A search with the ATLAS detector is presented for the Standard Model Higgs boson produced by vector-boson fusion and decaying to a pair of bottom quarks, using 20.2 fb(-1) of LHC proton-proton collision data at root s - 8 TeV. The signal is searched for as a resonance in the invariant mass distribution of a pair of jets containing b-hadrons in vector-boson-fusion candidate events. The yield is measured to be -0.8 +/- 2.3 times the Standard Model cross-section for a Higgs boson mass of 125 GeV. The upper limit on the cross-section times the branching ratio is found to be 4.4 times the Standard Model cross-section at the 95% confidence level, consistent with the expected limit value of 5.4 (5.7) in the background-only (Standard Model production) hypothesis.
Measurements of the per-event charged-particle yield as a function of the charged-particle transverse momentum and rapidity are performed using p + Pbcollision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of root sNN= 5.02 TeV. Charged particles are reconstructed over pseudorapidity |eta| < 2.3and transverse momentum between 0.1GeVand 22GeVin a dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1 mu b(-1). The results are presented in the form of chargedparticle nuclear modification factors, where the p + Pbcharged-particle multiplicities are compared between central and peripheral p + Pbcollisions as well as to charged-particle cross sections measured in ppcollisions. The p + Pbcollision centrality is characterized by the total transverse energy measured in -4.9<eta<-3.1, which is in the direction of the outgoing lead beam. Three different estimations of the number of nucleons participating in the p + Pbcollision are carried out using the Glauber model and two Glauber-Gribov colour-fluctuation extensions to the Glauber model. The values of the nuclear modification factors are found to vary significantly as a function of rapidity and transverse momentum. Abroad peak is observed for all centralities and rapidities in the nuclear modification factors for chargedparticle transverse momentum values around 3GeV. The magnitude of the peak increases for more central collisions as well as rapidity ranges closer to the direction of the outgoing lead nucleus.
The angular distributions of Drell-Yan charged lepton pairs in the vicinity of the Z-boson mass peak probe the underlying QCD dynamics of Z-boson production. This paper presents a measurement of the complete set of angular coefficients Lambda(0-7) describing these distributions in the Z-boson Collins-Soper frame. The data analysed correspond to 20.3 fb(-1) of pp collisions at root s = 8TeV, collected by the ATLAS detector at the CERN LHC. The measurements are compared to the most precise fixed-order calculations currently available (O (alpha(2)(s))) and with theoretical predictions embedded in Monte Carlo generators. The measurements are precise enough to probe QCD corrections beyond the formal accuracy of these calculations and to provide discrimination between different parton-shower models. A signi fi cant deviation from the O (alpha(2)(s)) predictions is observed for A(0)-A(2). Evidence is found for non-zero A(5,6, 7), consistent with expectations.
A study of the decays B-s(0) -> mu(+)mu(-) and B-0 -> mu(+)mu(-) has been performed using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 25 fb(-1) of 7 and 8 TeV proton-proton collisions collected with the ATLAS detector during the LHC Run 1. For the B-0 dimuon decay, an upper limit on the branching fraction is set at B(B-0 -> mu(+)mu(-)) < 4.2 x 10(-10) at 95% confidence level. For B-s(0), the branching fraction B(B-s(0) -> mu(+)mu(-)) = (0.9(-0.8)(+1.1)) x 10(-9) is measured. The results are consistent with the Standard Model expectation with a p value of 4.8%, corresponding to 2.0 standard deviations.
Knowledge of the material in the ATLAS inner tracking detector is crucial in under-standing the reconstruction of charged-particle tracks, the performance of algorithms that identify jets containing b-hadrons and is also essential to reduce background in searches for exotic particles that can decay within the inner detector volume. Interactions of primary hadrons produced in pp collisions with the material in the inner detector are used to map the location and amount of this material. The hadronic interactions of primary particles may result in secondary vertices, which in this analysis are reconstructed by an inclusive vertex-finding algorithm. Data were collected using minimum-bias triggers by the ATLAS detector operating at the LHC during 2010 at centre-of-mass energy root s = 7 TeV, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19 nb(-1). Kinematic properties of these secondary vertices are used to study the validity of the modelling of hadronic interactions in simulation. Secondary-vertex yields are compared between data and simulation over a volume of about 0.7m(3) around the interaction point, and agreement is found within overall uncertainties.
Measurements of distributions of charged particles produced in proton-proton collisions with a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV are presented. The data were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 151 mu b(-1). The particles are required to have a transverse momentum greater than 100 MeV and an absolute pseudorapidity less than 2.5. The charged-particle multiplicity, its dependence on transverse momentum and pseudorapidity and the dependence of the mean transverse momentum on multiplicity are measured in events containing at least two charged particles satisfying the above kinematic criteria. The results are corrected for detector effects and compared to the predictions from several Monte Carlo event generators.
Bose-Einstein correlations between identified charged pions are measured for p+Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 5.02 TeV using data recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 28 nb(-1). Pions are identified using ionization energy loss measured in the pixel detector. Two-particle correlation functions and the extracted source radii are presented as a function of collision centrality as well as the average transverse momentum (k(T)) and rapidity (y*(pi pi)) of the pair. Pairs are selected with a rapidity -2 < y*(pi pi) < 1 and with an average transverse momentum 0.1 < k(T) < 0.8 GeV. The effect of jet fragmentation on the two-particle correlation function is studied, and a method using opposite-charge pair data to constrain its contributions to the measured correlations is described. The measured source sizes are substantially larger in more central collisions and are observed to decrease with increasing pair k(T). A correlation of the radii with the local charged-particle density is demonstrated. The scaling of the extracted radii with the mean number of participating nucleons is also used to compare a selection of initial-geometry models. The cross term R-ol is measured as a function of rapidity, and a nonzero value is observed with 5.1 sigma combined significance for -1 < y*pi pi < 1 in the most central events.
Two-particle pseudorapidity correlations are measured in root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV Pb + Pb, root s(NN) = 5.02 TeV p+Pb, and root s = 13 TeV pp collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), with total integrated luminosities of approximately 7 mu b(-1), 28 nb(-1), and 65 nb(-1), respectively. The correlation function CN(eta(1),eta(2))is measured as a function of event multiplicity using charged particles in the pseudorapidity range |eta| < 2.4. The correlation function contains a significant short-range component, which is estimated and subtracted. After removal of the short-range component, the shape of the correlation function is described approximately by 1 + < a(1)(2)>(1/2) eta(1) eta(2) in all collision systems over the full multiplicity range. The values of < a(1)(2)>(1/2) are consistent for the opposite-charge pairs and same-charge pairs, and for the three collision systems at similar multiplicity. The values of < a(1)(2)>(1/2) and the magnitude of the short-range component both follow a power-law dependence on the event multiplicity. The short-range component in p + Pb collisions, after symmetrizing the proton and lead directions, is found to be smaller at a given eta than in pp collisions with comparable multiplicity.
Measurements of the jet activity in t (t) over bar events produced in proton-proton collisions at root s = 8 TeV are presented, using 20.3 fb(-1) of data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The events were selected in the dilepton e mu decay channel with two identified b-jets. The numbers of additional jets for various jet transverse momentum ( p(T)) thresholds, and the normalised differential cross-sections as a function of p(T) for the five highest-p(T) additional jets, were measured in the jet pseudorapidity range broken vertical bar eta broken vertical bar < 4.5. The gap fraction, the fraction of events which do not contain an additional jet in a central rapidity region, was measured for several rapidity intervals as a function of the minimum p(T) of a single jet or the scalar sum of p(T) of all additional jets. These fractions were also measured in different intervals of the invariant mass of the e mu b<(b)over bar> b system. All measurements were corrected for detector effects, and found to be mostly well-described by predictions from next-to-leading-order and leading-order t (t) over bar t event generators with appropriate parameter choices. The results can be used to further optimise the parameters used in such generators.
A measurement of the t (t) over barZ and t (t) over barW production cross sections in final states with either two same-charge muons, or three or four leptons (electrons or muons) is presented. The analysis uses a data sample of proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in 2015, corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb(-1). The inclusive cross sections are extracted using likelihood fits to signal and control regions, resulting in sigma(t (t) over barZ) = 0.9 +/- 0.3 pb and sigma(t (t) over barW) = 1.5 +/- 0.8 pb, in agreement with the Standard Model predictions.
The production of W-+/- Z events in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV is measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The collected data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb(-1). The W-+/- Z candidates are reconstructed using leptonic decays of the gauge bosons into electrons or muons. The measured inclusive cross section in the detector fiducial region for leptonic decay modes is sigma(fid.)(W +/- Z -> L'vll) = 63.2 +/- 3.2 (stat.) +/- 2.6 (sys.) +/- 1.5 (lumi.) fb. In comparison, the next-to-leading-order Standard Model prediction is 53.4(-2.8)(+3.6) fb. The extrapolation of the measurement from the fiducial to the total phase space yields sigma(tot.)(W +/- Z) = 50.6 +/- 2.6 (stat.) +/- 2.0 (sys.) +/- 0.9 (th.) +/- 1.2 (lumi.) pb, in agreement with a recent next-to-next-to-leading-order calculation of 48.2(-1.0)(+1.1) pb. The cross section as a function of jet multiplicity is also measured, together with the charge-dependent W+ Z and W- Z cross sections and their ratio.
Measurements of normalized differential cross sections of top quark pair (t (t) over bar) production are presented as a function of the mass, the transverse momentum and the rapidity of the t (t) over bar system in proton-proton collisions at center-of-mass energies of root s = 7 and 8 TeV. The data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb(-1) at 7 TeV and 20.2 fb(-1) at 8 TeV, recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events with top quark pair signatures are selected in the dilepton final state, requiring exactly two charged leptons and at least two jets with at least one of the jets identified as likely to contain a b hadron. The measured distributions are corrected for detector effects and selection efficiency to cross sections at the parton level. The differential cross sections are compared with different Monte Carlo generators and theoretical calculations of t (t) over bar production. The results are consistent with the majority of predictions in a wide kinematic range.
This paper presents the extended results of measurements of (WW +/-)-W-+/- jj production and limits on anomalous quartic gauge couplings using 20.3 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at root s = 8 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events with two leptons (e or mu) with the same electric charge and at least two jets are analyzed. Production cross sections are determined in two fiducial regions, with different sensitivities to the electroweak and strong production mechanisms. An additional fiducial region, particularly sensitive to anomalous quartic gauge coupling parameters alpha 4 and alpha 5, is introduced, which allows more stringent limits on these parameters compared to the previous ATLAS measurement.
This paper presents the method and performance of primary vertex reconstruction in proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment during Run 1 of the LHC. The studies presented focus on data taken during 2012 at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 8 TeV. The performance has been measured as a function of the number of interactions per bunch crossing over a wide range, from one to seventy. The measurement of the position and size of the luminous region and its use as a constraint to improve the primary vertex resolution are discussed. A longitudinal vertex position resolution of about 30 mu m is achieved for events with high multiplicity of reconstructed tracks. The transverse position resolution is better than 20 mu m and is dominated by the precision on the size of the luminous region. An analytical model is proposed to describe the primary vertex reconstruction efficiency as a function of the number of interactions per bunch crossing and of the longitudinal size of the luminous region. Agreement between the data and the predictions of this model is better than 3% up to seventy interactions per bunch crossing.
A search for dark matter pair production in association with a Higgs boson decaying to a pair of bottom quarks is presented, using 3.2 fb(-1) of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The decay of the Higgs boson is reconstructed as a high-momentum b (b) over bar system with either a pair of small-radius jets, or a single large-radius jet with substructure. The observed data are found to be consistent with the expected backgrounds. Results are interpreted using a simplified model with a gauge boson mediating the interaction between dark matter and the Standard Model as well as a two-Higgs-doublet model containing an additional Z' boson which decays to a Standard Model Higgs boson and a new pseudoscalar Higgs boson, the latter decaying into a pair of dark matter particles.
A search for heavy long-lived charged R-hadronsis reported using a data sample corresponding to 3.2fb(-1)of proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The search is based on observables related to large ionisation losses and slow propagation velocities, which are signatures of heavy charged particles travelling significantly slower than the speed of light. No significant deviations from the expected background are observed. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are provided on the production cross section of long-lived R-hadronsin the mass range from 600 GeV to 2000 GeV and gluino, bottom and top squark masses are excluded up to 1580 GeV, 805 GeV and 890 GeV, respectively.
A search for W' bosons in events with one lepton (electron or muon) and missing transverse momentum is presented. The search uses 3.2 fb(-1) of pp collision data collected at root s = 13 TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC in 2015. The transverse mass distribution is examined and no significant excess of events above the level expected from Standard Model processes is observed. Upper limits on the W' boson cross-section times branching ratio to leptons are set as a function of the W' mass. Within the Sequential Standard Model W' masses below 4.07 TeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level. This extends the limit set using LHC data at root s = 8 TeV by around 800 GeV.
A search for physics beyond the Standard Model, in final states with at least one high transverse momentum charged lepton (electron or muon) and two additional high transverse momentum leptons or jets, is performed using 3.2 fb (1) of proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in 2015 at root s = 13 TeV. The upper end of the distribution of the scalar sum of the transverse momenta of leptons and jets is sensitive to the production of high-mass objects. No excess of events beyond Standard Model predictions is observed. Exclusion limits are set for models of microscopic black holes with two to six extra dimensions.
This paper presents a dedicated search for exotic decays of the Higgs boson to a pair of new spin-zero particles, H -> aa, where the particle a decays to b-quarks and has a mass in the range of 20-60 GeV. The search is performed in events where the Higgs boson is produced in associationwith aW boson, giving rise to a signature of a lepton (electron or muon), missing transverse momentum, and multiple jets from b-quark decays. The analysis is based on the full dataset of pp collisions at root s = 13 TeV recorded in 2015 by theATLAS detector at theCERNLargeHadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb(-1). No significant excess of events above the Standard Model prediction is observed, and a 95% confidence-level upper limit is derived for the product of the production cross section for pp -> WH times the branching ratio for the decay H -> aa -> 4b. The upper limit ranges from 6.2 pb for an a-boson mass m(a) = 20 GeV to 1.5 pb for m(a) = 60 GeV.
Searches for new resonances decaying into two photons in the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider are described. The analysis is based on protonproton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb(-1) at root s = 13TeV recorded in 2015. Two searches are performed, one targeted at a spin-2 particle of mass larger than 500 GeV, using Randall-Sundrum graviton states as a benchmark model, and one optimized for a spin-0 particle of mass larger than 200 GeV. Varying both the mass and the decay width, the most significant deviation from the background-only hypothesis is observed at a diphoton invariant mass around 750 GeV with local significances of 3.8 and 3.9 standard deviations in the searches optimized for a spin-2 and spin-0 particle, respectively. The global significances are estimated to be 2.1 standard deviations for both analyses. The consistency between the data collected at 13TeV and 8TeV is also evaluated. Limits on the production cross section times branching ratio to two photons for the two resonance types are reported.
The results of a search for the top squark, the supersymmetric partner of the top quark, in final states with one isolated electron or muon, jets, and missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses the 2015 LHC pp collision data at a center-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb(-1). The analysis targets two types of signal models: gluino-mediated pair production of top squarks with a nearly mass-degenerate top squark and neutralino and direct pair production of top squarks, decaying to the top quark and the lightest neutralino. The experimental signature in both signal scenarios is similar to that of a top quark pair produced in association with large missing transverse momentum. No significant excess over the Standard Model background prediction is observed, and exclusion limits on gluino and top squark masses are set at 95% confidence level. The results extend the LHC run-1 exclusion limit on the gluino mass up to 1460 GeV in the gluino-mediated scenario in the high gluino and low top squark mass region and add an excluded top squark mass region from 745 to 780 GeV for the direct top squark model with a massless lightest neutralino. The results are also reinterpreted to set exclusion limits in a model of vectorlike top quarks.
The ratio of the production cross sections for W and Z bosons in association with jets has been measured in proton-proton collisions at root s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurement is based on the entire 2011 dataset, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb(-1). Inclusive and differential cross-section ratios for massive vector bosons decaying to electrons and muons are measured in association with jets with transverse momentum p(T) > 30 GeV and jet rapidity vertical bar y vertical bar < 4.4. The measurements are compared to next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD calculations and to predictions from different Monte Carlo generators implementing leading-order matrix elements supplemented by parton showers.
This Letter presents the first study of W(+/-)W(+/-)jj, same-electric-charge diboson production in association with two jets, using 20.3 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at root s = 8 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events with two reconstructed same-charge leptons (e(+/-)e(+/-), e(+/-)mu(+/-), and mu(+/-)mu(+/-)) and two or more jets are analyzed. Production cross sections are measured in two fiducial regions, with different sensitivities to the electroweak and strong production mechanisms. First evidence for W(+/-)W(+/-)jj production and electroweak-only W(+/-)W(+/-)jj production is observed with a significance of 4.5 and 3.6 standard deviations, respectively. The measured production cross sections are in agreement with standard model predictions. Limits at 95% confidence level are set on anomalous quartic gauge couplings.
A measurement of charged-particle distributions sensitive to the properties of the underlying event is presented for an inclusive sample of events containing a Z-boson, decaying to an electron or muon pair. The measurement is based on data collected using the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV with an integrated luminosity of 4.6fb(-1). Distributions of the charged particle multiplicity and of the charged particle transverse momentum are measured in regions of azimuthal angle defined with respect to the Z-boson direction. The measured distributions are compared to similar distributions measured in jet events, and to the predictions of various Monte Carlo generators implementing different underlying event models.
Measurements of charged-particle fragmentation functions of jets produced in ultra-relativistic nuclear collisions can provide insight into the modification of parton showers in the hot, dense medium created in the collisions. ATLAS has measured jets in root S-NN = 2.76 TeV Pb+Pb collisions at the LHC using a data set recorded in 2011 with an integrated luminosity of 0.14 nb(-1). Jets were reconstructed using the anti-k(t) algorithm with distance parameter values R = 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4. Distributions of charged-particle transverse momentum and longitudinal momentum fraction are reported for seven bins in collision centrality for R = 0.4 jets with p(T)(jet) > 100 GeV. Commensurate minimum p(T) values are used for the other radii. Ratios of fragment distributions in each centrality bin to those measured in the most peripheral bin are presented. These ratios show a reduction of fragment yield in central collisions relative to peripheral collisions at intermediate z values, 0.04 less than or similar to z less than or similar to 0.2, and an enhancement in fragment yield for z less than or similar to 0.04. A smaller, less significant enhancement is observed at large z and large p(T) in central collisions.
A measurement of the total pp cross section at the LHC at root s = 7 TeV is presented. In a special run with high-beta* beam optics, an integrated luminosity of 80 mu b(-1) was accumulated in order 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 vertical bar t vertical bar range from 0.01 GeV2 to 0.1 GeV2 to extrapolate to vertical bar t vertical bar --> 0, the total cross section, sigma(tot)(pp --> X), is measured via the optical theorem to be: sigma(tot)(pp --> X) = 95.35 +/- 0.38 (stat.) +/- 1.25 (exp.) +/- 0.37 (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 to vertical bar t vertical bar --> 0. In addition, the slope of the elastic cross section at small vertical bar t vertical bar is determined to be B = 19.73 +/- 0.14 (stat.) +/- 0.26 (syst.) GeV-2.
The final ATLAS Run 1 measurements of Higgs boson production and couplings in the decay channel H -> ZZ* -> l(+)l(-)l(+)l'(-), where l, l' = e or mu, are presented. These measurements were performed using pp collision data corresponding to integrated luminosities of 4.5 and 20.3 fb(-1) at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV, respectively, recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The H -> ZZ* -> 4l signal is observed with a significance of 8.1 standard deviations, with an expectation of 6.2 standard deviations, at m(H) = 125.36 GeV, the combined ATLAS measurement of the Higgs boson mass from the H -> gamma gamma and H -> ZZ* -> 4l channels. The production rate relative to the Standard Model expectation, the signal strength, is measured in four different production categories in the H -> ZZ* -> 4l channel. The measured signal strength, at this mass, and with all categories combined, is 1.44(-0.33)(+0.40). The signal strength for Higgs boson production in gluon fusion or in association with (tt) over bar or (bb) over bar pairs is found to be 1.7(-0.4)(+0.5), while the signal strength for vector-boson fusion combined with WH/ZH associated production is found to be 0.3(-0.9)(+1.6).
A search for excited states of the B-c(+/-) meson is performed using 4.9 fb(-1) of 7 TeV and 19.2 fb(-1) of 8 TeV pp collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. A new state is observed through its hadronic transition to the ground state, with the latter detected in the decayB(c)(+/-) -> J/psi pi(+/-). The state appears in the m(B-c(+/-)pi(+)pi(-)) - m(B-c(+/-)) - 2m(pi(+/-)) mass difference distribution with a significance of 5.2 standard deviations. The mass of the observed state is 6842 +/- 4 +/- 5 MeV, where the first error is statistical and the second is systematic. The mass and decay of this state are consistent with expectations for the second S-wave state of the B-c(+/-) meson, B-c(+/-)(2S).
A search is conducted for non-resonant new phenomena in dielectron and dimuon final states, originating from either contact interactions or large extra spatial dimensions. The LHC 2012 proton-proton collision dataset recorded by the ATLAS detector is used, corresponding to 20 fb(-1) at root s = 8 TeV. The dilepton invariant mass spectrum is a discriminating variable in both searches, with the contact interaction search additionally utilizing the dilepton forward-backward asymmetry. No significant deviations from the Standard Model expectation are observed. Lower limits are set on the llqq contact interaction scale Lambda between 15.4 TeVand 26.3 TeV, at the 95% credibility level. For large extra spatial dimensions, lower limits are set on the string scale MS between 3.2 TeV to 5.0 TeV.
The results of a search for direct pair production of the scalar partner to the top quark using an integrated luminosity of 20.1 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC are reported. The top squark is assumed to decay via or , where denotes the lightest neutralino (chargino) in supersymmetric models. The search targets a fully-hadronic final state in events with four or more jets and large missing transverse momentum. No significant excess over the Standard Model background prediction is observed, and exclusion limits are reported in terms of the top squark and neutralino masses and as a function of the branching fraction of . For a branching fraction of 100%, top squark masses in the range 270-645 GeV are excluded for masses below 30 GeV. For a branching fraction of 50% to either or , and assuming the mass to be twice the mass, top squark masses in the range 250-550 GeV are excluded for masses below 60 GeV.
A search is performed for Higgs bosons produced in association with top quarks using the diphoton decay mode of the Higgs boson. Selection requirements are optimized separately for leptonic and fully hadronic final states from the top quark decays. The dataset used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.5 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and 20.3 fb(-1) at 8 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. No significant excess over the background prediction is observed and upper limits are set on the ttH production cross section. The observed exclusion upper limit at 95% confidence level is 6.7 times the predicted Standard Model cross section value. In addition, limits are set on the strength of the Yukawa coupling between the top quark and the Higgs boson, taking into account the dependence of the ttH and tH cross sections as well as the H -> gamma gamma branching fraction on the Yukawa coupling. Lower and upper limits at 95% confidence level are set at 1.3 and +8.0 times the Yukawa coupling strength in the Standard Model.
The ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is used to search for high-mass resonances decaying to dielectron or dimuon final states. Results are presented from an analysis of proton-proton (pp) collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1) in the dimuon channel. A narrow resonance with Standard Model Z couplings to fermions is excluded at 95% confidence level for masses less than 2.79 TeV in the dielectron channel, 2.53 TeV in the dimuon channel, and 2.90 TeV in the two channels combined. Limits on other model interpretations are also presented, including a grand-unification model based on the E-6 gauge group, Z* bosons, minimal Z' models, a spin-2 graviton excitation from Randall-Sundrum models, quantum black holes, and a minimal walking technicolor model with a composite Higgs boson.
Several models of physics beyond the Standard Model predict neutral particles that decay into final states consisting of collimated jets of light leptons and hadrons (so-called lepton jets). These particles can also be long-lived with decay length comparable to, or even larger than, the LHC detectors' linear dimensions. This paper presents the results of a search for lepton jets in proton-proton collisions at the centre-of-mass energy of root s = 8 TeV in a sample of 20.3 fb(-1) collected during 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Limits on models predicting Higgs boson decays to neutral long-lived lepton jets are derived as a function of the particle's proper decay length.
A search for an excess of events with multiple high transverse momentum objects including charged leptons and jets is presented, using 20.3 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in 2012 at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 8 TeV. No excess of events beyond Standard Model expectations is observed. Using extra-dimensional models for black hole and string ball production and decay, exclusion contours are determined as a function of the mass threshold for production and the fundamental gravity scale for two, four and six extra dimensions. For six extra dimensions, mass thresholds of 4.8-6.2 TeV are excluded at 95 % confidence level, depending on the fundamental gravity scale and model assumptions. Upper limits on the fiducial cross-sections for non-Standard Model production of these final states are set.
A search for the neutral Higgs bosons predicted by the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) is reported. The analysis is performed on data from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The samples used for this search were collected in 2012 and correspond to integrated luminosities in the range 19.5-20.3 fb(-1). The MSSM Higgs bosons are searched for in the tau tau final state. No significant excess over the expected background is observed, and exclusion limits are derived for the production cross section times branching fraction of a scalar particle as a function of its mass. The results are also interpreted in the MSSM parameter space for various benchmark scenarios.
A search has been performed, using the full 20.3 fb(-1) data sample of 8 TeV proton-proton collisions collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC, for photons originating from a displaced vertex due to the decay of a neutral long-lived particle into a photon and an invisible particle. The analysis investigates the diphoton plus missing transverse momentum final state, and is therefore most sensitive to pair production of long-lived particles. The analysis technique exploits the capabilities of the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter to make precise measurements of the flight direction, as well as the time of flight, of photons. No excess is observed over the Standard Model predictions for background. Exclusion limits are set within the context of gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking models, with the lightest neutralino being the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle and decaying into a photon and gravitino with a lifetime in the range from 250 ps to about 100 ns.
Results of a search for supersymmetry via direct production of third-generation squarks are reported, using 20.3 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at root s = 8 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC in 2012. Two different analysis strategies based on monojetlike and c-tagged event selections are carried out to optimize the sensitivity for direct top squark-pair production in the decay channel to a charm quark and the lightest neutralino ((t) over tilde (1) -> c + (chi) over tilde (0)(1)) across the top squark-neutralino mass parameter space. No excess above the Standard Model background expectation is observed. The results are interpreted in the context of direct pair production of top squarks and presented in terms of exclusion limits in the (m((t) over tilde1), m((chi) over tilde 10)) parameter space. A top squark of mass up to about 240 GeV is excluded at 95% confidence level for arbitrary neutralino masses, within the kinematic boundaries. Top squark masses up to 270 GeV are excluded for a neutralino mass of 200 GeV. In a scenario where the top squark and the lightest neutralino are nearly degenerate in mass, top squark masses up to 260 GeV are excluded. The results from the monojetlike analysis are also interpreted in terms of compressed scenarios for top squark-pair production in the decay channel (t) over tilde (1) -> b + ff' + (chi) over tilde (0)(1) and sbottom pair production with (b) over tilde -> b + (chi) over tilde (0)(1), leading to a similar exclusion for nearly mass-degenerate third-generation squarks and the lightest neutralino. The results in this paper significantly extend previous results at colliders.
This Letter presents a search at the LHC for s-channel single top-quark production in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The analyzed data set was recorded by the ATLAS detector and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1). Selected events contain one charged lepton, large missing transverse momentum and exactly two b-tagged jets. A multivariate event classifier based on boosted decision trees is developed to discriminate s-channel single top-quark events from the main background contributions. The signal extraction is based on a binned maximum-likelihood fit of the output classifier distribution. The analysis leads to an upper limit on the s-channel single topquark production cross-section of 14.6 pb at the 95% confidence level. The fit gives a cross-section of sigma(s) = 5.0 +/- 4.3 pb, consistent with the Standard Model expectation.
This paper reports the results of a search for strong production of supersymmetric particles in 20.1 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The search is performed separately in events with either zero or at least one high-p (T) lepton (electron or muon), large missing transverse momentum, high jet multiplicity and at least three jets identified as originated from the fragmentation of a b-quark. No excess is observed with respect to the Standard Model predictions. The results are interpreted in the context of several supersymmetric models involving gluinos and scalar top and bottom quarks, as well as a mSUGRA/CMSSM model. Gluino masses up to 1340 GeV are excluded, depending on the model, significantly extending the previous ATLAS limits.
This Letter presents a search for a hidden-beauty counterpart of the X(3872) in the mass ranges of 10.05-10.31 GeV and 10.40-11.00 GeV, in the channel X-b -> pi(+)pi(-)gamma(1S)(-> mu(+)mu(-)), using 16.2 fb(-1) of root s = 8 TeV pp collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. No evidence for new narrow states is found, and upper limits are set on the product of the Xb cross section and branching fraction, relative to those of the gamma(25), at the 95% confidence level using the CLs approach. These limits range from 0.8% to 4.0%, depending on mass. For masses above 10.1 GeV, the expected upper limits from this analysis are the most restrictive to date. Searches for production of the gamma(1(3)D(J)), gamma(10860), and gamma(11 020) states also reveal no significant signals.
A novel technique to identify and split clusters created by multiple charged particles in the ATLAS pixel detector using a set of artificial neural networks is presented. Such merged clusters are a common feature of tracks originating from highly energetic objects, such as jets. Neural networks are trained using Monte Carlo samples produced with a detailed detector simulation. This technique replaces the former clustering approach based on a connected component analysis and charge interpolation. The performance of the neural network splitting technique is quantified using data from proton-proton collisions at the LHC collected by the ATLAS detector in 2011 and from Monte Carlo simulations. This technique reduces the number of clusters shared between tracks in highly energetic jets by up to a factor of three. It also provides more precise position and error estimates of the clusters in both the transverse and longitudinal impact parameter resolution.
This article presents measurements of the t-channel single top-quark ((t) over bart) and top-antiquark (_ t) total production cross sections sdtq_ and sd _ tq_, their ratio Rt sdtq_= sd _ tq_, and a measurement of the inclusive production cross section sdtq _ _ tq_ in proton-proton collisions at ffiffiffi ps = 7 TeV at the LHC. Differential cross sections for the tq and _ tq processes are measured as a function of the transverse momentum and the absolute value of the rapidity of t and _ t, respectively. The analyzed data set was recorded with the ATLAS detector and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.59 fb-1. Selected events contain one charged lepton, large missing transverse momentum, and two or three jets. The cross sections are measured by performing a binned maximum-likelihood fit to the output distributions of neural networks. The resulting measurements are sdtq_ 46 = 1dstat_ = 6dsyst_ pb, sd _ tq_ = 23 +/- 1dstat_ = 3dsyst_ pb, Rt = 2.04 0.13dstat_ +/-=0.12dsyst_, and sdtq _ _ tq_ = 68 +/-= 2dstat_ = 8dsyst_ pb, consistent with the Standard Model expectation. The uncertainty on the measured cross sections is dominated by systematic uncertainties, while the uncertainty on Rt is mainly statistical. Using the ratio of sdtq _ _ tq_ to its theoretical prediction, and assuming that the top-quark-related CKM matrix elements obey the relation jVtbj = jVtsj; jVtdj, we determine jVtbj = 1.02 = 0.07.
This paper presents the electron and photon energy calibration achieved with the ATLAS detector using about 25 fb(-1) of LHC proton-proton collision data taken at centre-of-mass energies of root s = 7 and 8 TeV. The reconstruction of electron and photon energies is optimised using multivariate algorithms. The response of the calorimeter layers is equalised in data and simulation, and the longitudinal profile of the electromagnetic showers is exploited to estimate the passive material in front of the calorimeter and reoptimise the detector simulation. After all corrections, the Z resonance is used to set the absolute energy scale. For electrons from Z decays, the achieved calibration is typically accurate to 0.05% in most of the detector acceptance, rising to 0.2% in regions with large amounts of passive material. The remaining inaccuracy is less than 0.2-1% for electrons with a transverse energy of 10 GeV, and is on average 0.3% for photons. The detector resolution is determined with a relative inaccuracy of less than 10% for electrons and photons up to 60 GeV transverse energy, rising to 40% for transverse energies above 500 GeV.
Measurements of fiducial and differential cross sections of Higgs boson production in the H -> ZZ* -> 4l decay channel are presented. The cross sections are determined within a fiducial phase space and corrected for detection efficiency and resolution effects. They are based on 20.3 fb(-1) of pp collision data, produced at root s= 8 TeV centre-of-mass energy at the LHC and recorded by the ATLAS detector. The differential measurements are performed in bins of transverse momentum and rapidity of the four-lepton system, the invariant mass of the subleading lepton pair and the decay angle of the leading lepton pair with respect to the beam line in the four-lepton rest frame, as well as the number of jets and the transverse momentum of the leading jet. The measured cross sections are compared to selected theoretical calculations of the Standard Model expectations. No significant deviation from any of the tested predictions is found.
Measurements of differential production cross-sections of a Z boson in association with b-jets in pp collisions at root s = 7 TeV are reported. The data analysed correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb(-1) recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Particle-level cross-sections are determined for events with a Z boson decaying into an electron or muon pair, and containing b-jets. For events with at least one b-jet, the cross-section is presented as a function of the Z boson transverse momentum and rapidity, together with the inclusive b-jet cross-section as a function of b-jet transverse momentum, rapidity and angular separations between the b-jet and the Z boson. For events with at least two b-jets, the cross-section is determined as a function of the invariant mass and angular separation of the two highest transverse momentum b-jets, and as a function of the Z boson transverse momentum and rapidity. Results are compared to leading-order and next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD calculations.
ATLAS measurements of the azimuthal anisotropy in lead-lead collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV are shown using a dataset of approximately 7 mu b(-1) collected at the LHC in 2010. The measurements are performed for charged particles with transverse momenta 0.5 < p(T) < 20 GeV and in the pseudorapidity range vertical bar eta vertical bar < 2.5. The anisotropy is characterized by the Fourier coefficients, vn, of the charged-particle azimuthal angle distribution for n = 2-4. The Fourier coefficients are evaluated using multi-particle cumulants calculated with the generating function method. Results on the transverse momentum, pseudorapidity and centrality dependence of the v(n) coefficients are presented. The elliptic flow, v(2), is obtained from the two-, four-, six-and eight-particle cumulants while higher-order coefficients, v(3) and v(4), are determined with two-and four-particle cumulants. Flow harmonics v(n) measured with four-particle cumulants are significantly reduced compared to the measurement involving two-particle cumulants. A comparison to v(n) measurements obtained using different analysis methods and previously reported by the LHC experiments is also shown. Results of measurements of flow fluctuations evaluated with multiparticle cumulants are shown as a function of transverse momentum and the collision centrality. Models of the initial spatial geometry and its fluctuations fail to describe the flow fluctuations measurements.
A measurement of the production processes of the recently discovered Higgs boson is performed in the two-photon final state using 4.5 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions data at root s = 7 TeV and 20.3 fb(-1) at root s = 8 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The number of observed Higgs boson decays to diphotons divided by the corresponding Standard Model prediction, called the signal strength, is found to be mu = 1.17 +/- 0.27 at the value of the Higgs boson mass measured by ATLAS, m(H) = 125.4 GeV. The analysis is optimized to measure the signal strengths for individual Higgs boson production processes at this value of m(H). They are found to be mu(ggF) = 1.32 +/- 0.38, mu(VBF) = 0.8 +/- 0.7, mu(WH) = 1.0 +/- 1.6, mu(ZH) = 0.1(-0.1)(+3.7), and mu t (t) over barH = 1.6(-1.8)(+2.7), for Higgs boson production through gluon fusion, vector-boson fusion, and in association with a W or Z boson or a top-quark pair, respectively. Compared with the previously published ATLAS analysis, the results reported here also benefit from a new energy calibration procedure for photons and the subsequent reduction of the systematic uncertainty on the diphoton mass resolution. No significant deviations from the predictions of the Standard Model are found.
Measurements of two-particle correlation functions and the first five azimuthal harmonics, v(1) to v(5), are presented, using 28 nb(-1) of p + Pb collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of root s(NN) = 5.02 TeV measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Significant long-range ridgelike correlations are observed for pairs with small relative azimuthal angle (|Delta phi| < pi/3) and back-to-back pairs (|Delta phi| > 2 pi/3) over the transverse momentum range 0.4 < p(T) < 12 GeV and in different intervals of event activity. The event activity is defined by either the number of reconstructed tracks or the total transverse energy on the Pb-fragmentation side. The azimuthal structure of such long-range correlations is Fourier decomposed to obtain the harmonics v(n) as a function of p(T) and event activity. The extracted v(n) values for n = 2 to 5 decrease with n. The v(2) and v(3) values are found to be positive in the measured p(T) range. The v(1) is also measured as a function of p(T) and is observed to change sign around p(T) approximate to 1.5-2.0 GeV and then increase to about 0.1 for pT > 4 GeV. The v(2)(p(T)), v(3)(p(T)), and v(4)(p(T)) are compared to the v(n) coefficients in Pb + Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV with similar event multiplicities. Reasonable agreement is observed after accounting for the difference in the average p(T) of particles produced in the two collision systems.
This Letter reports the observation of a high transverse momentum Z -> b (b) over bar signal in proton-proton collisions at root s = 8TeVand the measurement of its production cross section. The data analysed were collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 fb(-1). The Z -> b (b) over bar decay is reconstructed from a pair of b-tagged jets, clustered with the anti- k(t) jet algorithm with R = 0.4, that have low angular separation and form a dijet with p(T) > 200 GeV. The signal yield is extracted from a fit to the dijet invariant mass distribution, with the dominant, multi-jet background mass shape estimated by employing a fully data-driven technique that reduces the dependence of the analysis on simulation. The fiducial cross section is determined to be sigma(fid)(Z -> b (b) over bar) = 2.02 +/- 0.20 (stat.) +/- 0.25 (syst.) +/- 0.06 (lumi.) pb = 2.02 +/- 0.33 pb, in good agreement with next-to-leading-order theoretical predictions.
An improved measurement of the mass of the Higgs boson is derived from a combined fit to the reconstructed invariant mass spectra of the decay channels H -> gamma gamma and H -> ZZ* -> 4l. The analysis uses the pp collision data sample recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at center-of-mass energies of 7 TeV and 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 25 fb(-1). The measured value of the Higgs boson mass is m(H) = 125.36 +/- 0.37(stat) +/- 0.18 (syst) GeV. This result is based on improved energy-scale calibrations for photons, electrons, and muons as well as other analysis improvements, and supersedes the previous result from ATLAS. Upper limits on the total width of the Higgs boson are derived from fits to the invariant mass spectra of the H -> gamma gamma and H -> ZZ* -> 4l decay channels.