A search for the decay of the Higgs boson to a $Z$ boson and a light, pseudoscalar particle, $a$, decaying respectively to two leptons and to two photons is reported. The search uses the full LHC Run 2 proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV, corresponding to 139 fb$^{-1}$ collected by the ATLAS detector. This is one of the first searches for this specific decay mode of the Higgs boson, and it probes unexplored parameter space in models with axion-like particles (ALPs) and extended scalar sectors. The mass of the $a$ particle is assumed to be in the range 0.1-33 GeV. The data are analysed in two categories: a merged category where the photons from the $a$ decay are reconstructed in the ATLAS calorimeter as a single cluster, and a resolved category in which two separate photons are detected. The main background processes are from Standard Model $Z$ boson production in association with photons or jets. The data are in agreement with the background predictions, and upper limits on the branching ratio of the Higgs boson decay to $Za$ times the branching ratio $a\to\gamma\gamma$ are derived at the 95% confidence level and they range from 0.08% to 2% depending on the mass of the $a$ particle. The results are also interpreted in the context of ALP models.
Post-fit distribution for $m_{\gamma\gamma}$ for the resolved category in number of events per 0.2 GeV for data. The figure uses $pp$ collision data at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV corresponding to 139 fb$^{-1}$.
Post-fit distribution for $m_{\gamma\gamma}$ for the resolved category in number of events per 0.2 GeV for a signal distribution for $m_a = 9$ GeV, and the signal plus background fit with its background component. The branching ratio of the Higgs boson decay to $Za$ times the branching ratio $a $->$ \gamma \gamma$ is assumed to be 50%. The figure uses $pp$ collision data at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV corresponding to 139 fb$^{-1}$.
Post-fit final discriminating variable $\Delta R_{Z\gamma}$ in the signal region of the merged category. Signal distributions for $m_a$ values used in this category are overlayed for comparison, assuming a branching ratio of the Higgs boson decay to $Za$ times the branching ratio $a $->$ \gamma \gamma$ of 100%. The signal yields have been multiplied by 10 for better visibility. The figure uses $pp$ collision data at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV corresponding to 139 fb$^{-1}$.
Measurements are presented of W gamma gamma and Z gamma gamma production in proton-proton collisions. Fiducial cross sections are reported based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.4 inverse femtobarns collected with the CMS detector at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. Signal is identified through the W to l nu and Z to ll decay modes, where l is a muon or an electron. The production of W gamma gamma and Z gamma gamma, measured with significances of 2.6 and 5.9 standard deviations, respectively, is consistent with standard model predictions. In addition, limits on anomalous quartic gauge couplings in W gamma gamma production are determined in the context of a dimension-8 effective field theory.
Measured fiducial cross section for each channel and for the combination of channels for the WGG and ZGG analyses. The first systematic uncertainty is the combined systematic uncertainty excluding luminosity, the second is the luminosity.
Expected and observed 95% CL limits on anomalous quartic gauge couplings. Limits are obtained using WGG events in which the leading photon pT exceeds 70 GeV.
Single top quark events produced in the t channel are used to set limits on anomalous Wtb couplings and to search for top quark flavour-changing neutral current (FCNC) interactions. The data taken with the CMS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 and 8 TeV correspond to integrated luminosities of 5.0 and 19.7 inverse femtobarns, respectively. The analysis is performed using events with one muon and two or three jets. A Bayesian neural network technique is used to discriminate between the signal and backgrounds, which are observed to be consistent with the standard model prediction. The 95% confidence level (CL) exclusion limits on anomalous right-handed vector, and left- and right-handed tensor Wtb couplings are measured to be |f[V]^R| < 0.16, |f[T]^L| < 0.057, and -0.049 < f[T]^R < 0.048, respectively. For the FCNC couplings kappa[tug] and kappa[tcg], the 95% CL upper limits on coupling strengths are |kappa[tug]|/Lambda < 4.1E-3 TeV-1 and |kappa[tcg]|/Lambda < 1.8E-2 TeV-1, where Lambda is the scale for new physics, and correspond to upper limits on the branching fractions of 2.0E-5 and 4.1E-4 for the decays t to ug and t to cg, respectively.
Predicted and observed event yields before and after multijet BNN selection for $\sqrt{s}=7$ and $8$ TeV.
List of input variables for the Bayesian neural networks used in the analysis. Numbers in the cells indicate whether the variable was used in a network in 7 TeV analysis, 8 TeV one, or in both of them.
One-dimensional exclusion limits on anomalous $Wtb$ couplings, evaluated in different two- and three-dimensional scenarios in the analyses conducted at $\sqrt{s}=7$ and $8$ TeV.).
Combined ATLAS and CMS measurements of the Higgs boson production and decay rates, as well as constraints on its couplings to vector bosons and fermions, are presented. The combination is based on the analysis of five production processes, namely gluon fusion, vector boson fusion, and associated production with a $W$ or a $Z$ boson or a pair of top quarks, and of the six decay modes $H \to ZZ, WW$, $\gamma\gamma, \tau\tau, bb$, and $\mu\mu$. All results are reported assuming a value of 125.09 GeV for the Higgs boson mass, the result of the combined measurement by the ATLAS and CMS experiments. The analysis uses the CERN LHC proton--proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS and CMS experiments in 2011 and 2012, corresponding to integrated luminosities per experiment of approximately 5 fb$^{-1}$ at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV and 20 fb$^{-1}$ at $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV. The Higgs boson production and decay rates measured by the two experiments are combined within the context of three generic parameterisations: two based on cross sections and branching fractions, and one on ratios of coupling modifiers. Several interpretations of the measurements with more model-dependent parameterisations are also given. The combined signal yield relative to the Standard Model prediction is measured to be 1.09 $\pm$ 0.11. The combined measurements lead to observed significances for the vector boson fusion production process and for the $H \to \tau\tau$ decay of $5.4$ and $5.5$ standard deviations, respectively. The data are consistent with the Standard Model predictions for all parameterisations considered.
Best fit values of $\sigma_i \cdot \mathrm{B}^f$ for each specific channel $i \to H\to f$, as obtained from the generic parameterisation with 23 parameters for the combination of the ATLAS and CMS measurements, using the $\sqrt{s}$=7 and 8 TeV data. The cross sections are given for $\sqrt{s}$=8 TeV, assuming the SM values for $\sigma_i(7 \mathrm{TeV})/\sigma_i(8 \mathrm{TeV})$. The results are shown together with their total uncertainties and their breakdown into statistical and systematic components. The missing values are either not measured with a meaningful precision and therefore not quoted, in the case of the $H\to ZZ$ decay channel for the $WH$, $ZH$, and $ttH$ production processes, or not measured at all and therefore fixed to their corresponding SM predictions, in the case of the $H\to bb$ decay mode for the $gg\mathrm{F}$ and VBF production processes.
Best fit values of $\sigma_i \cdot \mathrm{B}^f$ relative to their SM prediction for each specific channel $i \to H\to f$, as obtained from the generic parameterisation with 23 parameters for the combination of the ATLAS and CMS measurements, using the $\sqrt{s}$=7 and 8 TeV data. The results are shown together with their total uncertainties and their breakdown into statistical and systematic components. The missing values are either not measured with a meaningful precision and therefore not quoted, in the case of the $H\to ZZ$ decay channel for the $WH$, $ZH$, and $ttH$ production processes, or not measured at all and therefore fixed to their corresponding SM predictions, in the case of the $H\to bb$ decay mode for the $gg\mathrm{F}$ and VBF production processes.
Best fit values of $\sigma(gg\to H\to ZZ)$, $\sigma_i/\sigma_{gg\mathrm{F}}$, and $\mathrm{B}^f/\mathrm{B}^{ZZ}$ from the combined analysis of the $\sqrt{s}$=7 and 8 TeV data. The values involving cross sections are given for $\sqrt{s}$=8 TeV, assuming the SM values for $\sigma_i(7 \mathrm{TeV})/\sigma_i(8 \mathrm{TeV})$. The results are shown for the combination of ATLAS and CMS, and also separately for each experiment, together with their total uncertainties and their breakdown into the four components described in the text. The expected uncertainties in the measurements are also shown.
The result of a search for flavor changing neutral currents (FCNC) through single top quark production in association with a photon is presented. The study is based on proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV using data collected with the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.8 inverse femtobarns. The search for t gamma events where t to Wb and W to mu nu is conducted in final states with a muon, a photon, at least one hadronic jet with at most one being consistent with originating from a bottom quark, and missing transverse momentum. No evidence of single top quark production in association with a photon through a FCNC is observed. Upper limits at the 95% confidence level are set on the tu gamma and tc gamma anomalous couplings and translated into upper limits on the branching fraction of the FCNC top quark decays: B(t to u gamma) < 1.3E-4 and B(t to c gamma) < 1.7E-3. Upper limits are also set on the cross section of associated t gamma production in a restricted phase-space region. These are the most stringent limits currently available.
The expected and observed $95\%$ CL upper limits on the FCNC $tu\gamma$ and $tc\gamma$ cross sections times branching fraction, the anomalous couplings $\kappa_{tu\gamma}$ and $\kappa_{tc\gamma}$, and the corresponding branching fractions B($t \rightarrow u \gamma$)and B($t\rightarrow c \gamma$)at LO are given. The one and two standard deviation ($\sigma$) ranges on the LO expected limits are also presented.
The expected and observed $95\%$ CL upper limits on the FCNC $tu\gamma$ and $tc\gamma$ cross sections times branching fraction, the anomalous couplings $\kappa_{tu\gamma}$ and $\kappa_{tc\gamma}$, and the corresponding branching fractions B($t \rightarrow u \gamma$)and B($t\rightarrow c \gamma$)at NLO are given. The one and two standard deviation ($\sigma$) ranges on the NLO expected limits are also presented.
Upper limits on the signal cross sections are also determined for a restricted phase-space region in which the detector is fully efficient. This removes the need to extrapolate to phase-space regions where the analysis has little or no sensitivity. The fiducial region is defined as:.
Results are reported on a search for decays of a pseudoscalar A boson into a Z boson and a light scalar h boson, where the Z boson decays into a pair of oppositely-charged electrons or muons, and the h boson decays into b anti-b. The search is based on data from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy sqrt(s)=8 TeV collected with the CMS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns. The h boson is assumed to be the standard model-like Higgs boson with a mass of 125 GeV. With no evidence for signal, upper limits are obtained on the product of the production cross section and the branching fraction of the A boson in the Zh channel. Results are also interpreted in the context of two Higgs doublet models.
Observed and expected 95% CL upper limits on sigma A x B(A->Zh->llbb) as a function of mA in the narrow-width approximation, including statistical and systematic uncertainties.
Observed 95% CL upper limits on sigma A x B(A->Zh->llbb) as a function of mA and the A natural width Gamma.
Expected 95% CL upper limits on sigma A x B(A->Zh->llbb) as a function of mA and the A natural width Gamma.
A search for a massive $W'$ gauge boson decaying to a top quark and a bottom quark is performed with the ATLAS detector in $pp$ collisions at the LHC. The dataset was taken at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV and corresponds to 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity. This analysis is done in the hadronic decay mode of the top quark, where novel jet substructure techniques are used to identify jets from high-momentum top quarks. This allows for a search for high-mass $W'$ bosons in the range $1.5 - 3.0$ TeV. $b$-tagging is used to identify jets originating from $b$-quarks. The data are consistent with Standard Model background-only expectations, and upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the $W' \rightarrow tb$ cross section times branching ratio ranging from $0.16$ pb to $0.33$ pb for left-handed $W'$ bosons, and ranging from $0.10$ pb to $0.21$ pb for $W'$ bosons with purely right-handed couplings. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the $W'$-boson coupling to $tb$ as a function of the $W'$ mass using an effective field theory approach, which is independent of details of particular models predicting a $W'$ boson.
m_tb distributions in data in the one b-tag and the two b-tag category, together with background-only fits excluding the region 4-5 TeV which is beyond the range considered for this analysis. Potential WPRIME_L signal shapes in the hadronic top-quark decay channel with gPRIME = gSM are also given for resonance masses of 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 TeV.
Limits at 95% CL on the cross section times branching ratio to TOP BOTTOM for the left-handed and for the right-handed WPRIME model. The expected cross section for WPRIME production with gprime = gSM is also shown.
Observed and expected 95% CL limits on the ratio of coupling gWPRIME_L/gSM (gWPRIME_R/gSM) of the WPRIME_L (WPRIME_R) model as a function of the WPRIME mass.
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