The total and differential Higgs boson production cross-sections are measured through a combined statistical analysis of the H → ZZ* → 4ℓ and H → γγ decay channels. The results are based on a dataset of 139 fb−1 of proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The measured total Higgs boson production cross-section is 55.5_-3.8^+4.0 pb, consistent with the Standard Model prediction of 55.6 ± 2.5 pb. All results from the two decay channels are compatible with each other, and their combination agrees with the Standard Model predictions. A combined statistical interpretation of the measured fiducial cross-sections as a function of the Higgs boson transverse momentum is performed in order to probe the Yukawa couplings to the bottom and charm quarks. A similar interpretation is performed by including also the constraints from the measurements of Higgs boson production in association with a W or Z boson in the H → bb and cc decay channels.
The search for dark matter is one of the main science drivers of the particle and astroparticle physics communities. Determining the nature of dark matter will require a broad approach, with a range of experiments pursuing different experimental hypotheses. Within this search program, collider experiments provide insights on dark matter which are complementary to direct/indirect detection experiments and to astrophysical evidence. To compare results from a wide variety of experiments, a common theoretical framework is required. The ATLAS and CMS experiments have adopted a set of simplified models which introduce two new particles, a dark matter particle and a mediator, and whose interaction strengths are set by the couplings of the mediator. So far, the presentation of LHC and future hadron collider results has focused on four benchmark scenarios with specific coupling values within these simplified models. In this work, we describe ways to extend those four benchmark scenarios to arbitrary couplings, and release the corresponding code for use in further studies. This will allow for more straightforward comparison of collider searches to accelerator experiments that are sensitive to smaller couplings, such as those for the US Community Study on the Future of Particle Physics (Snowmass 2021), and will give a more complete picture of the coupling dependence of dark matter collider searches when compared to direct and indirect detection searches. By using semi-analytical methods to rescale collider limits, we drastically reduce the computing resources needed relative to traditional approaches based on the generation of additional simulated signal samples.
This is the Snowmass2021 Energy Frontier (EF) Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) report. It combines the EF topical group reports of EF08 (Model-specific explorations), EF09 (More general explorations), and EF10 (Dark Matter at Colliders). The report includes a general introduction to BSM motivations and the comparative prospects for proposed future experiments for a broad range of potential BSM models and signatures, including compositeness, SUSY, leptoquarks, more general new bosons and fermions, long-lived particles, dark matter, charged-lepton flavor violation, and anomaly detection.
This Letter reports the observation of WWW production and a measurement of its cross section using 139 fb^{-1} of proton-proton collision data recorded at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events with two same-sign leptons (electrons or muons) and at least two jets, as well as events with three charged leptons, are selected. A multivariate technique is then used to discriminate between signal and background events. Events from WWW production are observed with a significance of 8.0 standard deviations, where the expectation is 5.4 standard deviations. The inclusive WWW production cross section is measured to be 820±100 (stat)±80 (syst) fb, approximately 2.6 standard deviations from the predicted cross section of 511±18 fb calculated at next-to-leading-order QCD and leading-order electroweak accuracy.
The first measurement of longitudinal decorrelations of harmonic flow amplitudes v_{n} for n=2-4 in Xe+Xe collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.44 TeV is obtained using 3 μb^{-1} of data with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The decorrelation signal for v_{3} and v_{4} is found to be nearly independent of collision centrality and transverse momentum (p_{T}) requirements on final-state particles, but for v_{2} a strong centrality and p_{T} dependence is seen. When compared with the results from Pb+Pb collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02 TeV, the longitudinal decorrelation signal in midcentral Xe+Xe collisions is found to be larger for v_{2}, but smaller for v_{3}. Current hydrodynamic models reproduce the ratios of the v_{n} measured in Xe+Xe collisions to those in Pb+Pb collisions but fail to describe the magnitudes and trends of the ratios of longitudinal flow decorrelations between Xe+Xe and Pb+Pb. The results on the system-size dependence provide new insights and an important lever arm to separate effects of the longitudinal structure of the initial state from other early and late time effects in heavy-ion collisions.
A study of the charge conjugation and parity (CP) properties of the interaction between the Higgs boson and top quarks is presented. Higgs bosons are identified via the diphoton decay channel (H→γγ), and their production in association with a top quark pair (tt[over ¯]H) or single top quark (tH) is studied. The analysis uses 139 fb^{-1} of proton-proton collision data recorded at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt[s]=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Assuming a CP-even coupling, the tt[over ¯]H process is observed with a significance of 5.2 standard deviations. The measured cross section times H→γγ branching ratio is 1.64_{-0.36}^{+0.38}(stat)_{-0.14}^{+0.17}(sys) fb, and the measured rate for tt[over ¯]H is 1.43_{-0.31}^{+0.33}(stat)_{-0.15}^{+0.21}(sys) times the Standard Model expectation. The tH production process is not observed and an upper limit on its rate of 12 times the Standard Model expectation is set. A CP-mixing angle greater (less) than 43 (-43)° is excluded at 95% confidence level.
This paper presents a search for direct top squark pair production in events with missing transverse momentum plus either a pair of jets consistent with Standard Model Higgs boson decay into b-quarks or a same-flavour opposite-sign dilepton pair with an invariant mass consistent with a Z boson. The analysis is performed using the proton–proton collision data at \n$$\\sqrt{s}=13$$\n\n TeV collected with the ATLAS detector during the LHC Run-2, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb\n$$^{-1}$$\n\n. No excess is observed in the data above the Standard Model predictions. The results are interpreted in simplified models featuring direct production of pairs of either the lighter top squark (\n$$\\tilde{t}_1$$\n\n) or the heavier top squark (\n$$\\tilde{t}_2$$\n\n), excluding at 95% confidence level \n$$\\tilde{t}_1$$\n\n and \n$$\\tilde{t}_2$$\n\n masses up to about 1220 and 875 GeV, respectively.
It has been found that the theoretical predictions for W and Z boson cross sections, and for the W boson charge asymmetry, which are labelled as NNPDF3.1 [1] have in fact been calculated using the NNPDF3.0 PDF set [2] instead.
This Letter presents a search for new light resonances decaying to pairs of quarks and produced in association with a high-pT photon or jet. The dataset consists of proton–proton collisions with an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb−1 at a centre-of-mass energy of s=13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Resonance candidates are identified as massive large-radius jets with substructure consistent with a particle decaying into a quark pair. The mass spectrum of the candidates is examined for local excesses above background. No evidence of a new resonance is observed in the data, which are used to exclude the production of a lepto-phobic axial-vector Z′ boson.
A search is conducted for the electroweak pair production of a chargino and a neutralino pp -> (chi) over tilde (+/-)(1)(chi) over tilde (0)(2), where the chargino decays into the lightest neutralino and a W boson, (chi) over tilde (+/-)(1) -> (chi) over tilde W-0(1)+/- while the neutralino decays into the lightest neutralino and a Standard Model-like 125 GeV Higgs boson,(chi) over tilde (0)(2) -> (chi) over tilde (0)(1)h. Fully hadronic, semileptonic, diphoton, and multilepton (electrons, muons) final. states with missing transverse momentum are considered in this search. Higgs bosons in the final state are identified by either two jets originating from bottom quarks (h -> b (b) over bar), two photons (h -> gamma gamma), or leptons from the decay modes h -> WW, h -> ZZ or h -> tau tau. The analysis is based on 36.1 fb(-1) of s root s = 13 TeV proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Observations are consistent with the Standard Model expectations, and 95% confidence-level limits of up to 680 GeV in (chi) over tilde (+/-)(1)/(chi) over tilde (0)(2) mass are set in the context of a simplified supersymmetric model.
The algorithms used by the ATLAS Collaboration during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider to identify jets containing b-hadrons are presented. The performance of the algorithms is evaluated in the simulation and the efficiency with which these algorithms identify jets containing b-hadrons is measured in collision data. The measurement uses a likelihood-based method in a sample highly enriched in $$t{\bar{t}}$$ events. The topology of the $$t \rightarrow W b$$ decays is exploited to simultaneously measure both the jet flavour composition of the sample and the efficiency in a transverse momentum range from 20 to 600 GeV. The efficiency measurement is subsequently compared with that predicted by the simulation. The data used in this measurement, corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 80.5 $$\hbox {fb}^{-1}$$, were collected in proton–proton collisions during the years 2015–2017 at a centre-of-mass energy $$\sqrt{s}=$$ 13 TeV. By simultaneously extracting both the efficiency and jet flavour composition, this measurement significantly improves the precision compared to previous results, with uncertainties ranging from 1 to 8% depending on the jet transverse momentum.
This Letter presents a search for heavy charged long-lived particles produced in proton–proton collisions at √ s = 13 TeV at the LHC using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 . 1 fb − 1 collected by the ATLAS experiment in 2015 and 2016. These particles are expected to travel with a velocity significantly below the speed of light, and therefore have a specific ionisation higher than any high-momentum Standard Model particle of unit charge. The pixel subsystem of the ATLAS detector is used in this search to measure the ionisation energy loss of all reconstructed charged particles which traverse the pixel detector. Results are interpreted assuming the pair production of R -hadrons as composite colourless states of a long-lived gluino and Standard Model partons. No significant deviation from Standard Model background expectations is observed, and lifetime-dependent upper limits on R -hadron production cross-sections and gluino masses are set, assuming the gluino always decays to two quarks and a 100 GeV stable neutralino. R -hadrons with lifetimes above 1.0 ns are excluded at the 95% confidence level, with lower limits on the gluino mass ranging between 1290 GeV and 2060 GeV. In the case of stable R -hadrons, the lower limit on the gluino mass at the 95% confidence level is 1890 GeV. © 2018 The Author. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Funded by SCOAP 3 .
A measurement of off-shell Higgs boson production in the ZZ -> 4l and ZZ -> 2l2v decay channels, where stands for either an electron or a muon, is performed using data from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV. The data were collected by the ATLAS experiment in 2015 and 2016 at the Large Hadron Collider, and they correspond to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1). An observed (expected) upper limit on the off-shell Higgs signal strength, defined as the event yield normalised to the Standard Model prediction, of 3.8 (3.4) is obtained at 95% confidence level (CL). Assuming the ratio of the Higgs boson couplings to the Standard Model predictions is independent of the momentum transfer of the Higgs production mechanism considered in the analysis, a combination with the on-shell signal-strength measurements yields an observed (expected) 95% CL upper limit on the Higgs boson total width of 14.4 (15.2) MeV. (C) 2018 The Author. Published by Elsevier B.V.
A search for heavy resonances decaying into a Higgs boson (H) and a new particle (X) is reported, utilizing 36.1 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at root s = 13 TeV collected during 2015 and 2016 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The particle Xis assumed to decay to a pair of light quarks, and the fully hadronic final state XH -> q (q) over bar 'b (b) over bar is analysed. The search considers the regime of high XH resonance masses, where the X and H bosons are both highly Lorentz-boosted and are each reconstructed using a single jet with large radius parameter. A two-dimensional phase space of XH mass versus X mass is scanned for evidence of a signal, over a range of XH resonance mass values between 1 TeV and 4 TeV, and for X particles with masses from 50 GeV to 1000 GeV. All search results are consistent with the expectations for the background due to Standard Model processes, and 95% CL upper limits are set, as a function of XH and X masses, on the production cross-section of the XH -> q (q) over bar 'b (b) over bar resonance. (c) 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.
A search for new charged massive gauge bosons, W′, is performed with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Data were collected in proton–proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of s=13 TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb−1. This analysis searches for W′ bosons in the W′→tb¯ decay channel in final states with an electron or muon plus jets. The search covers resonance masses between 0.5 and 5.0 TeV and considers right-handed W′ bosons. No significant deviation from the Standard Model (SM) expectation is observed and upper limits are set on the W′→tb¯ cross section times branching ratio and the W′ boson effective couplings as a function of the W′ boson mass. For right-handed W′ bosons with coupling to the SM particles equal to the SM weak coupling constant, masses below 3.15 TeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level. This search is also combined with a previously published ATLAS result for W′→tb¯ in the fully hadronic final state. Using the combined searches, right-handed W′ bosons with masses below 3.25 TeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level. © 2018 The Author(s)
A search for the decay of the Standard Model Higgs boson into a b ¯ b pair when produced in association with a W or Z boson is performed with the ATLAS detector. The data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 79 . 8 fb − 1 were collected in proton–proton collisions during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. For a Higgs boson mass of 125 GeV, an excess of events over the expected background from other Standard Model processes is found with an observed (expected) significance of 4.9 (4.3) standard deviations. A combination with the results from other searches in Run 1 and in Run 2 for the Higgs boson in the b ¯ b decay mode is performed, which yields an observed (expected) significance of 5.4 (5.5) standard deviations, thus providing direct observation of the Higgs boson decay into b -quarks. The ratio of the measured event yield for a Higgs boson decaying into b ¯ b to the Standard Model expectation is 1 . 01 ± 0 . 12 ( stat .) + 0 . 16 − 0 . 15 ( syst .) . Additionally, a combination of Run 2 results searching for the Higgs boson produced in association with a vector boson yields an observed (expected) significance of 5.3 (4.8) standard deviations. © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Funded by SCOAP 3 .
Searches for the exclusive decays of the Higgs and Z bosons into a J/ψ, ψ(2S), or ϒ(nS) (n=1,2,3) meson and a photon are performed with a pp collision data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1fb−1 collected at s=13TeV with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. No significant excess of events is observed above the expected backgrounds, and 95% confidence-level upper limits on the branching fractions of the Higgs boson decays to J/ψγ, ψ(2S)γ, and ϒ(nS)γ of 3.5×10−4, 2.0×10−3, and (4.9,5.9,5.7)×10−4, respectively, are obtained assuming Standard Model production. The corresponding 95% confidence-level upper limits for the branching fractions of the Z boson decays are 2.3×10−6, 4.5×10−6 and (2.8,1.7,4.8)×10−6, respectively.