The Standard Model of particle physics currently provides our best description of fundamental particles and their interactions. The theory predicts that the different charged leptons, the electron, muon and tau, have identical electroweak interaction strengths. Previous measurements have shown a wide range of particle decays are consistent with this principle of lepton universality. This article presents evidence for the breaking of lepton universality in beauty-quark decays, with a significance of 3.1 standard deviations, based on proton-proton collision data collected with the LHCb detector at CERN's Large Hadron Collider. The measurements are of processes in which a beauty meson transforms into a strange meson with the emission of either an electron and a positron, or a muon and an antimuon. If confirmed by future measurements, this violation of lepton universality would imply physics beyond the Standard Model, such as a new fundamental interaction between quarks and leptons.
Likelihood function from the fit to the nonresonant $B^+$ --> $K^+\ell^+ \ell^−$ candidates profiled as a function of $R_K$.
The differential cross-section of prompt inclusive production of long-lived charged particles in proton-proton collisions is measured using a data sample recorded by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of ${\sqrt{s} = 13\,\mathrm{TeV}}$. The data sample, collected with an unbiased trigger, corresponds to an integrated luminosity of ${5.4\,\mathrm{nb}^{-1}}$. The differential cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum and pseudorapidity in the ranges ${p_\mathrm{T} \in [0.08, 10)\,\mathrm{GeV}\,c^{-1}}$ and ${\eta \in [2.0, 4.8)}$ and is determined separately for positively and negatively charged particles. The results are compared with predictions from various hadronic-interaction models.
Double differential cross-sections of prompt inclusive production of long-lived negatively charged particles as a function of transverse momentum and pseudorapidity.
Double differential cross-sections of prompt inclusive production of long-lived positively charged particles as a function of transverse momentum and pseudorapidity.
Correlation for the uncertainties of the differential cross-section of prompt inclusive production of long-lived charged particles.
The inclusive $b \bar{b}$- and $c \bar{c}$-dijet production cross-sections in the forward region of $pp$ collisions are measured using a data sample collected with the LHCb detector at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV in 2016. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 1.6 fb$^{-1}$. Differential cross-sections are measured as a function of the transverse momentum and of the pseudorapidity of the leading jet, of the rapidity difference between the jets, and of the dijet invariant mass. A fiducial region for the measurement is defined by requiring that the two jets originating from the two $b$ or $c$ quarks are emitted with transverse momentum greater than 20 GeV$/c$, pseudorapidity in the range $2.2 < \eta < 4.2$, and with a difference in the azimuthal angle between the two jets greater than 1.5. The integrated $b \bar{b}$-dijet cross-section is measured to be $53.0 \pm 9.7$ nb, and the total $c \bar{c}$-dijet cross-section is measured to be $73 \pm 16$ nb. The ratio between $c \bar{c}$- and $b \bar{b}$-dijet cross-sections is also measured and found to be $1.37 \pm 0.27$. The results are in agreement with theoretical predictions at next-to-leading order.
The total $b \bar{b}$-dijet and $c \bar{c}$-dijet cross-sections and their ratio in the fiducial region, compared with the NLO predictions. The first uncertainty is the combined statistical and systematic uncertainty and the second is the uncertainty from the luminosity. For the predictions, the first uncertainty corresponds to the scale uncertainty, the second to the PDF uncertainty.
Numerical results of $b \bar{b}$- and $c \bar{c}$-dijet cross-sections, $c \bar{c}$/$b \bar{b}$ dijet cross-section ratios and their total uncertainties as a function of the leading jet $\eta$ (pseudorapidity).
Numerical results of $b \bar{b}$- and $c \bar{c}$-dijet cross-sections, $c \bar{c}$/$b \bar{b}$ dijet cross-section ratios and their total uncertainties as a function of $\Delta y^*$.
The first study of $J/\psi\phi$ production in diffractive processes in proton-proton collisions is presented. The study is based on an LHCb dataset recorded at centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 fb$^{-1}$. The data disfavour a nonresonant $J/\psi\phi$ production but are consistent with a resonant model including several resonant states observed previously only in $B^+ \to J/\psi\phi K^+$ decays. The $\chi_{c0}(4500)$ state is observed with a significance over $5\sigma$ and the $\chi_{c1}(4274)$ is confirmed with a significance of more than $4\sigma$.
Total $J/\psi(\to \mu^+ \mu^-)\phi(\to K^+ K^-)$ diffractive production cross-section, multiplied by $\mathcal{B}(J/\psi \to \mu^+ \mu^-)$ and $\mathcal{B}(\phi \to K^+ K^-)$ branching ratios.
$\chi_{c1}(4140) \to J/\psi(\to \mu^+ \mu^-)\phi(\to K^+ K^-)$ diffractive production cross-section, multiplied by $\mathcal{B}(J/\psi \to \mu^+ \mu^-)$ and $\mathcal{B}(\phi \to K^+ K^-)$ branching ratios.
$\chi_{c1}(4274) \to J/\psi(\to \mu^+ \mu^-)\phi(\to K^+ K^-)$ diffractive production cross-section, multiplied by $\mathcal{B}(J/\psi \to \mu^+ \mu^-)$ and $\mathcal{B}(\phi \to K^+ K^-)$ branching ratios.
The first measurement of the $Z$ boson production cross-section at centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s} = 5.02\,$TeV in the forward region is reported, using $pp$ collision data collected by the LHCb experiment in year 2017, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $100 \pm 2\,\rm{pb^{-1}}$. The production cross-section is measured for final-state muons in the pseudorapidity range $2.0<\eta<4.5$ with transverse momentum $p_{\rm{T}}> 20\,\rm{GeV/}\it{c}$. The integrated cross-section is determined to be \[ \sigma_{Z \rightarrow \mu^{+}\mu^{-}} = 39.6 \pm 0.7\,(\rm{stat}) \pm 0.6\,(\rm{syst}) \pm 0.8\,(\rm{lumi}) \ \rm{pb} \] for the di-muon invariant mass in the range $60<M_{\mu\mu}<120\,\rm{GeV/}\it{c^{2}}$. This result and the differential cross-section results are in good agreement with theoretical predictions at next-to-next-to-leading order in the strong coupling. Based on a previous LHCb measurement of the $Z$ boson production cross-section in $p$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=5.02$ TeV, the nuclear modification factor $R_{p\rm{Pb}}$ is measured for the first time at this energy. The measured values are $1.2^{+0.5}_{-0.3}\,(\rm{stat}) \pm 0.1\,(\rm{syst})$ in the forward region ($1.53<y^*_{\mu}<4.03$) and $3.6^{+1.6}_{-0.9}\,(\rm{stat}) \pm 0.2\,(\rm{syst})$ in the backward region ($-4.97<y^*_{\mu}<-2.47$), where $y^*_{\mu}$ represents the muon rapidity in the centre-of-mass frame.
Systematic uncertainties on the single differential cross-sections in bins of $y^{Z}$, presented in percentage.
Systematic uncertainties on the single differential cross-sections in bins of $p_{T}^{Z}$, presented in percentage.
Systematic uncertainties on the single differential cross-sections in bins of $\phi_{\eta}^{*}$, presented in percentage.
Parton energy loss in the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) is studied with a measurement of photon-tagged jet production in 1.7 nb$^{-1}$ of Pb+Pb data and 260 pb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ data, both at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}} = 5.02$ TeV, with the ATLAS detector. The process $pp \to \gamma$+jet+$X$ and its analogue in Pb+Pb collisions is measured in events containing an isolated photon with transverse momentum ($p_\mathrm{T}$) above $50$ GeV and reported as a function of jet $p_\mathrm{T}$. This selection results in a sample of jets with a steeply falling $p_\mathrm{T}$ distribution that are mostly initiated by the showering of quarks. The $pp$ and Pb+Pb measurements are used to report the nuclear modification factor, $R_\mathrm{AA}$, and the fractional energy loss, $S_\mathrm{loss}$, for photon-tagged jets. In addition, the results are compared with the analogous ones for inclusive jets, which have a significantly smaller quark-initiated fraction. The $R_\mathrm{AA}$ and $S_\mathrm{loss}$ values are found to be significantly different between those for photon-tagged jets and inclusive jets, demonstrating that energy loss in the QGP is sensitive to the colour-charge of the initiating parton. The results are also compared with a variety of theoretical models of colour-charge-dependent energy loss.
The differential cross-section of photon-tagged jets as a function of jet $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ in pp collisions.
The yields of photon-tagged jets as a function of jet $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ in Pb+Pb collisions for different centrality intervals.
The nuclear modification factor of photon-tagged jets as a function of jet $p_{\mathrm{T}}$ for different centrality intervals.
A direct search for Higgs bosons produced via vector-boson fusion and subsequently decaying into invisible particles is reported. The analysis uses 139 $\text{fb}^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$=13 $\text{TeV}$ recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The observed numbers of events are found to be in agreement with the background expectation from Standard Model processes. For a scalar Higgs boson with a mass of 125 $\text{GeV}$ and a Standard Model production cross section, an observed upper limit of $0.145$ is placed on the branching fraction of its decay into invisible particles at 95% confidence level, with an expected limit of $0.103$. These results are interpreted in the context of models where the Higgs boson acts as a portal to dark matter, and limits are set on the scattering cross section of weakly interacting massive particles and nucleons. Invisible decays of additional scalar bosons with masses from 50 $\text{GeV}$ to 2 $\text{TeV}$ are also studied, and the derived upper limits on the cross section times branching fraction decrease with increasing mass from 1.0 $\text{pb}$ for a scalar boson mass of 50 $\text{GeV}$ to 0.1 $\text{pb}$ at a mass of 2 $\text{TeV}$.
Yields after each selection criterion for a signal sample of an invisibly decaying Higgs boson produced in VBF and ggF for 139 $fb^{-1}$ of data. The lines 'Timing of j1/j2' are referring to requirements that are part of the jet cleaning, and which ensure that the timing of the two leading jets is compatible with the bunch crossing. The last sixteen rows show the yield in each SR bin and the efficiency with respect to the inclusive signal region.
A search is made for a vector-like $T$ quark decaying into a Higgs boson and a top quark in 13 TeV proton-proton collisions using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider with a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. The Higgs-boson and top-quark candidates are identified in the all-hadronic decay mode, where $H\to b\bar{b}$ and $t\to b W \to b q \bar{q}^\prime$ are reconstructed as large-radius jets. The candidate Higgs boson, top quark, and associated B-hadrons are identified using tagging algorithms. No significant excess is observed above the background, so limits are set on the production cross-section of a singlet $T$ quark at 95% confidence level, depending on the mass, $m_T$, and coupling, $\kappa_T$, of the vector-like $T$ quark to Standard Model particles. In the considered mass range between 1.0 and 2.3 TeV, the upper limit on the allowed coupling values increases with $m_T$ from a minimum value of 0.35 for 1.07 < $m_T$ < 1.4 TeV to 1.6 for $m_T$ = 2.3 TeV.
Dijet invariant mass distribution for the $SR$ showing the results of the model when fitted to the data. A $T$-quark hypothesis with $m_{T} = 1.6$ TeV and $\kappa_{T} = 0.5$ is used in the fit.
Dijet invariant mass distribution for the $ttNR$ showing the results of the model when fitted to the data. A $T$-quark hypothesis with $m_{T} = 1.6$ TeV and $\kappa_{T} = 0.5$ is used in the fit.
Observed and expected 95% CL upper limits on the single $T$-quark coupling $\kappa_{T}$ as a function of $m_{T}$ are shown.
Cross-section measurements of top-quark pair production where the hadronically decaying top quark has transverse momentum greater than $355$ GeV and the other top quark decays into $\ell \nu b$ are presented using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of data collected by the ATLAS experiment during proton-proton collisions at the LHC. The fiducial cross-section at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV is measured to be $\sigma = 1.267 \pm 0.005 \pm 0.053$ pb, where the uncertainties reflect the limited number of data events and the systematic uncertainties, giving a total uncertainty of $4.2\%$. The cross-section is measured differentially as a function of variables characterising the $t\bar{t}$ system and additional radiation in the events. The results are compared with various Monte Carlo generators, including comparisons where the generators are reweighted to match a parton-level calculation at next-to-next-to-leading order. The reweighting improves the agreement between data and theory. The measured distribution of the top-quark transverse momentum is used to set limits on the Wilson coefficients of the dimension-six operators $O_{tG}$ and $O_{tq}^{(8)}$ in the effective field theory framework.
Total cross-section at particle level in the boosted topology. Note that the values shown here are obtained by propagating the individual uncertainties to the measured cross-sections, while the covariance matrices are evaluated using pseudo-experiments as described in the text. The measured cross-section is compared with the prediction obtained with the Powheg+Pythia8 Monte Carlo generator.
Absolute differential cross-section as a function of $p_T^{t,h}$ at particle level in the boosted topology. The measured differential cross-section is compared with the prediction obtained with the Powheg+Pythia8 Monte Carlo generator.
Relative differential cross-section as a function of $p_T^{t,h}$ at particle level in the boosted topology. The measured differential cross-section is compared with the prediction obtained with the Powheg+Pythia8 Monte Carlo generator.
A search for decays of pair-produced neutral long-lived particles (LLPs) is presented using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2015-2018 at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. Dedicated techniques were developed for the reconstruction of displaced jets produced by LLPs decaying hadronically in the ATLAS hadronic calorimeter. Two search regions are defined for different LLP kinematic regimes. The observed numbers of events are consistent with the expected background, and limits for several benchmark signals are determined. For a SM Higgs boson with a mass of 125 GeV, branching ratios above 10% are excluded at 95% confidence level for values of $c$ times LLP mean proper lifetime in the range between 20 mm and 10 m depending on the model. Upper limits are also set on the cross-section times branching ratio for scalars with a mass of 60 GeV and for masses between 200 GeV and 1 TeV.
CalRatio triggers which were available during the LHC Run 2 data-taking, and corresponding integrated luminosity collected in each period. The high-E<sub>T</sub> CalRatio trigger with E<sub>T</sub> > 60 GeV was disabled in 2017 for instantaneous luminosities higher than 1.4 × 10<sup>34</sup> cm<sup>-2</sup> s<sup>-1</sup>. Two versions of the low-E<sub>T</sub> CalRatio trigger were used, with slight differences in their algorithms. The details are reported in Section 4.
Trigger efficiency for simulated signal events as a function of the LLP p<sub>T</sub> for one of the low-E<sub>T</sub> signal samples for HLT CalRatio triggers seeded by the high-E<sub>T</sub> L1 triggers with E<sub>T</sub> thresholds of 60 GeV and 100 GeV and by the two versions of the low-E<sub>T</sub> L1 triggers. Only statistical uncertainties are shown.
Trigger efficiency for simulated signal events as a function of the LLP p<sub>T</sub> for one of the high-E<sub>T</sub> signal samples for HLT CalRatio triggers seeded by the high-E<sub>T</sub> L1 triggers with E<sub>T</sub> thresholds of 60 GeV and 100 GeV and by the two versions of the low-E<sub>T</sub> L1 triggers. Only statistical uncertainties are shown.
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