Differential measurements of Higgs boson production in the $\tau$-lepton-pair decay channel are presented in the gluon fusion, vector-boson fusion (VBF), $VH$ and $t\bar{t}H$ associated production modes, with particular focus on the VBF production mode. The data used to perform the measurements correspond to 140 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Two methods are used to perform the measurements: the Simplified Template Cross-Section (STXS) approach and an Unfolded Fiducial Differential measurement considering only the VBF phase space. For the STXS measurement, events are categorized by their production mode and kinematic properties such as the Higgs boson's transverse momentum ($p^{\text{H}}_\text{T}$), the number of jets produced in association with the Higgs boson, or the invariant mass of the two leading jets ($m_{jj}$). For the VBF production mode, the ratio of the measured cross-section to the Standard Model prediction for $m_{jj}>1.5$ TeV and $p^{\text{H}}_\text{T}>200$ GeV ($p^{\text{H}}_\text{T}<200$ GeV) is ${1.29}^{+0.39}_{-0.34}$ (${0.12}^{+0.34}_{-0.33}$). This is the first VBF measurement for the higher-$p^{\text{H}}_\text{T}$ criteria, and the most precise for the lower-$p^{\text{H}}_\text{T}$ criteria. The fiducial cross-section measurements, which only consider the kinematic properties of the event, are performed as functions of variables characterizing the VBF topology, such as the signed $\Delta\phi_{jj}$ between the two leading jets. The measurements have a precision of 30%-50% and agree well with the Standard Model predictions. These results are interpreted in the SMEFT framework, and place the strongest constraints to date on the CP-odd Wilson coefficient $c_{H\tilde{W}}$.
Distribution of the reconstructed $\tau\tau$ invariant mass ($m_{\tau\tau}$) for all events in the VBF_0 signal region for $p_{\text{T}}^{H}<200$ GeV. The observed Higgs boson signal corresponds to $(\sigma\times B)/(\sigma\times B)_{\text{SM}}\,=\,0.99$. Entries with values above the $x$-axis range are shown in the last bin of each distribution. The prediction for each sample is determined from the likelihood fit performed to measure the total $pp\rightarrow H\rightarrow\tau\tau$ cross-section.
Distribution of the reconstructed $\tau\tau$ invariant mass ($m_{\tau\tau}$) for all events in the VBF_0 signal region for $p_{\text{T}}^{H}>200$ GeV. The observed Higgs boson signal corresponds to $(\sigma\times B)/(\sigma\times B)_{\text{SM}}\,=\,0.99$. Entries with values above the $x$-axis range are shown in the last bin of each distribution. The prediction for each sample is determined from the likelihood fit performed to measure the total $pp\rightarrow H\rightarrow\tau\tau$ cross-section.
Distribution of the reconstructed $\tau\tau$ invariant mass ($m_{\tau\tau}$) for all events in the VBF_1 signal region for $p_{\text{T}}^{H}<200$ GeV. The observed Higgs boson signal corresponds to $(\sigma\times B)/(\sigma\times B)_{\text{SM}}\,=\,0.99$. Entries with values above the $x$-axis range are shown in the last bin of each distribution. The prediction for each sample is determined from the likelihood fit performed to measure the total $pp\rightarrow H\rightarrow\tau\tau$ cross-section.
A search for high-mass resonances decaying into a $\tau$-lepton and a neutrino using proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV is presented. The full Run 2 data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$ recorded by the ATLAS experiment in the years 2015-2018 is analyzed. The $\tau$-lepton is reconstructed in its hadronic decay modes and the total transverse momentum carried out by neutrinos is inferred from the reconstructed missing transverse momentum. The search for new physics is performed on the transverse mass between the $\tau$-lepton and the missing transverse momentum. No excess of events above the Standard Model expectation is observed and upper exclusion limits are set on the $W^\prime\to \tau \nu$ production cross-section. Heavy $W^\prime$ vector bosons with masses up to 5.0 TeV are excluded at 95% confidence level, assuming that they have the same couplings as the Standard Model $W$ boson. For non-universal couplings, $W^\prime$ bosons are excluded for masses less than 3.5-5.0 TeV, depending on the model parameters. In addition, model-independent limits on the visible cross-section times branching ratio are determined as a function of the lower threshold on the transverse mass of the $\tau$-lepton and missing transverse momentum.
Observed and predicted $m_{\rm T}$ distributions including SSM and NU (cot$\theta$ = 5.5) $W^{\prime}$ signals with masses of 4 TeV. Please note that in the paper figure the bin content is divided by the bin width, but this is not done in the HepData table.
Observed and expected 95% CL upper limits on cross section times $\tau\nu$ branching fraction for $W^{\prime}_{\rm SSM}$.
Regions of the non-universal parameter space excluded at 95% CL.
We measure the complete set of angular coefficients $J_i$ for exclusive $\bar{B} \to D^* \ell \bar{\nu}_\ell$ decays ($\ell = e, \mu$). Our analysis uses the full $711\,\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ Belle data set with hadronic tag-side reconstruction. The results allow us to extract the form factors describing the $B \to D^*$ transition and the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element $|V_{\rm cb}|$. Using recent lattice QCD calculations for the hadronic form factors, we find $|V_{\rm cb}| = (41.0 \pm 0.7) \times 10^3 $ using the BGL parameterization, compatible with determinations from inclusive semileptonic decays. We search for lepton flavor universality violation as a function of the hadronic recoil parameter $w$, and investigate the differences of the electron and muon angular distributions. We find no deviation from Standard Model expectations.
Data of the decay $\bar{B}^0 \to D^* e \nu_e$.
Data of the decay $\bar{B}^0 \to D^* \mu \nu_\mu$.
Data of the decay $\bar{B}^+ \to D^* e \nu_e$.
We determine the CKM matrix-element magnitude $|V_{cb}|$ using $\overline{B}^0\to D^{*+}\ell^-\bar\nu_\ell$ decays reconstructed in $189 \, \mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ of collision data collected by the Belle II experiment, located at the SuperKEKB $e^+e^-$ collider. Partial decay rates are reported as functions of the recoil parameter $w$ and three decay angles separately for electron and muon final states. We obtain $|V_{cb}|$ using the Boyd-Grinstein-Lebed and Caprini-Lellouch-Neubert parametrizations, and find $|V_{cb}|_\mathrm{BGL}=(40.57\pm 0.31 \pm 0.95\pm 0.58)\times 10^{-3}$ and $|V_{cb}|_\mathrm{CLN}=(40.13 \pm 0.27 \pm 0.93\pm 0.58 )\times 10^{-3}$ with the uncertainties denoting statistical components, systematic components, and components from the lattice QCD input, respectively. The branching fraction is measured to be ${\cal B}(\overline{B}^0\to D^{*+}\ell^-\bar\nu_\ell)=(4.922 \pm 0.023 \pm 0.220)\%$. The ratio of branching fractions for electron and muon final states is found to be $0.998 \pm 0.009 \pm 0.020$. In addition, we determine the forward-backward angular asymmetry and the $D^{*+}$ longitudinal polarization fractions. All results are compatible with lepton-flavor universality in the Standard Model.
Measured partial decay rates $\Delta\Gamma$ (in units of $10^{-15}$ GeV)
Average of normalized decay rates over $\overline{B}^0\to D^{*+} e^- \bar\nu_e$ and $\overline{B}^0\to D^{*+} \mu^- \bar\nu_\mu$ decays
Full experimental (statistical and systematic) correlations (in \%) of the partial decay rates for the $\overline{B}^0\to D^{*+} e^- \bar\nu_e$ and $\overline{B}^0\to D^{*+} \mu^- \bar\nu_\mu$ decays.
We present the first comprehensive tests of light-lepton universality in the angular distributions of semileptonic $B^0$-meson decays to charged spin-1 charmed mesons. We measure five angular-asymmetry observables as functions of the decay recoil that are sensitive to lepton-universality-violating contributions. We use events where one neutral $B$ is fully reconstructed in $\Upsilon\left(4S\right)\to{}B \overline{B}$ decays in data corresponding to $189~\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ integrated luminosity from electron-positron collisions collected with the Belle II detector. We find no significant deviation from the standard model expectations.
Observed values of all angular asymmetry variables.
Full experimental covariance matrix of all angular asymmetry variables.
A search for quantum black holes in electron+jet and muon+jet invariant mass spectra is performed with 140 fb$^{-1}$ of data collected by the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider. The observed invariant mass spectrum of lepton+jet pairs is consistent with Standard Model expectations. Upper limits are set at 95% confidence level on the production cross-sections times branching fractions for quantum black holes decaying into a lepton and a quark in a search region with invariant mass above 2.0 TeV. The resulting quantum black hole lower mass threshold limit is 9.2 TeV in the Arkani-Hamed-Dimopoulos-Dvali model, and 6.8 TeV in the Randall-Sundrum model.
The 95% CL model-independent upper limits on $\sigma \times Br$ for the non-SM signal production with decay into the lepton+jet. The limits take into account statistical and systematic uncertainties. Circles along the solid red line indicate the lower border of the SR (threshold of SR, Th$_\mathrm{SR}$), above which the observed limit is computed. The expected limits are shown by the dashed line. The $\pm 1\sigma$ and $\pm 2\sigma$ bands of expected limits are shown in green and yellow, respectively. The limits are obtained with pseudo-experiments.
The combined 95% CL upper limits on $\sigma \times Br$ as a function of threshold mass, $M_\mathrm{th}$, for QBH production with decay into lepton+jet for ADD-model (extra dimensions n = 6). The limits take into account statistical and systematic uncertainties. Circles along the solid red line indicate the mass $M_\mathrm{th}$ of the signal where the observed limit is computed. The expected limits are shown by the dashed line. The $\pm 1\sigma$ and $\pm 2\sigma$ bands are shown in green and yellow, respectively. The theoretically predicted $\sigma \times Br$ for the QBH production and decay is shown as the solid blue curve with squares.
The combined 95% CL upper limits on $\sigma \times Br$ as a function of threshold mass, $M_\mathrm{th}$, for QBH production with decay into lepton+jet for RS1-model (extra dimensions n = 1). The limits take into account statistical and systematic uncertainties. Circles along the solid red line indicate the mass $M_\mathrm{th}$ of the signal where the observed limit is computed. The expected limits are shown by the dashed line. The $\pm 1\sigma$ and $\pm 2\sigma$ bands are shown in green and yellow, respectively. The theoretically predicted $\sigma \times Br$ for the QBH production and decay is shown as the solid blue curve with squares.
Additional spin-0 particles appear in many extensions of the standard model. We search for long-lived spin-0 particles $S$ in $B$-meson decays mediated by a $b\to s$ quark transition in $e^+e^-$ collisions at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance at the Belle II experiment. Based on a sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $189 \mathrm{\,fb}^{-1}$, we observe no evidence for signal. We set model-independent upper limits on the product of branching fractions $\mathrm{Br}(B^0\to K^*(892)^0(\to K^+\pi^-)S)\times \mathrm{Br}(S\to x^+x^-)$ and $\mathrm{Br}(B^+\to K^+S)\times \mathrm{Br}(S\to x^+x^-)$, where $x^+x^-$ indicates $e^+e^-, \mu^+\mu^-, \pi^+\pi^-$, or $K^+K^-$, as functions of $S$ mass and lifetime at the level of $10^{-7}$.
Expected and observed candidates for $\mathcal{B}($$B^+\to K^+S$$) \times$ $\mathcal{B}($$S\to e^+e^-$) as a function of the reduced mediator candidate mass.
Expected and observed candidates for $\mathcal{B}($$B^+\to K^+S$$) \times$ $\mathcal{B}($$S\to \mu^+\mu^-$) as a function of the reduced mediator candidate mass.
Expected and observed candidates for $\mathcal{B}($$B^+\to K^+S$$) \times$ $\mathcal{B}($$S\to \pi^+\pi^-$) as a function of the reduced mediator candidate mass.
A search for high-mass charged and neutral bosons decaying to $W\gamma$ and $Z\gamma$ final states is presented in this paper. The analysis uses a data sample of $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV proton-proton collisions with an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$ collected by the ATLAS detector during LHC Run 2 operation. The sensitivity of the search is determined using models of the production and decay of spin-1 charged bosons and spin-0/2 neutral bosons. The range of resonance masses explored extends from 1.0 TeV to 6.8 TeV. At these high resonance masses, it is beneficial to target the hadronic decays of the $W$ and $Z$ bosons because of their large branching fractions. The decay products of the high-momentum $W/Z$ bosons are strongly collimated and boosted-boson tagging techniques are employed to improve the sensitivity. No evidence of a signal above the Standard Model backgrounds is observed, and upper limits on the production cross-sections of these bosons times their branching fractions to $W\gamma$ and $Z\gamma$ are derived for various boson production models.
The jet mass distribution of large-$R$ jets originating from the hadronic decay of $W$ and $Z$ bosons produced from the decay of BSM bosons with mass $m_X = 1000$ GeV. The decays simulated are for the production models $q\bar{q}' \to X^{\pm} \to W^{\pm}\gamma$ with a spin-1 resonance $X^{\pm}$ and $gg\to X^0 \to Z\gamma$ with a spin-0 resonance $X^{0}$.
The jet mass distribution of large-$R$ jets originating from the hadronic decay of $W$ and $Z$ bosons produced from the decay of BSM bosons with mass $m_X = 4000$ GeV. The decays simulated are for the production models $q\bar{q'}\to X^{\pm} \to W^{\pm}\gamma$ with a spin-1 resonance $X^{\pm}$ and $gg\to X^0 \to Z\gamma$ with a spin-0 resonance $X^{0}$.
Total efficiencies for the selection of signal events after categorization and application of the tighter photon $E_{\mathrm{T}}^{\gamma}$ selection used to optimize the signal significance spin-0 $gg\to X^0 \to Z\gamma$. In addition to the total efficiency, contributions to the signal selection from each of the separate event categories are shown. The efficiencies calculated from MC samples with $W/Z$ hadronic decays are shown as the points on each curve. The line presents interpolated results.
A search for a charged Higgs boson, $H^{\pm}$, produced in top-quark decays, $t \rightarrow H^{\pm}b$, is presented. The search targets $H^{\pm}$ decays into a bottom and a charm quark, $H^{\pm} \rightarrow cb$. The analysis focuses on a selection enriched in top-quark pair production, where one top quark decays into a leptonically decaying $W$ boson and a bottom quark, and the other top quark decays into a charged Higgs boson and a bottom quark. This topology leads to a lepton-plus-jets final state, characterised by an isolated electron or muon and at least four jets. The search exploits the high multiplicity of jets containing $b$-hadrons, and deploys a neural network classifier that uses the kinematic differences between the signal and the background. The search uses a dataset of proton-proton collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV between 2015 and 2018 with the ATLAS detector at CERN's Large Hadron Collider, amounting to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. Observed (expected) 95% confidence-level upper limits between 0.15% (0.09%) and 0.42% (0.25%) are derived for the product of branching fractions $\mathscr{B}(t\rightarrow H^{\pm}b) \times \mathscr{B}(H^{\pm}\rightarrow cb)$ for charged Higgs boson masses between 60 and 160 GeV, assuming the SM production of the top-quark pairs.
The observed 95% CL upper limits on $\mathscr{B}=\mathscr{B}(t\rightarrow H^{\pm}b) \times \mathscr{B}(H^{\pm}\rightarrow cb)$ as a function of $m_{H^{\pm}}$ and the expectation (dashed) under the background-only hypothesis. The inner green and outer yellow shaded bands show the $\pm 1\sigma$ and $\pm 2\sigma$ uncertainties of the expected limits. The exclusion limits are presented for $m_{H^{\pm}}$ between 60 and 160 GeV with 10 GeV $m_{H^{\pm}}$ spacing and linear interpolation between adjacent mass points. Superimposed on the upper limits, the predictions from the 3HDM are shown, corresponding to three benchmark values for the parameters $X$, $Y$, and $Z$
Pre-fit event yields in each of the nine analysis regions. The $H^{\pm}$ signal yields for $m_{H^{\pm}}=130$ GeV and $m_{H^{\pm}}=70$ GeV are normalised to $\mathscr{B}_{\mathrm{ref}}=1\%$. The quoted uncertainties are the sum in quadrature of statistical and systematic uncertainties of the yields, computed taking into account correlations among processes resulting from the data-based $t\bar{t}$ correction procedure.
Post-fit yields in each of the nine analysis regions considered. The total prediction is shown after the fit to data under the signal-plus-background hypothesis assuming $H^{\pm}$ signal with $m_{H^{\pm}}=130$ GeV. The predicted yileds for the $H^{\pm}$ signal with $m_{H^{\pm}}=70$ GeV are also shown for reference. The best fit-values of $\mathscr{B}$ for $H^{\pm}$ signal with $m_{H^{\pm}}=130$ GeV and $m_{H^{\pm}}=70$ GeV are 0.16% and 0.07% respectively. The quoted uncertainties are the sum in quadrature of statistical and systematic uncertainties of the yields, computed taking into account correlations among nuisance parameters and among processes.
A search for flavor-changing neutral-current couplings between a top quark, an up or charm quark and a $Z$ boson is presented, using proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The analyzed dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. The search targets both single-top-quark events produced as $gq\rightarrow tZ$ (with $q = u, c$) and top-quark-pair events, with one top quark decaying through the $t \rightarrow Zq$ channel. The analysis considers events with three leptons (electrons or muons), a $b$-tagged jet, possible additional jets, and missing transverse momentum. The data are found to be consistent with the background-only hypothesis and 95% confidence-level limits on the $t \rightarrow Zq$ branching ratios are set, assuming only tensor operators of the Standard Model effective field theory framework contribute to the $tZq$ vertices. These are $6.2 \times 10^{-5}$ ($13\times 10^{-5}$) for $t\rightarrow Zu$ ($t\rightarrow Zc$) for a left-handed $tZq$ coupling, and $6.6 \times 10^{-5}$ ($12\times 10^{-5}$) in the case of a right-handed coupling. These results are interpreted as 95% CL upper limits on the strength of corresponding couplings, yielding limits for $|C_{uW}^{(13)*}|$ and $|C_{uB}^{(13)*}|$ ($|C_{uW}^{(31)}|$ and $|C_{uB}^{(31)}|$) of 0.15 (0.16), and limits for $|C_{uW}^{(23)*}|$ and $|C_{uB}^{(23)*}|$ ($|C_{uW}^{(32)}|$ and $|C_{uB}^{(32)}|$) of 0.22 (0.21), assuming a new-physics energy scale $\Lambda_\text{NP}$ of 1 TeV.
Summary of the signal strength $\mu$ parameters obtained from the fits to extract LH and RH results for the FCNC tZu and tZc couplings. For the reference branching ratio, the most stringent limits are used.
Observed and expected 95% CL limits on the FCNC $t\rightarrow Zq$ branching ratios and the effective coupling strengths for different vertices and couplings (top eight rows). For the latter, the energy scale is assumed to be $\Lambda_{NP}$ = 1 TeV. The bottom rows show, for the case of the FCNC $t\rightarrow Zu$ branching ratio, the observed and expected 95% CL limits when only one of the two SRs, either SR1 or SR2, and all CRs are included in the likelihood.
Comparison between data and background prediction before the fit (Pre-Fit) for the mass of the SM top-quark candidate in SR1. The uncertainty band includes both the statistical and systematic uncertainties in the background prediction. The four FCNC LH signals are also shown separately, normalized to five times the cross-section corresponding to the most stringent observed branching ratio limits. The first (last) bin in all distributions includes the underflow (overflow). The lower panels show the ratios of the data (Data) to the background prediction (Bkg.).
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