The results of a dedicated search for pair production of scalar partners of charm quarks are reported. The search is based on an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1) of pp collisions at root s = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The search is performed using events with large missing transverse momentum and at least two jets, where the two leading jets are each tagged as originating from c quarks. Events containing isolated electrons or muons are vetoed. In an R-parity-conserving minimal super-symmetric scenario in which a single scalar-charm state is kinematically accessible, and where it decays exclusively into a charm quark and a neutralino, 95% confidence-level upper limits are obtained in the scalar-charm-neutralino mass plane such that, for neutralino masses below 200 GeV, scalar-charm masses up to 490 GeV are excluded.
The production of W boson pairs in proton-proton collisions at root s = 8TeV is studied using data corresponding to 20.3 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity collected by the ATLAS detector during 2012 at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The W bosons are reconstructed using their leptonic decays into electrons or muons and neutrinos. Events with reconstructed jets are not included in the candidate event sample. A total of 6636 W W candidate events are observed. Measurements are performed in fiducial regions closely approximating the detector acceptance. The integrated measurement is corrected for all acceptance effects and for the W branching fractions to leptons in order to obtain the total W W production cross section, which is found to be 71.1 +/- 1.1( stat) + (5.7) (5.0) (syst) +/- 1 : 4( lumi) pb. This agrees with the next-to-next-to-leading-order Standard Model prediction of 63.2(+1.6) (-1.4) (scale) +/- 1.2(PDF) pb. Fiducial differential cross sections are measured as a function of each of six kinematic variables. The distribution of the transverse momentum of the leading lepton is used to set limits on anomalous triple-gauge-boson couplings.
The centrality dependence of the mean charged-particle multiplicity as a function of pseudorapidity is measured in approximately 1 mu b(-1) of proton-lead collisions at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of root s(NN) = 5.02 TeV using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Charged particles with absolute pseudorapidity less than 2.7 are reconstructed using the ATLAS pixel detector. The p + Pb collision centrality is characterised by the total transverse energy measured in the Pb-going direction of the forward calorimeter. The charged-particle pseudorapidity distributions are found to vary strongly with centrality, with an increasing asymmetry between the proton-going and Pb-going directions as the collisions become more central. Three different estimations of the number of nucleons participating in the p + Pb collision have been carried out using the Glauber model as well as two Glauber-Gribov inspired extensions to the Glauber model. Charged-particle multiplicities per participant pair are found to vary differently for these three models, highlighting the importance of including colour fluctuations in nucleon-nucleon collisions in the modelling of the initial state of p + Pb collisions.
The paper presents studies of Bose-EinsteinCorrelations (BEC) for pairs of like-sign charged particles measured in the kinematic range p(T) > 100 MeV and |eta| < 2.5 in proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 0.9 and 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The integrated luminosities are approximately 7 mu b(-1), 190 mu b(-1) and 12.4 nb(-1) for 0.9 TeV, 7 TeV minimum-bias and 7 TeV high-multiplicity data samples, respectively. The multiplicity dependence of the BEC parameters characterizing the correlation strength and the correlation source size are investigated for charged-particle multiplicities of up to 240. A saturation effect in the multiplicity dependence of the correlation source size parameter is observed using the high-multiplicity 7 TeV data sample. The dependence of the BEC parameters on the average transverse momentum of the particle pair is also investigated.
This Letter presents a search at the LHC for s-channel single top-quark production in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The analyzed data set was recorded by the ATLAS detector and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1). Selected events contain one charged lepton, large missing transverse momentum and exactly two b-tagged jets. A multivariate event classifier based on boosted decision trees is developed to discriminate s-channel single top-quark events from the main background contributions. The signal extraction is based on a binned maximum-likelihood fit of the output classifier distribution. The analysis leads to an upper limit on the s-channel single topquark production cross-section of 14.6 pb at the 95% confidence level. The fit gives a cross-section of sigma(s) = 5.0 +/- 4.3 pb, consistent with the Standard Model expectation.
The production of a W boson decaying to ev or mu v in association with a W or Z boson decaying to two jets is studied using 4.6 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at root s = 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The combined WW + WZ cross section is measured with a significance of 3.4 sigma and is found to be 68 +/- 7 (stat.) +/- 19 (syst.) pb, in agreement with the Standard Model expectation of 61.1 +/- 2.2 pb. The distribution of the transverse momentum of the dijet system is used to set limits on anomalous contributions to the triple gauge coupling vertices and on parameters of an effective-field-theory model.
A search for new phenomena in LHC proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of root s = 8 TeV was performed with the ATLAS detector using an integrated luminosity of 17.3 fb(-1). The angular distributions are studied in events with at least two jets; the highest dijet mass observed is 5.5 TeV. All angular distributions are consistent with the predictions of the standard model. In a benchmark model of quark contact interactions, a compositeness scale below 8.1 TeV in a destructive interference scenario and 12.0 TeV in a constructive interference scenario is excluded at 95% C.L.; median expected limits are 8.9 TeV for the destructive interference scenario and 14.1 TeV for the constructive interference scenario.
An analysis is presented of events containing jets including at least one b-tagged jet, sizeable missing transverse momentum, and at least two leptons including a pair of the same electric charge, with the scalar sum of the jet and lepton transverse momenta being large. A data sample with an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1) of pp collisions at root s = 8 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is used. Standard Model processes rarely produce these final states, but there are several models of physics beyond the Standard Model that predict an enhanced rate of production of such events; the ones considered here are production of vector-like quarks, enhanced fourtop-quark production, pair production of chiral b '-quarks, and production of two positively charged top quarks. Eleven signal regions are defined; subsets of these regions are combined when searching for each class of models. In the three signal regions primarily sensitive to positively charged top quark pair production, the data yield is consistent with the background expectation. There are more data events than expected from background in the set of eight signal regions defined for searching for vector-like quarks and chiral b ' quarks, but the significance of the discrepancy is less than two standard deviations. The discrepancy reaches 2.5 standard deviations in the set of five signal regions defined for searching for four-top-quark production. The results are used to set 95% CL limits on various models.
Charged-particle spectra obtained in Pb+Pb interactions at root s(NN) = 2.76TeV and pp interactions at root s(NN) = 2.76TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC are presented, using data with integrated luminosities of 0.15 nb(-1) and 4.2 pb(-1), respectively, in a wide transverse momentum (0.5 < p(T) < 150 GeV) and pseudorapidity (vertical bar eta vertical bar < 2) range. For Pb+Pb collisions, the spectra are presented as a function of collision centrality, which is determined by the response of the forward calorimeters located on both sides of the interaction point. The nuclear modification factors R-AA and R-CP are presented in detail as a function of centrality, p(T) and eta. They show a distinct p(T)-dependence with a pronounced minimum at about 7 GeV. Above 60 GeV, R-AA is consistent with a plateau at a centrality-dependent value, within the uncertainties. The value is 0.55 +/- 0.01(stat.) +/- 0.04(syst.) in the most central collisions. The R-AA distribution is consistent with flat vertical bar eta vertical bar dependence over the whole transverse momentum range in all centrality classes.
A search for high-mass resonances decaying into tau(+)tau(-) final states using proton-proton collisions at root s = 8 TeV produced by the Large Hadron Collider is presented. The data were recorded with the ATLAS detector and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.5-20.3 fb(-1). No statistically significant excess above the Standard Model expectation is observed; 95% credibility upper limits are set on the cross section times branching fraction of Z' resonances decaying into tau(+)tau(-) pairs as a function of the resonance mass. As a result, Z' bosons of the Sequential Standard Model with masses less than 2.02 TeV are excluded at 95% credibility. The impact of the fermionic couplings on the Z' acceptance is investigated and limits are also placed on a Z' model that exhibits enhanced couplings to third-generation fermions.
Prompt photon production in root S-NN = 2.76-TeV Pb + Pb collisions has been measured by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider using data collected in 2011 with an integrated luminosity of 0.14 nb(-1). Inclusive photon yields, scaled by the mean nuclear thickness function, are presented as a function of collision centrality and transverse momentum in two pseudorapidity intervals, vertical bar eta vertical bar < 1.37 and 1.52 <= vertical bar eta vertical bar < 2.37. The scaled yields in the two pseudorapidity intervals, as well as the ratios of the forward yields to those at midrapidity, are compared to the expectations from next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD (pQCD) calculations. The measured cross sections agree well with the predictions for proton-proton collisions within statistical and systematic uncertainties. Both the yields and the ratios are also compared to two other pQCD calculations, one which uses the isospin content appropriate to colliding lead nuclei and another which includes nuclear modifications to the nucleon parton distribution functions.
A measurement of the Higgs boson mass is presented based on the combined data samples of the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the CERN LHC in the H --> gamma gamma and H --> ZZ --> 4l decay channels. The results are obtained from a simultaneous fit to the reconstructed invariant mass peaks in the two channels and for the two experiments. The measured masses from the individual channels and the two experiments are found to be consistent among themselves. The combined measured mass of the Higgs boson is m(H) = 125.09 +/- 0.21 (stat) +/- 0.11 (syst) GeV.
Studies of the spin and parity quantum numbers of the Higgs boson in the WW* -> ev mu v final state are presented, based on proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1) at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 8 TeV. The Standard Model spin-parity J(CP) = 0(++) hypothesis is compared with alternative hypotheses for both spin andCP. The case where the observed resonance is a mixture of the Standard-Model-like Higgs boson and CP-even (J(CP) = 0(++)) or CP-odd (J(CP) = 0(+-)) Higgs boson in scenarios beyond the Standard Model is also studied. The data are found to be consistent with the Standard Model prediction and limits are placed on alternative spin and CP hypotheses, including CP mixing in different scenarios.
Various differential cross-sections are measured in top-quark pair (t (t) over bar) events produced in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 7 TeV at the LHC with the ATLAS detector. These differential cross-sections are presented in a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb(-1). The differential cross-sections are presented in terms of kinematic variables, such as momentum, rapidity and invariant mass, of a top-quark proxy referred to as the pseudo-top-quark as well as the pseudo-top-quark pair system. The dependence of the measurement on theoretical models is minimal. The measurements are performed on tt events in the lepton+jets channel, requiring exactly one charged lepton and at least four jets with at least two of them tagged as originating from a b-quark. The hadronic and leptonic pseudo-top-quarks are defined via the leptonic or hadronic decay mode of the W boson produced by the top-quark decay in events with a single charged lepton. Differential cross-section measurements of the pseudo-top-quark variables are compared with several Monte Carlo models that implement next-to-leading order or leading-order multi-leg matrix-element calculations.
Results of a search for H -> tau tau decays are presented, based on the full set of proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC during 2011 and 2012. The data correspond to integrated luminosities of 4.5 fb(-1) and 20.3 fb(-1) at centre-of-mass energies of root s = 7TeV and root s = 8 TeV respectively. All combinations of leptonic (tau -> l nu(nu) over bar with l = e, mu) and hadronic (tau -> hadrons nu) tau decays are considered. An excess of events over the expected background from other Standard Model processes is found with an observed (expected) significance of 4.5 (3.4) standard deviations. This excess provides evidence for the direct coupling of the recently discovered Higgs boson to fermions. The measured signal strength, normalised to the Standard Model expectation, of mu = 1.43(-0.37)(+0.43) is consistent with the predicted Yukawa coupling strength in the Standard Model.
This Letter reports evidence of triple gauge boson production pp -> W(l nu)gamma gamma + X, which is accessible for the first time with the 8 TeV LHC data set. The fiducial cross section for this process is measured in a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1), collected by the ATLAS detector in 2012. Events are selected using the W boson decay to e nu or mu nu as well as requiring two isolated photons. The measured cross section is used to set limits on anomalous quartic gauge couplings in the high diphoton mass region.
Measurements of differential cross sections for J/psi production in p + Pb collisions at root S-NN= 5.02 TeV at the CERN Large Hadron Collider with the ATLAS detector are presented. The data set used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 28.1 nb(-1). The J/psi mesons are reconstructed in the dimuon decay channel over the transverse momentum range 8 < PT < 30 GeV and over the center-of-mass rapidity range -2.87 < y* < 1.94. Prompt J/psi are separated from J/psi resulting from b-hadron decays through an analysis of the distance between the J/psi decay vertex and the event primary vertex. The differential cross section for production of nonprompt J/psi is compared to a FONLL calculation that does not include nuclear effects. Forward-backward production ratios are presented and compared to theoretical predictions. These results complement previously published results by covering a region of higher transverse momentum and more central rapidity. They thus constrain the kinematic dependence of nuclear modifications of charmonium and b-quark production in p + Pb collisions.
A measurement of the production processes of the recently discovered Higgs boson is performed in the two-photon final state using 4.5 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions data at root s = 7 TeV and 20.3 fb(-1) at root s = 8 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The number of observed Higgs boson decays to diphotons divided by the corresponding Standard Model prediction, called the signal strength, is found to be mu = 1.17 +/- 0.27 at the value of the Higgs boson mass measured by ATLAS, m(H) = 125.4 GeV. The analysis is optimized to measure the signal strengths for individual Higgs boson production processes at this value of m(H). They are found to be mu(ggF) = 1.32 +/- 0.38, mu(VBF) = 0.8 +/- 0.7, mu(WH) = 1.0 +/- 1.6, mu(ZH) = 0.1(-0.1)(+3.7), and mu t (t) over barH = 1.6(-1.8)(+2.7), for Higgs boson production through gluon fusion, vector-boson fusion, and in association with a W or Z boson or a top-quark pair, respectively. Compared with the previously published ATLAS analysis, the results reported here also benefit from a new energy calibration procedure for photons and the subsequent reduction of the systematic uncertainty on the diphoton mass resolution. No significant deviations from the predictions of the Standard Model are found.
A measurement of the top-antitop (t (t) over bar) charge asymmetry is presented using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb(-1) of LHC pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector. Events with two charged leptons, at least two jets and large missing transverse momentum are selected. Two observables are studied: A(C)(ll) based on the identified charged leptons, and A(C)(t (t) over bar), based on the reconstructed t (t) over bar final state. The asymmetries are measured to be A(C)(ll) =0.024 +/- 0.015 (stat.) +/- 0.009 (syst.), A(C)(t (t) over bar) = 0.021 +/- 0.025 (stat.) +/- 0.017 (syst.). The measured values are in agreement with the Standard Model predictions.
Correlations between the elliptic or triangular flow coefficients v(m) (m = 2 or 3) and other flow harmonics v(n) (n = 2 to 5) are measured using root S-NN = 2.76 TeV Pb + Pb collision data collected in 2010 by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 7 mu b(-1). The v(m)-v(n) correlations aremeasured in midrapidity as a function of centrality, and, for events within the same centrality interval, as a function of event ellipticity or triangularity defined in a forward rapidity region. For events within the same centrality interval, v(3) is found to be anticorrelated with v(2) and this anticorrelation is consistent with similar anticorrelations between the corresponding eccentricities, epsilon(2) and epsilon(3). However, it is observed that v(4) increases strongly with v(2), and v(5) increases strongly with both v(2) and v(3). The trend and strength of the v(m) -v(n) correlations for n = 4 and 5 are found to disagree with epsilon(m)-epsilon(n) correlations predicted by initial-geometry models. Instead, these correlations are found to be consistent with the combined effects of a linear contribution to v(n) and a nonlinear term that is a function of v(2)(2) or of v(2)v(3), as predicted by hydrodynamic models. A simple two-component fit is used to separate these two contributions. The extracted linear and nonlinear contributions to v(4) and v(5) are found to be consistent with previously measured event-plane correlations.
This Letter presents measurements of correlated production of nearby jets in Pb+Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurement was performed using 0.14 nb(-1)of data recorded in 2011. The production of correlated jet pairs was quantified using the rate, R-Delta R, of "neighbouring" jets that accompany "test" jets within a given range of angular distance, Delta R, in the pseudorapidity-azimuthal angle plane. The jets were measured in the ATLAS calorimeter and were reconstructed using the anti-ktalgorithm with radius parameters d = 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4. R-Delta R was measured in different Pb+Pbcollision centrality bins, characterized by the total transverse energy measured in the forward calorimeters. Acentrality dependence of R-Delta R is observed for all three jet radii with R-Delta R found to be lower in central collisions than in peripheral collisions. The ratios formed by the R-Delta R values in different centrality bins and the values in the 40-80% centrality bin are presented.
The production of a Z boson in association with a J/psi meson in proton-proton collisions probes the production mechanisms of quarkonium and heavy flavour in association with vector bosons, and allows studies of multiple parton scattering. Using 20.3 fb(-1) of data collected with theATLAS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at root s = 8 TeV, the first measurement of associated Z + J/psi production is presented for both prompt and non-prompt J/psi production, with both signatures having a significance in excess of 5 sigma. The inclusive production cross-sections for Z boson production (analysed in mu(+) mu(-) or e(+) e(-) decay modes) in association with prompt and non-prompt J/psi (-> mu(+) mu(-)) are measured relative to the inclusive production rate of Z bosons in the same fiducial volume to be (36.8 +/- 6.7 +/- 2.5) x 10(-7) and (65.8 +/- 9.2 +/- 4.2) x 10(-7) respectively. Normalised differential production cross-section ratios are also determined as a function of the J/psi transverse momentum. The fraction of signal events arising from single and double parton scattering is estimated, and a lower limit of 5.3 (3.7) mb at 68 (95)% confidence level is placed on the effective cross-section regulating double parton interactions.
A search for a charged Higgs boson, H-+/-, decaying to a W-+/- boson and a Z boson is presented. The search is based on 20.3 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The H-+/- boson is assumed to be produced via vector-boson fusion and the decays W-+/- -> q (q') over bar and Z -> e(+)e(-)/mu(+)mu(-) are considered. The search is performed in a range of charged Higgs boson masses from 200 to 1000 GeV. No evidence for the production of an H+ boson is observed. Upper limits of 31-1020 fb at 95% C.L. are placed on the cross section for vector-boson fusion production of an H-+/- boson times its branching fraction to W(+/-)Z. The limits are compared with predictions from the Georgi-Machacek Higgs triplet model.
A search for a heavy, CP-odd Higgs boson, A, decaying into a Z boson and a 125 GeV Higgs boson, h, with the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented. The search uses proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1). Decays of CP-even h bosons to tau tau or bb pairs with the Z boson decaying to electron or muon pairs are considered, as well as h -> bb decays with the Z boson decaying to neutrinos. No evidence for the production of an A boson in these channels is found and the 95% confidence level upper limits derived for sigma(gg -> A) x BR(A -> Zh) x BR(h -> f (f) over bar) are 0.098-0.013 pb for f = tau and 0.57-0.014 pb for f = b in a range of m(A) = 220-1000 GeV. The results are combined and interpreted in the context of two-Higgs-doublet models.
A search for a new resonance decaying to a W or Z boson and a Higgs boson in the ll/lv/vv + b (b) over bar final states is performed using 20.3 fb(-1) of pp collision data recorded at root s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The search is conducted by examining the WH/ZH invariant mass distribution for a localized excess. No significant deviation from the Standard Model background prediction is observed. The results are interpreted in terms of constraints on the Minimal Walking Technicolor model and on a simplified approach based on a phenomenological Lagrangian of Heavy Vector Triplets.
The results of a search for charged Higgs bosons decaying to a T lepton and a neutrino. H-+/- -> T-+/-nu, are presented. The analysis is based on 19.5 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at root s = 8 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Charged Higgs bosons are searched for in events consistent with top-quark pair production or in associated production with a top quark, depending on the considered H-+/- mass. The final state is characterised by the presence of a hadronic T decay, missing transverse momentum, b-tagged jets, a hadronically decaying W boson, and the absence of any isolated electrons or unions with high transverse momenta. The data are consistent with the expected background from Standard Model processes. A statistical analysis leads to 95% confidence-level upper limits on the product of branching ratios B(t -> bH(+/-)) x B(H-+/- -> T-+/-nu), between 0.23% and 1.3% for charged Higgs boson masses in the range 80 160 GeV. lit also leads to 95% confidence-level upper limits on the production cross section times branching ratio, sigma(pp -> tH(+/-) + X) x B(H-+/--> T(+/-)v), between 0.76 pb and 4.5 fb, for charged Higgs boson masses ranging from 180 GeV to 1000 GeV. In the context of different scenarios of the Minimal Supersymnietric Standard Model, these results exclude nearly all values of tan beta above one for charged Higgs boson masses between 80 GeV and 160 GeV, and exclude a region of parameter space with high tan beta for H-+/- masses between 200 GeV and 250 GeV.
A search for heavy Majorana neutrinos in events containing a pair of high-p(T) leptons of the same charge and high-p(T) jets is presented. The search uses 20.3 fb(-1) of pp collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider with a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 8TeV. The data are found to be consistent with the background-only hypothesis based on the Standard Model expectation. In the context of a Type-I seesaw mechanism, limits are set on the production cross-section times branching ratio for production of heavy Majorana neutrinos in the mass range between 100 and 500 GeV. The limits are subsequently interpreted as limits on the mixing between the heavy Majorana neutrinos and the Standard Model neutrinos. In the context of a left-right symmetric model, limits on the production cross-section times branching ratio are set with respect to the masses of heavy Majorana neutrinos and heavy gauge bosons W-R and Z'.
A search for the production of single-top-quarks in association with missing energy is performed in proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the large hadron collider using data collected in 2012, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1. In this search, the W boson from the top quark is required to decay into an electron or a muon and a neutrino. No deviation from the standard model prediction is observed, and upper limits are set on the production cross-section for resonant and non-resonant production of an invisible exotic state in association with a right-handed top quark. In the case of resonant production, for a spin-0 resonance with a mass of 500 GeV, an effective coupling strength above 0.15 is excluded at 95% confidence level for the top quark and an invisible spin-1/2 state with mass between 0 and 100 GeV. In the case of non-resonant production, an effective coupling strength above 0.2 is excluded at 95% confidence level for the top quark and an invisible spin-1 state with mass between 0 and 657 GeV.
A search for the decay of neutral, weakly interacting, long-lived particles using data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented. This analysis uses the full data set recorded in 2012: 20.3 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at root s = 8 TeV. The search employs techniques for reconstructing decay vertices of long-lived particles decaying to jets in the inner tracking detector and muon spectrometer. Signal events require at least two reconstructed vertices. No significant excess of events over the expected background is found, and limits as a function of proper lifetime are reported for the decay of the Higgs boson and other scalar bosons to long-lived particles and for Hidden Valley Z' and Stealth SUSY benchmark models. The first search results for displaced decays in Z' and Stealth SUSY models are presented. The upper bounds of the excluded proper lifetimes are the most stringent to date.
Results of a search for decays of massive particles to fully hadronic final states are presented. This search uses 20.3 fb(-1) of data collected by the ATLAS detector in root s = 8 TeV proton-proton collisions at the LHC. Signatures based on high jet multiplicities without requirements on the missing transverse momentum are used to search for R-parity-violating supersymmetric gluino pair production with subsequent decays to quarks. The analysis is performed using a requirement on the number of jets, in combination with separate requirements on the number of b-tagged jets, as well as a topological observable formed from the scalar sum of the mass values of large-radius jets in the event. Results are interpreted in the context of all possible branching ratios of direct gluino decays to various quark flavors. No significant deviation is observed from the expected Standard Model backgrounds estimated using jet counting as well as data-driven templates of the total-jet-mass spectra. Gluino pair decays to ten or more quarks via intermediate neutralinos are excluded for a gluino with mass m((g) over tilde) < 1 TeV for a neutralino mass m(<(chi)over tilde>10) = 500 GeV. Direct gluino decays to six quarks are excluded for m((g) over tilde) < 917 GeV for light-flavor final states, and results for various flavor hypotheses are presented.
A generic search for anomalous production of events with at least three charged leptons is presented. The data sample consists of pp collisions at \( \sqrt{s}=8 \) TeV collected in 2012 by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1. Events are required to have at least three selected lepton candidates, at least two of which must be electrons or muons, while the third may be a hadronically decaying tau. Selected events are categorized based on their lepton flavour content and signal regions are constructed using several kinematic variables of interest. No significant deviations from Standard Model predictions are observed. Model-independent upper limits on contributions from beyond the Standard Model phenomena are provided for each signal region, along with prescription to re-interpret the limits for any model. Constraints are also placed on models predicting doubly charged Higgs bosons and excited leptons. For doubly charged Higgs bosons decaying to eτ or μτ, lower limits on the mass are set at 400 GeV at 95% confidence level. For excited leptons, constraints are provided as functions of both the mass of the excited state and the compositeness scale Λ, with the strongest mass constraints arising in regions where the mass equals Λ. In such scenarios, lower mass limits are set at 3.0 TeV for excited electrons and muons, 2.5 TeV for excited taus, and 1.6 TeV for every excited-neutrino flavour.
Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb(-1) of root s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between E-T(miss) > 150 GeV and E-T(miss) > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presented.
A search is presented for narrow diboson resonances decaying to WW or WZ in the final state where one W boson decays leptonically (to an electron or a muon plus a neutrino) and the other W/Z boson decays hadronically. The analysis is performed using an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1) of pp collisions at root s = 8 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the large hadron collider. No evidence for resonant diboson production is observed, and resonance masses below 700 and 1490 GeV are excluded at 95 % confidence level for the spin-2 Randall-Sundrum bulk graviton G* with coupling constant of 1.0 and the extended gauge model W' boson respectively.
This paper reports on a search for narrow resonances in diboson production in the llq (q) over bar final state using pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20 fb(-1) collected at root s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No significant excess of data events over the Standard Model expectation is observed. Upper limits at the 95 % confidence level are set on the production cross section times branching ratio for Kaluza-Klein gravitons predicted by the Randall-Sundrum model and for Extended Gauge Model W' bosons. These results lead to the exclusion of mass values below 740 and 1590 GeV for the graviton and W' boson respectively.
The results of a search for supersymmetry in final states containing at least one isolated lepton (electron or muon), jets and large missing transverse momentum with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider are reported. The search is based on proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy root s = 8 TeV collected in 2012, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20 fb(-1). No significant excess above the Standard Model expectation is observed. Limits are set on supersymmetric particle masses for various supersymmetric models. Depending on the model, the search excludes gluino masses up to 1.32 TeV and squark masses up to 840 GeV. Limits are also set on the parameters of a minimal universal extra dimension model, excluding a compactification radius of 1/R-c = 950 GeV for a cut-off scale times radius (Lambda R-c) of approximately 30.
A search for the b ¯b decay of the Standard Model Higgs boson is performed with the ATLAS experiment using the full dataset recorded at the LHC in Run 1. The integrated luminosities used are 4.7 and 20.3 fb−1 from pp collisions at √ s = 7 and 8 TeV, respectively. The processes considered are associated (W/Z)H production, where W → eν/µν, Z → ee/µµ and Z → νν. The observed (expected) deviation from the backgroundonly hypothesis corresponds to a significance of 1.4 (2.6) standard deviations and the ratio of the measured signal yield to the Standard Model expectation is found to be µ = 0.52 ± 0.32 (stat.) ± 0.24 (syst.) for a Higgs boson mass of 125.36 GeV. The analysis procedure is validated by a measurement of the yield of (W/Z)Z production with Z → b ¯b in the same final states as for the Higgs boson search, from which the ratio of the observed signal yield to the Standard Model expectation is found to be 0.74 ± 0.09 (stat.) ± 0.14 (syst.).
A search for the Standard Model Higgs boson produced in association with a top-quark pair, , is presented. The analysis uses 20.3 fb(-1) of pp collision data at , collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider during 2012. The search is designed for the decay mode and uses events containing one or two electrons or muons. In order to improve the sensitivity of the search, events are categorised according to their jet and b-tagged jet multiplicities. A neural network is used to discriminate between signal and background events, the latter being dominated by +jets production. In the single-lepton channel, variables calculated using a matrix element method are included as inputs to the neural network to improve discrimination of the irreducible background. No significant excess of events above the background expectation is found and an observed (expected) limit of 3.4 (2.2) times the Standard Model cross section is obtained at 95 % confidence level. The ratio of the measured signal cross section to the Standard Model expectation is found to be assuming a Higgs boson mass of 125 Gev.
A search has been performed for pair production of heavy vectorlike down-type (B) quarks. The analysis explores the lepton-plus-jets final state, characterized by events with one isolated charged lepton (electron or muon), significant missing transverse momentum, and multiple jets. One or more jets are required to be tagged as arising from b quarks, and at least one pair of jets must be tagged as arising from the hadronic decay of an electroweak boson. The analysis uses the full data sample of pp collisions recorded in 2012 by the ATLAS detector at the LHC, operating at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1). No significant excess of events is observed above the expected background. Limits are set on vectorlike B production, as a function of the B branching ratios, assuming the allowable decay modes are B -> Wt/Zb/Hb. In the chiral limit with a branching ratio of 100% for the decay B -> Wt, the observed (expected) 95% C.L. lower limit on the vectorlike B mass is 810 GeV (760 GeV). In the case where the vectorlike B quark has branching ratio values corresponding to those of an SU(2) singlet state, the observed (expected) 95% C.L. lower limit on the vectorlike B mass is 640 GeV (505 GeV). The same analysis, when used to investigate pair production of a colored, charge 5/3 exotic fermion T-5/3, with subsequent decay T-5/3 -> Wt, sets an observed (expected) 95% C.L. lower limit on the T-5/3 mass of 840 GeV (780 GeV).
Searches for heavy long-lived charged particles are performed using a data sample of 19.1 fb(-1) from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 8 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No excess is observed above the estimated background and limits are placed on the mass of long-lived particles in various supersymmetric models. Long-lived tau sleptons in models with gauge-mediated symmetry breaking are excluded up to masses between 440 and 385 GeV for tan,3 between 10 and 50, with a 290 GeV limit in the case where only direct tau slepton production is considered. In the context of simplified LeptoSUSY models, where sleptons are stable and have a mass of 300 GeV, squark and gluino masses are excluded up to a mass of 1500 and 1360 GeV, respectively. Directly produced charginos, in simplified models where they are nearly degenerate to the lightest neutralino, are excluded up to a mass of 620 GeV. R-hadrons, composites containing a gluino, bottom squark or top squark, are excluded up to a mass of 1270, 845 and 900 GeV, respectively, using the full detector; and up to a mass of 1260, 835 and 870 GeV using an approach disregarding information from the muon spectrometer.
A search for new charged massive gauge bosons, called W', is performed with the ATLAS detector at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 8 TeV, using a dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1). This analysis searches for W' bosons in the W' -> t (b) over tilde decay channel in final states with electrons or muons, using a multivariate method based on boosted decision trees. The search covers masses between 0.5 and 3.0 TeV, for right-handed or left-handed W' bosons. No significant deviation from the Standard Model expectation is observed and limits are set on the W' -> t (b) over bar cross-section times branching ratio and on the W'-boson effective couplings as a function of the W'-boson mass using the CLs procedure. For a left-handed (right-handed) W' boson, masses below 1.70 (1.92) TeV are excluded at 95% confidence level.
Many extensions of the Standard Model predict the existence of charged heavy long-lived particles, such as R-hadrons or charginos. These particles, if produced at the Large Hadron Collider, should bemoving non-relativistically and are therefore identifiable through the measurement of an anomalously large specific energy loss in the ATLAS pixel detector. Measuring heavy long-lived particles through their track parameters in the vicinity of the interaction vertex provides sensitivity to metastable particles with lifetimes from 0.6 ns to 30 ns. A search for such particles with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is presented, based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 18.4 fb(-1) of pp collisions at root s = 8 TeV. No significant deviation from the Standard Model background expectation is observed, and lifetime-dependent upper limits on R-hadrons and chargino production are set. Gluino R-hadrons with 10 ns lifetime and masses up to 1185 GeV are excluded at 95 % confidence level, and so are charginos with 15 ns lifetime and masses up to 482 GeV.
Searches for both resonant and nonresonant Higgs boson pair production are performed in the hh -> bb tau tau, gamma gamma WW* final states using 20.3 fb(-1) of pp collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No evidence of their production is observed and 95% confidence-level upper limits on the production cross sections are set. These results are then combined with the published results of the hh -> gamma gamma bb, bbbb analyses. An upper limit of 0.69 (0.47) pb on the nonresonant hh production is observed (expected), corresponding to 70 (48) times the SM gg -> hh cross section. For production via narrow resonances, cross-section limits of hh production from a heavy Higgs boson decay are set as a function of the heavy Higgs boson mass. The observed (expected) limits range from 2.1 (1.1) pb at 260 GeV to 0.011 (0.018) pb at 1000 GeV. These results are interpreted in the context of two simplified scenarios of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model.
With an integrated luminosity of 2.47 fb(-1) recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, the exclusive decays B-s(0) -> J/psi phi and B-d(0) -> J/psi K*(0) of B mesons produced in pp collisions at root s = 7 TeV are used to determine the ratio of fragmentation fractions f(s)/f(d). From the observed B-s(0) -> J/psi phi and B-d(0) -> J/psi K*(0) yields, the quantity (f(s)/f(d))[B(B-s(0) -> J/psi phi)/B(B-d(0) -> J/psi K*(0) )] is measured to be 0.199 +/- 0.004(stat) +/- 0.008(syst). Using a recent theory prediction for [B(B-s(0) -> J/psi phi)/B(B-d(0) -> J/psi K*(0))] yields (f(s)/f(d)) = 0.240 +/- 0.004(stat) +/- 0.010(syst) +/- 0.017(th). This result is based on a new approach that provides a significant improvement of the world average.
An observation of the Lambda(0)(b) -> Psi (2S) Lambda(0) decay and a comparison of its branching fraction with that of the Lambda(0)(b) -> Psi (2S) Lambda(0) decay has been made with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at root s = 8 TeVat the LHC using an integrated luminosity of 20.6fb(-1). The J/Psi and Psi(2S) mesons are reconstructed in their decays to a muon pair, while the Lambda(0) -> p pi(-) decay is exploited for the Lambda(0) 0baryon reconstruction. The Lambda(0)(b) baryons are reconstructed with transverse momentum p(T)> 10 GeVand pseudorapidity vertical bar eta vertical bar < 2.1. The measured branching ratio of the Lambda(0)(b) -> Psi (2S) Lambda(0) and Lambda(0)(b) -> Psi (2S) Lambda(0) decays is Gamma(Lambda(0)(b) -> Psi (2S) Lambda(0)) / Gamma(Lambda(0)(b) -> Psi (2S) Lambda(0)) = 0.501 +/- 0.033(stat) +/- 0.019(syst), lower than the expectation from the covariant quark model.
High transverse momentum jets produced in pp collisions at a centre of mass energy of 7 TeV are used to measure the transverse energy-energy correlation function and its associated azimuthal asymmetry. The data were recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in the year 2011 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 158 pb(-1). The selection criteria demand the average transverse momentum of the two leading jets in an event to be larger than 250 GeV. The data at detector level are well described by Monte Carlo event generators. They are unfolded to the particle level and compared with theoretical calculations at next-to-leading-order accuracy. The agreement between data and theory is good and provides a precision test of perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics at large momentum transfers. From this comparison, the strong coupling constant given at the Z boson mass is determined to be alpha(s)(m(Z)) = 0.1173 +/- 0.0010 (exp.) (+0.0065)(-0.0026) (theo.).
A search for flavour-changing neutral current decays of a top quark to an up-type quark (q = u; c) and the Standard Model Higgs boson, where the Higgs boson decays to b (b) over bar, is presented. The analysis searches for top quark pair events in which one top quark decays to W b, with the W boson decaying leptonically, and the other top quark decays to Hq. The search is based on pp collisions at root s = 8TeV recorded in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and uses an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1). Data are analysed in the lepton-plus-jets final state, characterised by an isolated electron or muon and at least four jets. The search exploits the high multiplicity of b quark jets characteristic of signal events, and employs a likelihood discriminant that uses the kinematic differences between the signal and the background, which is dominated by t (t) over bar -> WbWb decays. No significant excess of events above the background expectation is found, and observed (expected) 95% CL upper limits of 0.56% (0.42%) and 0.61% (0.64%) are derived for the t -> Hc and t -> Hu branching ratios respectively. The combination of this search with other ATLAS searches in the H -> gamma gamma and H -> WW*, tau tau decay modes significantly improves the sensitivity, yielding observed (expected) 95% CL upper limits on the t -> Hc and t -> Hu branching ratios of 0.46% (0.25%) and 0.45% (0.29%) respectively. The corresponding combined observed (expected) upper limits on the vertical bar lambda(tcH)vertical bar and vertical bar lambda(tuH)vertical bar couplings are 0.13 (0.10) and 0.13 (0.10) respectively. These are the most restrictive direct bounds on t q H interactions measured so far.
A direct search for lepton-flavour-violating H -> mu tau decays of the recently discovered Higgs boson with the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented. The analysis is performed in the H -> mu tau(had) channel, where tau(had) is a hadronically decaying tau-lepton. The search is based on the data sample of proton-proton collisions collected by the ATLAS experiment corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1) at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 8TeV. No statistically significant excess of data over the predicted background is observed. The observed (expected) 95% confidence-level upper limit on the branching fraction, Br(H -> mu tau), is 1.85% (1.24%).