(3100)0 x Br(Theta(c)(3100)(0) -> D*(+)p) < 8.8 x 10(-4).
This Letter presents a search for new light resonances decaying to pairs of quarks and produced in association with a high-p(T) photon or jet. The dataset consists of proton-proton collisions with an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1) at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Resonance candidates are identified as massive large-radius jets with substructure consistent with a particle decaying into a quark pair. The mass spectrum of the candidates is examined for local excesses above background. No evidence of a new resonance is observed in the data, which are used to exclude the production of a lepto-phobic axial-vector Z' boson.
Results of a search for gluino pair production with subsequent R-parity-violating decays to quarks are presented. This search uses 36.1 fb(-1) of data collected by the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions with a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV at the LHC. The analysis is performed using requirements on the number of jets and the number of jets tagged as containing a b-hadron as well as a topological observable formed by the scalar sum of masses of large-radius jets in the event. No significant excess above the expected Standard Model background is observed. Limits are set on the production of gluinos in models with the R-parity-violating decays of either the gluino itself (direct decay) or the neutralino produced in the R-parity-conserving gluino decay (cascade decay). In the gluino cascade decay model, gluino masses below 1850 GeV are excluded for 1000 GeV neutralino mass. For the gluino direct decay model, the 95% confidence level upper limit on the cross section times branching ratio varies between 0.80 fb at m((g) over tilde) = 900 GeV and 0.011 fb at m((g) over tilde) = 1800 GeV.
A measurement of the production of three isolated photons in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy root s = 8 TeV is reported. The results are based on an integrated luminosity of 20.2 fb(-1) collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The differential cross sections are measured as functions of the transverse energy of each photon, the difference in azimuthal angle and in pseudorapidity between pairs of photons, the invariant mass of pairs of photons, and the invariant mass of the triphoton system. A measurement of the inclusive fiducial cross section is also reported. Next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD predictions are compared to the cross-section measurements. The predictions underestimate the measurement of the inclusive fiducial cross section and the differential measurements at low photon transverse energies and invariant masses. They provide adequate descriptions of the measurements at high values of the photon transverse energies, invariant mass of pairs of photons, and invariant mass of the triphoton system.
Inclusive isolated-photon production in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV is studied with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using a data set with an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb(-1). The cross section is measured as a function of the photon transverse energy above 125 GeV in different regions of photon pseudorapidity. Next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD and Monte Carlo event-generator predictions are compared to the cross-section measurements and provide an adequate description of the data.
Measurements of dijet Pt correlations in Pb+Pb and pp collisions at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV are presented. The measurements are performed with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider using Pb+Pb and pp data samples corresponding to integrated luminosities of 0.14 nb(-1)and 4.0 pb(-1) respectively. Jets are reconstructed using the anti-k(t) algorithm with radius parameter values R = 0.3 and R = 0.4. A background subtraction procedure is applied to correct the jets for the large underlying event present in Pb+Pb collisions. The leading and sub-leading jet transverse momenta are denoted p(T1) and p(T2). An unfolding procedure is applied to the two-dimensional (p(T1) , p(T2)) distributions to account for experimental effects in the measurement of both jets. Distributions of (1/N)dN/dx(J), where X-J = p(T2)/p(T1) , are presented as a function of p(T1) and collision centrality. The distributions are found to be similar in peripheral Pb+Pb collisions and pp collisions, but highly modified in central Pb+Pb collisions. Similar features are present in both the R = 0.3 and R = 0.4 results, indicating that the effects of the underlying event are properly accounted for in the measurement. The results are qualitatively consistent with expectations from partonic energy loss models.
A search for heavy resonances decaying to a W or Z boson and a Higgs boson in the q(q)over-bar(('))b(b)over-bar final state is described. The search uses 36.1 fb(-1)of proton-proton collision data at root s = 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider in 2015 and 2016. The data are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations, with the largest excess found at a resonance mass of 3.0 TeV with a local (global) significance of 3.3 (2.1) sigma. The results are presented in terms of constraints on a simplified model with a heavy vector triplet. Upper limits are set on the production cross-section times branching ratio for resonances decaying to a W (Z) boson and a Higgs boson, itself decaying to b(b)over-bar, in the mass range between 1.1 and 3.8 TeV at 95% confidence level; the limits range between 83 and 1.6 fb (77 and 1.1 fb) at 95% confidence level.
The cross-section for the production of two jets in association with a leptonically decaying Z boson (Zjj) is measured in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, using data recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb(-1). The electroweak Zjj cross-section is extracted in a fiducial region chosen to enhance the electroweak contribution relative to the dominant Drell-Yan Zjj process, which is constrained using a data-driven approach. The measured fiducial electroweak cross-section is sigma(Zjj)(EW) = 119 +/- 16 (stat.) +/- 20 (syst.) +/- 2 (lumi.) fb for dijet invariant mass greater than 250 GeV, and 34.2 +/- 5.8 (stat.) +/- 5.5 (syst.) +/- 0.7 (lumi.) fb for dijet invariant mass greater than 1 TeV. Standard Model predictions are in agreement with the measurements. The inclusive Zjj cross-section is also measured in six different fiducial regions with varying contributions from electroweak and Drell-Yan Zjj production.
Searches for new phenomena in high-mass diphoton final states with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC are presented. The analysis is based on pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.7 fb(-1) at a centre-of-mass energy root s = 13 TeV recorded in 2015 and 2016. Searches are performed for resonances with spin 0, as predicted by theories with an extended Higgs sector, and for resonances with spin 2, using a warped extra-dimension model as a benchmark model, as well as for non-resonant signals, assuming a large extra-dimension scenario. No significant deviation from the Standard Model is observed. Upper limits are placed on the production cross section times branching ratio to two photons as a function of the resonance mass. In addition, lower limits are set on the ultraviolet cutoff scale in the large extra-dimensions model.
The dynamics of isolated-photon production in association with a jet in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV are studied with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using a dataset with an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb(-1). Photons are required to have transverse energies above 125 GeV. Jets are identified using the anti-k(t) algorithm with radius parameter R = 0.4 and required to have transverse momenta above 100 GeV. Measurements of isolated-photon plus jet cross sections are presented as functions of the leading-photon transverse energy, the leading-jet transverse momentum, the azimuthal angular separation between the photon and the jet, the photon-jet invariant mass and the scattering angle in the photon-jet centre-of-mass system. Tree-level plus parton-shower predictions from SHERPA and PYTHIA as well as next-to-leading-order QCD predictions from JETPHOX and SHERPA are compared to the measurements.
The production of exclusive gamma gamma -> mu(+)mu(-) events in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV is measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC, using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb(-1). The measurement is performed for a dimuon invariant mass of 12 GeV < m(mu+mu-) < 70 GeV. The integrated cross-section is determined within a fiducial acceptance region of the ATLAS detector and differential cross-sections are measured as a function of the dimuon invariant mass. The results are compared to theoretical predictions both with and without corrections for absorptive effects.
The production of a top quark in association with a Z boson is investigated. The proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC in 2015 and 2016 at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV are used, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1). Events containing three identified leptons (electrons and/or muons) and two jets, one of which is identified as a b-quark jet are selected. The major backgrounds are diboson, tt($)over-bar and Z + jets production. A neural network is used to improve the background rejection and extract the signal. The resulting significance is 4.2 sigma in the data and the expected significance is 5.4 sigma. The measured cross-section for tZq production is 600 +/- 170(stat.)+/- 140(syst.)fb.
A search for an invisibly decaying Higgs boson or dark matter candidates produced in association with a leptonically decaying Z boson in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV is presented. This search uses 36.1 fb(-1) of data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. No significant deviation from the expectation of the Standard Model backgrounds is observed. Assuming the Standard Model ZH production cross-section, an observed (expected) upper limit of 67% (39%) at the 95% confidence level is set on the branching ratio of invisible decays of the Higgs boson with mass m(H) = 125 GeV. The corresponding limits on the production cross-section of the ZH process with the invisible Higgs boson decays are also presented. Furthermore, exclusion limits on the dark matter candidate and mediator masses are reported in the framework of simplified dark matter models.
Narrow resonances decaying into WW, WZ or ZZ boson pairs are searched for in 36.7 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in 2015 and 2016. The diboson system is reconstructed using pairs of large-radius jets with high transverse momentum and tagged as compatible with the hadronic decay of high-momentum Wor Zbosons, using jet mass and substructure properties. The search is sensitive to diboson resonances with masses in the range 1.2-5.0 TeV. No significant excess is observed in any signal region. Exclusion limits are set at the 95% confidence level on the production cross section times branching ratio to dibosons for a range of theories beyond the Standard Model. Model-dependent lower limits on the mass of new gauge bosons are set, with the highest limit set at 3.5 TeV in the context of mass-degenerate resonances that couple predominantly to bosons.
A search for heavy resonances decaying into a Higgs boson (H) and a new particle (X) is reported, utilizing 36.1 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at root s = 13 TeV collected during 2015 and 2016 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The particle Xis assumed to decay to a pair of light quarks, and the fully hadronic final state XH -> q (q) over bar 'b (b) over bar is analysed. The search considers the regime of high XH resonance masses, where the X and H bosons are both highly Lorentz-boosted and are each reconstructed using a single jet with large radius parameter. A two-dimensional phase space of XH mass versus X mass is scanned for evidence of a signal, over a range of XH resonance mass values between 1 TeV and 4 TeV, and for X particles with masses from 50 GeV to 1000 GeV. All search results are consistent with the expectations for the background due to Standard Model processes, and 95% CL upper limits are set, as a function of XH and X masses, on the production cross-section of the XH -> q (q) over bar 'b (b) over bar resonance.
This Letter presents the measurement of differential cross sections of isolated prompt photons produced in association with a b-jet or a c-jet. These final states provide sensitivity to the heavy-flavour content of the proton and aspects related to the modelling of heavy-flavour quarks in perturbative QCD. The measurement uses proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2012 corresponding to an integrated luminosity of up to 20.2 fb(-1). The differential cross sections are measured for each jet flavour with respect to the transverse energy of the leading photon in two photon pseudorapidity regions: vertical bar eta(gamma)vertical bar < 1.37 and 1.56 < vertical bar eta(gamma)vertical bar < 2.37. The measurement covers photon transverse energies 25 < E-T(gamma) < 400 GeV and 25 < E-T(gamma) < 350 GeV respectively for the two vertical bar eta(gamma)vertical bar regions. For each jet flavour, the ratio of the cross sections in the two vertical bar eta(gamma)vertical bar regions is also measured. The measurement is corrected for detector effects and compared to leading-order and next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD calculations, based on various treatments and assumptions about the heavy-flavour content of the proton. Overall, the predictions agree well with the measurement, but some deviations are observed at high photon transverse energies. The total uncertainty in the measurement ranges between 13% and 66%, while the central gamma+b measurement exhibits the smallest uncertainty, ranging from 13% to 27%, which is comparable to the precision of the theoretical predictions.
The W boson angular distribution in events with high transverse momentum jets is measured using data collected by the ATLAS experiment from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy root s = 8 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1). The focus is on the contributions to W + jets processes from real W emission, which is achieved by studying events where a muon is observed close to a high transverse momentum jet. At small angular separations, these contributions are expected to be large. Various theoretical models of this process are compared to the data in terms of the absolute cross-section and the angular distributions of the muon from the leptonic W decay.
The production of W boson pairs in association with one jet in pp collisions at root s = 8 TeV is studied using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1) collected by the ATLAS detector during 2012 at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The cross section is measured in a fiducial phase-space region defined by the presence of exactly one electron and one muon, missing transverse momentum and exactly one jet with a transverse momentum above 25 GeV and a pseudorapidity of vertical bar eta vertical bar < 4.5. The leptons are required to have opposite electric charge and to pass transverse momentum and pseudorapidity requirements. The fiducial cross section is found to be sigma(fid,1-jet)(WW) = 136 +/- 6 (stat) +/- 14 (syst) +/- 3 (lumi) fb. In combination with a previous measurement restricted to leptonic final states with no associated jets, the fiducial cross section of WW production with zero or one jet is measured to be sigma(fid,<1-jet)(WW) = 511 +/- 9 (stat) +/- 26 (syst) +/- 10 (lumi) fb. The ratio of fiducial cross sections in final states with one and zero jets is determined to be 0.36 +/- 0.05. Finally, a total cross section extrapolated from the fiducial measurement of WWproduction with zero or one associated jet is reported. The measurements are compared to theoretical predictions and found in good agreement.
The production of opposite-charge W-boson pairs in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV is measured using data corresponding to 3.16 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity collected by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider in 2015. Candidate W-boson pairs are selected by identifying their leptonic decays into an electron, a muon and neutrinos. Events with reconstructed jets are not included in the candidate event sample. The cross-section measurement is performed in a fiducial phase space close to the experimental acceptance and is compared to theoretical predictions. Agreement is found between the measurement and the most accurate calculations available.
The ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN is used to search for the decay of a scalar boson to a pair of long-lived particles, neutral under the Standard Model gauge group, in 20.3 fb(-1) of data collected in proton-proton collisions at root s = 8 TeV. This search is sensitive to long-lived particles that decay to Standard Model particles producing jets at the outer edge of the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter or inside the hadronic calorimeter. No significant excess of events is observed. Limits are reported on the product of the scalar boson production cross section times branching ratio into long-lived neutral particles as a function of the proper lifetime of the particles. Limits are reported for boson masses from 100 GeV to 900 GeV, and a long-lived neutral particle mass from 10 GeV to 150 GeV.
A search for new charged massive gauge bosons, called W', is performed with the ATLAS detector at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 8 TeV, using a dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1). This analysis searches for W' bosons in the W' -> t (b) over tilde decay channel in final states with electrons or muons, using a multivariate method based on boosted decision trees. The search covers masses between 0.5 and 3.0 TeV, for right-handed or left-handed W' bosons. No significant deviation from the Standard Model expectation is observed and limits are set on the W' -> t (b) over bar cross-section times branching ratio and on the W'-boson effective couplings as a function of the W'-boson mass using the CLs procedure. For a left-handed (right-handed) W' boson, masses below 1.70 (1.92) TeV are excluded at 95% confidence level.
Measurements of the centrality and rapidity dependence of inclusive jet production in root(NN)-N-S = 5.02 TeV proton-lead (p + Pb) collisions and the jet cross-section in root s = 2.76 TeV proton-proton collisions are presented. These quantities are measured in datasets corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 27.8 nb(-1) and 4.0 pb(-1), respectively, recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in 2013. The p + Pb collision centrality was characterised using the total transverse energy measured in the pseudorapidity interval -4.9 < eta < -3.2 in the direction of the lead beam. Results are presented for the double-differential per-collision yields as a function of jet rapidity and transverse momentum (p(T)) for minimum-bias and centrality-selected p + Pb collisions, and are compared to the jet rate from the geometric expectation. The total jet yield in minimum-bias events is slightly enhanced above the expectation in a p(T)-dependent manner but is consistent with the expectation within uncertainties. The ratios of jet spectra from different centrality selections show a strong modification of jet production at all p(T) at forward rapidities and for large pT at mid-rapidity, which manifests as a suppression of the jet yield in central events and an enhancement in peripheral events. These effects imply that the factorisation between hard and soft processes is violated at an unexpected level in proton-nucleus collisions. Furthermore, the modifications at forward rapidities are found to be a function of the total jet energy only, implying that the violations may have a simple dependence on the hard parton-parton kinematics.
A search for a heavy, CP-odd Higgs boson, A, decaying into a Z boson and a 125 GeV Higgs boson, h, with the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented. The search uses proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1). Decays of CP-even h bosons to tau tau or bb pairs with the Z boson decaying to electron or muon pairs are considered, as well as h -> bb decays with the Z boson decaying to neutrinos. No evidence for the production of an A boson in these channels is found and the 95% confidence level upper limits derived for sigma(gg -> A) x BR(A -> Zh) x BR(h -> f (f) over bar) are 0.098-0.013 pb for f = tau and 0.57-0.014 pb for f = b in a range of m(A) = 220-1000 GeV. The results are combined and interpreted in the context of two-Higgs-doublet models.
A measurement of the total ppcross section at the LHC at root s = 8TeV is presented. An integrated luminosity of 500 mu b(-1) was accumulated in a special run with high-beta* beam optics to measure the differential elastic cross section as a function of the Mandelstam momentum transfer variable t. The measurement is performed with the ALFA sub-detector of ATLAS. Using a fit to the differential elastic cross section in the -t range from 0.014 GeV2 to 0.1 GeV2 to extrapolate t -> 0, the total cross section, sigma(tot)( pp -> X), is measured via the optical theorem to be sigma(tot)(pp -> X) = 96.07 +/- 0.18 (stat.) +/- 0.85 (exp.) +/- 0.31 (extr.) mb, where the first error is statistical, the second accounts for all experimental systematic uncertainties and the last is related to uncertainties in the extrapolation t -> 0. In addition, the slope of the exponential function describing the elastic cross section at small t is determined to be B = 19.74 +/- 0.05 (stat.) +/- 0.23 (syst.) GeV-2.
This Letter presents a search for new resonances with mass larger than 250 GeV, decaying to a Z boson and a photon. The dataset consists of an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb(-1) of pp collisions collected at root s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The Z bosons are identified through their decays either to charged, light, lepton pairs (e(+) e(-), mu(+) mu(-)) or to hadrons. The data are found to be consistent with the expected background in the whole mass range investigated and upper limits are set on the production cross section times decay branching ratio to Z gamma of a narrow scalar boson with mass between 250 GeV and 2.75 TeV.
The distribution and orientation of energy inside jets is predicted to be an experimental handle on colour connections between the hard-scatter quarks and gluons initiating the jets. This Letter presents a measurement of the distribution of one such variable, the jet pull angle. The pull angle is measured for jets produced in t (t) over bar events with one W boson decaying leptonically and the other decaying to jets using 20.3 fb(-1) of data recorded with the ATLAS detector at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 8 TeV at the LHC. The jet pull angle distribution is corrected for detector resolution and acceptance effects and is compared to various models.
A 6.8 nb(-1) sample of pp collision data collected under low-luminosity conditions at root s = 7 TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is used to study diffractive dijet production. Events containing at least two jets with p(T) > 20 GeV are selected and analysed in terms of variables which discriminate between diffractive and non-diffractive processes. Cross sections are measured differentially in Delta eta(F), the size of the observable forward region of pseudorapidity which is devoid of hadronic activity, and in an estimator, (xi) over tilde, of the fractional momentum loss of the proton assuming single diffractive dissociation (pp -> pX). Model comparisons indicate a dominant non-diffractive contribution up to moderately large Delta eta(F) and small (xi) over tilde, with a diffractive contribution which is significant at the highest Delta eta(F) and the lowest (xi) over tilde. The rapidity-gap survival probability is estimated from comparisons of the data in this latter region with predictions based on diffractive parton distribution functions.
High transverse momentum jets produced in pp collisions at a centre of mass energy of 7 TeV are used to measure the transverse energy-energy correlation function and its associated azimuthal asymmetry. The data were recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in the year 2011 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 158 pb(-1). The selection criteria demand the average transverse momentum of the two leading jets in an event to be larger than 250 GeV. The data at detector level are well described by Monte Carlo event generators. They are unfolded to the particle level and compared with theoretical calculations at next-to-leading-order accuracy. The agreement between data and theory is good and provides a precision test of perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics at large momentum transfers. From this comparison, the strong coupling constant given at the Z boson mass is determined to be alpha(s)(m(Z)) = 0.1173 +/- 0.0010 (exp.) (+0.0065)(-0.0026) (theo.).
Measurements of the W-+/- -> l(+/-) v and Z -> l(+)l(-) production cross sections (where l(+/-) = e(+/-), mu(+/-)) in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV are presented using data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 81 pb(-1). The total inclusive W+-boson production cross sections times the single-lepton-flavour branching ratios are sigma(tot)(w+) = 11.83 +/- 0.02 (stat) +/- 0.32 (sys) +/- 0.25 (lumi) nb and sigma(tot)(W-) = 8.79 +/- 0.02 (stat) +/- 0.24 (sys) +/- 0.18 (lumi) nb for W+ and W-, respectively. The total inclusive Z-boson production cross section times leptonic branching ratio, within the invariant mass window 66 < m(tt) < 116 GeV, is sigma(tot)(Z) = 1.981 +/- 0.007 (stat) +/- 0.038 (sys) +/- 0.042 (lumi) nb. The W+, W-, and Z-boson production cross sections and cross-section ratios within a fiducial region defined by the detector acceptance are also measured. The cross-section ratios benefit from significant cancellation of experimental uncertainties, resulting in sigma(fid)(W+)/sigma(fid)(W-) = 1.295 +/- 0.003 (stat) +/- 0.010 (sys) and sigma(fid)(W +/-)/sigma(fid)(Z) = 10.31 +/- 0.04 (stat) +/- 0.20 (sys). Theoretical predictions, based on calculations accurate to next-to-next-to-leading order for quantum chromodynamics and to next-to-leading order for electroweak processes and which employ different parton distribution function sets, are compared to these measurements.
Searches for high-mass resonances in the dijet invariant mass spectrum with one or two jets identified as b-jets are performed using an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions with a centre-of-mass energy of root S = 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No evidence of anomalous phenomena is observed in the data, which are used to exclude, at 95% credibility level, excited b* quarks with masses from 1.1 TeV to 2.1 TeV and leptophobic Z' bosons with masses from 1.1 TeV to 1.5 TeV. Contributions of a Gaussian signal shape with effective cross sections ranging from approximately 0.4 to 0.001 pb are also excluded in the mass range 1.5-5.0 TeV.
The top quark mass is measured in the t (t) over bar -> dilepton channel (lepton= e, mu) using ATLAS data recorded in the year 2012 at the LHC. The data were taken at a proton-proton centre-of-mass energy of root s = 8 TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of about 20.2 fb(-1). Exploiting the template method, and using the distribution of invariant masses of lepton-b-jetpairs, the top quark mass is measured to be m(top) = 172.99 +/- 0.41(stat)+/- 0.74(syst) GeV, with a total uncertainty of 0.84 GeV. Finally, acombination with previous ATLAS m(top) measurements from root s = 7 TeV data in the t (t) over bar -> dilepton and t (t) over bar -> lepton + jets channels results in m(top) = 172.84 +/- 0.34(stat)+/- 0.61(syst) GeV, with a total uncertainty of 0.70 GeV.
This paper describes a measurement of the inclusive top quark pair production cross-section (sigma(t (t) over bar)) with a data sample of 3.2 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV, collected in 2015 by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. This measurement uses events with an opposite-charge electron-muon pair in the final state. Jets containing b-quarks are tagged using an algorithm based on track impact parameters and reconstructed secondary vertices. The numbers of events with exactly one and exactly two b-tagged jets are counted and used to determine simultaneously sigma(t (t) over bar) and the efficiency to reconstruct and b-tag a jet from a top quark decay, thereby minimising the associated systematic uncertainties. The cross-section is measured to be: s(t (t) over bar)= 818 +/- 8 (stat) +/- 27 (syst) +/- 19 (lumi) +/- 12 (beam) pb, where the four uncertainties arise from data statistics, experimental and theoretical systematic effects, the integrated luminosity and the LHC beam energy, giving a total relative uncertainty of 4.4%. The result is consistent with theoretical QCD calculations at next-to-next-to-leading order. A fiducial measurement corresponding to the experimental acceptance of the leptons is also presented.
A search is conducted for both resonant and non-resonant high-mass new phenomena in dielectron and dimuon final states. The search uses 3.2 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data, collected at root s = 13 TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC in 2015. The dilepton invariant mass is used as the discriminating variable. No significant deviation from the Standard Model prediction is observed; therefore limits are set on the signal model parameters of interest at 95% credibility level. Upper limits are set on the cross-section times branching ratio for resonances decaying to dileptons, and the limits are converted into lower limits on the resonance mass, ranging between 2.74 TeV and 3.36 TeV, depending on the model. Lower limits on the llqq contact interaction scale are set between 16.7 TeV and 25.2 TeV, also depending on the model.
A search is presented for new resonances decaying to a W or Z boson and a Higgs boson in the l(+)l(-)b (b) over bar, l nu b (b) over bar, and nu(nu) over barb (b) over bar channels in pp collisions at root s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider using a total integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb(-1). The search is conducted by looking for a localized excess in the WH/ZH invariant or transverse mass distribution. No significant excess is observed, and the results are interpreted in terms of constraints on a simplified model based on a phenomenological Lagrangian of heavy vector triplets.
This Letter presents measurements of correlated production of nearby jets in Pb+Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurement was performed using 0.14 nb(-1)of data recorded in 2011. The production of correlated jet pairs was quantified using the rate, R-Delta R, of neighbouring jets that accompany test jets within a given range of angular distance, Delta R, in the pseudorapidity-azimuthal angle plane. The jets were measured in the ATLAS calorimeter and were reconstructed using the anti-ktalgorithm with radius parameters d = 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4. R-Delta R was measured in different Pb+Pbcollision centrality bins, characterized by the total transverse energy measured in the forward calorimeters. Acentrality dependence of R-Delta R is observed for all three jet radii with R-Delta R found to be lower in central collisions than in peripheral collisions. The ratios formed by the R-Delta R values in different centrality bins and the values in the 40-80% centrality bin are presented.