A search for supersymmetry in events with four or more charged leptons (electrons, muons and $\tau$-leptons) is presented. The analysis uses a data sample corresponding to $139\,\mbox{fb\(^{-1}\)}$ of proton-proton collisions delivered by the Large Hadron Collider at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector. Four-lepton signal regions with up to two hadronically decaying $\tau$-leptons are designed to target several supersymmetric models, while a general five-lepton signal region targets any new physics phenomena leading to a final state with five charged leptons. Data yields are consistent with Standard Model expectations and results are used to set upper limits on contributions from processes beyond the Standard Model. Exclusion limits are set at the 95% confidence level in simplified models of general gauge-mediated supersymmetry, excluding higgsino masses up to $540$ GeV. In $R$-parity-violating simplified models with decays of the lightest supersymmetric particle to charged leptons, lower limits of $1.6$ TeV, $1.2$ TeV, and $2.5$ TeV are placed on wino, slepton and gluino masses, respectively.
The $E_{\mathrm{T}}^{\mathrm{miss}}$ distribution in SR0-ZZ$^{\mathrm{loose}}$ and SR0-ZZ$^{\mathrm{tight}}$ for events passing the signal region requirements except the $E_{\mathrm{T}}^{\mathrm{miss}}$ requirement. Distributions for data, the estimated SM backgrounds after the background-only fit, and an example SUSY scenario are shown. "Other" is the sum of the $tWZ$, $t\bar{t}WW$, $t\bar{t} ZZ$, $t\bar{t} WH$, $t\bar{t} HH$, $t\bar{t} tW$, and $t\bar{t}t\bar{t}$ backgrounds. The last bin captures the overflow events. The lower panel shows the ratio of the observed data to the expected SM background yield in each bin. Both the statistical and systematic uncertainties in the SM background are included in the shaded band. The red arrows indicate the $E_{\mathrm{T}}^{\mathrm{miss}}$ selections in the signal regions.
The $E_{\mathrm{T}}^{\mathrm{miss}}$ distribution in SR0-ZZ$_{\mathrm{bveto}}^{\mathrm{loose}}$ and SR0-ZZ$_{\mathrm{bveto}}^{\mathrm{tight}}$ for events passing the signal region requirements except the $E_{\mathrm{T}}^{\mathrm{miss}}$ requirement. Distributions for data, the estimated SM backgrounds after the background-only fit, and an example SUSY scenario are shown. "Other" is the sum of the $tWZ$, $t\bar{t}WW$, $t\bar{t} ZZ$, $t\bar{t} WH$, $t\bar{t} HH$, $t\bar{t} tW$, and $t\bar{t}t\bar{t}$ backgrounds. The last bin captures the overflow events. The lower panel shows the ratio of the observed data to the expected SM background yield in each bin. Both the statistical and systematic uncertainties in the SM background are included in the shaded band. The red arrows indicate the $E_{\mathrm{T}}^{\mathrm{miss}}$ selections in the signal regions.
The $E_{\mathrm{T}}^{\mathrm{miss}}$ distribution in SR5L. Distributions for data, the estimated SM backgrounds after the background-only fit, and an example SUSY scenario are shown. "Other" is the sum of the $tWZ$, $t\bar{t}WW$, $t\bar{t} ZZ$, $t\bar{t} WH$, $t\bar{t} HH$, $t\bar{t} tW$, and $t\bar{t}t\bar{t}$ backgrounds. The last bin captures the overflow events. The lower panel shows the ratio of the observed data to the expected SM background yield in each bin. Both the statistical and systematic uncertainties in the SM background are included in the shaded band.
A search for charged Higgs bosons decaying into $W^\pm W^\pm$ or $W^\pm Z$ bosons is performed, involving experimental signatures with two leptons of the same charge, or three or four leptons with a variety of charge combinations, missing transverse momentum and jets. A data sample of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider between 2015 and 2018 is used. The data correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. The search is guided by a type-II seesaw model that extends the scalar sector of the Standard Model with a scalar triplet, leading to a phenomenology that includes doubly and singly charged Higgs bosons. Two scenarios are explored, corresponding to the pair production of doubly charged $H^{\pm\pm}$ bosons, or the associated production of a doubly charged $H^{\pm\pm}$ boson and a singly charged $H^\pm$ boson. No significant deviations from the Standard Model predictions are observed. $H^{\pm\pm}$ bosons are excluded at 95% confidence level up to 350 GeV and 230 GeV for the pair and associated production modes, respectively.
Distribution of $E_{T}^{miss}$, which is one of the discriminating variables used to define the $2\ell^{sc}$ SRs. The events are selected with the preselection requirements listed in Table 4 in the paper. The data (dots) are compared with the expected contributions from the relevant background sources (histograms). The expected signal distributions for $m_{H^{\pm\pm}} = 300~GeV$ are also shown, scaled to the observed number of events. The last bin includes overflows.
Distribution of $\Delta R_{\ell^{\pm}\ell^{\pm}}$, which is one of the discriminating variables used to define the $2\ell^{sc}$ SRs. The events are selected with the preselection requirements listed in Table 4 in the paper. The data (dots) are compared with the expected contributions from the relevant background sources (histograms). The expected signal distributions for $m_{H^{\pm\pm}} = 300~GeV$ are also shown, scaled to the observed number of events. The last bin includes overflows.
Distribution of $M_{jets}$, which is one of the discriminating variables used to define the $2\ell^{sc}$ SRs. The events are selected with the preselection requirements listed in Table 4 in the paper. The data (dots) are compared with the expected contributions from the relevant background sources (histograms). The expected signal distributions for $m_{H^{\pm\pm}} = 300~GeV$ are also shown, scaled to the observed number of events. The last bin includes overflows.
A search for dark-matter particles in events with large missing transverse momentum and a Higgs boson candidate decaying into two photons is reported. The search uses $139$ fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data collected at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV with the ATLAS detector at the CERN LHC between 2015 and 2018. No significant excess of events over the Standard Model predictions is observed. The results are interpreted by extracting limits on three simplified models that include either vector or pseudoscalar mediators and predict a final state with a pair of dark-matter candidates and a Higgs boson decaying into two photons.
The $E^{miss}_{T}$ distribution of data and MC after the diphoton selection.
The observed exclusion contor for the $Z^{\prime}_{B}$ model in the $m_{\chi}$-$m_{Z^{\prime}_{B}}$ plane.
The expected exclusion contor for the $Z^{\prime}_{B}$ model in the $m_{\chi}$-$m_{Z^{\prime}_{B}}$ plane.
Measurements of four-lepton differential and integrated fiducial cross-sections in events with two same-flavour, opposite-charge electron or muon pairs are presented. The data correspond to 139 fb$^{-1}$ of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV proton-proton collisions, collected by the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider (2015-2018). The final state has contributions from a number of interesting Standard Model processes that dominate in different four-lepton invariant mass regions, including single $Z$ boson production, Higgs boson production and on-shell $ZZ$ production, with a complex mix of interference terms, and possible contributions from physics beyond the Standard Model. The differential cross-sections include the four-lepton invariant mass inclusively, in slices of other kinematic variables, and in different lepton flavour categories. Also measured are dilepton invariant masses, transverse momenta, and angular correlation variables, in four regions of four-lepton invariant mass, each dominated by different processes. The measurements are corrected for detector effects and are compared with state-of-the-art Standard Model calculations, which are found to be consistent with the data. The $Z\rightarrow 4\ell$ branching fraction is extracted, giving a value of $\left(4.41 \pm 0.30\right) \times 10^{-6}$. Constraints on effective field theory parameters and a model based on a spontaneously broken $B-L$ gauge symmetry are also evaluated. Further reinterpretations can be performed with the provided information.
Inclusive differential cross section for four leptons (Max = 1710~GeV).
Inclusive differential cross section for four muons (Max = 1320~GeV)
Inclusive differential cross section for four electrons (Max = 887~GeV).
Differential and double-differential distributions of kinematic variables of leptons from decays of top-quark pairs ($t\bar{t}$) are measured using the full LHC Run 2 data sample collected with the ATLAS detector. The data were collected at a $pp$ collision energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb$^{-1}$. The measurements use events containing an oppositely charged $e\mu$ pair and $b$-tagged jets. The results are compared with predictions from several Monte Carlo generators. While no prediction is found to be consistent with all distributions, a better agreement with measurements of the lepton $p_{\text{T}}$ distributions is obtained by reweighting the $t\bar{t}$ sample so as to reproduce the top-quark $p_{\text{T}}$ distribution from an NNLO calculation. The inclusive top-quark pair production cross-section is measured as well, both in a fiducial region and in the full phase-space. The total inclusive cross-section is found to be \[ \sigma_{t\bar{t}} = 829 \pm 1\;(\textrm{stat}) \pm 13\;(\textrm{syst}) \pm 8\;(\textrm{lumi}) \pm 2\; (\textrm{beam})\ \textrm{pb}, \] where the uncertainties are due to statistics, systematic effects, the integrated luminosity and the beam energy. This is in excellent agreement with the theoretical expectation.
Definition of the fiducial phase space with the lepton candidate, electron $e$ and muon $\mu$, and jets.
Breakdown of systematic uncertainties in the measured fiducial cross-section. The impact of the top-quark mass on the cross-section is included in the table and not counted in the total uncertainty entry in the paper.
Data bootstrap post unfolding for the fiducial cross-section. The replicas are obtained by reweighting each observed data event by a random integer generated according to Poisson statistics, using the BootstrapGenerator software package (https://gitlab.cern.ch/atlas-physics/sm/StandardModelTools_BootstrapGenerator/BootstrapGenerator), which implements a technique described in ATL-PHYS-PUB-2021-011 (https://cds.cern.ch/record/2759945). The ATLAS event number and run number of each event are used as seed to uniquely but reproducibly initialise the random number generator for each event. All the provided numbers originate from pseudo-data, including the 0th entry, and are in units of [fb].
A study of multiplicity and pseudorapidity distributions of inclusive photons measured in pp and p$-$Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon$-$nucleon collision of $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV using the ALICE detector in the forward pseudorapidity region $2.3 < \eta_{\rm lab} < 3.9$ is presented. Measurements in p$-$Pb collisions are reported for two beam configurations in which the directions of the proton and lead ion beam were reversed. The pseudorapidity distributions in p$-$Pb collisions are obtained for seven centrality classes which are defined based on different event activity estimators, i.e., the charged-particle multiplicity measured at midrapidity as well as the energy deposited in a calorimeter at beam rapidity. The inclusive photon multiplicity distributions for both pp and p$-$Pb collisions are described by double negative binomial distributions. The pseudorapidity distributions of inclusive photons are compared to those of charged particles at midrapidity in \pp collisions and for different centrality classes in p$-$Pb collisions. The results are compared to predictions from various Monte Carlo event generators. None of the generators considered in this paper reproduces the inclusive photon multiplicity distributions in the reported multiplicity range. The pseudorapidity distributions are, however, better described by the same generators.
Inclusive photon multiplicity distribution measured within $2.3<\eta_{\rm lab}<3.9$ in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 5020~\mathrm{GeV}$.
Inclusive photon multiplicity distribution measured within $2.3<\eta_{\rm lab}<3.9$ in p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}} = 5020~\mathrm{GeV}$.
Inclusive photon multiplicity distribution measured within $2.3<\eta_{\rm lab}<3.9$ in Pb-p collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}} = 5020~\mathrm{GeV}$.
Electroweak symmetry breaking explains the origin of the masses of elementary particles through their interactions with the Higgs field. Besides the measurements of the Higgs boson properties, the study of the scattering of massive vector bosons with spin one allows the nature of electroweak symmetry breaking to be probed. Among all processes related to vector-boson scattering, the electroweak production of two jets and a $Z$-boson pair is a rare and important one. Here we report the observation of this process from proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139/fb recorded at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. We consider two different final states originating from the decays of the $Z$-boson pair - one containing four charged leptons and the other containing two charged leptons and two neutrinos. The hypothesis of no electroweak production is rejected with a statistical significance of 5.7 $\sigma$, and the measured cross-section for electroweak production is consistent with the standard model prediction. In addition, we report cross-sections for inclusive production of a $Z$-boson pair and two jets for the two final states.
Signal strength and significance of EW ZZjj processes
Measured and predicted fiducial cross-sections in both the lllljj and ll$\nu\nu$jj channels for the inclusive ZZjj processes. Uncertainties due to different sources are presented.
Observed and expected multivariate discriminant distribution in the $\ell\ell\ell\ell jj$ QCD CR.
Measurements of single-, double-, and triple-differential cross-sections are presented for boosted top-quark pair-production in 13 $\text{TeV}$ proton-proton collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The top quarks are observed through their hadronic decay and reconstructed as large-radius jets with the leading jet having transverse momentum ($p_{\text{T}}$) greater than 500 GeV. The observed data are unfolded to remove detector effects. The particle-level cross-section, multiplied by the $t\bar{t} \rightarrow W W b \bar{b}$ branching fraction and measured in a fiducial phase space defined by requiring the leading and second-leading jets to have $p_{\text{T}} > 500$ GeV and $p_{\text{T}} > 350$ GeV, respectively, is $331 \pm 3 \text{(stat.)} \pm 39 \text{(syst.)}$ fb. This is approximately 20$\%$ lower than the prediction of $398^{+48}_{-49}$ fb by Powheg+Pythia 8 with next-to-leading-order (NLO) accuracy but consistent within the theoretical uncertainties. Results are also presented at the parton level, where the effects of top-quark decay, parton showering, and hadronization are removed such that they can be compared with fixed-order next-to-next-to-leading-order (NNLO) calculations. The parton-level cross-section, measured in a fiducial phase space similar to that at particle level, is $1.94 \pm 0.02 \text{(stat.)} \pm 0.25 \text{(syst.)}$ pb. This agrees with the NNLO prediction of $1.96^{+0.02}_{-0.17}$ pb. Reasonable agreement with the differential cross-sections is found for most NLO models, while the NNLO calculations are generally in better agreement with the data. The differential cross-sections are interpreted using a Standard Model effective field-theory formalism and limits are set on Wilson coefficients of several four-fermion operators.
Fiducial phase-space cross-section at particle level.
$p_{T}^{t}$ absolute differential cross-section at particle level.
$|y^{t}|$ absolute differential cross-section at particle level.
A search for the exotic decay of the Higgs boson ($H$) into a $b\bar{b}$ resonance plus missing transverse momentum is described. The search is performed with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider using 139 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ of $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV. The search targets events from $ZH$ production in an NMSSM scenario where $H \rightarrow \tilde{\chi}^{0}_{2}\tilde{\chi}^{0}_{1}$, with $\tilde{\chi}^{0}_{2} \rightarrow {a} \tilde{\chi}^{0}_{1}$, where $a$ is a light pseudoscalar Higgs boson and $\tilde{\chi}^{0}_{1,2}$ are the two lightest neutralinos. The decay of the $a$ boson into a pair of $b$-quarks results in a peak in the dijet invariant mass distribution. The final-state signature consists of two leptons, two or more jets, at least one of which is identified as originating from a $b$-quark, and missing transverse momentum. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations and upper limits are set on the product of cross section times branching ratio for a three-dimensional scan of the masses of the $\tilde{\chi}^{0}_{2}$, $\tilde{\chi}^{0}_{1}$ and $a$ boson.
Distribution of the dijet invariant mass in CRZ. The Z+HF and $t\bar{t}$ scale factors, described in the text, have been applied to the simulated samples. The distribution labeled "Signal" is for the model with ($m_a$, $m_{\tilde{\chi}_{1}^{0}}$, $m_{\tilde{\chi}_{2}^{0}}$) = (45 GeV, 10 GeV, 80 GeV).
Distribution of the missing transverse energy in VRMET. The Z+HF and $t\bar{t}$ scale factors, described in the text, have been applied to the simulated samples. The distribution labeled "Signal" is for the model with ($m_a$, $m_{\tilde{\chi}_{1}^{0}}$, $m_{\tilde{\chi}_{2}^{0}}$) = (45 GeV, 10 GeV, 80 GeV).
Distribution of the dijet invariant mass in CRTop. The Z+HF and $t\bar{t}$ scale factors, described in the text, have been applied to the simulated samples. The distribution labeled "Signal" is for the model with ($m_a$, $m_{\tilde{\chi}_{1}^{0}}$, $m_{\tilde{\chi}_{2}^{0}}$) = (45 GeV, 10 GeV, 80 GeV).
The production of dark matter in association with Higgs bosons is predicted in several extensions of the Standard Model. An exploration of such scenarios is presented, considering final states with missing transverse momentum and $b$-tagged jets consistent with a Higgs boson. The analysis uses proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC during Run 2, amounting to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. The analysis, when compared with previous searches, benefits from a larger dataset, but also has further improvements providing sensitivity to a wider spectrum of signal scenarios. These improvements include both an optimised event selection and advances in the object identification, such as the use of the likelihood-based significance of the missing transverse momentum and variable-radius track-jets. No significant deviation from Standard Model expectations is observed. Limits are set, at 95% confidence level, in two benchmark models with two Higgs doublets extended by either a heavy vector boson $Z'$ or a pseudoscalar singlet $a$ and which both provide a dark matter candidate $\chi$. In the case of the two-Higgs-doublet model with an additional vector boson $Z'$, the observed limits extend up to a $Z'$ mass of 3 TeV for a mass of 100 GeV for the dark matter candidate. The two-Higgs-doublet model with a dark matter particle mass of 10 GeV and an additional pseudoscalar $a$ is excluded for masses of the $a$ up to 520 GeV and 240 GeV for $\tan \beta = 1$ and $\tan \beta = 10$ respectively. Limits on the visible cross-sections are set and range from 0.05 fb to 3.26 fb, depending on the missing transverse momentum and $b$-quark jet multiplicity requirements.
Observed 95% CL exclusion limit for the Zprime-2HDM model.
Expected 95% CL exclusion limit for the Zprime-2HDM model.
Expected +- 1 sigma 95% CL exclusion limit for the Zprime-2HDM model.
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