This Letter presents a measurement of the inelastic proton-proton cross section using 60 $\mu$b$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collisions at a center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}$ of $13$ TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Inelastic interactions are selected using rings of plastic scintillators in the forward region ($2.07<|\eta|<3.86$) of the detector. A cross section of $68.1\pm 1.4$ mb is measured in the fiducial region $\xi=M_X^2/s>10^{-6}$, where $M_X$ is the larger invariant mass of the two hadronic systems separated by the largest rapidity gap in the event. In this $\xi$ range the scintillators are highly efficient. For diffractive events this corresponds to cases where at least one proton dissociates to a system with $M_X>13$ GeV. The measured cross section is compared with a range of theoretical predictions. When extrapolated to the full phase space, a cross-section of $78.1 \pm 2.9$ mb is measured, consistent with the inelastic cross section increasing with center-of-mass energy.
The measured and extrapolated inelastic cross section. The statistical uncertainty is negligible and is therefore displayed as zero. The first systematic uncertainty is the experimental systematic uncertainty apart from the luminosity, the second is the luminosity uncertainty, and the third is the extrapolation uncertainty.
This article presents searches for the $Z\gamma$ decay of the Higgs boson and for narrow high-mass resonances decaying to $Z\gamma$, exploiting $Z$ boson decays to pairs of electrons or muons. The data analysis uses 36.1 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The data are found to be consistent with the expected Standard Model background. The observed (expected - assuming Standard Model $pp\to H\to Z\gamma$ production and decay) upper limit on the production cross section times the branching ratio for $pp\to H\to Z\gamma$ is 6.6 (5.2) times the Standard Model prediction at the 95% confidence level for a Higgs boson mass of 125.09 GeV. In addition, upper limits are set on the production cross section times the branching ratio as a function of the mass of a narrow resonance between 250 GeV and 2.4 TeV, assuming spin-0 resonances produced via gluon-gluon fusion, and spin-2 resonances produced via gluon-gluon or quark-antiquark initial states. For high-mass spin-0 resonances, the observed (expected) limits vary between 88 fb (61 fb) and 2.8 fb (2.7 fb) for the mass range from 250 GeV to 2.4 TeV at the 95% confidence level.
The measured sigma(pp-->X)xB(X->Z gamma) limit with the hypothesis of spin-0 resonance.
The measured sigma(pp-->X)xB(X->Z gamma) limit with the hypothesis of spin-2 resonance via gluon-gluon initial states.
The measured sigma(pp-->X)xB(X->Z gamma) limit with the hypothesis of spin-0 resonance via qqbar initial states.
The analysis of the momentum difference between charged hadrons in high-energy proton-proton collisions is performed in order to study coherent particle production. The observed correlation pattern agrees with a model of a helical QCD string fragmenting into a chain of ground-state hadrons. A threshold momentum difference in the production of adjacent pairs of charged hadrons is observed, in agreement with model predictions. The presence of low-mass hadron chains also explains the emergence of charge-combination-dependent two-particle correlations commonly attributed to Bose-Einstein interference. The data sample consists of 190 inverse microbarns of minimum bias events collected with proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV in the early low-luminosity data taking with the ATLAS detector at the LHC.
The inclusive Delta as a function of $Q$, in the interval 0.02 GeV < Q < 2 GeV.
The Delta(3h), for 3-hadron chains with mass below 0.59 GeV, as a function of $Q$, in the interval 0.02 GeV < Q < 0.36 GeV.
The Dalitz plot, for 3-hadron chains with mass below 0.59 GeV. Coordinates X = sqrt(3)(T0-T2)/sum(T) , Y = 3T1/sum(T) - 1. T0/T1/T2 stand for kinetic energy of hadrons in the rest frame of the triplet ( hadrons 0 and 2 form like-sign pair).
A search is presented for the pair production of heavy vector-like $T$ and $B$ quarks, primarily targeting the $T$ quark decays to a $W$ boson and a $b$-quark. The search is based on $36.1$ fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV recorded in 2015 and 2016 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Data are analysed in the lepton-plus-jets final state, including at least one $b$-tagged jet and a large-radius jet identified as originating from the hadronic decay of a high-momentum $W$ boson. No significant deviation from the Standard Model expectation is observed in the reconstructed $T$ mass distribution. The observed 95% confidence level lower limit on the $T$ mass are 1350 GeV assuming 100% branching ratio to $Wb$. In the SU(2) singlet scenario, the lower mass limit is 1170 GeV. This search is also sensitive to a heavy vector-like $B$ quark decaying to $Wt$ and other final states. The results are thus reinterpreted to provide a 95% confidence level lower limit on the $B$ quark mass at 1250 GeV assuming 100% branching ratio to $Wt$; in the SU(2) singlet scenario, the limit is 1080 GeV. Mass limits on both $T$ and $B$ production are also set as a function of the decay branching ratios. The 100% branching ratio limits are found to be applicable to heavy vector-like $Y$ and $X$ production that decay to $Wb$ and $Wt$, respectively.
The leptonic VLQ candidate mass distributions in the signal region after the maximum likelihood fit in the signal region and control region.
Expected and observed upper limits at the 95% CL on the TT cross section as a function of T quark mass under the assumption of BR(T->Wb)=1.
Expected and observed upper limits at the 95% CL on the TT cross section as a function of T quark mass for an SU(2) singlet T.
This paper presents a study of $WW\gamma$ and $WZ\gamma$ triboson production using events from proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.2 fb$^{-1}$. The $WW\gamma$ production cross-section is determined using a final state containing an electron, a muon, a photon, and neutrinos ($e\nu\mu\nu\gamma$). Upper limits on the production cross-section of the $e\nu\mu\nu\gamma$ final state and the $WW\gamma$ and $WZ\gamma$ final states containing an electron or a muon, two jets, a photon, and a neutrino ($e\nu jj\gamma$ or $\mu\nu jj\gamma$) are also derived. The results are compared to the cross-sections predicted by the Standard Model at next-to-leading order in the strong-coupling constant. In addition, upper limits on the production cross-sections are derived in a fiducial region optimised for a search for new physics beyond the Standard Model. The results are interpreted in the context of anomalous quartic gauge couplings using an effective field theory. Confidence intervals at 95% confidence level are derived for the 14 coupling coefficients to which $WW\gamma$ and $WZ\gamma$ production are sensitive.
Computed fiducial cross section in the $e\nu\mu\nu\gamma$ channel. The first uncertainty shown is the statistical uncertainty and the second one is the total systematic uncertainty including the uncertainty due to the luminosity. The theoretical prediction is determined with the VBFNLO generator and its uncertainty does not account for an uncertainty related to the scale introduced by restricting the jet multiplicity in the fully leptonic channel.
Observed and expected cross-section upper limits at 95\% CL for the different final states using the CL$_{\text{s}}$ method. The expected cross-section limits are computed assuming no signal is present. The last column shows the theory prediction for the signal cross-section ($\sigma_{\text{theo}}$) computed with the VBFNLO generator and corrected to particle level. The $\ell \nu jj \gamma$ cross-section corresponds to the average cross-section per lepton flavour in the semileptonic analysis and all events of the $e \nu jj \gamma$ and $\mu\nu jj \gamma$ final states are employed for the determination of this limit.
Observed and expected cross-section upper limits at 95\% CL using the CL$_{\text{s}}$ method for the different final states with the photon \et threshold optimised for maximal aQGC sensitivity. The expected cross-section limits are computed assuming the absence of $WV\gamma$ production. The last column shows the theory prediction for the SM signal cross-section computed with the VBFNLO generator and corrected to particle level. The $\ell \nu jj \gamma$ cross-section corresponds to the average cross-section per lepton flavour in the semileptonic analysis and all events of the $e \nu jj \gamma$ and $\mu\nu jj \gamma$ final states are employed for the determination of this limit.
The cross-section for the production of two jets in association with a leptonically decaying Z boson ($Zjj$) is measured in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, using data recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb$^{-1}$. The electroweak $Zjj$ cross-section is extracted in a fiducial region chosen to enhance the electroweak contribution relative to the dominant Drell-Yan $Zjj$ process, which is constrained using a data-driven approach. The measured fiducial electroweak cross-section is $\sigma^{Zjj}_{EW}= 119\pm 16 (\mathrm{stat.}) \pm 20 (\mathrm{syst.})\pm 2 (\mathrm{lumi.})$ for dijet invariant mass greater than 250 GeV, and $34.2\pm 5.8 (\mathrm{stat.})\pm 5.5 (\mathrm{syst.})\pm 0.7 (\mathrm{lumi.})$ for dijet invariant mass greater than 1 TeV. Standard Model predictions are in agreement with the measurements. The inclusive $Zjj$ cross-section is also measured in six different fiducial regions with varying contributions from electroweak and Drell-Yan $Zjj$ production.
Fiducial regions definitions
Measured and predicted inclusive Zjj production cross-sections in the six fiducial regions
Measured and predicted EW-Zjj production cross-sections in the EW-enriched fiducial regions with and without an additional kinematic requirement of $m_{jj} > $ 1 TeV
A combined measurement of differential and inclusive total cross sections of Higgs boson production is performed using 36.1 fb$^{-1}$ of 13 TeV proton-proton collision data produced by the LHC and recorded by the ATLAS detector in 2015 and 2016. Cross sections are obtained from measured $H \rightarrow \gamma \gamma$ and $H \rightarrow ZZ^* \rightarrow 4\ell$ event yields, which are combined taking into account detector efficiencies, resolution, acceptances and branching fractions. The total Higgs boson production cross section is measured to be 57.0$^{+6.0}_{-5.9}$ (stat.) $^{+4.0}_{-3.3}$ (syst.) pb, in agreement with the Standard Model prediction. Differential cross-section measurements are presented for the Higgs boson transverse momentum distribution, Higgs boson rapidity, number of jets produced together with the Higgs boson, and the transverse momentum of the leading jet. The results from the two decay channels are found to be compatible, and their combination agrees with the Standard Model predictions.
Differential cross sections in the full phase space obtained from the H->gammagamma and H->4l combined measurement for Higgs boson transverse momentum ptH. The NNLOPS ggF prediction scaled to the N3LO cross section is also provided.
Differential cross sections in the full phase space obtained from the H->gammagamma and H->4l combined measurement for the Higgs boson rapidity |yH|. The NNLOPS ggF prediction scaled to the N3LO cross section is also provided.
Differential cross sections in the full phase space obtained from the H->gammagamma and H->4l combined measurement for the number of jets Njets with pT > 30 GeV. The NNLOPS ggF prediction scaled to the N3LO cross section is also provided.
A search for dark matter (DM) particles produced in association with a hadronically decaying vector boson is performed using $pp$ collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb$^{-1}$, recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. This analysis improves on previous searches for processes with hadronic decays of $W$ and $Z$ bosons in association with large missing transverse momentum (mono-$W/Z$ searches) due to the larger dataset and further optimization of the event selection and signal region definitions. In addition to the mono-$W/Z$ search, the as yet unexplored hypothesis of a new vector boson $Z^\prime$ produced in association with dark matter is considered (mono-$Z^\prime$ search). No significant excess over the Standard Model prediction is observed. The results of the mono-$W/Z$ search are interpreted in terms of limits on invisible Higgs boson decays into dark matter particles, constraints on the parameter space of the simplified vector-mediator model and generic upper limits on the visible cross sections for $W/Z$+DM production. The results of the mono-$Z^\prime$ search are shown in the framework of several simplified-model scenarios involving DM production in association with the $Z^\prime$ boson.
The product of the acceptance and effifiency. Defined as the number of signal events satisfying the full set of selection criteria, divided by the total number of generated signal events, after the full event selection for the combined mono-W and mono-Z signal of the simplified vector-mediator model, shown in dependence on mass of the Z' mediator (mZp). For a given model, the signal contributions from each category are summed together.
The product of the acceptance and effifiency. Defined as the number of signal events satisfying the full set of selection criteria, divided by the total number of generated signal events, after the full event selection for the mono-Z' dark fermion and dark-Higgs signal models, shown in dependence on the mass of the Z' mediator (mZp). For a given model, the signal contributions from each category are summed together.
The observed and expected MET distributions with 36.1fb-1 of data with sqrt(s) = 13 TeV in the mono-W/Z signal region with the merged event topology after the profile-likelihood fit. This is shown for the 0b-tagged jet, high purity, event category.
This paper presents single lepton and dilepton kinematic distributions measured in dileptonic $t\bar{t}$ events produced in 20.2 fb$^{-1}$ of $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV $pp$ collisions recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Both absolute and normalised differential cross-sections are measured, using events with an opposite-charge $e\mu$ pair and one or two $b$-tagged jets. The cross-sections are measured in a fiducial region corresponding to the detector acceptance for leptons, and are compared to the predictions from a variety of Monte Carlo event generators, as well as fixed-order QCD calculations, exploring the sensitivity of the cross-sections to the gluon parton distribution function. Some of the distributions are also sensitive to the top quark pole mass; a combined fit of NLO fixed-order predictions to all the measured distributions yields a top quark mass value of $m_t^{\rm pole}=173.2\pm 0.9\pm0.8\pm1.2$ GeV, where the three uncertainties arise from data statistics, experimental systematics, and theoretical sources.
Absolute differential cross-section in the fiducial region as a function of lepton pT. The first column gives the cross-section including contributions from leptonic tau decays, the second without. Systematic uncertainties are given for ttbar modelling (ttmod), lepton calibration (lept), jet and b-tagging calibration (jet), backgrounds (bkg) and integrated luminosity and beam energy (leb).
Normalised differential cross-section in the fiducial region as a function of lepton pT. The first column gives the cross-section including contributions from leptonic tau decays, the second without. Systematic uncertainties are given for ttbar modelling (ttmod), lepton calibration (lept), jet and b-tagging calibration (jet), backgrounds (bkg) and integrated luminosity and beam energy (leb).
Absolute differential cross-section in the fiducial region as a function of lepton eta. The first column gives the cross-section including contributions from leptonic tau decays, the second without. Systematic uncertainties are given for ttbar modelling (ttmod), lepton calibration (lept), jet and b-tagging calibration (jet), backgrounds (bkg) and integrated luminosity and beam energy (leb).
A search for the electroweak production of charginos, neutralinos and sleptons decaying into final states involving two or three electrons or muons is presented. The analysis is based on 36.1 fb$^{-1}$ of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV proton--proton collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Several scenarios based on simplified models are considered. These include the associated production of the next-to-lightest neutralino and the lightest chargino, followed by their decays into final states with leptons and the lightest neutralino via either sleptons or Standard Model gauge bosons; direct production of chargino pairs, which in turn decay into leptons and the lightest neutralino via intermediate sleptons; and slepton pair production, where each slepton decays directly into the lightest neutralino and a lepton. No significant deviations from the Standard Model expectation are observed and stringent limits at 95% confidence level are placed on the masses of relevant supersymmetric particles in each of these scenarios. For a massless lightest neutralino, masses up to 580 GeV are excluded for the associated production of the next-to-lightest neutralino and the lightest chargino, assuming gauge-boson mediated decays, whereas for slepton-pair production masses up to 500 GeV are excluded assuming three generations of mass-degenerate sleptons.
The mll distribution for data and the estimated SM backgrounds in the 2l+0jets channel for SR2-SF-loose. Two signal points are added for comparison.
The mT2 distribution for data and the estimated SM backgrounds in the 2l+0jets channel for SR2-SF-loose. Two signal points are added for comparison.
The mT2 distributions for data and the estimated SM backgrounds in the 2l+0jets channel for the SR2-DF-100 selection. Two signal points are added for comparison.
Forum