This letter documents a search for flavour-changing neutral currents (FCNCs), which are strongly suppressed in the Standard Model, in events with a photon and a top quark with the ATLAS detector. The analysis uses data collected in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV during Run 2 of the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. Both FCNC top-quark production and decay are considered. The final state consists of a charged lepton, missing transverse momentum, a $b$-tagged jet, one high-momentum photon and possibly additional jets. A multiclass deep neural network is used to classify events either as signal in one of the two categories, FCNC production or decay, or as background. No significant excess of events over the background prediction is observed and 95% CL upper limits are placed on the strength of left- and right-handed FCNC interactions. The 95% CL bounds on the branching fractions for the FCNC top-quark decays, estimated from both top-quark production and decay, are $\mathcal{B}(t\rightarrow u\gamma) < 0.85 \times 10^{-5}$ and $\mathcal{B}(t\to c\gamma) < 4.2 \times 10^{-5}$ for a left-handed $tq\gamma$ coupling, and $\mathcal{B}(t\to u\gamma) < 1.2 \times 10^{-5}$ and $\mathcal{B}(t\to c\gamma) < 4.5 \times 10^{-5}$ for a right-handed coupling.
Post-fit distribution of a background-only fit to the NN discriminant in the SR for the $tu\gamma$ coupling. The last bin of the distribution contains the overflow and the first bin also contains the underflow. In addition, the expected $tu\gamma$ LH signal is overlaid for an expected number of events corresponding to the observed 95% CL limit scaled by a factor of ten. The uncertainty band includes both the statistical and systematic uncertainties in the background prediction as well as the correlations of the uncertainties as obtained by the fit.
Post-fit distribution of a background-only fit to the photon transverse momentum distribution in the $t\bar{t}\gamma$ CR. The last bin of the distribution contains the overflow. The uncertainty band includes both the statistical and systematic uncertainties in the background prediction as well as the correlations of the uncertainties as obtained by the fit.
Post-fit distribution of a background-only fit to the photon transverse momentum distribution in the $W\gamma$+jets CR. The last bin of the distribution contains the overflow. The uncertainty band includes both the statistical and systematic uncertainties in the background prediction as well as the correlations of the uncertainties as obtained by the fit.
Studies of the correlations of the two highest transverse momentum (leading) jets in individual Pb+Pb collision events can provide information about the mechanism of jet quenching by the hot and dense matter created in such collisions. In Pb+Pb and pp collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_\text{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV, measurements of the leading dijet transverse momentum ($p_{\mathrm{T}}$) correlations are presented. Additionally, measurements in Pb+Pb collisions of the dijet pair nuclear modification factors projected along leading and subleading jet $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ are made. The measurements are performed using the ATLAS detector at the LHC with 260 pb$^{-1}$ of pp data collected in 2017 and 2.2 nb$^{-1}$ of Pb+Pb data collected in 2015 and 2018. An unfolding procedure is applied to the two-dimensional leading and subleading jet $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ distributions to account for experimental effects in the measurement of both jets. Results are provided for dijets with leading jet $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ greater than 100 GeV. Measurements of the dijet-yield-normalized $x_{\mathrm{J}}$ distributions in Pb+Pb collisions show an increased fraction of imbalanced jets compared to pp collisions; these measurements are in agreement with previous measurements of the same quantity at 2.76 TeV in the overlapping kinematic range. Measurements of the absolutely-normalized dijet rate in Pb+Pb and pp collisions are also presented, and show that balanced dijets are significantly more suppressed than imbalanced dijets in Pb+Pb collisions. It is observed in the measurements of the pair nuclear modification factors that the subleading jets are significantly suppressed relative to leading jets with $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ between 100 and 316 GeV for all centralities in Pb+Pb collisions.
absolutely normalized dijet cross sections from pp collisions
absolutely normalized dijet yields scaled by 1/<TAA> in 0-10% central PbPb collisions
absolutely normalized dijet yields scaled by 1/<TAA> in 10-20% central PbPb collisions
The correlations between flow harmonics $v_n$ for $n=2$, 3 and 4 and mean transverse momentum $[p_\mathrm{T}]$ in $^{129}$Xe+$^{129}$Xe and $^{208}$Pb+$^{208}$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=5.44$ TeV and 5.02 TeV, respectively, are measured using charged particles with the ATLAS detector. The correlations are sensitive to the shape and size of the initial geometry, nuclear deformation, and initial momentum anisotropy. The effects from non-flow and centrality fluctuations are minimized, respectively, via a subevent cumulant method and event activity selection based on particle production in the very forward rapidity. The results show strong dependences on centrality, harmonic number $n$, $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ and pseudorapidity range. Current models describe qualitatively the overall centrality- and system-dependent trends but fail to quantitatively reproduce all the data. In the central collisions, where models generally show good agreement, the $v_2$-$[p_\mathrm{T}]$ correlations are sensitive to the triaxiality of the quadruple deformation. The comparison of model to the Pb+Pb and Xe+Xe data suggests that the $^{129}$Xe nucleus is a highly deformed triaxial ellipsoid that is neither a prolate nor an oblate shape. This provides strong evidence for a triaxial deformation of $^{129}$Xe nucleus using high-energy heavy-ion collision.
$\rho_{2}$ Standard method, for Pb+Pb 5.02 TeV, $|\eta|$<2.5, 0.5< $p_{T}$ <5.0 GeV vs $\Sigma E_{T}$ based Centrality
$\rho_{2}$ Two_subevent method, for Pb+Pb 5.02 TeV, $|\eta|$<2.5, 0.5< $p_{T}$ <5.0 GeV vs $\Sigma E_{T}$ based Centrality
$\rho_{2}$ Three_subevent method, for Pb+Pb 5.02 TeV, $|\eta|$<2.5, 0.5< $p_{T}$ <5.0 GeV vs $\Sigma E_{T}$ based Centrality
A search for a long-lived, heavy neutral lepton ($\mathcal{N}$) in 139 fb$^{-1}$ of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV $pp$ collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is reported. The $\mathcal{N}$ is produced via $W \rightarrow \mathcal{N} \mu$ or $W \rightarrow \mathcal{N} e$ and decays into two charged leptons and a neutrino, forming a displaced vertex. The $\mathcal{N}$ mass is used to discriminate between signal and background. No signal is observed, and limits are set on the squared mixing parameters of the $\mathcal{N}$ with the left-handed neutrino states for the $\mathcal{N}$ mass range $3$ GeV $< m_{\mathcal{N}} < 15$ GeV. For the first time, limits are given for both single-flavor and multiflavor mixing scenarios motivated by neutrino flavor oscillation results for both the normal and inverted neutrino-mass hierarchies.
Expected and observed 95% CL for the 1SFH e Dirac model.
Expected and observed 95% CL for the 1SFH e Majorana model.
Expected and observed 95% CL for the 1SFH mu Dirac model.
The first measurement of the ${\rm e}^{+}{\rm e}^{-}$ pair production at low lepton pair transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T,ee}$) and low invariant mass ($m_{\rm ee}$) in non-central Pb$-$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV at the LHC is presented. The dielectron production is studied with the ALICE detector at midrapidity ($|\eta_{\rm e}| < 0.8$) as a function of invariant mass ($0.4 \leq m_{\rm ee} < 2.7$ GeV/$c^2$) in the 50$-$70% and 70$-$90% centrality classes for $p_{\rm T,ee} < 0.1$ GeV/$c$, and as a function of $p_{\rm T,ee}$ in three $m_{\rm ee}$ intervals in the most peripheral Pb$-$Pb collisions. Below a $p_{\rm T,ee}$ of 0.1 GeV/$c$, a clear excess of ${\rm e}^{+}{\rm e}^{-}$ pairs is found compared to the expectations from known hadronic sources and predictions of thermal radiation from the medium. The $m_{\rm ee}$ excess spectra are reproduced, within uncertainties, by different predictions of the photon$-$photon production of dielectrons, where the photons originate from the extremely strong electromagnetic fields generated by the highly Lorentz-contracted Pb nuclei. Lowest-order quantum electrodynamic (QED) calculations, as well as a model that takes into account the impact-parameter dependence of the average transverse momentum of the photons, also provide a good description of the $p_{\rm T,ee}$ spectra. The measured $\sqrt{\langle p_{\rm T,ee}^{2} \rangle}$ of the excess $p_{\rm T,ee}$ spectrum in peripheral Pb$-$Pb collisions is found to be comparable to the values observed previously at RHIC in a similar phase-space region.
Differential $e^+e^-$ yield in 50--70\% Pb--Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV as a function of $m_{\rm ee}$ for $p_{\rm T,ee} < 0.1$ GeV/$c$. Electrons are measured within $|\eta_{\rm e}| < 0.8$ and $p_{\rm T,e} > 0.2$ GeV/$c$. The quoted upper limits correspond to a 90% confidence level.
Differential $e^+e^-$ yield in 70--90\% Pb--Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV as a function of $m_{\rm ee}$ for $p_{\rm T,ee} < 0.1$ GeV/$c$. Electrons are measured within $|\eta_{\rm e}| < 0.8$ and $p_{\rm T,e} > 0.2$ GeV/$c$.
Differential excess $e^+e^-$ yield in 50--70\% Pb--Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV as a function of $m_{\rm ee}$ for $p_{\rm T,ee} < 0.1$ GeV/$c$. Electrons are measured within $|\eta_{\rm e}| < 0.8$ and $p_{\rm T,e} > 0.2$ GeV/$c$. The quoted upper limits correspond to a 90% confidence level.
The first measurement of event-by-event antideuteron number fluctuations in high energy heavy-ion collisions is presented. The measurements are carried out at midrapidity ($|\eta| < 0.8$) as a function of collision centrality in Pb$-$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV using the ALICE detector. A significant negative correlation between the produced antiprotons and antideuterons is observed in all collision centralities. The results are compared with coalescence calculations, which fail to describe the measurement, in particular if a correlated production of protons and neutrons is assumed. Thermal-statistical model calculations describe the data within uncertainties only for correlation volumes that are different with respect to those describing proton yields and a similar measurement of net-proton number fluctuations.
Second order to first order cumulant ratio of the $\overline{d}$ multiplicity distribution as a function of collision centrality in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV.
Pearson correlation between the measured $\overline{p}$ and $\overline{d}$ as a function of collision centrality in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV.
Dependence of $\overline{p}$-$\overline{d}$ correlation on pseudorapidity acceptance of $\overline{p}$ and $\overline{d}$ selection in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV. Results are for 0.0--10.0$\%$ collision centrality.
We report about the properties of the underlying event measured with ALICE at the LHC in pp and p$-$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV. The event activity, quantified by charged-particle number and summed-$p_{\rm T}$ densities, is measured as a function of the leading-particle transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}^{\rm trig}$). These quantities are studied in three azimuthal-angle regions relative to the leading particle in the event: toward, away, and transverse. Results are presented for three different $p_{\rm T}$ thresholds (0.15, 0.5, and 1 GeV/$c$) at mid-pseudorapidity ($|\eta|<0.8$). The event activity in the transverse region, which is the most sensitive to the underlying event, exhibits similar behaviour in both pp and p$-$Pb collisions, namely, a steep increase with $p_{\rm T}^{\rm trig}$ for low $p_{\rm T}^{\rm trig}$, followed by a saturation at $p_{\rm T}^{\rm trig} \approx 5$ GeV/$c$. The results from pp collisions are compared with existing measurements at other centre-of-mass energies. The quantities in the toward and away regions are also analyzed after the subtraction of the contribution measured in the transverse region. The remaining jet-like particle densities are consistent in pp and p$-$Pb collisions for $p_{\rm T}^{\rm trig}>10$ GeV/$c$, whereas for lower $p_{\rm T}^{\rm trig}$ values the event activity is slightly higher in p$-$Pb than in pp collisions. The measurements are compared with predictions from the PYTHIA 8 and EPOS LHC Monte Carlo event generators.
Fig. 4: Number density $N_{\rm ch}$ (left) and $\Sigma p_{\rm T}$ (right) distributions as a function of $p_{\rm T}^{\rm trig}$ in Transverse, Away, and Toward regions for $p_{\rm T} >$ 0.5 GeV/$c$. The shaded areas and the error bars around the data points represent the systematic and statistical uncertainties, respectively.
Fig. 5: Number density $N_{\rm ch}$ (left) and $\Sigma p_{\rm T}$ (right) distributions as a function of $p_{\rm T}^{\rm trig}$ in Transverse, Away, and Toward regions for $p_{\rm T} >$ 0.5 GeV/$c$. The shaded areas and the error bars around the data points represent the systematic and statistical uncertainties, respectively.
Fig. 6a: Number density $N_{\rm ch}$ (left) and $\Sigma p_{\rm T}$ (right) distributions as a function of $p_{\rm T}^{\rm trig}$ in Away and Toward regions after the subtraction of Number density $N_{\rm ch}$ and $\Sigma p_{\rm T}$ distributions in the transverse region for pp collisions for $p_{\rm T} >$ 0.5 GeV/$c$. The shaded areas and the error bars around the data points represent the systematic and statistical uncertainties, respectively.
A study of $B_c^+\to J/\psi D_s^+$ and $B_c^+\to J/\psi D_s^{*+}$ decays using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity collected with the ATLAS detector from $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV $pp$ collisions at the LHC is presented. The ratios of the branching fractions of the two decays to the branching fraction of the $B_c^+\to J/\psi \pi^+$ decay are measured: $\mathcal B(B_c^+\to J/\psi D_s^+)/\mathcal B(B_c^+\to J/\psi \pi^+) = 2.76\pm 0.47$ and $\mathcal B(B_c^+\to J/\psi D_s^{*+})/\mathcal B(B_c^+\to J/\psi \pi^+) = 5.33\pm 0.96$. The ratio of the branching fractions of the two decays is found to be $\mathcal B(B_c^+\to J/\psi D_s^{*+})/\mathcal B(B_c^+\to J/\psi D_s^+) = 1.93\pm0.26$. For the $B_c^+\to J/\psi D_s^{*+}$ decay, the transverse polarization fraction, $\Gamma_{\pm\pm}/\Gamma$, is measured to be $0.70\pm0.11$. The reported uncertainties include both the statistical and systematic components added in quadrature. The precision of the measurements exceeds that in all previous studies of these decays. These results supersede those obtained in the earlier ATLAS study of the same decays with $\sqrt{s} = 7$ and 8 TeV $pp$ collision data. A comparison with available theoretical predictions for the measured quantities is presented.
Measured values of $R_{D_s^+/\pi^+}$, $R_{D_s^{*+}/\pi^+}$, $R_{D_s^{*+}/D_s^+}$ ratios of branching fractions, fraction of transverse polarization $\Gamma_{\pm\pm}/\Gamma$ with their statistical uncertainties and full breakdown of systematic uncertainties. Predictions of various theory calculations are also shown with their uncertainties where available, as well as the estimates based on similar decays of light $B$ mesons.
Parameters of the $B_c^+\to J/\psi D_s^+$ and $B_c^+\to J/\psi D_s^{*+}$ signals obtained with the unbinned extended maximum-likelihood fit to the data. Only the statistical uncertainties are included. No acceptance or efficiency corrections are applied to the signal yields.
Parameters of the $B_c^+\to J/\psi \pi^+$ signal obtained with the unbinned extended maximum-likelihood fit. Only the statistical uncertainties are included. No efficiency correction is applied to the signal yield.
A search for decays of pair-produced neutral long-lived particles (LLPs) is presented using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2015-2018 at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. Dedicated techniques were developed for the reconstruction of displaced jets produced by LLPs decaying hadronically in the ATLAS hadronic calorimeter. Two search regions are defined for different LLP kinematic regimes. The observed numbers of events are consistent with the expected background, and limits for several benchmark signals are determined. For a SM Higgs boson with a mass of 125 GeV, branching ratios above 10% are excluded at 95% confidence level for values of $c$ times LLP mean proper lifetime in the range between 20 mm and 10 m depending on the model. Upper limits are also set on the cross-section times branching ratio for scalars with a mass of 60 GeV and for masses between 200 GeV and 1 TeV.
CalRatio triggers which were available during the LHC Run 2 data-taking, and corresponding integrated luminosity collected in each period. The high-E<sub>T</sub> CalRatio trigger with E<sub>T</sub> > 60 GeV was disabled in 2017 for instantaneous luminosities higher than 1.4 × 10<sup>34</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup> s<sup>-1</sup>. Two versions of the low-E<sub>T</sub> CalRatio trigger were used, with slight differences in their algorithms. The details are reported in Section 4.
Trigger efficiency for simulated signal events as a function of the LLP p<sub>T</sub> for one of the low-E<sub>T</sub> signal samples for HLT CalRatio triggers seeded by the high-E<sub>T</sub> L1 triggers with E<sub>T</sub> thresholds of 60 GeV and 100 GeV and by the two versions of the low-E<sub>T</sub> L1 triggers. Only statistical uncertainties are shown.
Trigger efficiency for simulated signal events as a function of the LLP p<sub>T</sub> for one of the high-E<sub>T</sub> signal samples for HLT CalRatio triggers seeded by the high-E<sub>T</sub> L1 triggers with E<sub>T</sub> thresholds of 60 GeV and 100 GeV and by the two versions of the low-E<sub>T</sub> L1 triggers. Only statistical uncertainties are shown.
A search for events with two displaced vertices from long-lived particles (LLP) pairs using data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented. This analysis uses 139~fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV recorded in 2015-2018. The search employs techniques for reconstructing vertices of LLPs decaying to jets in the muon spectrometer displaced between 3 m and 14 m with respect to the primary interaction vertex. The observed numbers of events are consistent with the expected background and limits for several benchmark signals are determined. For the Higgs boson with a mass of 125 GeV, the paper reports the first exclusion limits for branching fractions into neutral long-lived particles below 0.1%, while branching fractions above 10% are excluded at 95% confidence level for LLP proper lifetimes ranging from 4 cm to 72.4 m. In addition, the paper present the first results for the decay of LLPs into into $t\bar{t}$ in the ATLAS muon spectrometer.
Efficiency for the Muon RoI Cluster trigger as a function of the decay position of the LLP for some scalar portal samples in the MS barrel for events passing the data quality requirements and having a reconstructed primary vertex. These efficiency distributions are based solely on MC simulation, without any corrections applied for mismodeling. The vertical lines show the relevant detector boundaries, where “HCal end” is the outer limit of the hadronic calorimeter, “RPC 1/2” represent the first/second stations of RPC chambers, “TGC 1” represents the first stations of TGC chambers and “L/S” indicate whether they are in the Large or Small sectors.
Efficiency for the Muon RoI Cluster trigger as a function of the decay position of the LLP for some scalar portal samples in the MS endcaps for events passing the data quality requirements and having a reconstructed primary vertex. These efficiency distributions are based solely on MC simulation, without any corrections applied for mismodeling. The vertical lines show the relevant detector boundaries, where “HCal end” is the outer limit of the hadronic calorimeter, “RPC 1/2” represent the first/second stations of RPC chambers, “TGC 1” represents the first stations of TGC chambers and “L/S” indicate whether they are in the Large or Small sectors.
Efficiency to reconstruct an MS DV in the MS barrel fiducial volume as a function of the transverse decay position of the LLP for scalar portal samples with $m_\varPhi=125$~\GeV\ for vertices that pass the baseline event selection and satisfy the vertex isolation criteria. The efficiency distributions are corrected for mismodeling. The vertical lines show the relevant detector boundaries, where ``HCal end'' is the outer limit of the hadronic calorimeter, ``MDT 1/2'' represent the first/second stations of MDT chambers and ``L/S'' indicate whether they are in Large or Small sectors.
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