A search for Supersymmetry involving the pair production of gluinos decaying via third-generation squarks to the lightest neutralino is reported. It uses an LHC proton--proton dataset at a center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV with an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb$^{-1}$ collected with the ATLAS detector in 2015. The signal is searched for in events containing several energetic jets, of which at least three must be identified as $b$-jets, large missing transverse momentum and, potentially, isolated electrons or muons. Large-radius jets with a high mass are also used to identify highly boosted top quarks. No excess is found above the predicted background. For neutralino masses below approximately 700 GeV, gluino masses of less than 1.78 TeV and 1.76 TeV are excluded at the 95% CL in simplified models of the pair production of gluinos decaying via sbottom and stop, respectively. These results significantly extend the exclusion limits obtained with the $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV dataset.

Results are reported of a search for new phenomena, such as supersymmetric particle production, that could be observed in high-energy proton--proton collisions. Events with large numbers of jets, together with missing transverse momentum from unobserved particles, are selected. The data analysed were recorded by the ATLAS experiment during 2015 using the 13 TeV centre-of-mass proton--proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb$^{-1}$. The search selected events with various jet multiplicities from $\ge 7$ to $\ge 10$ jets, and with various $b$-jet multiplicity requirements to enhance sensitivity. No excess above Standard Model expectations is observed. The results are interpreted within two supersymmetry models, where gluino masses up to 1400 GeV are excluded at 95% confidence level, significantly extending previous limits.

The results of a search for the stop, the supersymmetric partner of the top quark, in final states with one isolated electron or muon, jets, and missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses the 2015 LHC $pp$ collision data at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb${}^{-1}$. The analysis targets two types of signal models: gluino-mediated pair production of stops with a nearly mass-degenerate stop and neutralino; and direct pair production of stops, decaying to the top quark and the lightest neutralino. The experimental signature in both signal scenarios is similar to that of a top quark pair produced in association with large missing transverse momentum. No significant excess over the Standard Model background prediction is observed, and exclusion limits on gluino and stop masses are set at 95% confidence level. The results extend the LHC Run-1 exclusion limit on the gluino mass up to 1460 GeV in the gluino-mediated scenario in the high gluino and low stop mass region, and add an excluded stop mass region from 745 to 780 GeV for the direct stop model with a massless lightest neutralino. The results are also reinterpreted to set exclusion limits in a model of vector-like top quarks.

The result of a search for pair production of the supersymmetric partner of the Standard Model bottom quark ($\tilde{b}_1$) is reported. The search uses 3.2 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=$13 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider in 2015. Bottom squarks are searched for in events containing large missing transverse momentum and exactly two jets identified as originating from $b$-quarks. No excess above the expected Standard Model background yield is observed. Exclusion limits at 95% confidence level on the mass of the bottom squark are derived in phenomenological supersymmetric $R$-parity-conserving models in which the $\tilde{b}_1$ is the lightest squark and is assumed to decay exclusively via $\tilde{b}_1 \rightarrow b \tilde{\chi}_1^0$, where $\tilde{\chi}_1^0$ is the lightest neutralino. The limits significantly extend previous results; bottom squark masses up to 800 (840) GeV are excluded for the $\tilde{\chi}_1^0$ mass below 360 (100) GeV whilst differences in mass above 100 GeV between the $\tilde{b}_1$ and the $\tilde{\chi}_1^0$ are excluded up to a $\tilde{b}_1$ mass of 500 GeV.

The production of $W^{\pm}Z$ events in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV is measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The collected data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb$^{-1}$. The $W^{\pm}Z$ candidates are reconstructed using leptonic decays of the gauge bosons into electrons or muons. The measured inclusive cross section in the detector fiducial region for leptonic decay modes is $\sigma_{W^\pm Z \rightarrow \ell^{'} \nu \ell \ell}^{\textrm{fid.}} = 63.2 \pm 3.2$ (stat.) $\pm 2.6$ (sys.) $\pm 1.5$ (lumi.) fb. In comparison, the next-to-leading-order Standard Model prediction is $53.4^{+3.6}_{-2.8}$ fb. The extrapolation of the measurement from the fiducial to the total phase space yields $\sigma_{W^{\pm}Z}^{\textrm{tot.}} = 50.6 \pm 2.6$ (stat.) $\pm 2.0$ (sys.) $\pm 0.9$ (th.) $\pm 1.2$ (lumi.) pb, in agreement with a recent next-to-next-to-leading-order calculation of $48.2^{+1.1}_{-1.0}$ pb. The cross section as a function of jet multiplicity is also measured, together with the charge-dependent $W^+Z$ and $W^-Z$ cross sections and their ratio.

This paper describes a measurement of the inclusive top quark pair production cross-section ($\sigma_{t\bar{t}}$) with a data sample of 3.2 fb$^{-1}$ of proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$=13 TeV, collected in 2015 by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. This measurement uses events with an opposite-charge electron--muon pair in the final state. Jets containing $b$-quarks are tagged using an algorithm based on track impact parameters and reconstructed secondary vertices. The numbers of events with exactly one and exactly two $b$-tagged jets are counted and used to determine simultaneously $\sigma_{t\bar{t}}$ and the efficiency to reconstruct and $b$-tag a jet from a top quark decay, thereby minimising the associated systematic uncertainties. The cross-section is measured to be: $\sigma_{t\bar{t}}$= 818 $\pm$ 8 (stat) $\pm$ 27 (syst) $\pm$ 19 (lumi) $\pm$ 12 (beam) pb, where the four uncertainties arise from data statistics, experimental and theoretical systematic effects, the integrated luminosity and the LHC beam energy, giving a total relative uncertainty of 4.4%. The result is consistent with theoretical QCD calculations at next-to-next-to-leading order. A fiducial measurement corresponding to the experimental acceptance of the leptons is also presented.

An inclusive search for a new-physics signature of lepton-jet resonances has been performed by the ATLAS experiment. Scalar leptoquarks, pair-produced in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider, have been considered. An integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb$^{-1}$, corresponding to the full 2015 dataset was used. First (second) generation leptoquarks were sought in events with two electrons (muons) and two or more jets. The observed event yield in each channel is consistent with Standard Model background expectations. The observed (expected) lower limits on the leptoquark mass at 95% confidence level are 1100 GeV and 1050 GeV (1160 GeV and 1040 GeV) for first and second generation leptoquarks, respectively, assuming a branching ratio into a charged lepton and a quark of 100%. Upper limits on the aforementioned branching ratio are also given as a function of leptoquark mass. Compared with the results of earlier ATLAS searches, the sensitivity is increased for leptoquark masses above 860 GeV, and the observed exclusion limits confirm and extend the published results.

Results of a search for new phenomena in events with an energetic photon and large missing transverse momentum with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider are reported. The data were collected in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 $\rm fb^{-1}$. The observed data are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations. Exclusion limits are presented in models of new phenomena including pair production of dark matter candidates or large extra spatial dimensions. In a simplified model of dark matter and an axial-vector mediator, the search excludes mediator masses of up to 710 GeV for dark matter candidate masses up to 150 GeV. In an effective theory of dark matter production, values of the suppression scale $M_*$ up to 570 GeV are excluded and the effect of truncation for various coupling values is reported. For the ADD large extra spatial dimension model the search places more stringent limits than earlier searches in the same event topology, excluding $M_{\rm D}$ up to about 2.3 (2.8) TeV for two (six) additional spatial dimensions; the limits are reduced by 20--40% depending on the number of additional spatial dimensions when applying a truncation procedure.

The $ZZ$ production cross section in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV center-of-mass energy is measured using 3.2 fb$^{-1}$ of data recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The considered $Z$ boson candidates decay to an electron or muon pair of mass 66-116 GeV. The cross section is measured in a fiducial phase space reflecting the detector acceptance. It is also extrapolated to a total phase space for $Z$ bosons in the same mass range and of all decay modes, giving $16.7^{+2.2}_{-2.0}$(stat.)$^{+0.9}_{-0.7}$(syst.)$^{+1.0}_{-0.7}$(lumi.) pb. The results agree with standard model predictions.

A search is presented for the pair production of heavy vector-like $T$ and $B$ quarks, primarily targeting the $T$ quark decays to a $W$ boson and a $b$-quark. The search is based on $36.1$ fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV recorded in 2015 and 2016 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Data are analysed in the lepton-plus-jets final state, including at least one $b$-tagged jet and a large-radius jet identified as originating from the hadronic decay of a high-momentum $W$ boson. No significant deviation from the Standard Model expectation is observed in the reconstructed $T$ mass distribution. The observed 95% confidence level lower limit on the $T$ mass are 1350 GeV assuming 100% branching ratio to $Wb$. In the SU(2) singlet scenario, the lower mass limit is 1170 GeV. This search is also sensitive to a heavy vector-like $B$ quark decaying to $Wt$ and other final states. The results are thus reinterpreted to provide a 95% confidence level lower limit on the $B$ quark mass at 1250 GeV assuming 100% branching ratio to $Wt$; in the SU(2) singlet scenario, the limit is 1080 GeV. Mass limits on both $T$ and $B$ production are also set as a function of the decay branching ratios. The 100% branching ratio limits are found to be applicable to heavy vector-like $Y$ and $X$ production that decay to $Wb$ and $Wt$, respectively.