A search is conducted for a new scalar boson $S$, with a mass distinct from that of the Higgs boson, decaying into four leptons ($\ell =$$e$, $\mu$) via an intermediate state containing two on-shell, promptly decaying new spin-1 bosons $Z_\text{d}$: $S \rightarrow Z_\text{d}Z_\text{d} \rightarrow 4\ell$, where the $Z_\text{d}$ boson has a mass between 15 and 300 GeV, and the $S$ boson has a mass between either 30 and 115 GeV or 130 and 800 GeV. The search uses proton-proton collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider with an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$ at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV. No significant excess above the Standard Model background expectation is observed. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the production cross-section times branching ratio, $\sigma(gg \to S) \times \mathcal{B}(S\rightarrow Z_\text{d}Z_\text{d} \rightarrow 4\ell)$, as a function of the mass of both particles, $m_S$ and $m_{Z\text{d}}$.
This search, a type not previously performed at ATLAS, uses a comparison of the production cross sections for $e^+ \mu^-$ and $e^- \mu^+$ pairs to constrain physics processes beyond the Standard Model. It uses $139 \text{fb}^{-1}$ of proton$-$proton collision data recorded at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV at the LHC. Targeting sources of new physics which prefer final states containing $e^{+}\mu^{-}$ to $e^{-}\mu^{+}$, the search contains two broad signal regions which are used to provide model-independent constraints on the ratio of cross sections at the 2% level. The search also has two special selections targeting supersymmetric models and leptoquark signatures. Observations using one of these selections are able to exclude, at 95% confidence level, singly produced smuons with masses up to 640 GeV in a model in which the only other light sparticle is a neutralino when the $R$-parity-violating coupling $\lambda'_{231}$ is close to unity. Observations using the other selection exclude scalar leptoquarks with masses below 1880 GeV when $g_{\text{1R}}^{eu}=g_{\text{1R}}^{\mu c}=1$, at 95% confidence level. The limit on the coupling reduces to $g_{\text{1R}}^{eu}=g_{\text{1R}}^{\mu c}=0.46$ for a mass of 1420 GeV.
A dedicated sample of Large Hadron Collider proton-proton collision data at centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV is used to study inclusive single diffractive dissociation, $pp \rightarrow Xp$. The intact final-state proton is reconstructed in the ATLAS ALFA forward spectrometer, while charged particles from the dissociated system $X$ are measured in the central detector components. The fiducial range of the measurement is $-4.0 < \log_{10} \xi < -1.6$ and $0.016 < |t| < 0.43 \ {\rm GeV^2}$, where $\xi$ is the proton fractional energy loss and $t$ is the squared four-momentum transfer. The total cross section integrated across the fiducial range is $1.59 \pm 0.13 \ {\rm mb}$. Cross sections are also measured differentially as functions of $\xi$, $t$, and $\Delta \eta$, a variable that characterises the rapidity gap separating the proton and the system $X$. The data are consistent with an exponential $t$ dependence, ${\rm d} \sigma / {\rm d} t \propto \text{e}^{Bt}$ with slope parameter $B = 7.65 \pm 0.34 \ {\rm GeV^{-2}}$. Interpreted in the framework of triple Regge phenomenology, the $\xi$ dependence leads to a pomeron intercept of $\alpha(0) = 1.07 \pm 0.09$.
A study of the charge conjugation and parity ($CP$) properties of the interaction between the Higgs boson and $\tau$-leptons is presented. The study is based on a measurement of $CP$-sensitive angular observables defined by the visible decay products of $\tau$-lepton decays, where at least one hadronic decay is required. The analysis uses 139 fb$^{-1}$ of proton$-$proton collision data recorded at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}= 13$ TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Contributions from $CP$-violating interactions between the Higgs boson and $\tau$-leptons are described by a single mixing angle parameter $\phi_{\tau}$ in the generalised Yukawa interaction. Without assuming the Standard Model hypothesis for the $H\rightarrow\tau\tau$ signal strength, the mixing angle $\phi_{\tau}$ is measured to be $9^{\circ} \pm 16^{\circ}$, with an expected value of $0^{\circ} \pm 28^{\circ}$ at the 68% confidence level. The pure $CP$-odd hypothesis is disfavoured at a level of 3.4 standard deviations. The results are compatible with the predictions for the Higgs boson in the Standard Model.
Searches for the exclusive decays of the Higgs boson into $D^*\gamma$ and of the $Z$ boson into $D^0\gamma$ and $K^0_s\gamma$ can probe flavour-violating Higgs and $Z$ boson couplings to light quarks. Searches for these decays are performed with a $pp$ collision data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $136.3$ fb$^{-1}$ collected at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV between 2016-2018 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. In the $D^*\gamma$ and $D^0\gamma$ channels, the observed (expected) 95$\%$ confidence-level upper limits on the respective branching fractions are ${\cal B}(H\rightarrow D^*\gamma)< 1.0 (1.2)\times 10^{-3}$, ${\cal B}(Z\rightarrow D^0\gamma)< 4.0 (3.4)\times 10^{-6}$, while the corresponding results in the $K^0_s\gamma$ channel are ${\cal B}(Z\rightarrow K^0_s\gamma)< 3.1 (3.0)\times 10^{-6}$.
Observed and expected (with the corresponding $\pm1\sigma$ intervals) 95% CL upper limits on the branching fractions for $H\rightarrow D^*\gamma$, $Z\rightarrow D^0\gamma$ and $Z\rightarrow K^0_s\gamma$. Standard Model production of the Higgs boson is assumed. The corresponding upper limits on the production cross-section times branching fraction $\sigma\times\mathcal{B}$ are also shown.
A search for decays of the Higgs boson into a $Z$ boson and a light resonance, with a mass of 0.5-3.5 GeV, is performed using the full 140 fb$^{-1}$ dataset of 13 TeV proton-proton collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the LHC. Leptonic decays of the $Z$ boson and hadronic decays of the light resonance are considered. The resonance can be interpreted as a $J/ψ$ or $η_c$ meson, an axion-like particle, or a light pseudoscalar in two-Higgs-doublet models. Due to its low mass, it would be produced with high boost and reconstructed as a single small-radius jet of hadrons. A neural network is used to correct the Monte Carlo simulation of the background in a data-driven way. Two additional neural networks are used to distinguish signal from background. A binned profile-likelihood fit is performed on the final-state invariant mass distribution. No significant excess of events relative to the expected background is observed, and upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the Higgs boson's branching fraction to a $Z$ boson and a light resonance. The exclusion limit is ~10% for the lower masses, and increases for higher masses. Upper limits on the effective coupling $C^\text{eff}_{ZH}/Λ$ of an axion-like particle to a Higgs boson and $Z$ boson are also set at 95% confidence level, and range from 0.9 to 2 TeV$^{-1}$.
The angularity, for data, background (pre- and post-reweighting) and three $H\rightarrow Za$ signal hypotheses (for $a\rightarrow q\bar{q}/gg$ inclusively). Events are required to pass the complete event selection but not the classification NN requirement. The background normalization is set equal to that of the data for events passing the preselection and being in the $m_{\ell\ell j}$ 100-180 GeV region. The signal normalization assumes the SM Higgs boson inclusive production cross-section, $\mathcal{B}(H\to Za)=100\%$, and it is scaled up by a factor of 100. The error bars (hatched regions) represent the data (MC) sample's statistical uncertainty in the histograms and the ratio plots. Vertical arrows indicate data points that fall outside the displayed $y$-axis range.
The angularity, for data, background (pre- and post-reweighting) and three $H\rightarrow Za$ signal hypotheses (for $a\rightarrow q\bar{q}/gg$ inclusively). Events are required to pass the complete event selection but not the classification NN requirement. The background normalization is set equal to that of the data for events passing the preselection and being in the $m_{\ell\ell j}$ 100-180 GeV region. The signal normalization assumes the SM Higgs boson inclusive production cross-section, $\mathcal{B}(H\to Za)=100\%$, and it is scaled up by a factor of 100. The error bars (hatched regions) represent the data (MC) sample's statistical uncertainty in the histograms and the ratio plots. Vertical arrows indicate data points that fall outside the displayed $y$-axis range.
The modified energy correlation function, for data, background (pre- and post-reweighting) and three $H\rightarrow Za$ signal hypotheses (for $a\rightarrow q\bar{q}/gg$ inclusively). Events are required to pass the complete event selection but not the classification NN requirement. The background normalization is set equal to that of the data for events passing the preselection and being in the $m_{\ell\ell j}$ 100-180 GeV region. The signal normalization assumes the SM Higgs boson inclusive production cross-section, $\mathcal{B}(H\to Za)=100\%$, and it is scaled up by a factor of 100. The error bars (hatched regions) represent the data (MC) sample's statistical uncertainty in the histograms and the ratio plots. Vertical arrows indicate data points that fall outside the displayed $y$-axis range.
A search for heavy Majorana neutrinos in scattering of same-sign $W$ boson pairs in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}= 13$ TeV at the LHC is reported. The dataset used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb$^{-1}$, collected with the ATLAS detector during 2015-2018. The search is performed in final states including a same-sign $ee$ or $e\mu$ pair and at least two jets with large invariant mass and a large rapidity difference. No significant excess of events with respect to the Standard Model background predictions is observed. The results are interpreted in a benchmark scenario of the Phenomenological Type-I Seesaw model. New constraints are set on the values of the $\vert V_{e N} \vert^{2}$ and $\vert V_{e N} V^{*}_{\mu N} \vert$ parameters for heavy Majorana neutrino masses between 50 GeV and 20 TeV, where $V_{\ell N}$ is the matrix element describing the mixing of the heavy Majorana neutrino mass eigenstate with the Standard Model neutrino of flavour $\ell = e, \mu$. The sensitivity to the Weinberg operator is investigated and constraints on the effective $ee$ and $e\mu$ Majorana neutrino masses are reported. The statistical combination of the $ee$ and $e\mu$ channels with the previously published $\mu\mu$ channel is performed.
Observed and expected 95% CL upper limits on the heavy Majorana neutrino mixing element $|V_{\text{eN}}|^2$ for all mass points of $m_N$ in the Phenomenological Type-I Seesaw model. The one and two standard deviation bands are also provided.
The number of signal events passing each selection stage from production to signal region in the eµ channel. For this table the heavy neutrino mixing is set to 1. The associated uncertainty is purely statistical.
The number of signal events passing each selection stage from production to signal region in the ee channel. For this table the heavy neutrino mixing is set to 1. The associated uncertainty is purely statistical.
Measurements of jet substructure are key to probing the energy frontier at colliders, and many of them use track-based observables which take advantage of the angular precision of tracking detectors. Theoretical calculations of track-based observables require `track functions', which characterize the transverse momentum fraction $r_q$ carried by charged hadrons from a fragmenting quark or gluon. This letter presents a direct measurement of $r_q$ distributions in dijet events from the 140 fb$^{-1}$ of proton--proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector. The data are corrected for detector effects using machine-learning methods. The scale evolution of the moments of the $r_q$ distribution is sensitive to non-linear renormalization group evolution equations of QCD, and is compared with analytic predictions. When incorporated into future theoretical calculations, these results will enable a precision program of theory-data comparison for track-based jet substructure observables.
$r_{q}$, mixed, $500~\text{GeV} \leq p_T < 600~\text{GeV}$, Forward $\eta$, Fig 1
The fragmentation properties of jets containing $b$-hadrons are studied using charged $B$ mesons in 139 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV, recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC during the period from 2015 to 2018. The $B$ mesons are reconstructed using the decay of $B^{\pm}$ into $J/\psi K^{\pm}$, with the $J/\psi$ decaying into a pair of muons. Jets are reconstructed using the anti-$k_t$ algorithm with radius parameter $R=0.4$. The measurement determines the longitudinal and transverse momentum profiles of the reconstructed $B$ hadrons with respect to the axes of the jets to which they are geometrically associated. These distributions are measured in intervals of the jet transverse momentum, ranging from 50 GeV to above 100 GeV. The results are corrected for detector effects and compared with several Monte Carlo predictions using different parton shower and hadronisation models. The results for the longitudinal and transverse profiles provide useful inputs to improve the description of heavy-flavour fragmentation in jets.
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 $\text{TeV}$.
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