Subjects: Physics >> Nuclear Physics submitted time 2016-09-12
Abstract: In the pp→tt¯ process the angular distributions of top and anti-top quarks are expected to present a subtle difference, which could be enhanced by processes not included in the Standard Model. This Letter presents a measurement of the charge asymmetry in events where the top-quark pair is produced with a large invariant mass. The analysis is performed on 20.3 fb−1 of pp collision data at s√= 8 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, using reconstruction techniques specifically designed for the decay topology of highly boosted top quarks. The charge asymmetry in a fiducial region with large invariant mass of the top-quark pair (mtt¯> 0.75 TeV) and an absolute rapidity difference of the top and anti-top quark candidates within −2 <|yt|−|yt¯|< 2 is measured to be 4.2 ± 3.2%, in agreement with the Standard Model prediction at next-to-leading order. A differential measurement in three tt¯ mass bins is also presented.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Physics >> Nuclear Physics submitted time 2016-09-12
Abstract: This paper presents a new method of reconstructing the individual charged and neutral hadrons in tau decays with the ATLAS detector. The reconstructed hadrons are used to classify the decay mode and to calculate the visible four-momentum of reconstructed tau candidates, significantly improving the resolution with respect to the calibration in the existing tau reconstruction. The performance of the reconstruction algorithm is optimised and evaluated using simulation and validated using samples of Z→ττ and Z(→μμ)+jets events selected from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy s√=8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 fb−1.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Physics >> Nuclear Physics submitted time 2016-09-12
Abstract: A search is performed for the production of high-mass resonances decaying into a photon and a jet in 3.2 fb−1 of proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s√=13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Selected events have an isolated photon and a jet, each with transverse momentum above 150 GeV. No significant deviation of the γ+jet invariant mass distribution from the background-only hypothesis is found. Limits are set at 95% confidence level on the cross sections of generic Gaussian-shaped signals and of a few benchmark phenomena beyond the Standard Model: excited quarks with vector-like couplings to the Standard Model particles, and non-thermal quantum black holes in two models of extra spatial dimensions. The minimum excluded visible cross sections for Gaussian-shaped resonances with width-to-mass ratios of 2% decrease from about 6 fb for a mass of 1.5 TeV to about 0.8 fb for a mass of 5 TeV. The minimum excluded visible cross sections for Gaussian-shaped resonances with width-to-mass ratios of 15% decrease from about 50 fb for a mass of 1.5 TeV to about 1.0 fb for a mass of 5 TeV. Excited quarks are excluded below masses of 4.4 TeV, and non-thermal quantum black holes are excluded below masses of 3.8 (6.2) TeV for Randall--Sundrum (Arkani-Hamed--Dimopoulous--Dvali) models with one (six) extra dimensions.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Physics >> Nuclear Physics submitted time 2016-09-12
Abstract: The ZZ production cross section in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV center-of-mass energy is measured using 3.2 fb−1 of data recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The considered Z boson candidates decay to an electron or muon pair of mass 66-116 GeV. The cross section is measured in a fiducial phase space reflecting the detector acceptance. It is also extrapolated to a total phase space for Z bosons in the same mass range and of all decay modes, giving 16.7+2.2−2.0(stat.)+0.9−0.7(syst.)+1.0−0.7(lumi.) pb. The results agree with standard model predictions.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Physics >> Nuclear Physics submitted time 2016-09-12
Abstract: The ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider has performed searches for new, heavy bosons decaying to WW, WZ and ZZ final states in multiple decay channels using 20.3 fb−1 of pp collision data at s√=8 TeV. In the current study, the results of these searches are combined to provide a more stringent test of models predicting heavy resonances with couplings to vector bosons. Direct searches for a charged diboson resonance decaying to WZ in the ℓνℓ′ℓ′ (ℓ=μ,e) , ℓℓqq¯, ℓνqq¯ and fully hadronic final states are combined and upper limits on the rate of production times branching ratio to the WZ bosons are compared with predictions of an extended gauge model with a heavy W′ boson. In addition, direct searches for a neutral diboson resonance decaying to WW and ZZ in the ℓℓqq¯, ℓνqq¯, and fully hadronic final states are combined and upper limits on the rate of production times branching ratio to the WW and ZZ bosons are compared with predictions for a heavy, spin-2 graviton in an extended Randall--Sundrum model where the Standard Model fields are allowed to propagate in the bulk of the extra dimension.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Physics >> Nuclear Physics submitted time 2016-09-12
Abstract: Charged Higgs bosons heavier than the top quark and decaying via H±→tb are searched for in proton--proton collisions measured with the ATLAS experiment at s√=8 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1. The production of a charged Higgs boson in association with a top quark, gb→tH±, is explored in the mass range 200 to 600 GeV using multi-jet final states with one electron or muon. In order to separate the signal from the Standard Model background, analysis techniques combining several kinematic variables are employed. An excess of events above the background-only hypothesis is observed across a wide mass range, amounting to up to 2.4 standard deviations. Upper limits are set on the gb→tH± production cross section times the branching fraction BR(H±→tb). Additionally, the complementary s-channel production, qq′→H±, is investigated through a reinterpretation of W′→tb searches in ATLAS. Final states with one electron or muon are relevant for H± masses from 0.4 to 2.0 TeV, whereas the all-hadronic final state covers the range 1.5 to 3.0 TeV. In these search channels, no significant excesses from the predictions of the Standard Model are observed, and upper limits are placed on the qq′→H± production cross section times the branching fraction BR(H±→tb).
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Physics >> Nuclear Physics submitted time 2016-09-12
Abstract: The production rates of prompt and non-prompt J/ψ and ψ(2S) mesons are measured using 2.1 fb−1 and 11.4 fb−1 of data collected with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at s√=7 and 8 TeV respectively. Production cross-sections for both prompt and non-prompt production sources, ratios of ψ(2S) to J/ψproduction, and fractions of non-prompt to inclusive production for J/ψ and ψ(2S) are measured double-differentially as a function of meson pT and rapidity. These measurements are made in a restricted fiducial volume and also corrected for geometrical acceptance after which they are compared to a variety of theoretical predictions.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Physics >> Nuclear Physics submitted time 2016-09-12
Abstract: The production of D∗±, D± and D±s charmed mesons has been measured with the ATLAS detector in ppcollisions at s√=7 TeV at the LHC, using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 280nb−1. The charmed mesons have been reconstructed in the range of transverse momentum 3.5
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Physics >> Nuclear Physics submitted time 2016-09-12
Abstract: A search is conducted for new physics in multijet final states using 3.6 inverse femtobarns of data from proton-proton collisions at s√ = 13 TeV taken at the CERN Large Hadron Collider with the ATLAS detector. Events are selected containing at least three jets with scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT) greater than 1 TeV. No excess is seen at large HT and limits are presented on new physics: models which produce final states containing at least three jets and having cross sections larger than 1.6 fb with HT > 5.8 TeV are excluded. Limits are also given in terms of new physics models of strong gravity that hypothesize additional space-time dimensions.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Physics >> Nuclear Physics submitted time 2016-09-12
Abstract: Distributions of transverse momentum pllT and the angular variable ϕ∗η of Drell--Yan lepton pairs are measured in 20.3 fb−1 of proton--proton collisions at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Measurements in electron-pair and muon-pair final states are corrected for detector effects and combined. Compared to previous measurements in proton--proton collisions at s√=7 TeV, these new measurements benefit from a larger data sample and improved control of systematic uncertainties. Measurements are performed in bins of lepton-pair mass above, around and below the Z-boson mass peak. The data are compared to predictions from perturbative and resummed QCD calculations. For values of ϕ∗η<1 the predictions from the Monte Carlo generator ResBos are generally consistent with the data within the theoretical uncertainties. However, at larger values of ϕ∗η this is not generally the case. Monte Carlo generators based on the parton-shower approach are unable to describe the data over the full range of pllT and the fixed-order prediction of DYNNLO falls below the data at high values of pllT. ResBos and the parton-shower Monte Carlo generators provide a much better description of the evolution of the ϕ∗η and pllT distributions as a function of lepton-pair mass and rapidity.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Physics >> Nuclear Physics submitted time 2016-09-12
Abstract: This Letter describes a model-agnostic search for pairs of jets (dijets) produced by resonant and non-resonant phenomena beyond the Standard Model in 3.6 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions with a centre-of-mass energy of s√=13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The distribution of the invariant mass of the two leading jets is examined for local excesses above a data-derived estimate of the smoothly falling prediction of the Standard Model. The data are also compared to a Monte Carlo simulation of Standard Model angular distributions derived from the rapidity of the two jets. No evidence of anomalous phenomena is observed in the data, which are used to exclude, at 95% CL, quantum black holes with threshold masses below 8.3 TeV, 8.1 TeV, or 5.3 TeV in three different benchmark scenarios; resonance masses below 5.2 TeV for excited quarks, 2.6 TeV in a W′ model, a range of masses starting from mZ′=1.5 TeV and couplings from gq=0.2 in a Z′model; and contact interactions with a compositeness scale below 12.0 TeV and 17.5 TeV respectively for destructive and constructive interference between the new interaction and QCD processes. These results significantly extend the ATLAS limits obtained from 8 TeV data. Gaussian-shaped contributions to the mass distribution are also excluded if the effective cross-section exceeds values ranging from approximately 50-300 fb for masses below 2 TeV to 2-20 fb for masses above 4 TeV.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Physics >> Nuclear Physics submitted time 2016-09-12
Abstract: The identification of jets containing燽爃adrons is important for the physics programme of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Several algorithms to identify jets containing燽爃adrons are described, ranging from those based on the reconstruction of an inclusive secondary vertex or the presence of tracks with large impact parameters to combined tagging algorithms making use of multi-variate discriminants. An independent燽-tagging algorithm based on the reconstruction of muons inside jets as well as the燽-tagging algorithm used in the online trigger are also presented.The燽-jet tagging efficiency, the燾-jet tagging efficiency and the mistag rate for light flavour jets in data have been measured with a number of complementary methods. The calibration results are presented as scale factors defined as the ratio of the efficiency (or mistag rate) in data to that in simulation. In the case of燽爅ets, where more than one calibration method exists, the results from the various analyses have been combined taking into account the statistical correlation as well as the correlation of the sources of systematic uncertainty.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Physics >> Nuclear Physics submitted time 2016-09-12
Abstract: The relationship between jet production in the central region and the underlying-event activity in a pseudorapidity-separated region is studied in 4.0 pb−1 of s√=2.76 TeV pp collision data recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The underlying event is characterised through measurements of the average value of the sum of the transverse energy at large pseudorapidity downstream of one of the protons, which are reported here as a function of hard-scattering kinematic variables. The hard scattering is characterised by the average transverse momentum and pseudorapidity of the two highest transverse momentum jets in the event. The dijet kinematics are used to estimate, on an event-by-event basis, the scaled longitudinal momenta of the hard-scattered partons in the target and projectile beam-protons moving toward and away from the region measuring transverse energy, respectively. Transverse energy production at large pseudorapidity is observed to decrease with a linear dependence on the longitudinal momentum fraction in the target proton and to depend only weakly on that in the projectile proton. The results are compared to the predictions of various Monte Carlo event generators, which qualitatively reproduce the trends observed in data but generally underpredict the overall level of transverse energy at forward pseudorapidity.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Physics >> Nuclear Physics submitted time 2016-09-12
Abstract: A search for the Standard Model Higgs boson produced in association with a vector boson with the decay H→ττis presented. The data correspond to 20.3 fb−1 of integrated luminosity from proton-proton collisions at s√=8TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC during 2012. The data agree with the background expectation, and 95% confidence-level upper limits are placed on the cross section of this process. The observed (expected) limit, expressed in terms of the signal strength μ=σ/σSM for mH=125GeV, is μ< 5.6 (3.7). The measured value of the signal strength is μ=2.3±1.6.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Physics >> Nuclear Physics submitted time 2016-09-12
Abstract: This Letter presents evidence for single top-quark production in the s-channel using proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The analysis is performed on events containing one isolated electron or muon, large missing transverse momentum and exactly two b-tagged jets in the final state. The analysed data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1. The signal is extracted using a maximum-likelihood fit of a discriminant which is based on the matrix element method and optimized in order to separate single-top-quark s-channel events from the main background contributions, which are top-quark pair production and W boson production in association with heavy-flavour jets. The measurement leads to an observed signal significance of 3.2 standard deviations and a measured cross-section of σs=4.8±0.8(stat.)+1.6−1.3(syst.) pb, which is consistent with the Standard Model expectation. The expected significance for the analysis is 3.9 standard deviations.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Physics >> Nuclear Physics submitted time 2016-09-12
Abstract: A search is presented for a new, light boson with a mass of about 1 GeV and decaying promptly to jets of collimated electrons and/or muons (lepton-jets). The analysis is performed with 20.3 fb−1 of data collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. Events are required to contain at least two lepton-jets. This study finds no statistically significant deviation from predictions of the Standard Model and places 95\% confidence-level upper limits on the contribution of new phenomena beyond the SM, incuding SUSY-portal and Higgs-portal models, on the number of events with lepton-jets.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Physics >> Nuclear Physics submitted time 2016-09-12
Abstract: Measurements of normalized differential cross-sections of top-quark pair production are presented as a function of the top-quark, tt¯ system and event-level kinematic observables in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s√=8 TeV}. The observables have been chosen to emphasize the tt¯ production process and to be sensitive to effects of initial- and final-state radiation, to the different parton distribution functions, and to non-resonant processes and higher-order corrections. The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1, recorded in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Events are selected in the lepton+jets channel, requiring exactly one charged lepton and at least four jets with at least two of the jets tagged as originating from a b-quark. The measured spectra are corrected for detector effects and are compared to several Monte Carlo simulations. The results are in fair agreement with the predictions over a wide kinematic range. Nevertheless, most generators predict a harder top-quark transverse momentum distribution at high values than what is observed in the data. Predictions beyond NLO accuracy improve the agreement with data at high top-quark transverse momenta. Using the current settings and parton distribution functions, the rapidity distributions are not well modelled by any generator under consideration. However, the level of agreement is improved when more recent sets of parton distribution functions are used.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Physics >> Nuclear Physics submitted time 2016-09-12
Abstract: A 6.8 nb−1 sample of pp collision data collected under low-luminosity conditions at s√=7 TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is used to study diffractive dijet production. Events containing at least two jets with pT>20 GeV are selected and analysed in terms of variables which discriminate between diffractive and non-diffractive processes. Cross sections are measured differentially in ΔηF, the size of the observable forward region of pseudorapidity which is devoid of hadronic activity, and in an estimator, ξ~, of the fractional momentum loss of the proton assuming single diffractive dissociation (pp→pX). Model comparisons indicate a dominant non-diffractive contribution up to moderately large ΔηF and small ξ~, with a diffractive contribution which is significant at the highest ΔηF and the lowest ξ~. The rapidity-gap survival probability is estimated from comparisons of the data in this latter region with predictions based on diffractive parton distribution functions.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Physics >> Nuclear Physics submitted time 2016-09-12
Abstract: A measurement of the correlations between the polar angles of leptons from the decay of pair-produced t and t¯quarks in the helicity basis is reported, using proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.6fb−1 at a center-of-mass energy of s√=7TeV collected during 2011. Candidate events are selected in the dilepton topology with large missing transverse momentum and at least two jets. The angles θ1 and θ2 between the charged leptons and the direction of motion of the parent quarks in the tt¯ rest frame are sensitive to the spin information, and the distribution of {\mbox{cosθ1⋅cosθ2}} is sensitive to the spin correlation between the t and t¯ quarks. The distribution is unfolded to parton level and compared to the next-to-leading order prediction. A good agreement is observed.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Physics >> Nuclear Physics submitted time 2016-09-12
Abstract: This article reports on a search for dark matter pair production in association with a Higgs boson decaying to a pair of bottom quarks, using data from 20.3fb−1 of pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The decay of the Higgs boson is reconstructed as a high-momentum bb¯ system with either a pair of small-radius jets, or a single large-radius jet with substructure. The observed data are found to be consistent with the expected Standard Model backgrounds. Model-independent upper limits are placed on the visible cross-sections for events with a Higgs boson decaying into bb¯ and large missing transverse momentum with thresholds ranging from 150 GeV to 400 GeV. Results are interpreted using a simplified model with a Z′ gauge boson decaying into different Higgs bosons predicted in a two-Higgs-doublet model, of which the heavy pseudoscalar Higgs decays into a pair of dark matter particles. Exclusion limits are also presented for the mass scales of various effective field theory operators that describe the interaction between dark matter particles and the Higgs boson.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review