A search is presented for the pair production of heavy vector-like B quarks, primarily targeting B quark decays into a W boson and a top quark. The search is based on 36.1 fb(-1) of pp collisions at root s = 13 TeV recorded in 2015 and 2016 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Data are analysed in the lepton-plus-jets final state, characterised by a high-transverse-momentum isolated electron or muon, large missing transverse momentum, and multiple jets, of which at least one is b-tagged. No significant deviation from the Standard Model expectation is observed. The 95% confidence level lower limit on the B mass is 1350 GeV assuming a 100% branching ratio to Wt. In the SU(2) singlet scenario, the lower mass limit is 1170 GeV. The 100% branching ratio limits are found to be also applicable to heavy vector-like X production, with charge +5/3, that decay into Wt. This search is also sensitive to a heavy vector-like B quark decaying into other final states (Zb and Hb) and thus mass limits on B production are set as a function of the decay branching ratios.
A search for new resonances decaying into jets containing b-hadrons in pp collisions with the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented in the dijet mass range from 0.57 to 7 TeV. The data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of up to 36.1 fb(-1) collected in 2015 and 2016 at root s = 13 TeV. No evidence of a significant excess of events above the smooth background shape is found. Upper cross-section limits and lower limits on the corresponding signal mass parameters for several types of signal hypotheses are provided at 95% C.L. In addition, 95% C.L. upper limits are set on the cross sections for new processes that would produce Gaussian-shaped signals in the di-b-jet mass distributions.
A search for a heavy resonance decaying into WZ in the fully leptonic channel (electrons and muons) is performed. It is based on proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1). No significant excess is observed over the Standard Model predictions and limits are set on the production cross section times branching ratio of a heavy vector particle produced either in quark-antiquark fusion or through vector-boson fusion. Constraints are also obtained on the mass and couplings of a singly charged Higgs boson, in the Georgi-Machacek model, produced through vector-boson fusion. (C) 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.
A search for singly produced vector-like quarks Q, where Q can be either a T quark with charge +2/3 or a Y quark with charge -4/3, is performed in proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1), recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2015 and 2016. The analysis targets Q -> Wb decays where the W boson decays leptonically. No significant deviation from the expected Standard Model background is observed. Upper limits are set on the QWb coupling strength and the mixing between the Standard Model sector and a singlet T quark or a Y quark from a (B, Y) doublet or a (T, B, Y) triplet, taking into account the interference effects with the Standard Model background. The upper limits set on the mixing angle are as small as vertical bar sin theta(L)vertical bar = 0.18 for a singlet T quark of mass 800 GeV, vertical bar sin theta(R)vertical bar = 0.17 for a Y quark of mass 800 GeV in a (B, Y) doublet model and vertical bar sin theta(L)vertical bar = 0: 16 for a Y quark of mass 800 GeV in a (T, B, Y) triplet model. Within a (B, Y) doublet model, the limits set on the mixing parameter vertical bar sin theta(R)vertical bar are comparable with the exclusion limits from electroweak precision observables in the mass range between about 900 GeV and 1250 GeV.
Searches for the Higgs boson decays H -> ee and H -> e mu are performed using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1) collected with the ATLAS detector in pp collisions at root s = 13 TeV at the LHC. No significant signals are observed, in agreement with the Standard Model expectation. For a Higgs boson mass of 125 GeV, the observed (expected) upper limit at the 95% confidence level on the branching fraction B(H -> ee) is 3.6 x 10(-4) (3.5 x 10(-4)) and on B(H -> e mu) is 6.2 x 10(-5) (5.9 x 10(-5)). These results represent improvements by factors of about five and six on the previous best limits on B(H -> ee) and B(H -> e mu) respectively.
A search for exotic decays of the Higgs boson into a pair of spin-zero particles, H -> aa, where the a-boson decays into b-quarks promptly or with a mean proper lifetime c tau(a) up to 6 mm and has a mass in the range of 20-60GeV, is presented. The search is performed in events where the Higgs boson is produced in association with a W or Z boson, giving rise to a signature of one or two charged leptons (electrons or muons) and multiple jets from b-quark decays. The analysis is based on the dataset of proton-proton collisions at root s = 13TeV recorded in 2015 and 2016 by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36: 1 fb(-1). No significant excess of events above the Standard Model background prediction is observed, and 95% confidence-level upper limits are derived for the production cross-sections for pp -> WH, ZH and their combination, times the branching ratio of the decay chain H -> aa -> 4b. For a-bosons which decay promptly, the upper limit on the combination of cross-sections for WH and ZH times the branching ratio of H -> aa -> 4b ranges from 3.0 pb for m(a) = 20 GeV to 1.3 pb for m(a) = 60 GeV, assuming that the ratio of WH to ZH cros-ssections follows the Standard Model prediction. For a-bosons with longer proper lifetimes, the most stringent limits are 1.8 pb and 0.68 pb, respectively, at c tau(a) similar to 0.4 mm.
A search for new charged massive gauge bosons, W', is performed with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Data were collected in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1). This analysis searches for W' bosons in the W'-> t ( b) over bar decay channel in final states with an electron or muon plus jets. The search covers resonance masses between 0.5 and 5.0 TeV and considers right-handed W' bosons. No significant deviation from the Standard Model (SM) expectation is observed and upper limits are set on theW'-> t ( b) over bar cross section times branching ratio and the W' boson effective couplings as a function of the W' boson mass. For right-handed W' bosons with coupling to the SM particles equal to the SM weak coupling constant, masses below 3.15 TeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level. This search is also combined with a previously published ATLAS result for W'-> t ( b) over bar in the fully hadronic final state. Using the combined searches, right-handed W' bosons with masses below 3.25 TeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level.
A search for W'-boson production in the W' -> t (b) over bar -> q (q) over bar 'b (b) over bar decay channel is presented using 36.1 fb(-1) of 13 TeV proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in 2015 and 2016. The search is interpreted in terms of both a left-handed and a right-handed chiral W' boson within the mass range 1-5 TeV. Identification of the hadronically decaying top quark is performed using jet substructure tagging techniques based on a shower deconstruction algorithm. No significant deviation from the Standard Model prediction is observed and the results are expressed as upper limits on the W' -> t (b) over bar production cross-section times branching ratio as a function of the W'-boson mass. These limits exclude W' bosons with right-handed couplings with masses below 3.0 TeV and W' bosons with left-handed couplings with masses below 2.9 TeV, at the 95% confidence level.
Searches for the exclusive decays of the Higgs and Z bosons into a J/psi, psi(2S), or Upsilon(nS) (n = 1, 2, 3) meson and a photon are performed with a pp collision data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1) collected at root s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. No significant excess of events is observed above the expected backgrounds, and 95% confidence- level upper limits on the branching fractions of the Higgs boson decays to J/psi gamma, psi(2S) gamma and Upsilon(nS) gamma of 3.5 x 10(-4), 2.0 x 10(-3), and (4.9, 5.9, 5.7) x 10(-4), respectively, are obtained assuming Standard Model production. The corresponding 95% confidence-level upper limits for the branching fractions of the Z boson decays are 2.3 x 10(-6), 4.5 x 10(-6) and (2.8, 1.7, 4.8) 10(-6), respectively. (C) 2018 The Author. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Searches for scalar leptoquarks pair-produced in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider are performed by the ATLAS experiment. A data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1) is used. Final states containing two electrons or two muons and two or more jets are studied, as are states with one electron or muon, missing transverse momentum and two or more jets. No statistically significant excess above the Standard Model expectation is observed. The observed and expected lower limits on the leptoquark mass at 95% confidence level extend up to 1.29 TeV and 1.23 TeV for first-and second-generation leptoquarks, respectively, as postulated in the minimal Buchmuller-Ruckl-Wyler model, assuming a branching ratio into a charged lepton and a quark of 50%. In addition, measurements of particle-level fiducial and differential cross sections are presented for the Z -> ee, Z -> mu mu and t (t) over bar processes in several regions related to the search control regions. Predictions from a range of generators are compared with the measurements, and good agreement is seen for many of the observables. However, the predictions for the Z -> ll measurements in observables sensitive to jet energies disagree with the data.
The inclusive production of four isolated charged leptons in pp collisions is analysed for the presence of hard double-parton scattering, using 20.2 fb(-1) of data recorded in the ATLAS detector at the LHC at centre-of-mass energy root s = 8 TeV. In the four-lepton invariant-mass range of 80 < m(4l) < 1000 GeV, an artificial neural network is used to enhance the separation between single- and double-parton scattering based on the kinematics of the four leptons in the final state. An upper limit on the fraction of events originating from double-parton scattering is determined at 95% confidence level to be f(DPS) = 0.042, which results in an estimated lower limit on the effective cross section at 95% confidence level of 1.0 mb.
A study of the decays B0 s ! + and B0 ! + has been performed using 26 : 3 fb of 13TeV LHC proton-proton collision data collected with the ATLAS detector in 2015 and 2016. Since the detector resolution in + invariant mass is comparable to the B0 s -B0 mass di ff erence, a single fi t determines the signal yields for both decay modes. This results in a measurement of the branching fraction B (B0 s ! +) = 3 : 2 +1:1 10 and an upper limit B (B0 ! +) < 4 : 3 10 at 95% con fi dence level. The result is combined with the Run 1 ATLAS result, yielding B (B0 s ! +) = 2 : 8 +0:8 10 and B (B0 ! +) < 2 : 1 10 at 95% con fi dence level. The combined result is consistent with the Standard Model prediction within 2.4 standard deviations in the B (B0 ! +)B (B0 s ! +) plane.
A search for the dimuon decay of the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson is performed using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1) collected with the ATLAS detector in Run 2 pp collisions at root s = 13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider. The observed (expected) significance over the background-only hypothesis for a Higgs boson with a mass of 125.09 GeV is 2.0 sigma (1.7 sigma). The observed upper limit on the cross section times branching ratio for pp -> H -> mu mu is 2.2 times the SM prediction at 95% confidence level, while the expected limit on a H -> mu mu signal assuming the absence (presence) of a SM signal is 1.1(2.0). The best-fit value of the signal strength parameter, defined as the ratio of the observed signal yield to the one expected in the SM, is mu = 1.2 +/- 0.6.
The ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider reads out particle collision data from over 100 million electronic channels at a rate of approximately 100 kHz, with a recording rate for physics events of approximately 1 kHz. Before being certified for physics analysis at computer centres worldwide, the data must be scrutinised to ensure they are clean from any hardware or software related issues that may compromise their integrity. Prompt identification of these issues permits fast action to investigate, correct and potentially prevent future such problems that could render the data unusable. This is achieved through the monitoring of detector-level quantities and reconstructed collision event characteristics at key stages of the data processing chain. This paper presents the monitoring and assessment procedures in place at ATLAS during 2015-2018 data-taking. Through the continuous improvement of operational procedures, ATLAS achieved a high data quality efficiency, with 95.6% of the recorded proton-proton collision data collected at root s = 13 TeV certified for physics analysis.
Correlations of two flow harmonics v(n) and v(m) via three- and four-particle cumulants are measured in 13 TeV pp, 5.02 TeV p+Pb, and 2.76 TeV peripheral Pb+Pb collisions with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The goal is to understand the multi-particle nature of the long-range collective phenomenon in these collision systems. The large non-flow background from dijet production present in the standard cumulant method is suppressed using a method of subevent cumulants involving two, three and four subevents separated in pseudorapidity. The results show a negative correlation between v(2) and v(3) and a positive correlation between v(2) and v(4) for all collision systems and over the full multiplicity range. However, the magnitudes of the correlations are found to depend on the event multiplicity, the choice of transverse momentum range and collision system. The relative correlation strength, obtained by normalisation of the cumulants with the < v(n)(2)> from a two-particle correlation analysis, is similar in the three collision systems and depends weakly on the event multiplicity and transverse momentum. These results based on the subevent methods provide strong evidence of a similar long-range multi-particle collectivity in pp, p+Pb and peripheral Pb+Pb collisions. (C) 2019 The Author. Published by Elsevier B.V.
The elliptic flow of muons from the decay of charm and bottom hadrons is measured in pp collisions at root s = 13 TeV using a data sample with an integrated luminosity of 150 pb(-1) recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The muons from heavy-flavor decay are separated from light-hadron decay muons using momentum imbalance between the tracking and muon spectrometers. The heavy-flavor decay muons are further separated into those from charm decay and those from bottom decay using the distance-of-closest-approach to the collision vertex. The measurement is performed for muons in the transverse momentum range 4-7 GeV and pseudorapidity range vertical bar eta vertical bar < 2.4. A significant nonzero elliptic anisotropy coefficient nu(2) is observed for muons from charm decays, while the nu(2) value for muons from bottom decays is consistent with zero within uncertainties.
A measurement of event-shape variables in proton-proton collisions at large momentum transfer is presented using data collected at root s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Six event-shape variables calculated using hadronic jets are studied in inclusive multijet events using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1). Measurements are performed in bins of jet multiplicity and in different ranges of the scalar sum of the transverse momenta of the two leading jets, reaching scales beyond 2 TeV. These measurements are compared with predictions from Monte Carlo event generators containing leading-order or next-to-leading order matrix elements matched to parton showers simulated to leading-logarithm accuracy. At low jet multiplicities, shape discrepancies between the measurements and the Monte Carlo predictions are observed. At high jet multiplicities, the shapes are better described but discrepancies in the normalisation are observed.
Results are presented from the measurement by ATLAS of long-range (|Delta eta|>2) dihadron angular correlations in root s=8 and 13 TeV pp collisions containing a Z boson. The analysis is performed using 19.4 fb-1 of root s=8 TeV data recorded during Run 1 of the LHC and 36.1 fb-1 of root s=13 TeV data recorded during Run 2. Two-particle correlation functions are measured as a function of relative azimuthal angle over the relative pseudorapidity range 2<|Delta eta|<5 for different intervals of charged-particle multiplicity and transverse momentum. The measurements are corrected for the presence of background charged particles generated by collisions that occur during one passage of two colliding proton bunches in the LHC. Contributions to the two-particle correlation functions from hard processes are removed using a template-fitting procedure. Sinusoidal modulation in the correlation functions is observed and quantified by the second Fourier coefficient of the correlation function, v2,2, which in turn is used to obtain the single-particle anisotropy coefficient v2. The v2 values in the Z-tagged events, integrated over 0.5<pT<5 GeV, are found to be independent of multiplicity and <mml:msqrt>s</mml:msqrt>, and consistent within uncertainties with previous measurements in inclusive pp collisions. As a function of charged-particle pT, the Z-tagged and inclusive v2 values are consistent within uncertainties for pT<3 GeV.
The associated production of a Higgs boson with a W or Z boson decaying into leptons and where the Higgs boson decays to a b (b) over bar pair is measured in the high vector-boson transverse momentum regime, above 250 GeV, with the ATLAS detector. The analysed data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1), were collected in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider between 2015 and 2018 at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV. The measured signal strength, defined as the ratio of the measured signal yield to that predicted by the Standard Model, is 0.72(-0.36)(+0.39) corresponding to an observed (expected) significance of 2.1 (2.7) standard deviations. Cross-sections of associated production of a Higgs boson decaying into b quark pairs with a W or Z gauge boson, decaying into leptons, are measured in two exclusive vector boson transverse momentum regions, 250-400 GeV and above 400 GeV, and interpreted as constraints on anomalous couplings in the framework of a Standard Model effective field theory.
The integrated fiducial cross-section and unfolded differential jet mass spectrum of high transverse momentum Z -> b (b) over bar decays are measured in Z gamma events in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV. The data analysed were collected between 2015 and 2016 with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1). Photons are required to have a transverse momentum p(T) > 175 GeV. The Z -> b (b) over bar decay is reconstructed using a jet with p(T) > 200 GeV, found with the anti-k(t) R = 1.0 jet algorithm, and groomed to remove soft and wide-angle radiation and to mitigate contributions from the underlying event and additional proton-proton collisions. Two different but related measurements are performed using two jet grooming definitions for reconstructing the Z -> b (b) over bar decay: trimming and soft drop. These algorithms differ in their experimental and phenomenological implications regarding jet mass reconstruction and theoretical precision. To identify Zbosons, b-tagged R = 0.2 track-jets matched to the groomed large-R calorimeter jet are used as a proxy for the b-quarks. The signal yield is determined from fits of the data-driven background templates to the different jet mass distributions for the two grooming methods. Integrated fiducial cross-sections and unfolded jet mass spectra for each grooming method are compared with leading-order theoretical predictions. The results are found to be in good agreement with Standard Model expectations within the current statistical and systematic uncertainties.
This paper presents measurements of W +/- Z production cross sections in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13TeV. The data were collected in 2015 and 2016 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 36.1fb-1. The W +/- Z candidate events are reconstructed using leptonic decay modes of the gauge bosons into electrons and muons. The measured inclusive cross section in the detector fiducial region for a single leptonic decay mode is sigma W +/- Zfid.=63.7fb, reproduced by the next-to-next-to-leading-order Standard Model prediction of 61.5-1.3+1.4fb. Cross sections for W+Z and W-Z production and their ratio are presented as well as differential cross sections for several kinematic observables. An analysis of angular distributions of leptons from decays of W and Z bosons is performed for the first time in pair-produced events in hadronic collisions, and integrated helicity fractions in the detector fiducial region are measured for the W and Z bosons separately. Of particular interest, the longitudinal helicity fraction of pair-produced vector bosons is also measured.
Differential cross-sections are measured for top-quark pair production in the all-hadronic decay mode, using proton-proton collision events collected by the ATLAS experiment in which all six decay jets are separately resolved. Absolute and normalised single- and double-differential cross-sections are measured at particle and parton level as a function of various kinematic variables. Emphasis is placed on well-measured observables in fully reconstructed final states, as well as on the study of correlations between the top-quark pair system and additional jet radiation identified in the event. The study is performed using data from proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at CERN's Large Hadron Collider in 2015 and 2016, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1). The rapidities of the individual top quarks and of the top-quark pair are well modelled by several independent event generators. Significant mismodelling is observed in the transverse momenta of the leading three jet emissions, while the leading top-quark transverse momentum and top-quark pair transverse momentum are both found to be incompatible with several theoretical predictions.
This letter reports the observation of photon-induced production of W-boson pairs, gamma gamma -> WW. The analysis uses 139 fb(-1) of LHC proton-proton collision data taken at root s = 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment during the years 2015-2018. The measurement is performed selecting one electron and one muon, corresponding to the decay of the diboson system as WW -> e(+/-)nu mu(-/+)nu final state. The background-only hypothesis is rejected with a significance of well above 5 standard deviations consistent with the expectation from Monte Carlo simulation. A cross section for the gamma gamma -> WW process of 3.13 +/- 0.31(stat.) +/- 0.28(syst.) fb is measured in a fiducial volume close to the acceptance of the detector, by requiring an electron and a muon of opposite signs with large dilepton transverse momentum and exactly zero additional charged particles. This is found to be in agreement with the Standard Model prediction.
Jet substructure has provided new opportunities for searches and measurements at the LHC, and has seen continuous development since the optimization of the large-radius jet definition used by ATLAS was performed during Run 1. A range of new inputs to jet reconstruction, pile-up mitigation techniques and jet grooming algorithms motivate an optimisation of large-radius jet reconstruction for ATLAS. In this paper, this optimisation procedure is presented, and the performance of a wide range of large-radius jet definitions is compared. The relative performance of these jet definitions is assessed using metrics such as their pileup stability, ability to identify hadronically decaying W bosons and top quarks with large transverse momenta. A new type of jet input object, called a 'unified flow object' is introduced which combines calorimeter- and inner-detector-based signals in order to achieve optimal performance across a wide kinematic range. Large-radius jet definitions are identified which significantly improve on the current ATLAS baseline definition, and their modelling is studied using pp collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at TeV during 2017.
In this paper, a new technique for reconstructing and identifying hadronically decaying tau (+)tau (-) pairs with a large Lorentz boost, referred to as the di-tau tagger, is developed and used for the first time in the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. A benchmark di-tau tagging selection is employed in the search for resonant Higgs boson pair production, where one Higgs boson decays into a boosted bb<mml:mo stretchy="true"><overbar></mml:mover> pair and the other into a boosted tau (+)tau (-) pair, with two hadronically decaying tau -leptons in the final state. Using 139 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data recorded at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, the efficiency of the di-tau tagger is determined and the background with quark- or gluon-initiated jets misidentified as di-tau objects is estimated. The search for a heavy, narrow, scalar resonance produced via gluon-gluon fusion and decaying into two Higgs bosons is carried out in the mass range 1-3 TeV using the same dataset. No deviations from the Standard Model predictions are observed, and 95% confidence-level exclusion limits are set on this model.
The result of a search for the pair production of the lightest supersymmetric partner of the bottom quark ((b) over tilde (1)) using 139 fb(-1) of proton-proton data collected at root s = 13 TeV by the ATLAS detector is reported. In the supersymmetric scenarios considered both of the bottom-squarks decay into a b-quark and the second-lightest neutralino, (b) over tilde (1) -> b + (chi) over tilde (0)(2). Each (chi) over tilde (0)(2) is assumed to subsequently decay with 100% branching ratio into a Higgs boson (h) like the one in the Standard Model and the lightest neutralino: (chi) over tilde (0)(2) -> h + (chi) over tilde (0)(1). The (chi) over tilde (0)(1) is assumed to be the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) and is stable. Two signal mass configurations are targeted: the first has a constant LSP mass of 60 GeV; and the second has a constant mass difference between the (chi) over tilde (0)(2) and (chi) over tilde (0)(1) of 130 GeV. The final states considered contain no charged leptons, three or more b-jets, and large missing transverse momentum. No significant excess of events over the Standard Model background expectation is observed in any of the signal regions considered. Limits at the 95% confidence level are placed in the supersymmetric models considered, and bottom-squarks with mass up to 1.5TeV are excluded.
A search for charged Higgs bosons decaying into (WW +/-)-W-+/- or W(+/-)Z bosons is performed, involving experimental signatures with two leptons of the same charge, or three or four leptons with a variety of charge combinations, missing transverse momentum and jets. A data sample of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider between 2015 and 2018 is used. The data correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1). The search is guided by a type-II seesaw model that extends the scalar sector of the Standard Model with a scalar triplet, leading to a phenomenology that includes doubly and singly charged Higgs bosons. Two scenarios are explored, corresponding to the pair production of doubly charged H-+/-+/- bosons, or the associated production of a doubly charged H-+/-+/- boson and a singly charged H-+/- boson. No significant deviations from the Standard Model predictions are observed. H-+/-+/- bosons are excluded at 95% confidence level up to 350 GeV and 230 GeV for the pair and associated production modes, respectively.
A search for the electroweak production of charginos and sleptons decaying into final states with two electrons or muons is presented. The analysis is based on 139 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at v s = 13 TeV. Three R-parity-conserving scenarios where the lightest neutralino is the lightest supersymmetric particle are considered: the production of chargino pairs with decays via eitherW bosons or sleptons, and the direct production of slepton pairs. The analysis is optimised for the first of these scenarios, but the results are also interpreted in the others. No significant deviations from the Standard Model expectations are observed and limits at 95% confidence level are set on the masses of relevant supersymmetric particles in each of the scenarios. For a massless lightest neutralino, masses up to 420 GeV are excluded for the production of the lightest-chargino pairs assuming W-boson-mediated decays and up to 1 TeV for slepton-mediated decays, whereas for slepton-pair production masses up to 700 GeV are excluded assuming three generations of mass-degenerate sleptons.
A search for heavy resonances decaying into a pair of Z bosons leading to l+l-l ' +l '- and l+l-nu nu <overbar></mml:mover> final states, where l stands for either an electron or a muon, is presented. The search uses proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected from 2015 to 2018 that corresponds to the integrated luminosity of 139 fb<mml:mo>-1 recorded by the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider. Different mass ranges spanning 200 GeV to 2000 GeV for the hypothetical resonances are considered, depending on the final state and model. In the absence of a significant observed excess, the results are interpreted as upper limits on the production cross section of a spin-0 or spin-2 resonance. The upper limits for the spin-0 resonance are translated to exclusion contours in the context of Type-I and Type-II two-Higgs-doublet models, and the limits for the spin-2 resonance are used to constrain the Randall-Sundrum model with an extra dimension giving rise to spin-2 graviton excitations.
A search is presented for the production of the Standard Model Higgs boson in association with a high-energy photon. With a focus on the vector-boson fusion process and the dominant Higgs boson decay into b-quark pairs, the search benefits from a large reduction of multijet background compared to more inclusive searches. Results are reported from the analysis of 132 fb(-1) of pp collision data at root s = 13 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measured Higgs boson signal yield in this final-state signature is 1.3 +/- 1.0 times the Standard Model prediction. The observed significance of the Higgs boson signal above the background is 1.3 standard deviations, compared to an expected significance of 1.0 standard deviations.
This paper describes a search for pairs of neutral, long-lived particles decaying in the ATLAS calorimeter. Long-lived particles occur in many extensions to the Standard Model and may elude searches for new promptly decaying particles. The analysis considers neutral, long-lived scalars with masses between 5 and 400 GeV, produced from decays of heavy bosons with masses between 125 and 1000 GeV, where the long-lived scalars decay into Standard Model fermions. The analysis uses either 10.8 fb-1 of data (depending on the trigger) recorded in 2016 at the LHC with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. No significant excess is observed, and limits are reported on the production cross section times branching ratio as a function of the proper decay length of the long-lived particles.
A search for new physics with non-resonant signals in dielectron and dimuon final states in the mass range above 2 TeV is presented. This is the first search for non-resonant signals in dilepton final states at the LHC to use a background estimate from the data. The data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1), were recorded by the ATLAS experiment in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of root s= 13 TeV during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider. The benchmark signal signature is a two-quark and two-lepton contact interaction, which would enhance the dilepton event rate at the TeV mass scale. To model the contribution from background processes a functional form is fit to the dilepton invariant-mass spectra in data in a mass region below the region of interest. It is then extrapolated to a high-mass signal region to obtain the expected background there. No significant deviation from the expected background is observed in the data. Upper limits at 95% CL on the number of events and the visible cross-section times branching fraction for processes involving new physics are provided. Observed (expected) 95% CL lower limits on the contact interaction energy scale reach 35.8 (37.6) TeV.
The results of a search for direct pair production of top squarks and for dark matter in events with two opposite-charge leptons (electrons or muons), jets and missing transverse momentum are reported, using 139 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity from proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV, collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider during Run 2 (2015-2018). This search considers the pair production of top squarks and is sensitive across a wide range of mass differences between the top squark and the lightest neutralino. Additionally, spin-0 mediator dark-matter models are considered, in which the mediator is produced in association with a pair of top quarks. The mediator subsequently decays to a pair of dark-matter particles. No significant excess of events is observed above the Standard Model background, and limits are set at 95% confidence level. The results exclude top squark masses up to about 1 TeV, and masses of the lightest neutralino up to about 500 GeV. Limits on dark-matter production are set for scalar (pseudoscalar) mediator masses up to about 250 (300) GeV.
A search for new phenomena with top quark pairs in final states with one isolated electron or muon, multiple jets, and large missing transverse momentum is performed. Signal regions are designed to search for two-, three-, and four-body decays of the directly pair-produced supersymmetric partner of the top quark (stop). Additional signal regions are designed specifically to search for spin-0 mediators that are produced in association with a pair of top quarks and decay into a pair of dark-matter particles. The search is performed using the Large Hadron Collider proton-proton collision dataset at a centre-of-mass energy of s = 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector from 2015 to 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1). No significant excess above the Standard Model background is observed, and limits at 95% confidence level are set in the stop-neutralino mass plane and as a function of the mediator mass or the dark-matter particle mass. Stops are excluded up to 1200 GeV (710 GeV) in the two-body (three-body) decay scenario. In the four-body scenario stops up to 640 GeV are excluded for a stop-neutralino mass difference of 60 GeV. Scalar and pseudoscalar dark-matter mediators are excluded up to 200 GeV when the coupling strengths of the mediator to Standard Model and dark-matter particles are both equal to one and when the mass of the dark-matter particle is 1 GeV.
A search is presented for new phenomena in events characterised by high jet multiplicity, no leptons (electrons or muons), and four or more jets originating from the fragmentation of b-quarks (b-jets). The search uses 139fb(-1)of s root = 13 TeV proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider during Run 2. The dominant Standard Model background originates from multijet production and is estimated using a data-driven technique based on an extrapolation from events with low b-jet multiplicity to the high b-jet multiplicities used in the search. No significant excess over the Standard Model expectation is observed and 95% confidence-level limits that constrain simplified models of R-parity-violating supersymmetry are determined. The exclusion limits reach 950 GeV in top-squark mass in the models considered.
A search for the supersymmetric partners of quarks and gluons (squarks and gluinos) in final states containing jets and missing transverse momentum, but no electrons or muons, is presented. The data used in this search were recorded by the ATLAS experiment in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1). The results are interpreted in the context of various R-parity-conserving models where squarks and gluinos are produced in pairs or in association and a neutralino is the lightest supersymmetric particle. An exclusion limit at the 95% confidence level on the mass of the gluino is set at 2.30 TeV for a simplified model containing only a gluino and the lightest neutralino, assuming the latter is massless. For a simplified model involving the strong production of mass-degenerate first- and second-generation squarks, squark masses below 1.85 TeV are excluded if the lightest neutralino is massless. These limits extend substantially beyond the region of supersymmetric parameter space excluded previously by similar searches with the ATLAS detector.
A search for Higgs boson pair production via vector-boson fusion (VBF) in the bb<overbar></mml:mover>b<mml:mover accent="true">b<mml:mo stretchy="true"><overbar></mml:mover> final state is carried out with the ATLAS experiment using 126 fb(-1) of proton- proton collision data delivered at <mml:msqrt>s</mml:msqrt> = 13 TeV by the Large Hadron Collider. This search is sensitive to VBF production of additional heavy bosons that may decay into Higgs boson pairs, and in a non-resonant topology it can constrain the quartic coupling between the Higgs bosons and vector bosons. No significant excess relative to the Standard Model expectation is observed, and limits on the production cross-section are set at the 95% confidence level for a heavy scalar resonance in the context of an extended Higgs sector, and for non-resonant Higgs boson pair production. Interpretation in terms of the coupling between a Higgs boson pair and two vector bosons is also provided: coupling values normalised to the Standard Model expectation of kappa (2V)< -0.76 and kappa(2V)> 2.90 are excluded at the 95% confidence level in data.
The production yield of Z bosons is measured in the electron and muon decay channels in Pb+Pb collisions at /S-NN = 5.02 TeV with the ATLAS detector. Data from the 2015 LHC run corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.49 nb(-1) are used for the analysis. The Z boson yield, normalised by the total number of minimum-bias events and the mean nuclear thickness function, is measured as a function of dilepton rapidity and event centrality. The measurements in Pb+Pb collisions are compared with similar measurements made in proton-proton collisions at the same centre-of-mass energy. The nuclear modification factor is found to be consistent with unity for all centrality intervals. The results are compared with theoretical predictions obtained at next-to-leading order using nucleon and nuclear parton distribution functions. The normalised Z boson yields in Pb+Pb collisions lie 1-3a above the predictions. The nuclear modification factor measured as a function of rapidity agrees with unity and is consistent with a next-to-leading-order QCD calculation including the isospin effect. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.
The performance of the missing transverse (E-T(miss) momentum) reconstruction with the ATLAS detector is evaluated using data collected in proton-proton collisions at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV in 2015. To reconstruct E-T(miss), fully calibrated electrons, muons, photons, hadronically decaying tau-leptons, and jets reconstructed from calorimeter energy deposits and charged-particle tracks are used. These are combined with the soft hadronic activity measured by reconstructed charged-particle tracks not associated with the hard objects. Possible double counting of contributions from reconstructed charged-particle tracks from the inner detector, energy deposits in the calorimeter, and reconstructed muons from the muon spectrometer is avoided by applying a signal ambiguity resolution procedure which rejects already used signals when combining the various E-T(miss) contributions. The individual terms as well as the overall reconstructed E-T(miss) are evaluated with various performance metrics for scale (linearity), resolution, and sensitivity to the data-taking conditions. The method developed to determine the systematic uncertainties of the E-T(miss) scale and resolution is discussed. Results are shown based on the full 2015 data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb(-1).
A search for heavy right-handed Majorana or Dirac neutrinos N (R) and heavy right-handed gauge bosons W (R) is performed in events with a pair of energetic electrons or muons, with the same or opposite electric charge, and two energetic jets. The events are selected from pp collision data with an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1) collected by the ATLAS detector at TeV. No significant deviations from the Standard Model are observed. The results are interpreted within the theoretical framework of a left-right symmetric model and lower limits are set on masses in the heavy right-handed W boson and neutrino mass plane. The excluded region extends to TeV for both Majorana and Dirac N (R) neutrinos.
A search for Higgs boson pair production in the bbbb final state is carried out with up to 36.1 fb(-1) of LHC proton-proton collision data collected at s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector in 2015 and 2016. Three benchmark signals are studied: a spin-2 graviton decaying into a Higgs boson pair, a scalar resonance decaying into a Higgs boson pair, and Standard Model non-resonant Higgs boson pair production. Two analyses are carried out, each implementing a particular technique for the event reconstruction that targets Higgs bosons reconstructed as pairs of jets or single boosted jets. The resonance mass range covered is 260-3000 GeV. The analyses are statistically combined and upper limits on the production cross section of Higgs boson pairs times branching ratio to bbbb are set in each model. No significant excess is observed; the largest deviation of data over prediction is found at a mass of 280 GeV, corresponding to 2.3 standard deviations globally. The observed 95% confidence level upper limit on the non-resonant production is 13 times the Standard Model prediction.
A measurement of J/psi and psi(2S) production is presented. It is based on a data sample from Pb+Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 5.02 TeV and pp collisions at root s = 5.02 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2015, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.42 nb(-1) and 25 pb(-1) in Pb+Pb and pp, respectively. The measurements of per-event yields, nuclear modification factors, and non-prompt fractions are performed in the dimuon decay channel for 9 < p(T)(mu mu) < 40 GeV in dimuon transverse momentum, and -2 < y(mu mu) < 2 in rapidity. Strong suppression is found in Pb+Pb collisions for both prompt and non-prompt J/psi, increasing with event centrality. The suppression of prompt psi(2S) is observed to be stronger than that of J/psi, while the suppression of non-prompt psi(2S) is equal to that of the non-prompt J/psi within uncertainties, consistent with the expectation that both arise from b-quarks propagating through the medium. Despite prompt and non-prompt J/psi arising from different mechanisms, the dependence of their nuclear modification factors on centrality is found to be quite similar.
The response of the ATLAS detector to large-radius jets is measured in situ using 36.2 fb(-1) of root s = 13TeV proton-proton collisions provided by the LHC and recorded by the ATLAS experiment during 2015 and 2016. The jet energy scale is measured in events where the jet recoils against a reference object, which can be either a calibrated photon, a reconstructed Z boson, or a system of well-measured small-radius jets. The jet energy resolution and a calibration of forward jets are derived using dijet balance measurements. The jet mass response is measured with two methods: using mass peaks formed by W bosons and top quarks with large transverse momenta and by comparing the jet mass measured using the energy deposited in the calorimeter with that using the momenta of charged-particle tracks. The transverse momentum and mass responses in simulations are found to be about 2-3% higher than in data. This difference is adjusted for with a correction factor. The results of the different methods are combined to yield a calibration over a large range of transverse momenta (p(T)). The precision of the relative jet energy scale is 1-2% for 200 GeV < p(T) < TeV, while that of the mass scale is 2-10%. The ratio of the energy resolutions in data and simulation is measured to a precision of 10-15% over the same p(T) range.
The mass of the Higgs boson is measured in the H -> ZZ* -> 4l and in the H -> gamma gamma decay channels with 36.1 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data from the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector in 2015 and 2016. The measured value in the H -> ZZ* -> 4l channel is m(H)(ZZ*) = 124.79 +/- 0.37 GeV, while the measured value in the H -> gamma gamma channel is m(H)(gamma gamma) = 124.93 +/- 0.40 GeV. Combining these results with the ATLAS measurement based on 7 and 8 TeV proton-proton collision data yields a Higgs boson mass of m(H) = 124.97 +/- 0.24 GeV.
Many extensions of the Standard Model predict new resonances decaying to a Z, W, or Higgs boson and a photon. This paper presents a search for such resonances produced in pp collisions at root s = 13 TeV using a data set with an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1) collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The Z/W/H bosons are identified through their decays to hadrons. The data are found to be consistent with the Standard Model expectation in the entire investigated mass range. Upper limits are set on the production cross section times branching fraction for resonance decays to Z.W + gamma in the mass range from 1.0 to 6.8 TeV and for the first time into H + gamma in the mass range from 1.0 to 3.0 TeV.
A search for new phenomena in final states containing an e(+)e(-) or m(+)m(-) pair, jets, and large missing transverse momentum is presented. This analysis makes use of proton-proton collision data with an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1), collected during 2015 and 2016 at a centre of-mass energy Os = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The search targets the pair production of supersymmetric coloured particles (squarks or gluinos) and their decays into final states containing an e(+)e(-) or m(+)m(-) pair and the lightest neutralino ((c) over tilde (0)(1)) via one of two next-to-lightest neutralino ((c) over tilde (0)(2)) decay mechanisms: (c) over tilde (0)(2) Z (c) over tilde (0)(1), where the Z boson decays leptonically leading to a peak in the dilepton invariant mass distribution around the Z boson mass; and (c) over tilde (0)(2) l(+)1(-) (c) over tilde (0)(1) with no intermediate l(+)l(-) resonance, yielding a kinematic endpoint in the dilepton invariant mass spectrum. The data are found to be consistent with the Standard Model expectation. Results are interpreted using simplified models, and exclude gluinos and squarks with masses as large as 1.85 and 1.3 TeV at 95% confidence level, respectively.
A search for pair production of up-type vector-like quarks (T) with a significant branching ratio into a top quark and either a Standard Model Higgs boson or a Z boson is presented. The same analysis is also used to search for four-top-quark production in several new physics scenarios. The search is based on a dataset of pp collisions at root s = 13TeV recorded in 2015 and 2016 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1). Data are analysed in the lepton+jets final state, characterised by an isolated electron or muon with high transverse momentum, large missing transverse momentum and multiple jets, as well as the jets+E-T(miss) final state, characterised by multiple jets and large missing transverse momentum. The search exploits the high multiplicity of jets identified as originating from b-quarks, and the presence of boosted, hadronically decaying top quarks and Higgs bosons reconstructed as large-radius jets, characteristic of signal events. No significant excess above the Standard Model expectation is observed, and 95% CL upper limits are set on the production cross sections for the different signal processes considered. These cross-section limits are used to derive lower limits on the mass of a vector-like T quark under several branching ratio hypotheses assuming contributions from T -> Wb, Zt, Ht decays. The 95% CL observed lower limits on the T quark mass range between 0.99TeV and 1.43TeV for all possible values of the branching ratios into the three decay modes considered, significantly extending the reach beyond that of previous searches. Additionally, upper limits on anomalous four-top-quark production are set in the context of an effective field theory model, as well as in an universal extra dimensions model.
A search for high-mass resonances decaying to tau nu using proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV produced by the Large Hadron Collider is presented. Only tau-lepton decays with hadrons in the final state are considered. The data were recorded with the ATLAS detector and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1). No statistically significant excess above the standard model expectation is observed; model-independent upper limits are set on the visible tau nu production cross section. Heavy W' bosons with masses less than 3.7 TeV in the sequential standard model and masses less than 2.2-3.8 TeV depending on the coupling in the nonuniversal Go(221) model are excluded at the 95% credibility level.
The Tile Calorimeter is the hadron calorimeter covering the central region of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Approximately 10,000 photomultipliers collect light from scintillating tiles acting as the active material sandwiched between slabs of steel absorber. This paper gives an overview of the calorimeter's performance during the years 2008-2012 using cosmic-ray muon events and proton-proton collision data at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV with a total integrated luminosity of nearly 30 fb(-1). The signal reconstruction methods, calibration systems as well as the detector operation status are presented. The energy and time calibration methods performed excellently, resulting in good stability of the calorimeter response under varying conditions during the LHC Run 1. Finally, the Tile Calorimeter response to isolated muons and hadrons as well as to jets from proton-proton collisions is presented. The results demonstrate excellent performance in accord with specifications mentioned in the Technical Design Report.
The observation of Higgs boson production in association with a top quark pair (t (t) over barH), based on the analysis of proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider, is presented. Using data corresponding to integrated luminosities of up to 79.8 fb(-1), and considering Higgs boson decays into b (b) over bar, WW*, tau(+)tau(-), gamma gamma, and ZZ*, the observed significance is 5.8 standard deviations, compared to an expectation of 4.9 standard deviations. Combined with the t (t) over barH searches using a dataset corresponding to integrated luminosities of 4.5 fb(-1) at 7 TeV and 20.3 fb(-1) at 8 TeV, the observed (expected) significance is 6.3 (5.1) standard deviations. Assuming Standard Model branching fractions, the total t (t) over barH production cross section at 13 TeV is measured to be 670 +/- 90(stat.)(-100)(+110)(syst.) fb, in agreement with the Standard Model prediction.