The analysis of the momentum difference between charged hadrons in high-energy proton-proton collisions is performed in order to study coherent particle production. The observed correlation pattern agrees with a model of a helical QCD string fragmenting into a chain of ground-state hadrons. A threshold momentum difference in the production of adjacent pairs of charged hadrons is observed, in agreement with model predictions. The presence of low-mass hadron chains also explains the emergence of charge-combination-dependent two-particle correlations commonly attributed to Bose-Einstein interference. The data sample consists of 190 μb−1 of minimum-bias events collected with proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy √s=7 TeV in the early low-luminosity data taking with the ATLAS detector at the LHC.
A measurement of the production cross section for two isolated photons in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of root s = 8 TeV is presented. The results are based on an integrated luminosity of 20.2 fb(-1) recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurement considers photons with pseudorapidities satisfying vertical bar eta(gamma)vertical bar< 1.37 or 1.56 <vertical bar eta(gamma)vertical bar< 2.37 and transverse energies of respectively E-T,1(gamma) > 40 GeV and E-T,2(gamma) > 30 GeV for the two leading photons ordered in transverse energy produced in the interaction. The background due to hadronic jets and electrons is subtracted using data-driven techniques. The fiducial cross sections are corrected for detector effects and measured differentially as a function of six kinematic observables. The measured cross section integrated within the fiducial volume is 16.8 +/- 0.8 pb. The data are compared to fixed-order QCD calculations at next-to-leading-order and next-to-next-to-leading-order accuracy as well as next-to-leading-order computations including resummation of initial-state gluon radiation at next-to-next-to-leading logarithm or matched to a parton shower, with relative uncertainties varying from 5% to 20%.
Measurements of differential cross-sections of top-quark pair production in fiducial phase-spaces are presented as a function of top-quark and t (t) over bar system kinematic observables in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 13TeV. The data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb(-1), recorded in 2015 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Events with exactly one electron or muon and at least two jets in the final state are used for the measurement. Two separate selections are applied that each focus on different top-quark momentum regions, referred to as resolved and boosted topologies of the t (t) over bar final state. The measured spectra are corrected for detector effects and are compared to several Monte Carlo simulations by means of calculated chi(2) and p-values.
Results of a search for physics beyond the Standard Model in events containing an energetic photon and large missing transverse momentum with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider are reported. As the number of events observed in data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, is in agreement with the Standard Model expectations, model-independent limits are set on the fiducial cross section for the production of events in this final state. Exclusion limits are also placed in models where dark-matter candidates are pair-produced. For dark-matter production via an axial-vector or a vector mediator in the s-channel, this search excludes mediator masses below 750-1200 GeV for dark-matter candidate masses below 230-480 GeV at 95% confidence level, depending on the couplings. In an effective theory of dark-matter production, the limits restrict the value of the suppression scale M-* to be above 790 GeV at 95% confidence level. A limit is also reported on the production of a high-mass scalar resonance by processes beyond the Standard Model, in which the resonance decays to Z gamma and the Z boson subsequently decays into neutrinos.
A search for heavy resonances decaying to a W or Z boson and a Higgs boson in the q(q)over-bar(('))b(b)over-bar final state is described. The search uses 36.1 fb(-1)of proton-proton collision data at root s = 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider in 2015 and 2016. The data are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations, with the largest excess found at a resonance mass of 3.0 TeV with a local (global) significance of 3.3 (2.1) sigma. The results are presented in terms of constraints on a simplified model with a heavy vector triplet. Upper limits are set on the production cross-section times branching ratio for resonances decaying to a W (Z) boson and a Higgs boson, itself decaying to b(b)over-bar, in the mass range between 1.1 and 3.8 TeV at 95% confidence level; the limits range between 83 and 1.6 fb (77 and 1.1 fb) at 95% confidence level.
A search is presented for the pair production of heavy vector-like T quarks, primarily targeting the T quark decays to a W boson and a b-quark. The search is based on 36: 1 fb(-1) of pp collisions at root s = 13TeV 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, including at least one b-tagged jet and a large-radius jet identified as originating from the hadronic decay of a high-momentum W boson. No significant deviation from the Standard Model expectation is observed in the reconstructed T mass distribution. The observed 95% confidence level lower limit on the T mass are 1350 GeV assuming 100% branching ratio to Wb. In the SU(2) singlet scenario, the lower mass limit is 1170 GeV. This search is also sensitive to a heavy vector-like B quark decaying to Wt and other final states. The results are thus reinterpreted to provide a 95% con fidence level lower limit on the B quark mass at 1250 GeV assuming 100% branching ratio to Wt; in the SU(2) singlet scenario, the limit is 1080 GeV. Mass limits on both T and B production are also set as a function of the decay branching ratios. The 100% branching ratio limits are found to be applicable to heavy vector-like Y and X production that decay to Wb and Wt, respectively.
A measurement of the mass of the W boson is presented based on proton-proton collision data recorded in 2011 at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC, and corresponding to 4.6 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity. The selected data sample consists of 7.8 x 10(6) candidates in the W -> mu nu channel and 5.9 x 10(6) candidates in the W -> e nu channel. The W-boson mass is obtained from template fits to the reconstructed distributions of the charged lepton transverse momentum and of the W boson transverse mass in the electron and muon decay channels, yielding
m(W) = 80370 +/- 7 (stat.) +/- 11(exp. syst.)
+/- 14 (mod. syst.) MeV
= 80370 +/- 19 MeV,
where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second corresponds to the experimental systematic uncertainty, and the third to the physics-modelling systematic uncertainty. A measurement of the mass difference between the W+ and W- bosons yields m(W+) - m(W-) = -29 +/- 28 MeV.
Ratios of top-quark pair to Z-boson cross sections measured from proton-proton collisions at the LHC centre-of-mass energies of s√=13s=13 TeV, 8 TeV, and 7 TeV are presented by the ATLAS Collaboration. Single ratios, at a given s√s for the two processes and at different s√s for each process, as well as double ratios of the two processes at different s√s , are evaluated. The ratios are constructed using previously published ATLAS measurements of the tt¯tt¯ and Z-boson production cross sections, corrected to a common phase space where required, and a new analysis of Z → ℓ+ℓ− where ℓ = e, μ at s√=13s=13 TeV performed with data collected in 2015 with an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb−1. Correlations of systematic uncertainties are taken into account when evaluating the uncertainties in the ratios. The correlation model is also used to evaluate the combined cross section of the Z → e+e− and the Z → μ+μ− channels for each s√s value. The results are compared to calculations performed at next-to-next-to-leading-order accuracy using recent sets of parton distribution functions. The data demonstrate significant power to constrain the gluon distribution function for the Bjorken-x values near 0.1 and the light-quark sea for x < 0.02.
Measurements of dijet Pt correlations in Pb+Pb and pp collisions at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV are presented. The measurements are performed with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider using Pb+Pb and pp data samples corresponding to integrated luminosities of 0.14 nb(-1)and 4.0 pb(-1) respectively. Jets are reconstructed using the anti-k(t) algorithm with radius parameter values R = 0.3 and R = 0.4. A background subtraction procedure is applied to correct the jets for the large underlying event present in Pb+Pb collisions. The leading and sub-leading jet transverse momenta are denoted p(T1) and p(T2). An unfolding procedure is applied to the two-dimensional (p(T1) , p(T2)) distributions to account for experimental effects in the measurement of both jets. Distributions of (1/N)dN/dx(J), where X-J = p(T2)/p(T1) , are presented as a function of p(T1) and collision centrality. The distributions are found to be similar in peripheral Pb+Pb collisions and pp collisions, but highly modified in central Pb+Pb collisions. Similar features are present in both the R = 0.3 and R = 0.4 results, indicating that the effects of the underlying event are properly accounted for in the measurement. The results are qualitatively consistent with expectations from partonic energy loss models.
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.
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.
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.
A search is performed for a heavy particle decaying into different flavour dilepton pairs (, or ), using 3.2 fb of proton-proton collision data at TeV collected in 2015 by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No excess over the Standard Model prediction is observed. Limits at the 95 % credibility level are set on the mass of a boson with lepton-flavour-violating couplings at 3.0, 2.7 and 2.6 TeV, and on the mass of a supersymmetric sneutrino with R-parity-violating couplings at 2.3, 2.2 and 1.9 TeV, for , and final states, respectively. The results are also interpreted as limits on the threshold mass for quantum black hole production.
Searches for new heavy resonances decaying to WW, WZ, and ZZ bosons are presented, using a data sample corresponding to 3.2 fb(-1) of pp collisions at root S = 13 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Analyses selecting vvqq, lvqq, llqq and qqqq final states are combined, searching for a narrow-width resonance with mass between 500 and 3000 GeV. The discriminating variable is either an invariant mass or a transverse mass. No significant deviations from the Standard Model predictions are observed. Three benchmark models are tested: a model predicting the existence of a new heavy scalar singlet, a simplified model predicting a heavy vector-boson triplet, and a bulk Randall-Sundrum model with a heavy spin-2 graviton. Cross-section limits are set at the 95% confidence level and are compared to theoretical cross-section predictions for a variety of models. The data exclude a scalar singlet with mass below 2650 GeV, a heavy vector-boson triplet with mass below 2600 GeV, and a graviton with mass below 1100 GeV. These results significantly extend the previous limits set using pp collisions at root S = 8 TeV.
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 s√=8s=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.
A search for Higgs-boson pair production in the b¯bb¯b final state is carried out with 3.2 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data collected at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector. The data are consistent with the estimated background and are used to set upper limits on the production cross section of Higgs-boson pairs times branching ratio to b¯bb¯b for both nonresonant and resonant production. In the case of resonant production of Kaluza-Klein gravitons within the Randall-Sundrum model, upper limits in the 24 to 91 fb range are obtained for masses between 600 and 3000 GeV, at the 95% confidence level. The production cross section times branching ratio for nonresonant Higgs-boson pairs is also constrained to be less than 1.22 pb, at the 95% confidence level.
A selection of searches by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC for the electroweak production of SUSY particles are used to study their impact on the constraints on dark matter candidates. The searches use 20 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data at s√=8 TeV. A likelihood-driven scan of a five-dimensional effective model focusing on the gaugino-higgsino and Higgs sector of the phenomenological minimal supersymmetric Standard Model is performed. This scan uses data from direct dark matter detection experiments, the relic dark matter density and precision flavour physics results. Further constraints from the ATLAS Higgs mass measurement and SUSY searches at LEP are also applied. A subset of models selected from this scan are used to assess the impact of the selected ATLAS searches in this five-dimensional parameter space. These ATLAS searches substantially impact those models for which the mass m(χ~01) of the lightest neutralino is less than 65 GeV, excluding 86% of such models. The searches have limited impact on models with larger m(χ~01) due to either heavy electroweakinos or compressed mass spectra where the mass splittings between the produced particles and the lightest supersymmetric particle is small.
This paper presents the measurement of the relative width difference Delta Gamma(d)/Gamma(d) of the B-0-(B) over bar (0) system using the data collected by the Lambda TLAS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at root s = 7 TeV and root s= 8 TeV and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 25.2 fb(-1). The value of Delta Gamma(d)/Gamma(d) is obtained by comparing the decay-time distributions of B-0 -> J/Psi K-S and (B) over bar (0) -> J/Psi K*(0)(892) decays. The result is Delta Gamma(d)/Gamma(d) = (-0.1 +/- 1.1 (stat.) +/- 0.9 (syst.)) x 10(-2). Currently, this is the most precise single measurement of AFd/Fd. It agrees with the Standard Model prediction and the measurements by other experiments.
This paper presents a search for massive charged long-lived particles produced in pp collisions at root s = 13 TeV at the LHC using the ATLAS experiment. The data set used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb(-1). Many extensions of the Standard Model predict the existence of massive charged long-lived particles, such as R-hadrons. These massive particles are expected to be produced with a velocity significantly below the speed of light, and therefore to have a specific ionization higher than any Standard Model particle of unit charge at high momenta. The Pixel subsystem of the ATLAS detector is used to measure the ionization energy loss of reconstructed charged particles and to search for such highly ionizing particles. The search presented here has much greater sensitivity than a similar search performed using the ATLAS detector in the root s = 8 TeV data set, thanks to the increase in expected signal cross section due to the higher center-of-mass energy of collisions, to an upgraded detector with a new silicon layer close to the interaction point, and to analysis improvements. No significant deviation from Standard Model background expectations is observed, and lifetime-dependent upper limits on R-hadron production cross sections and masses are set. Gluino R-hadrons with lifetimes above 0.4 ns and decaying to q (q) over bar plus a 100 GeV neutralino are excluded at the 95% confidence level, with lower mass limit ranging between 740 and 1590 GeV. In the case of stable R-hadrons the lower mass limit at the 95% confidence level is 1570 GeV.
Results of a search for new phenomena in events with an energetic photon and large missing transverse momentum with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider are reported. The data were collected in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of- mass energy of 13TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb(-1). The observed data are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations. Exclusion limits are presented in models of new phenomena including pair production of dark matter candidates or large extra spatial dimensions. In a simplified model of dark matter and an axial-vector mediator, the search excludes mediator masses below 710 GeV for dark matter candidate masses below 150 GeV. In an effective theory of dark matter production, values of the suppression scale M-* up to 570 GeV are excluded and the effect of truncation for various coupling values is reported. For the ADD large extra spatial dimension model the search places more stringent limits than earlier searches in the same event topology, excluding M-D up to about 2.3 (2.8) TeV for two (six) additional spatial dimensions; the limits are reduced by 20 40% depending on the number of additional spatial dimensions when applying a truncation procedure.
A search for squarks and gluinos in final states containing hadronic jets, missing transverse momentum but no electrons or muons is presented. The data were recorded in 2015 by the ATLAS experiment in root s = 13 TeV proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider. No excess above the Standard Model background expectation was observed in 3.2 fb(-1) of analyzed data. Results are interpreted within simplified models that assume R-parity is conserved and the neutralino is the lightest supersymmetric particle. An exclusion limit at the 95 % confidence level on the mass of the gluino is set at 1.51 TeV for a simplified model incorporating only a gluino octet and the lightest neutralino, assuming the lightest neutralino is massless. For a simplified model involving the strong production of mass-degenerate first- and second-generation squarks, squark masses below 1.03 TeV are excluded for a massless lightest neutralino. These limits substantially extend the region of supersymmetric parameter space excluded by previous measurements with the ATLAS detector.
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.
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 the decays of the Higgs and Z bosons to a phi meson and a photon is performed with a pp collision data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.7 fb(-1) collected at root s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. No significant excess of events is observed above the background, and 95% confidence level upper limits on the branching fractions of the Higgs and Z boson decays to phi gamma of 1.4 x 10(-3) and 8.3 x 10(-6), respectively, are obtained.
A measurement of the t-channel single-top-quark and single-top-antiquark production cross-sections in the lepton+jets channel is presented, using 3.2 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2015. Events are selected by requiring one charged lepton (electron or muon), missing transverse momentum, and two jets with high transverse momentum, exactly one of which is required to be b-tagged. Using a binned maximum-likelihood fit to the discriminant distribution of a neural network, the cross-sections are determined to be σ(tq) = 156 ± 5 (stat.) ± 27 (syst.) ± 3 (lumi.) pb for single top-quark production and σ(t¯q)=91±4 (stat.) ± 18 (syst.) ± 2 (lumi.) pb for single top-antiquark production, assuming a top-quark mass of 172.5 GeV. The cross-section ratio is measured to be Rt=σ(tq)/σ(t¯q)=1.72±0.09 (stat.) ± 0.18 (syst.). All results are in agreement with Standard Model predictions.
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.
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 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 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.
A measurement of the calorimeter response to isolated charged hadrons in the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented. This measurement is performed with 3.2 nb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at root s = 7 TeV from 2010 and 0.1 nb(-1) of data at root s = 8 TeV from 2012. A number of aspects of the calorimeter response to isolated hadrons are explored. After accounting for energy deposited by neutral particles, there is a 5% discrepancy in the modelling, using various sets of GEANT4 hadronic physics models, of the calorimeter response to isolated charged hadrons in the central calorimeter region. The description of the response to anti-protons at low momenta is found to be improved with respect to previous analyses. The electromagnetic and hadronic calorimeters are also examined separately, and the detector simulation is found to describe the response in the hadronic calorimeter well. The jet energy scale uncertainty and correlations in scale between jets of different momenta and pseudorapidity are derived based on these studies. The uncertainty is 2-5% for jets with transverse momenta above 2 TeV, where this method provides the jet energy scale uncertainty for ATLAS.
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.
A search has been made for supersymmetry in a final state containing two photons and missing transverse momentum using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The search makes use of 3.2 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV in 2015. Using a combination of data-driven and Monte-Carlo-based approaches, the Standard Model background is estimated to be 0.27+0.22−0.10 events. No events are observed in the signal region; considering the expected background and its uncertainty, this observation implies a model-independent 95 % CL upper limit of 0.93 fb (3.0 events) on the visible cross section due to physics beyond the Standard Model. In the context of a generalized model of gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking with a bino-like next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle, this leads to a lower limit of 1650 GeV on the mass of a degenerate octet of gluino states, independent of the mass of the lighter bino-like neutralino.
A measurement of the total ppcross section at the LHC at root s = 8TeV is presented. An integrated luminosity of 500 mu b(-1) was accumulated in a special run with high-beta* beam optics to measure the differential elastic cross section as a function of the Mandelstam momentum transfer variable t. The measurement is performed with the ALFA sub-detector of ATLAS. Using a fit to the differential elastic cross section in the -t range from 0.014 GeV2 to 0.1 GeV2 to extrapolate t -> 0, the total cross section, sigma(tot)( pp -> X), is measured via the optical theorem to be sigma(tot)(pp -> X) = 96.07 +/- 0.18 (stat.) +/- 0.85 (exp.) +/- 0.31 (extr.) mb, where the first error is statistical, the second accounts for all experimental systematic uncertainties and the last is related to uncertainties in the extrapolation t -> 0. In addition, the slope of the exponential function describing the elastic cross section at small t is determined to be B = 19.74 +/- 0.05 (stat.) +/- 0.23 (syst.) GeV-2.
his paper describes a measurement of the inclusive top quark pair production cross-section (sigma(t (t) over bar)) with a data sample of 3.2 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV, collected in 2015 by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. This measurement uses events with an opposite-charge electron-muon pair in the final state. Jets containing b-quarks are tagged using an algorithm based on track impact parameters and reconstructed secondary vertices. The numbers of events with exactly one and exactly two b-tagged jets are counted and used to determine simultaneously sigma(t (t) over bar) and the efficiency to reconstruct and b-tag a jet from a top quark decay, thereby minimising the associated systematic uncertainties. The cross-section is measured to be: s(t (t) over bar)= 818 +/- 8 (stat) +/- 27 (syst) +/- 19 (lumi) +/- 12 (beam) pb, where the four uncertainties arise from data statistics, experimental and theoretical systematic effects, the integrated luminosity and the LHC beam energy, giving a total relative uncertainty of 4.4%. The result is consistent with theoretical QCD calculations at next-to-next-to-leading order. A fiducial measurement corresponding to the experimental acceptance of the leptons is also presented.
This paper presents a measurement of the polarisation of W bosons from t (t) over bar t decays, reconstructed in events with one high-p(T) lepton and at least four jets. Data from pp collisions at the LHC were collected at root s = 8 TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 20.2 fb(-1). The angle theta* between the b-quark from the top quark decay and a direct W boson decay product in the W boson rest frame is sensitive to the W boson polarisation. Two different W decay products are used as polarisation analysers: the charged lepton and the down-type quark for the leptonically and hadronically decaying W boson, respectively. The most precise measurement of the W boson polarisation via the distribution of cos theta* is obtained using the leptonic analyser and events in which at least two of the jets are tagged as b-quark jets. The fitted fractions of longitudinal, left-and right-handed polarisation states are F-0 = 0.709 +/- 0.019, F-L = 0.299 +/- 0.015 and F-R = - 0.008 +/- 0.014, and are the most precisely measured W boson polarisation fractions to date. Limits on anomalous couplings of the W tb vertex are set.
The production of opposite-charge W-boson pairs in proton–proton collisions at s=13" role="presentation"> TeV is measured using data corresponding to 3.16 fb−1 of integrated luminosity collected by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider in 2015. Candidate W-boson pairs are selected by identifying their leptonic decays into an electron, a muon and neutrinos. Events with reconstructed jets are not included in the candidate event sample. The cross-section measurement is performed in a fiducial phase space close to the experimental acceptance and is compared to theoretical predictions. Agreement is found between the measurement and the most accurate calculations available.
A measurement of the ZZ production cross section in the l(-)l(+)l'(-)l'(+) and l(-)l(+) nu(nu) over bar channels (l = e, mu) in proton-proton collisions at root s = 8TeV at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1) collected by the ATLAS experiment in 2012 is presented. The fi ducial cross sections for ZZ -> l(-)l(+)l'(-)l'(+) and ZZ -> l(-)l(+) nu(nu) over bar are measured in selected phase-space regions. The total cross section for ZZ events produced with both Z bosons in the mass range 66 to 116 GeV is measured from the combination of the two channels to be 7.3 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst) (-0.2)(-0.1) (lumi) pb, which is consistent with the Standard Model prediction of 6.6(-0.6)(+0.7) pb. The di ff erential cross sections in bins of various kinematic variables are presented. The differential event yield as a function of the transverse momentum of the leading Z boson is used to set limits on anomalous neutral triple gauge boson couplings in ZZ production.
The production of W boson pairs in association with one jet in pp collisions at s=8 TeV is studied using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb −1 collected by the ATLAS detector during 2012 at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The cross section is measured in a fiducial phase-space region defined by the presence of exactly one electron and one muon, missing transverse momentum and exactly one jet with a transverse momentum above 25 GeV and a pseudorapidity of |η|<4.5 . The leptons are required to have opposite electric charge and to pass transverse momentum and pseudorapidity requirements. The fiducial cross section is found to be σWWfid,1-jet=136±6(stat)±14(syst)±3(lumi) fb . In combination with a previous measurement restricted to leptonic final states with no associated jets, the fiducial cross section of WW production with zero or one jet is measured to be σWWfid,≤1-jet=511±9(stat)±26(syst)±10(lumi) fb . The ratio of fiducial cross sections in final states with one and zero jets is determined to be 0.36±0.05 . Finally, a total cross section extrapolated from the fiducial measurement of WW production with zero or one associated jet is reported. The measurements are compared to theoretical predictions and found in good agreement.
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.
Same- and opposite-sign charge asymmetries are measured in lepton+jets tt¯tt¯ events in which a b-hadron decays semileptonically to a soft muon, using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1 from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s√=8s=8 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The charge asymmetries are based on the charge of the lepton from the top-quark decay and the charge of the soft muon from the semileptonic decay of a b-hadron and are measured in a fiducial region corresponding to the experimental acceptance. Four CP asymmetries (one mixing and three direct) are measured and are found to be compatible with zero and consistent with the Standard Model.
ATLAS measurements of two-particle correlations are presented for root s = 5.02 and 13 TeV pp collisions and for root(NN)-N-s = 5.02 TeV p + Pb collisions at the LHC. The correlation functions are measured as a function of relative azimuthal angle Delta phi, and pseudorapidity separation Delta eta, using charged particles detected within the pseudorapidity interval |eta| < 2.5. Azimuthal modulation in the long-range component of the correlation function, with | Delta eta| > 2, is studied using a template fitting procedure to remove a "back-to-back" contribution to the correlation function that primarily arises from hard-scattering processes. In addition to the elliptic, cos(2 Delta phi), modulation observed in a previous measurement, the pp correlation functions exhibit significant cos(3 Delta phi) and cos(4 Lambda phi) modulation. The Fourier coefficients v(n),(n) associated with the cos (n Lambda phi) modulation of the correlation functions for n = 2-4 are measured as a function of charged-particle multiplicity and charged-particle transverse momentum. The Fourier coefficients are observed to be compatible with cos(n phi) modulation of per-event singleparticle azimuthal angle distributions. The single-particle Fourier coefficients vn are measured as a function of charged-particle multiplicity, and charged-particle transverse momentum for n = 2-4. The integrated luminosities used in this analysis are, 64 nb(-1) for the root s = 13 TeV pp data, 170 nb(-1) for the root s = 5.02 TeV pp data, and 28 nb(-1) for the root(NN)-N-s = 5.02 TeV p + Pb data.
Differential cross sections are presented for the prompt and non-prompt production of the hidden-charm states X(3872) and psi(2S), in the decay mode J/psi pi (+) pi (-), measured using 11.4 fb(-1) of pp collisions at root s = 8 Tev by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The ratio of cross-sections X(3872)/psi(2S) is also given, separately for prompt and non-prompt components, as well as the non-prompt fractions of X(3872) and psi(2S). Assuming independent single effective lifetimes for non-prompt X(3872) and psi(2S) production gives separating short- and long-lived contributions, assuming that the short-lived component is due to B (c) decays, gives R (B) = (3.57 +/- 0.33(stat) +/- 0.11(sys)) x 10(-2), with the fraction of non-prompt X(3872) produced via B (c) decays for p (T)(X(3872)) > 10 GeV being (25 +/- 13(stat) +/- 2(sys) +/- 5(spin))%. The distributions of the dipion invariant mass in the X(3872) and psi(2S) decays are also measured and compared to theoretical predictions.
High-precision measurements by the ATLAS Collaboration are presented of inclusive W+ -> l(+) nu, W- -> l(-) (nu) over bar and Z/gamma* -> ll (l = e, mu) Drell-Yan production cross sections at the LHC. The data were collected in proton-proton collisions at root s = 7 TeV with an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb(-1). Differential W+ and W- cross sections are measured in a lepton pseudorapidity range vertical bar eta(l)vertical bar < 2.5. Differential Z/gamma* cross sections are measured as a function of the absolute dilepton rapidity, for vertical bar y(ll)vertical bar < 3.6, for three intervals of dilepton mass, m(ll), extending from 46 to 150 GeV. The integrated and differential electron- and muon-channel cross sections are combined and compared to theoretical predictions using recent sets of parton distribution functions. The data, together with the final inclusive e(+/-) p scattering cross-section data from H1 and ZEUS, are interpreted in a next-to-next-to-leading-order QCD analysis, and a new set of parton distribution functions, ATLAS-epWZ16, is obtained. The ratio of strange-to-light sea-quark densities in the proton is determined more accurately than in previous determinations based on collider data only, and is established to be close to unity in the sensitivity range of the data. A new measurement of the CKM matrix element vertical bar V-cs vertical bar is also provided.
To probe the Wtb vertex structure, top-quark and W-boson polarisation observables are measured from t-channel single-top-quark events produced in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 20.2 fb(-1), recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Selected events contain one isolated electron or muon, large missing transverse momentum and exactly two jets, with one of them identified as likely to contain a b-hadron. Stringent selection requirements are applied to discriminate t-channel single-top-quark events from background. The polarisation observables are extracted from asymmetries in angular distributions measured with respect to spin quantisation axes appropriately chosen for the top quark and the W boson. The asymmetry measurements are performed at parton level by correcting the observed angular distributions for detector effects and hadronisation after subtracting the background contributions. The measured top-quark and W-boson polarisation values are in agreement with the Standard Model predictions. Limits on the imaginary part of the anomalous coupling gR are also set from model-independent measurements.
A search is presented for anomalous quartic gauge boson couplings in vector-boson scattering. The data for the analysis correspond to 20.2 fb−1 of √s=8 TeV pp collisions and were collected in 2012 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The search looks for the production of WW or WZ boson pairs accompanied by a high-mass dijet system, with one W decaying leptonically and a W or Z decaying hadronically. The hadronically decaying W/Z is reconstructed as either two small-radius jets or one large-radius jet using jet substructure techniques. Constraints on the anomalous quartic gauge boson coupling parameters α4 and α5 are set by fitting the transverse mass of the diboson system, and the resulting 95% confidence intervals are −0.024<α4<0.030 and −0.028<α5<0.033.
A search is presented for dark matter produced in association with a hadronically decaying W or Z boson using 3.2 fb(-1) of ppcollisions at root s = 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events with a hadronic jet compatible with a Wor Z boson and with large missing transverse momentum are analysed. The data are consistent with the Standard Model predictions and are interpreted in terms of both an effective field theory and a simplified model containing dark matter.
This Letter presents a search for new resonances with mass larger than 250 GeV, decaying to a Z boson and a photon. The dataset consists of an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb(-1) of pp collisions collected at root s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The Z bosons are identified through their decays either to charged, light, lepton pairs (e(+) e(-), mu(+) mu(-)) or to hadrons. The data are found to be consistent with the expected background in the whole mass range investigated and upper limits are set on the production cross section times decay branching ratio to Z gamma of a narrow scalar boson with mass between 250 GeV and 2.75 TeV.
A search is conducted for both resonant and non-resonant high-mass new phenomena in dielectron and dimuon final states. The search uses View the MathML source3.2fb−1 of proton–proton collision data, collected at View the MathML sources=13TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC in 2015. The dilepton invariant mass is used as the discriminating variable. No significant deviation from the Standard Model prediction is observed; therefore limits are set on the signal model parameters of interest at 95% credibility level. Upper limits are set on the cross-section times branching ratio for resonances decaying to dileptons, and the limits are converted into lower limits on the resonance mass, ranging between 2.74 TeV and 3.36 TeV, depending on the model. Lower limits on the ℓℓqqℓℓqq contact interaction scale are set between 16.7 TeV and 25.2 TeV, also depending on the model.