The HIBEAM-NNBAR program is a proposed two-stage experiment at the European Spallation Source focusing on searches for baryon number violation processes as well as ultralight dark matter. This paper presents recent advancements in computing and simulation, including machine learning for event selection, fast parametric simulations for detector studies, and detailed modeling of the time projection chamber and readout electronics.

Neural simulation-based inference (NSBI) is a powerful class of machine-learning-based methods for statistical inference that naturally handles high-dimensional parameter estimation without the need to bin data into low-dimensional summary histograms. Such methods are promising for a range of measurements, including at the Large Hadron Collider, where no single observable may be optimal to scan over the entire theoretical phase space under consideration, or where binning data into histograms could result in a loss of sensitivity. This work develops a NSBI framework for statistical inference, using neural networks to estimate probability density ratios, which enables the application to a full-scale analysis. It incorporates a large number of systematic uncertainties, quantifies the uncertainty due to the finite number of events in training samples, develops a method to construct confidence intervals, and demonstrates a series of intermediate diagnostic checks that can be performed to validate the robustness of the method. As an example, the power and feasibility of the method are assessed on simulated data for a simplified version of an off-shell Higgs boson couplings measurement in the four-lepton final states. This approach represents an extension to the standard statistical methodology used by the experiments at the Large Hadron Collider, and can benefit many physics analyses.

This report reviews the published results of searches for possible additional scalar particles and exotic decays of the Higgs boson performed by the ATLAS Collaboration using up to 140 fb⁻¹ of 13 TeV proton–proton collision data collected during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider. Key results are examined, and observed excesses, while never statistically compelling, are noted. Constraints are placed on parameters of several models which extend the Standard Model, for example by adding one or more singlet or doublet fields, or offering exotic Higgs boson decay channels. Summaries of new searches as well as extensions of previous searches are discussed. These new results have a wider reach or attain stronger exclusion limits. New experimental techniques that were developed for these searches are highlighted. Search channels which have not yet been examined are also listed, as these provide insight into possible future areas of exploration.

A combination of searches for the single production of vectorlike top quarks (𝑇) is presented. These analyses are based on proton-proton collisions at √𝑠 =13  TeV recorded in 2015–2018 with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139  fb⁻¹. The 𝑇 decay modes considered in this combination are into a top quark and either a Standard Model Higgs boson or a 𝑍 boson (𝑇 →𝐻⁡𝑡 and 𝑇→𝑍⁢𝑡). The individual searches used in the combination are differentiated by the number of leptons (𝑒, 𝜇) in the final state. The observed data are found to be in good agreement with the Standard Model background prediction. Interpretations are provided for a range of masses and couplings of the vectorlike top quark for benchmark models and generalized representations in terms of 95% confidence level limits. For a benchmark signal prediction of a vectorlike top quark SU(2) singlet with electroweak coupling, 𝜅, of 0.5, masses below 2.1 TeV are excluded, resulting in the most restrictive limits to date.

In 2022 and 2023, the Large Hadron Collider produced approximately two billion hadronic interactions each second from bunches of protons that collide at a rate of 40 MHz. The ATLAS trigger system is used to reduce this rate to a few kHz for recording. Selections based on hadronic jets, their energy, and event topology reduce the rate to Ô(10) kHz while maintaining high efficiencies for important signatures resulting in b-quarks, but to reach the desired recording rate of hundreds of Hz, additional real-time selections based on the identification of jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) are employed to achieve low thresholds on the jet transverse momentum at the High-Level Trigger. The configuration, commissioning, and performance of the real-time ATLAS b-jet identification algorithms for the early LHC Run 3 collision data are presented. These recent developments provide substantial gains in signal efficiency for critical signatures; for the Standard Model production of Higgs boson pairs, a 50% improvement in selection efficiency is observed in final states with four b-quarks or two b-quarks and two hadronically decaying τ-leptons.

A set of measurements for the production of a W-boson in association with high-transverse-momentum jets is presented using 140 fb-1 of proton–proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of s=13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed in final states in which the W-boson decays into an electron or muon plus a neutrino and is produced in association with jets with pTEMPTY>30 GeV, where the leading jet has pTEMPTY>500 GeV. The angular separation between the lepton and the closest jet with pTEMPTY>100 GeV is measured and used to define a collinear phase space, wherein measurements of kinematic properties of the W-boson and the associated jet are performed. The collinear phase space is populated by dijet events radiating a W-boson and events with a W-boson produced in association with several jets and it serves as an excellent data sample to probe higher-order theoretical predictions. Measured differential distributions are compared with predictions from state-of-the-art next-to-leading order multi-leg merged Monte Carlo event generators and a fixed-order calculation of the W+1-jet process computed at next-to-next-to-leading order in the strong coupling constant.

Differential measurements of Higgs boson production in the τ-lepton-pair decay channel are presented in the gluon fusion, vector-boson fusion (VBF), VH and tt¯H associated production modes, with particular focus on the VBF production mode. The data used to perform the measurements correspond to 140 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Two methods are used to perform the measurements: the Simplified Template Cross-Section (STXS) approach and an Unfolded Fiducial Differential measurement considering only the VBF phase space. For the STXS measurement, events are categorized by their production mode and kinematic properties such as the Higgs boson’s transverse momentum (pTH), the number of jets produced in association with the Higgs boson, or the invariant mass of the two leading jets (mjj). For the VBF production mode, the ratio of the measured cross-section to the Standard Model prediction for mjj > 1.5 TeV and pTH > 200 GeV (pTH < 200 GeV) is 1.29−0.34+0.39 (0.12−0.33+0.34). This is the first VBF measurement for the higher-pTH criteria, and the most precise for the lower-pTH criteria. The fiducial cross-section measurements, which only consider the kinematic properties of the event, are performed as functions of variables characterizing the VBF topology, such as the signed ∆ϕjj between the two leading jets. The measurements have a precision of 30%–50% and agree well with the Standard Model predictions. These results are interpreted in the SMEFT framework, and place the strongest constraints to date on the CP-odd Wilson coefficient cHW~.

The production of D^± and D^±s charmed mesons is measured using the D^±/D^±s → ϕ(μμ)π^± decay channel with 137 fb⁻¹ of √s = 13 TeV proton-proton collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider during the years 2016–2018. The charmed mesons are reconstructed in the range of transverse momentum 12 < p_T < 100 GeV and pseudorapidity |η| < 2.5. The differential cross-sections are measured as a function of transverse momentum and pseudorapidity, respectively, and compared with next-to-leading- order QCD predictions. The predictions are found to be consistent with the measurements in the visible kinematic region within the large theoretical uncertainties.

The high-luminosity phase of LHC operations (HL-LHC), will feature a large increase in simultaneous proton-proton interactions per bunch crossing up to 200, compared with a typical leveling target of 64 in Run 3. Such an increase will create a very challenging environment in which to perform charged particle trajectory reconstruction, a task crucial for the success of the ATLAS physics program, and will exceed the capabilities of the current ATLAS Inner Detector (ID). A new all-silicon Inner Tracker (ITk) will replace the current ID in time for the start of the HL-LHC. To ensure successful use of the ITk capabilities in Run 4 and beyond, the ATLAS tracking software has been successfully adapted to achieve state-of-the-art track reconstruction in challenging high-luminosity conditions with the ITk detector. This paper presents the expected tracking performance of the ATLAS ITk based on the latest available developments since the ITk technical design reports.

This paper presents a new τ-lepton reconstruction and identification procedure at the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider, which leads to significantly improved performance in the case of physics processes where a highly boosted pair of τ-leptons is produced and one τ-lepton decays into a muon and two neutrinos (τ_μ), and the other decays into hadrons and one neutrino (τ_had). By removing the muon information from the signals used for reconstruction and identification of the τ_had candidate in the boosted pair, the efficiency is raised to the level expected for an isolated τhad. The new procedure is validated by selecting a sample of highly boosted Z → τ_μτ_had candidates from the data sample of 140 fb-¹ of proton–proton collisions at 13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector. Good agreement is found between data and simulation predictions in both the Z → τ_μτ_had signal region and in a background validation region. The results presented in this paper demonstrate the effectiveness of the τ_had reconstruction with muon removal in enhancing the signal sensitivity of the boosted τ_μτ_had channel at the ATLAS detector.