Search for the decay of the Higgs boson to a $Z$ boson and a light pseudoscalar particle decaying to two photons

The ATLAS collaboration Aad, Georges ; Abbott, Braden Keim ; Abeling, Kira ; et al.
Phys.Lett.B 850 (2024) 138536, 2024.
Inspire Record 2729877 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.145855

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.

5 data tables

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$^{-1}$.

More…

Search for Resonant Production of Dark Quarks in the Dijet Final State with the ATLAS Detector

The ATLAS collaboration Aad, Georges ; Abbott, Braden Keim ; Abeling, Kira ; et al.
JHEP 02 (2024) 128, 2024.
Inspire Record 2719976 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.145191

This paper presents a search for a new $Z^\prime$ resonance decaying into a pair of dark quarks which hadronise into dark hadrons before promptly decaying back as Standard Model particles. This analysis is based on proton-proton collision data recorded at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider between 2015 and 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. After selecting events containing large-radius jets with high track multiplicity, the invariant mass distribution of the two highest-transverse-momentum jets is scanned to look for an excess above a data-driven estimate of the Standard Model multijet background. No significant excess of events is observed and the results are thus used to set 95 % confidence-level upper limits on the production cross-section times branching ratio of the $Z^\prime$ to dark quarks as a function of the $Z^\prime$ mass for various dark-quark scenarios.

13 data tables

Distribution of the di-jet invariant mass, $m_{\mathrm{JJ}}$ for the data, the simulated multi-jet background and of some representative signals (models A, B, C and D with $m_{Z'}=2.5$ TeV), shown after applying the preselections described in the text. The simulated background is normalised to the data and the signals are normalised to a production cross-section of 10 fb.

Distributions of the number of tracks associated to the leading jet, $n_{track,1}$, for the data, the simulated multi-jet background and of some representative signals (models A, B, C and D with $m_{Z^\prime}=2.5$ TeV), shown after applying the preselections described in the text. All distributions are normalised to unity. The uncertainty band around the background prediction corresponds to the modelling uncertainty described in Section 6.

Distributions of the number of tracks associated to the subleading jet, $n_{track,2}$, for the data, the simulated multi-jet background and of some representative signals (models A, B, C and D with $m_{Z^\prime}=2.5$ TeV), shown after applying the preselections described in the text. All distributions are normalised to unity. The uncertainty band around the background prediction corresponds to the modelling uncertainty described in Section 6.

More…

Search for boosted diphoton resonances in the 10 to 70 GeV mass range using 138 fb$^{-1}$ of 13 TeV $pp$ collisions with the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS collaboration Aad, Georges ; Abbott, Braden Keim ; Abbott, D.C. ; et al.
JHEP 07 (2023) 155, 2023.
Inspire Record 2178061 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.131600

A search for diphoton resonances in the mass range between 10 and 70 GeV with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is presented. The analysis is based on $pp$ collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$ at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded from 2015 to 2018. Previous searches for diphoton resonances at the LHC have explored masses down to 65 GeV, finding no evidence of new particles. This search exploits the particular kinematics of events with pairs of closely spaced photons reconstructed in the detector, allowing examination of invariant masses down to 10 GeV. The presented strategy covers a region previously unexplored at hadron colliders because of the experimental challenges of recording low-energy photons and estimating the backgrounds. No significant excess is observed and the reported limits provide the strongest bound on promptly decaying axion-like particles coupling to gluons and photons for masses between 10 and 70 GeV.

7 data tables

The expected and observed upper limits at 95\% CL on the fiducial cross-section times branching ratio to two photons of a narrow-width ($\Gamma_{X}$ = 4 MeV) scalar resonance as a function of its mass $m_{X}$.

Diphoton invariant mass in the signal region using a 0.1 GeV binning.

Parametrization of the $C_{X}$ factor, defined as the ratio between the number of reconstructed signal events passing the analysis cuts and the number of signal events at the particle level generated within the fiducial volume, as function of $m_{X}$ obtained from the narrow width simulated signal samples produced in gluon fusion.

More…

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS collaboration Aad, Georges ; Abbott, Brad ; Abdallah, Jalal ; et al.
Eur.Phys.J.C 75 (2015) 299, 2015.
Inspire Record 1343107 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.68783

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ of $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with $p_T > 120$ GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between $E_T^{miss} > 150$ GeV and $E_T^{miss} > 700$ GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, and production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presented.

45 data tables

Distributions of the measured transverse mass distribution of the identified muon in the $W\mu\nu$+jets control region for the inclusive SR1 selection, compared to the background expectations. The latter include the global normalization factors extracted from the data. Where appropriate, the last bin of the distribution includes overflows.

Measured $E_{T}^{miss}$ distribution in the $W\mu\nu$+jets control region for the inclusive SR1 selection, compared to the background expectations. The latter include the global normalization factors extracted from the data. Where appropriate, the last bin of the distribution includes overflows.

Measured leading jet $p_{T}$ distribution in the $W\mu\nu$+jets control region for the inclusive SR1 selection, compared to the background expectations. The latter include the global normalization factors extracted from the data. Where appropriate, the last bin of the distribution includes overflows.

More…

Search for charginos nearly mass-degenerate with the lightest neutralino based on a disappearing-track signature in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS collaboration Aad, Georges ; Abajyan, Tatevik ; Abbott, Brad ; et al.
Phys.Rev.D 88 (2013) 112006, 2013.
Inspire Record 1258398 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.62699

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.

13 data tables

The pT distribution of disappearing-track candidates.

Observed CLs contour in the ( M(CHARGINO), TAU(CHARGINO) ) space for tan(beta) = 5 and mu > 0.

Observed CLs contour with minus 1-sigma signal cross-section uncertainty in the ( M(CHARGINO), TAU(CHARGINO) ) space for tan(beta) = 5 and mu > 0.

More…

Search for dark matter in events with a hadronically decaying W or Z boson and missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS collaboration Aad, Georges ; Abajyan, Tatevik ; Abbott, Brad ; et al.
Phys.Rev.Lett. 112 (2014) 041802, 2014.
Inspire Record 1254228 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.62353

A search is presented for dark matter pair production in association with a W or Z boson in pp collisions representing 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity at $\sqrt{s}$=8 TeV using data recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events with a hadronic jet with the jet-mass consistent with a W or Z boson, and with large missing transverse momentum are analyzed. The data are consistent with the Standard Model expectations, and limits are set on the mass scale in effective field theories that describe the interaction of dark matter and Standard Model particles.

6 data tables

Distribution of M(jet) in the data and for the predicted background in the top control region (CR) with one muon, one large-radius jet, two narrow jets, at least one b tag, and ETmiss > 250 GeV.

Distribution of M(jet) in the data and for the predicted background in the signal region (SR) with ETmiss > 350 GeV.

Distribution of M(jet) in the data and for the predicted background in the signal region (SR) with ETmiss > 500 GeV.

More…

Search for direct third-generation squark pair production in final states with missing transverse momentum and two b-jets in sqrt{s}=8 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS collaboration Aad, Georges ; Abajyan, Tatevik ; Abbott, Brad ; et al.
JHEP 10 (2013) 189, 2013.
Inspire Record 1247462 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.62446

The results of a search for pair production of supersymmetric partners of the Standard Model third-generation quarks are reported. This search uses 20.1 fb-1 of pp collisions at sqrt{s}=8 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The lightest bottom and top squarks (b1 and t1 respectively) are searched for in a final state with large missing transverse momentum and two jets identified as originating from b-quarks. No excess of events above the expected level of Standard Model background is found. The results are used to set upper limits on the visible cross section for processes beyond the Standard Model. Exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level on the masses of the third-generation squarks are derived in phenomenological supersymmetric R-parity-conserving models in which either the bottom or the top squark is the lightest squark. The b1 is assumed to decay via b1->b chi0 and the t via t1->b chipm, with undetectable products of the subsequent decay of the chipm due to the small mass splitting between the chipm and the chi0.

69 data tables

Observed exclusion limit at 95% CL in the ( M(SBOTTOM), M(NEUTRALINO) ) mass plane for the sbottom pair production scenario.

Observed exclusion limit at 95% CL, when moving the nominal signal cross section up by the 1-sigma theoretical uncertainty, in the ( M(SBOTTOM), M(NEUTRALINO) ) mass plane for the sbottom pair production scenario.

Observed exclusion limit at 95% CL, when moving the nominal signal cross section down by the 1-sigma theoretical uncertainty, in the ( M(SBOTTOM), M(NEUTRALINO) ) mass plane for the sbottom pair production scenario.

More…

Search for doubly-charged Higgs bosons in like-sign dilepton final states at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS collaboration Aad, Georges ; Abajyan, Tatevik ; Abbott, Brad ; et al.
Eur.Phys.J.C 72 (2012) 2244, 2012.
Inspire Record 1191430 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.40316

A search for doubly-charged Higgs bosons decaying to pairs of electrons and/or muons is presented. The search is performed using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb-1 of pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Pairs of prompt, isolated, high-pT leptons with the same electric charge (ee, emu, mumu) are selected, and their invariant mass distribution is searched for a narrow resonance. No significant excess over Standard Model background expectations is observed, and limits are placed on the cross section times branching ratio for pair production of doubly-charged Higgs bosons. The masses of doubly-charged Higgs bosons are constrained depending on the branching ratio into these leptonic final states. Assuming pair production, coupling to left-handed fermions, and a branching ratio of 100% for each final state, masses below 409 GeV, 375 GeV, and 398 GeV are excluded for ee, emu, mumu, respectively.

2 data tables

The upper mass limit of the doubly charged Higgs boson as a function of its branching ratio to like sign lepton pairs assuming coupling to left-handed fermions. The results are given separately for each of the lepton pair combinations, electron-electron, electon-muon and muon-muon.

The upper mass limit of the doubly charged Higgs boson as a function of its branching ratio to like sign lepton pairs assuming coupling to right-handed fermions. The results are given separately for each of the lepton pair combinations, electron-electron, electon-muon and muon-muon.


Search for diphoton events with large missing transverse momentum in 7 TeV proton-proton collision data with the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS collaboration Aad, Georges ; Abajyan, Tatevik ; Abbott, Brad ; et al.
Phys.Lett.B 718 (2012) 411-430, 2012.
Inspire Record 1184351 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.60017

A search for diphoton events with large missing transverse momentum has been performed using proton-proton collision data at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 fb^-1. No excess of events was observed above the Standard Model prediction and model-dependent 95% confidence level exclusion limits are set. In the context of a generalised model of gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking with a bino-like lightest neutralino of mass above 50 GeV, gluinos (squarks) below 1.07 TeV (0.87 TeV) are excluded, while a breaking scale Lambda below 196 TeV is excluded for a minimal model of gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking. For a specific model with one universal extra dimension, compactification scales 1/R < 1.40 TeV are excluded. These limits provide the most stringent tests of these models to date.

4 data tables

Observeded limit on gluino mass as function of LSP mass for the GGM model.

Limit on squark mass as function of LSP mass for the GGM model.

Cross section limit for the SPS8 model.

More…

Search for dark matter candidates and large extra dimensions in events with a photon and missing transverse momentum in pp collision data at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS collaboration Aad, Georges ; Abajyan, Tatevik ; Abbott, Brad ; et al.
Phys.Rev.Lett. 110 (2013) 011802, 2013.
Inspire Record 1186740 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.47282

Results of a search for new phenomena in events with an energetic photon and large missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV are reported. Data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb-1 are used. Good agreement is observed between the data and the Standard Model predictions. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with large extra spatial dimensions and on pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates.

10 data tables

95% CL observed and expected upper limits on M_D as a function of the number of extra-dimensions considering LO signal cross sections. The impact of the +-1sigma theoretical uncertainty on the observed limits and the expected +-1sigma range of limits in the absence of a signal are also given.

95% CL observed and expected upper limits on M_D as a function of the number of extra-dimensions considering NLO signal cross sections. The impact of the +-1sigma theoretical uncertainty on the observed limits and the expected +-1sigma range of limits in the absence of a signal are also given.

95% CL observed and expected upper limits on M_* for spin-independent (D1) WIMP models. The impact of the +-1sigma theoretical uncertainty on the observed limits and the expected +-1sigma range of limits in the absence of a signal are also given.

More…