Making use of 36 pb^-1 of proton-proton collision data at sqrt{s} = 7 TeV, the ATLAS Collaboration has performed a search for diphoton events with large missing transverse energy. Observing no excess of events above the Standard Model prediction, a 95% Confidence Level (CL) upper limit is set on the cross section for new physics of sigma < 0.38 - 0.65 pb in the context of a generalised model of gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking (GGM) with a bino-like lightest neutralino, and of sigma < 0.18 - 0.23 pb in the context of a specific model with one universal extra dimension (UED). A 95 % CL lower limit of 560 GeV, for bino masses above 50 GeV, is set on the GGM gluino mass, while a lower limit of 1/R > 961 GeV is set on the UED compactification radius R. These limits provide the most stringent tests of these models to date.
A search has been performed for photons originating in the decay of a neutral long-lived particle, exploiting the capabilities of the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter to make precise measurements of the flight direction of photons, as well as the calorimeter's excellent time resolution. The search has been made in the diphoton plus missing transverse energy final state, using the full data sample of 4.8/fb of 7 TeV proton-proton collisions collected in 2011 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. No excess is observed above the background expected from Standard Model processes. The results are used to set exclusion limits in the context of Gauge Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking models, with the lightest neutralino being the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle and decaying with a lifetime in excess of 0.25 ns into a photon and a gravitino.
The centrality dependence of the mean charged-particle multiplicity as a function of pseudorapidity is measured in approximately 1 $\mu$b$^{-1}$ of proton--lead collisions at a nucleon--nucleon centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s_{_{\rm{NN}}}} = 5.02$ TeV using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Charged particles with absolute pseudorapidity less than 2.7 are reconstructed using the ATLAS pixel detector. The $p$+Pb collision centrality is characterised by the total transverse energy measured in the Pb-going direction of the forward calorimeter. The charged-particle pseudorapidity distributions are found to vary strongly with centrality, with an increasing asymmetry between the proton-going and Pb-going directions as the collisions become more central. Three different estimations of the number of nucleons participating in the $p$+Pb collision have been carried out using the Glauber model as well as two Glauber--Gribov inspired extensions to the Glauber model. Charged-particle multiplicities per participant pair are found to vary differently for these three models, highlighting the importance of including colour fluctuations in nucleon--nucleon collisions in the modelling of the initial state of $p$+Pb collisions.
This letter reports a measurement of the muon charge asymmetry from W Boson produced in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. The asymmetry is measured in the W Boson to muon decay mode as a function of the muon pseudorapidity using a data sample corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 31 pb-1. The results are compared to predictions based on next-to-leading order calculations with various parton distribution functions. This measurement provides information on the u and d quark momentum fractions in the proton.
Pseudorapidity gap distributions in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV are studied using a minimum bias data sample with an integrated luminosity of 7.1 inverse microbarns. Cross sections are measured differentially in terms of Delta eta F, the larger of the pseudorapidity regions extending to the limits of the ATLAS sensitivity, at eta = +/- 4.9, in which no final state particles are produced above a transverse momentum threshold p_T Cut. The measurements span the region 0 < Delta eta F < 8 for 200 < p_T Cut < 800 MeV. At small Delta eta F, the data test the reliability of hadronisation models in describing rapidity and transverse momentum fluctuations in final state particle production. The measurements at larger gap sizes are dominated by contributions from the single diffractive dissociation process (pp -> Xp), enhanced by double dissociation (pp -> XY) where the invariant mass of the lighter of the two dissociation systems satisfies M_Y <~ 7 GeV. The resulting cross section is d sigma / d Delta eta F ~ 1 mb for Delta eta F >~ 3. The large rapidity gap data are used to constrain the value of the pomeron intercept appropriate to triple Regge models of soft diffraction. The cross section integrated over all gap sizes is compared with other LHC inelastic cross section measurements.
This article reports on a search for dark matter pair production in association with bottom or top quarks in 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collisions collected at $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events with large missing transverse momentum are selected when produced in association with high-momentum jets of which one or more are identified as jets containing $b$-quarks. Final states with top quarks are selected by requiring a high jet multiplicity and in some cases a single lepton. The data are found to be consistent with the Standard Model expectations and limits are set on the mass scale of effective field theories that describe scalar and tensor interactions between dark matter and Standard Model particles. Limits on the dark-matter--nucleon cross-section for spin-independent and spin-dependent interactions are also provided. These limits are particularly strong for low-mass dark matter. Using a simplified model, constraints are set on the mass of dark matter and of a coloured mediator suitable to explain a possible signal of annihilating dark matter.
A search has been performed, using the full 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ data sample of 8 TeV proton--proton collisions collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC, for photons originating from a displaced vertex due to the decay of a neutral long-lived particle into a photon and an invisible particle. The analysis investigates the diphoton plus missing transverse momentum final state, and is therefore most sensitive to pair-production of long-lived particles. The analysis technique exploits the capabilities of the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter to make precise measurements of the flight direction, as well as the time of flight, of photons. No excess is observed over the Standard Model predictions for background. Exclusion limits are set within the context of Gauge Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking models, with the lightest neutralino being the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle and decaying into a photon and gravitino with a lifetime in the range from 250 ps to about 100 ns.
A search is presented for direct chargino production based on a disappearing-track signature using 20.3 fb-1 of proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV collected with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. In anomaly-mediated supersymmetry breaking (AMSB) models, the lightest chargino is nearly mass-degenerate with the lightest neutralino and its lifetime is long enough to be detected in the tracking detectors by identifying decays that result in tracks with no associated hits in the outer region of the tracking system. Some models with supersymmetry also predict charginos with a significant lifetime. This analysis attains sensitivity for charginos with a lifetime between 0.1 ns and 10 ns, and significantly surpasses the reach of the LEP experiments. No significant excess above the background expectation is observed for candidate tracks with large transverse momentum, and constraints on chargino properties are obtained. In the AMSB scenarios, a chargino mass below 270 GeV is excluded at 95% confidence level.
The cross section of the process $e^+e^-\to \pi^+\pi^-\pi^0$ was measured in the Spherical Neutral Detector (SND) experiment at the VEPP-2M collider in the energy region $\sqrt[]{s}$ below 980 MeV. This measurement was based on about $1.2 \times 10^6$ selected events. The obtained cross section was analyzed together with the SND and DM2 data in the energy region $\sqrt[]{s}$ up to 2 GeV. The $\omega$-meson parameters: $m_\omega=782.79\pm 0.08\pm 0.09$ MeV, $\Gamma_\omega=8.68\pm 0.04\pm 0.15$ MeV and $\sigma(\omega\to 3\pi)=1615\pm 9\pm 57$ nb were obtained. It was found that the experimental data cannot be described by a sum of only $\omega$, $\phi$, $\omega^\prime$ and $\omega^{\prime\prime}$ resonances contributions. This can be interpreted as a manifestation of $\rho\to 3\pi$ decay, suppressed by $G$-parity, with relative probability $B(\rho\to 3\pi) = (1.01\pm^{0.54}_{0.36}\pm 0.034) \times 10^{-4}$.
The cross section of the process e+e−→π+π−π0 has been measured in the c.m. energy range 984–1060 MeV with the CMD-2 detector at the VEPP-2M collider. The obtained value of Br(ϕ→e+e−)Br(ϕ→π+π−π0)=(4.51±0.16±0.11)×10−5 is in good agreement with the previous measurements and has the best accuracy. Analysis of the Dalitz plot was performed. The contributions of the dominant ϕ→ρπ mechanism as well as of a small direct ϕ→3π amplitude were determined.
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