The Standard Model of particle physics encapsulates our current best understanding of physics at the smallest scales. A fundamental axiom of this theory is the universality of the couplings of the different generations of leptons to the electroweak gauge bosons. The measurement of the ratio of the rate of decay of $W$ bosons to $\tau$-leptons and muons, $R(\tau/\mu) = B(W \to \tau \nu_\tau)/B(W \to \mu \nu_\mu)$, constitutes an important test of this axiom. A measurement of this quantity with a novel technique using di-leptonic $t\bar{t}$ events is presented based on 139 fb${}^{-1}$ of data recorded with the ATLAS detector in proton--proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV. Muons originating from $W$ bosons and those originating from an intermediate $\tau$-lepton are distinguished using the lifetime of the $\tau$-lepton, through the muon transverse impact parameter, and differences in the muon transverse momentum spectra. The value of $R(\tau/\mu)$ is found to be $0.992 \pm 0.013 [\pm 0.007 (stat) \pm 0.011 (syst)]$ and is in agreement with the hypothesis of universal lepton couplings as postulated in the Standard Model. This is the most precise measurement of this ratio, and the only such measurement from the Large Hadron Collider, to date.
This paper presents a search for dark matter in the context of a two-Higgs-doublet model together with an additional pseudoscalar mediator, $a$, which decays into the dark-matter particles. Processes where the pseudoscalar mediator is produced in association with a single top quark in the 2HDM+$a$ model are explored for the first time at the LHC. Several final states which include either one or two charged leptons (electrons or muons) and a significant amount of missing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis is based on proton-proton collision data collected with the ATLAS experiment at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV during LHC Run2 (2015-2018), corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. No significant excess above the Standard Model predictions is found. The results are expressed as 95% confidence-level limits on the parameters of the signal models considered.
The ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider reports a search for charged-lepton-flavour violation in decays of $Z$ bosons into a τ lepton and an electron or muon of opposite charge.
This paper describes a measurement of light-by-light scattering based on Pb+Pb collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment during Run 2 of the LHC. The study uses $2.2$ nb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity collected in 2015 and 2018 at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}=5.02$ TeV. Light-by-light scattering candidates are selected in events with two photons produced exclusively, each with transverse energy $E_{\mathrm{T}}^{\gamma} > 2.5$ GeV, pseudorapidity $|\eta_{\gamma}| < 2.37$, diphoton invariant mass $m_{\gamma\gamma} > 5$ GeV, and with small diphoton transverse momentum and diphoton acoplanarity. The integrated and differential fiducial cross sections are measured and compared with theoretical predictions. The diphoton invariant mass distribution is used to set limits on the production of axion-like particles. This result provides the most stringent limits to date on axion-like particle production for masses in the range 6-100 GeV. Cross sections above 2 to 70 nb are excluded at the 95% CL in that mass interval.
The ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider has been used to measure jet substructure modification and suppression in Pb+Pb collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s_{_\mathrm{NN}}}=5.02~\mathrm{TeV}$ in comparison with $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=5.02~\mathrm{TeV}$. The Pb+Pb data, collected in 2018, have an integrated luminosity of $1.72~\mathrm{nb^{-1}}$, while the $pp$ data, collected in 2017, have an integrated luminosity of $260~\mathrm{pb}^{-1}$. Jets used in this analysis are clustered using the anti-$k_{t}$ algorithm with a radius parameter $R=0.4$. The jet constituents, defined by both tracking and calorimeter information, are used to determine the angular scale $r_\mathrm{g}$ of the first hard splitting inside the jet by reclustering them using the Cambridge-Aachen algorithm and employing the soft-drop grooming technique. The nuclear modification factor, $R_\mathrm{AA}$, used to characterize jet suppression in Pb+Pb collisions, is presented differentially in $r_\mathrm{g}$, jet transverse momentum, and in intervals of collision centrality. The $R_\mathrm{AA}$ value is observed to depend significantly on jet $r_\mathrm{g}$. Jets produced with the largest measured $r_\mathrm{g}$ are found to be twice as suppressed as those with the smallest $r_\mathrm{g}$ in central Pb+Pb collisions. The $R_\mathrm{AA}$ values do not exhibit a strong variation with jet $p_\mathrm{T}$ in any of the $r_\mathrm{g}$ intervals. The $r_\mathrm{g}$ and $p_\mathrm{T}$ dependence of jet $R_\mathrm{AA}$ is qualitatively consistent with a picture of jet quenching arising from coherence and provides the most direct evidence in support of this approach.
This paper presents a search for decays of the Higgs boson with a mass of 125 GeV into a pair of new pseudoscalar particles, $H\rightarrow aa$, where one $a$-boson decays into a $b$-quark pair and the other into a muon pair. The search uses 139 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV recorded between 2015 and 2018 by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. A narrow dimuon resonance is searched for in the invariant mass spectrum between 16 GeV and 62 GeV. The largest excess of events above the Standard Model backgrounds is observed at a dimuon invariant mass of 52 GeV and corresponds to a local (global) significance of $3.3 \sigma$ ($1.7 \sigma$). Upper limits at 95% confidence level are placed on the branching ratio of the Higgs boson to the $bb\mu\mu$ final state, $\mathcal{B}(H\rightarrow aa\rightarrow bb\mu\mu)$, and are in the range $\text{(0.2-4.0)} \times 10^{-4}$, depending on the signal mass hypothesis.
A search for resonant Higgs boson pair production in the $b\bar{b}b\bar{b}$ final state is presented. The analysis uses 126-139 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis is divided into two channels, targeting Higgs boson decays which are reconstructed as pairs of small-radius jets or as individual large-radius jets. Spin-0 and spin-2 benchmark signal models are considered, both of which correspond to resonant $HH$ production via gluon$-$gluon fusion. The data are consistent with Standard Model predictions. Upper limits are set on the production cross-section times branching ratio to Higgs boson pairs of a new resonance in the mass range from 251 GeV to 5 TeV.
The results of a search for pair production of the lighter scalar partners of top quarks in 2.05 fb-1 of pp collisions at sqrt(s) =7 TeV using the ATLAS experiment at the LHC are reported. Scalar top quarks are searched for in events with two same flavour opposite-sign leptons (electrons or muons) with invariant mass consistent with the Z boson mass, large missing transverse momentum and jets in the final state. At least one of the jets is identified as originating from a b-quark. No excess over Standard Model expectations is found. The results are interpreted in the framework of R-parity conserving, gauge mediated Supersymmetry breaking `natural' scenarios, where the neutralino is the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle. Scalar top quark masses up to 310 GeV are excluded for the lightest neutralino mass between 115 GeV and 230 GeV at 95% confidence level, reaching an exclusion of the scalar top quark mass of 330 GeV for the lightest neutralino mass of 190 GeV. Scalar top quark masses below 240 GeV are excluded for all values of the lightest neutralino mass above the Z boson mass.
Two-particle correlations in relative azimuthal angle ($\Delta-\phi$) and pseudorapidity ($\Delta-\eta$) are measured in $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV p+Pb collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using approximately 1 $\mu b^{-1}$ of data as a function of $p_T$ and the transverse energy ($\sum E_T^{Pb}$) summed over 3.1 < $\eta$ < 4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. The correlation function, constructed from charged particles, exhibits a long-range (2<|$\Delta-\eta$|<5) near-side ($\Delta-\phi$ ~ 0) correlation that grows rapidly with increasing $\sum E_T^{Pb}$. A long-range away-side ($\Delta-\phi$ ~ pi) correlation, obtained by subtracting the expected contributions from recoiling dijets and other sources estimated using events with small $\sum E_T^{Pb}$, is found to match the near-side correlation in magnitude, shape (in $\Delta-\eta$ and $\Delta-\phi$) and $\sum E_T^{Pb}$ dependence. The resultant $\Delta-\phi$ correlation is approximately symmetric about $\pi$/2, and is consistent with a cos(2$\Delta-\phi$) modulation for all $\sum E_T^{Pb}$ ranges and particle $p_T$. The amplitude of this modulation is comparable in magnitude and $p_T$ dependence to similar modulations observed in heavy-ion collisions, suggestive of final-state collective effects in high multiplicity events.
A search for events with large missing transverse momentum, jets, and at least two tau leptons has been performed using 2 fb^-1 of proton-proton collision data at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No excess above the Standard Model background expectation is observed and a 95% CL visible cross section upper limit for new phenomena is set. A 95% CL lower limit of 32 TeV is set on the GMSB breaking scale Lambda independent of tan(beta). These limits provide the most stringent tests to date in a large part of the considered parameter space.
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