A search for a new heavy boson produced via gluon-fusion in the four-lepton channel with missing transverse momentum or jets is performed. The search uses proton-proton collision data equivalent to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$ at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector between 2015 and 2018 at the Large Hadron Collider. This study explores the decays of heavy bosons: $R\rightarrow SH$ and $A\rightarrow ZH$, where $R$ is a CP-even boson, $A$ is a CP-odd boson, $H$ is a CP-even boson, and $S$ is considered to decay into invisible particles that are candidates for dark matter. In these processes, $S\rightarrow \textrm{invisible}$ and $H\rightarrow ZZ$. The $Z$ boson associated with the heavy scalar boson $H$ decays into all decay channels of the $Z$ boson. The mass range under consideration is 390-1300 (320-1300) GeV for the $R$ ($A$) boson and 220-1000 GeV for the $H$ boson. No significant deviation from the Standard Model backgrounds is observed. The results are interpreted as upper limits at a 95% confidence level on the cross-section times the branching ratio of the heavy resonances.
Observed and expected distributions of the invariant mass of the four-lepton system in the $R\to SH\to 4\ell+E^{\textrm{miss}}_{\textrm{T}}$ search for SR1 under a background-only fit to data. The total background includes the $q\overline{q}\to ZZ$, $gg\to ZZ$, $q\overline{q}\to ZZ$ (EW), $VVV$, $t\overline{t}V$, $t\overline{t}$, $Z$+jets and $WZ$ processes. The distribution of the $(m_{R}, m_{H}) = (500, 300)$ GeV signal is normalised to the observed upper limit on the cross-section (25.0 fb).
Observed and expected distributions of the invariant mass of the four-lepton system in the $R\to SH\to 4\ell+E^{\textrm{miss}}_{\textrm{T}}$ search for SR2 under a background-only fit to data. The total background includes the $q\overline{q}\to ZZ$, $gg\to ZZ$, $q\overline{q}\to ZZ$ (EW), $VVV$, $t\overline{t}V$, $t\overline{t}$, $Z$+jets and $WZ$ processes. The distribution of the $(m_{R}, m_{H}) = (500, 300)$ GeV signal is normalised to the observed upper limit on the cross-section (25.0 fb).
Observed and expected distributions of the invariant mass of the four-lepton system in the $R\to SH\to 4\ell+E^{\textrm{miss}}_{\textrm{T}}$ search for SR3 under a background-only fit to data. The total background includes the $q\overline{q}\to ZZ$, $gg\to ZZ$, $q\overline{q}\to ZZ$ (EW), $VVV$, $t\overline{t}V$, $t\overline{t}$, $Z$+jets and $WZ$ processes. The distribution of the $(m_{R}, m_{H}) = (500, 300)$ GeV signal is normalised to the observed upper limit on the cross-section (25.0 fb).
This Letter presents the first study of Higgs boson production in association with a vector boson (V = W or Z) in the fully hadronic $qqbb$ final state using data recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb$^{-1}$. The vector bosons and Higgs bosons are each reconstructed as large-radius jets and tagged using jet substructure techniques. Dedicated tagging algorithms exploiting $b$-tagging properties are used to identify jets consistent with Higgs bosons decaying into $b\bar{b}$. Dominant backgrounds from multijet production are determined directly from the data, and a likelihood fit to the jet mass distribution of Higgs boson candidates is used to extract the number of signal events. The VH production cross section is measured inclusively and differentially in several ranges of Higgs boson transverse momentum: 250-450, 450-650, and greater than 650 GeV. The inclusive signal yield relative to the standard model expectation is observed to be $\mu = 1.4 ^{+1.0}_{-0.9}$ and the corresponding cross section is $3.1 \pm 1.3\, (stat.)\: ^{+1.8}_{-1.4}\, (syst.$) pb.
Higgs candidate jet mass distributions in the signal region for $p_{T,J}^H$ in [250,450) GeV obtained after the inclusive fit with a single Z+jets normalization factor and a single signal strength.
Higgs candidate jet mass distributions in the signal region for $p_{T,J}^H$ in [450,650) GeV obtained after the inclusive fit with a single Z+jets normalization factor and a single signal strength.
Higgs candidate jet mass distributions in the signal region for $p_{T,J}^H \geq 650$ GeV obtained after the inclusive fit with a single Z+jets normalization factor and a single signal strength.
Measurements of both the inclusive and differential production cross sections of a top-quark-top-antiquark pair in association with a $Z$ boson ($t\bar{t}Z$) are presented. Final states with two, three or four isolated leptons (electrons or muons) are targeted. The measurements use the data recorded by the ATLAS detector in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV at the Large Hadron Collider during the years 2015-2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $140$ fb$^{-1}$. The inclusive cross section is measured to be $\sigma_{t\bar{t}Z}= 0.86 \pm 0.04~\mathrm{(stat.)} \pm 0.04~\mathrm{(syst.)}~$pb and found to be in agreement with the most advanced Standard Model predictions. The differential measurements are presented as a function of a number of observables that probe the kinematics of the $t\bar{t}Z$ system. Both the absolute and normalised differential cross-section measurements are performed at particle level and parton level for specific fiducial volumes, and are compared with NLO+NNLL theoretical predictions. The results are interpreted in the framework of Standard Model effective field theory and used to set limits on a large number of dimension-6 operators involving the top quark. The first measurement of spin correlations in $t\bar{t}Z$ events is presented: the results are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations, and the null hypothesis of no spin correlations is disfavoured with a significance of $1.8$ standard deviations.
All the entries of this HEP data record are listed. Figure and Table numbers are the same as in the paper.
Definition of the dilepton signal regions.
Definition of the trilepton signal regions.
Presented is the search for anomalous Higgs boson decays into two axion-like particles (ALPs) using the full Run 2 data set of 140 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment. The ALPs are assumed to decay into two photons, providing sensitivity to recently proposed models that could explain the $(g-2)_\mu$ discrepancy. This analysis covers an ALP mass range from 100 MeV to 62 GeV and ALP-photon couplings in the range $10^{-5}\, \text{TeV}^{-1}<C_{a\gamma\gamma}/\Lambda<1\, \text{TeV}^{-1}$, and therefore includes signatures with significantly displaced vertices and highly collinear photons. No significant excess of events above the Standard Model background is observed. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are placed on the branching ratio of the Higgs boson to two ALPs in the four-photon final state, and are in the range of $ 10^{-5}$ to $3\times 10^{-2}$, depending on the hypothesized ALP mass and ALP-photon coupling strength.
Cut-flow and number of events in a region with $110 \text{ GeV} <m_{aa}<130 \text{ GeV}$ for selected signal samples
Overview of relative systematic uncertainties on the signal normalization for selected couplings and mass points in the dominant categories. All photon related uncertainties are summarized under "standard photon", while all customised photon related uncertainties (e.g. displaced photons, NN-based photon IDs) are summarized under "custom photon".
Upper limits on $\mathcal{B}(H\rightarrow aa\rightarrow 4\gamma)$ at 95% CL as a function of the axion mass and for ALP-photon coupling $C_{a\gamma\gamma}=1$.
A measurement of the invisible width of the $Z$ boson using events with jets and missing transverse momentum is presented using 37 $\mbox{fb\(^{-1}\)}$ of 13 TeV proton-proton data collected by the ATLAS detector in 2015 and 2016. The ratio of $Z\rightarrow \textrm{inv}$ to $Z\rightarrow\ell\ell$ events, where inv refers to non-detected particles and $\ell$ is either an electron or a muon, is measured and corrected for detector effects. Events with at least one energetic central jet with $p_{\textrm{T}} \geq 110$ GeV are selected for both the $Z\rightarrow \textrm{inv}$ and $Z\rightarrow\ell\ell$ final states to obtain a similar phase space in the ratio. The invisible width is measured to be $506\pm2 \textrm{ (stat.)} \pm12 \textrm{ (syst.)}$ MeV and is the single most precise recoil-based measurement. The result is in agreement with the most precise determination from LEP and the Standard Model prediction based on three neutrino generations.
Measured invisible width of the $Z$ boson, $\Gamma(Z\rightarrow \textrm{inv})$.
Measured $\mathrm{R}^{\mathrm{miss}}_{ee}$.
Measured $\mathrm{R}^{\mathrm{miss}}_{\mu\mu}$.
A measurement of the Standard Model Higgs boson produced in association with a $W$ or $Z$ boson and decaying into a pair of $\tau$-leptons is presented. This search is based on proton-proton collision data collected at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb$^{-1}$. For the Higgs boson candidate, only final states with at least one $\tau$-lepton decaying hadronically ($\tau\rightarrow \mathrm{hadrons} + \nu_\tau$) are considered. For the vector bosons, only leptonic decay channels are considered: $Z \rightarrow \ell\ell$ and $W\rightarrow \ell\nu_\ell$, with $\ell=e,\mu$. An excess of events over the expected background is found with an observed (expected) significance of 4.2 (3.6) standard deviations, providing evidence of the Higgs boson produced in association with a vector boson and decaying into a pair of $\tau$-leptons. The ratio of the measured cross-section to the Standard Model prediction is $\mu_{\text{VH}}^{\tau\tau} = 1.28\ ^{+0.30}_{-0.29}\ (\mathrm{stat.})\ ^{+0.25}_{-0.21}\ (\mathrm{syst.})$. This result represents the most accurate measurement of the \vh process achieved to date.
Distributions of representative kinematic variables in the misidentified background-enriched same-sign region: (a) the Higgs boson transverse momentum (${p_\text{T}}^H$) in the $WH(\tau_{\mathrm{had}}\tau_{\mathrm{had}})$ category, (b) the missing transverse momentum (${E_{\mathrm{T}}^{\mathrm{miss}}}$) in the $WH(\tau_{\mathrm{lep}}\tau_{\mathrm{had}})$ category, (c) the radial distance (dR$(\ell,\ell)$) between the two light leptons associated to the $Z\to\ell{}\ell$ decay process in the $ZH(\tau_{\mathrm{had}}\tau_{\mathrm{had}})$ category, and (d) the invariant mass ($m_{\ell\ell}$) of the two light leptons associated to the $Z\to\ell{}\ell$ decay in the $ZH(\tau_{\mathrm{lep}}\tau_{\mathrm{had}})$ category. The hatched band represents the pre-fit statistical, experimental and theoretical uncertainties. The signal contributions are considered as part of the predictions and are normalized as predicted by the Standard Model.
Distributions of representative kinematic variables in the misidentified background-enriched same-sign region: (a) the Higgs boson transverse momentum (${p_\text{T}}^H$) in the $WH(\tau_{\mathrm{had}}\tau_{\mathrm{had}})$ category, (b) the missing transverse momentum (${E_{\mathrm{T}}^{\mathrm{miss}}}$) in the $WH(\tau_{\mathrm{lep}}\tau_{\mathrm{had}})$ category, (c) the radial distance (dR$(\ell,\ell)$) between the two light leptons associated to the $Z\to\ell{}\ell$ decay process in the $ZH(\tau_{\mathrm{had}}\tau_{\mathrm{had}})$ category, and (d) the invariant mass ($m_{\ell\ell}$) of the two light leptons associated to the $Z\to\ell{}\ell$ decay in the $ZH(\tau_{\mathrm{lep}}\tau_{\mathrm{had}})$ category. The hatched band represents the pre-fit statistical, experimental and theoretical uncertainties. The signal contributions are considered as part of the predictions and are normalized as predicted by the Standard Model.
Distributions of representative kinematic variables in the misidentified background-enriched same-sign region: (a) the Higgs boson transverse momentum (${p_\text{T}}^H$) in the $WH(\tau_{\mathrm{had}}\tau_{\mathrm{had}})$ category, (b) the missing transverse momentum (${E_{\mathrm{T}}^{\mathrm{miss}}}$) in the $WH(\tau_{\mathrm{lep}}\tau_{\mathrm{had}})$ category, (c) the radial distance (dR$(\ell,\ell)$) between the two light leptons associated to the $Z\to\ell{}\ell$ decay process in the $ZH(\tau_{\mathrm{had}}\tau_{\mathrm{had}})$ category, and (d) the invariant mass ($m_{\ell\ell}$) of the two light leptons associated to the {Z\to\ell{}\ell}\xspace{} decay in the $ZH(\tau_{\mathrm{lep}}\tau_{\mathrm{had}})$ category. The hatched band represents the pre-fit statistical, experimental and theoretical uncertainties. The signal contributions are considered as part of the predictions and are normalized as predicted by the Standard Model.
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$^{-1}$.
A search is reported for long-lived dark photons with masses between 0.1 GeV and 15 GeV, from exotic decays of Higgs bosons produced via vector-boson-fusion. Events that contain displaced collimated Standard Model fermions reconstructed in the calorimeter or muon spectrometer are probed. This search uses the full LHC Run 2 (2015-2018) data sample collected in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 $fb^{-1}$. Dominant backgrounds from Standard Model processes and non-collision sources are estimated by using data-driven techniques. The observed event yields in the signal regions are consistent with the expected background. Upper limits on the Higgs boson to dark photon branching fraction are reported as a function of the dark-photon mean proper decay length or of the dark-photon mass and the coupling between the Standard Model and the potential dark sector. This search is combined with previous ATLAS searches obtained in the gluon-gluon fusion and \textit{WH} production modes. A branching fraction above 10% is excluded at 95% CL for a 125 GeV Higgs boson decaying into two dark photons for dark-photon mean proper decay lengths between 173 and 1296 mm and mass of 10 GeV.
Observed 95% CL upper limits on B(H→ 2γ<sub>d</sub>+X) for different γ<sub>d</sub> masses and a 125 GeV Higgs boson, as a function of the dark-photon mean proper decay length cτ. The limits are shown for the SR<sub>μ</sub> search channel, assuming an FRVZ signal model. The hatched band denotes the region in which the branching ratio is larger than unity.
Observed 95% CL upper limits on B(H→ 2γ<sub>d</sub>+X) for different γ<sub>d</sub> masses and a 125 GeV Higgs boson, as a function of the dark-photon mean proper decay length cτ. The limits are shown for the SR<sub>c</sub><sup>L</sup> search channel, assuming an FRVZ signal model. The hatched band denotes the region in which the branching ratio is larger than unity.
Observed 95% CL upper limits on B(H→ 2γ<sub>d</sub>+X) for different γ<sub>d</sub> masses and a 125 GeV Higgs boson, as a function of the dark-photon mean proper decay length cτ. The limits are shown for the SR<sub>c</sub><sup>H</sup> search channel, assuming an FRVZ signal model. The hatched band denotes the region in which the branching ratio is larger than unity.
A combination of searches for a new resonance decaying into a Higgs boson pair is presented, using up to 139 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The combination includes searches performed in three decay channels: $b\bar{b}b\bar{b}$, $b\bar{b}\tau^+\tau^-$ and $b\bar{b}\gamma\gamma$. No excess above the expected Standard Model background is observed and upper limits are set at the 95% confidence level on the production cross section of Higgs boson pairs originating from the decay of a narrow scalar resonance with mass in the range 251 GeV-5 TeV. The observed (expected) limits are in the range 0.96-600 fb (1.2-390 fb). The limits are interpreted in the Type-I Two-Higgs-Doublet Model and the Minimimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, and constrain parameter space not previously excluded by other searches.
Local p-value as a function of the resonance mass $m_{X}$. Some table entries are empty because resonance masses from 251 GeV to 5 TeV are considered, whereas some channels only use masses in a certain, more restricted, range.
Observed significance as a function of the resonance $m_{X}$. Some table entries are empty because resonance masses from 251 GeV to 5 TeV are considered, whereas some channels only use masses in a certain, more restricted, range.
Observed and expected upper limits at the 95% CL on the resonant Higgs boson pair production cross section as a function of the resonance mass $m_{X}$. Some table entries are empty because resonance masses from 251 GeV to 5 TeV are considered, whereas some channels only use masses in a certain, more restricted, range.
This paper reports cross-section measurements of $ZZ$ production in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13.6$ TeV at the Large Hadron Collider. The data were collected by the ATLAS detector in 2022, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 29 fb$^-1$. Events in the $ZZ\rightarrow4\ell$ ($\ell = e$, $\mu$) final states are selected and used to measure the inclusive and differential cross-sections in a fiducial region defined close to the analysis selections. The inclusive cross-section is further extrapolated to the total phase space with a requirement of 66 $< m_Z <$ 116 GeV for both $Z$ bosons, yielding $16.8 \pm 1.1$ pb. The results are well described by the Standard Model predictions.
The measured differential cross-sections compared to the predictions in the $m_{4\ell}$ bins
The measured differential cross-sections compared to the predictions in the $p_T^{4\ell}$ bins