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.

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.

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 is presented for the direct pair production of the stop, the supersymmetric partner of the top quark, that decays through an R-parity-violating coupling to a final state with two leptons and two jets, at least one of which is identified as a b-jet. The data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV, collected in 2015 and 2016 by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. No significant excess is observed over the Standard Model background, and exclusion limits are set on stop pair production at a 95% confidence level. Lower limits on the stop mass are set between 600 GeV and 1.5 TeV for branching ratios above 10% for decays to an electron or muon and a b-quark.

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 .

This Letter presents a search for exotic decays of the Higgs boson to a pair of new (pseudo) scalar particles, H -> aa, where the a particle has a mass in the range 20-60 GeV, and where one of the a bosons decays into a pair of photons and the other to a pair of gluons. The search is performed in event samples enhanced in vector-boson fusion Higgs boson production by requiring two jets with large invariant mass in addition to the Higgs boson candidate decay products. The analysis is based on the full dataset of pp collisions at root s = 13 TeV recorded in 2015 and 2016 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.7 fb(-1). The data are in agreement with the Standard Model predictions and an upper limit at the 95% confidence level is placed on the production cross section times the branching ratio for the decay H -> aa -> gamma gamma gg. This limit ranges from 3.1 pb to 9.0 pb depending on the mass of the a boson. (C) 2018 The Author. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A measurement of production cross sections of the Higgs boson in proton-proton collisions is presentedin the H → ττ decay channel. The analysis is performed using 36.1 fb−1 of data recorded by the ATLASexperiment at the Large Hadron Collider at a center-of-mass energy of ffiffis p ¼ 13 TeV. All combinations ofleptonic (τ → lvv¯ with l ¼ e; μ) and hadronic (τ → hadrons v) τ decays are considered. The H → ττsignal over the expected background from other Standard Model processes is established with an observed(expected) significance of 4.4 (4.1) standard deviations. Combined with results obtained using data taken at7 and 8 TeV center-of-mass energies, the observed (expected) significance amounts to 6.4 (5.4) standarddeviations and constitutes an observation of H → ττ decays. Using the data taken at ffiffis p ¼ 13 TeV, thetotal cross section in the H → ττ decay channel is measured to be 3.77þ0.60 −0.59 ðstatÞ þ0.87 −0.74 ðsystÞ pb, for aHiggs boson of mass 125 GeV assuming the relative contributions of its production modes aspredicted by the Standard Model. Total cross sections in the H → ττ decay channel are determinedseparately for vector-boson-fusion production and gluon-gluon-fusion production to be σVBFH→ττ ¼ 0.280.09 ðstatÞ þ0.11 −0.09 ðsystÞ pb and σggFH→ττ ¼ 3.1 1.0 ðstatÞ þ1.6 −1.3 ðsystÞ pb, respectively. Similarly, results of a fitare reported in the framework of simplified template cross sections. All measurements are in agreementwith Standard Model expectations.

A measurement of the fragmentation functions of jets into charged particles in p Pb collisions and pp collisions is presented. The analysis utilizes 28 nb(-1) of p Pb data and 26 pb(-1) of pp data, both at root(TN)-T-s= 5.02 TeV, collected in 2013 and 2015, respectively, with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurement is reported in the centre-of-mass frame of the nucleon-nucleon system for jets in the rapidity range vertical bar y*vertical bar <1.6 and with transverse momentum 45 < p(T) < 260 GeV. Results are presented both as a function of the charged-particle transverse momentum and as a function of the longitudinal momentum fraction of the particle with respect to the jet. The pp fragmentation functions are compared with results from Monte Carlo event generators and two theoretical models. The ratios of the p +Pb to pp fragmentation functions are found to be consistent with unity. (C) 2018 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A measurement of the production cross section for two isolated photons in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=8$ 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 $|\eta^{\gamma}|<1.37$ or ${1.56<|\eta^{\gamma}|<2.37}$ and transverse energies of respectively $E_{\mathrm{T,1}}^{\gamma}>40$ GeV and $E_{\mathrm{T,2}}^{\gamma}>30$ 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 $16.8 \pm 0.8$ 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%.

The production of exclusive gamma gamma -> mu(+)mu(-) events in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV is measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC, using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb(-1). The measurement is performed for a dimuon invariant mass of 12 GeV < m(mu+mu-) < 70 GeV. The integrated cross-section is determined within a fiducial acceptance region of the ATLAS detector and differential cross-sections are measured as a function of the dimuon invariant mass. The results are compared to theoretical predictions both with and without corrections for absorptive effects. (c) 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.

A search for pair production of the supersymmetric partners of the Higgs boson (higgsinos ˜H) in gauge-mediated scenarios is reported. Each higgsino is assumed to decay to a Higgs boson and a gravitino. Two complementary analyses, targeting high- and low-mass signals, are performed to maximize sensitivity. The two analyses utilize LHC pp collision data at a center-of-mass energy √s=13  TeV, the former with an integrated luminosity of 36.1  fb−1 and the latter with 24.3  fb−1, collected with the ATLAS detector in 2015 and 2016. The search is performed in events containing missing transverse momentum and several energetic jets, at least three of which must be identified as b-quark jets. No significant excess is found above the predicted background. Limits on the cross section are set as a function of the mass of the ˜H in simplified models assuming production via mass-degenerate higgsinos decaying to a Higgs boson and a gravitino. Higgsinos with masses between 130 and 230 GeV and between 290 and 880 GeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level. Interpretations of the limits in terms of the branching ratio of the higgsino to a Z boson or a Higgs boson are also presented, and a 45% branching ratio to a Higgs boson is excluded for m˜H≈400  GeV.