A search is presented for direct top squark pair production in final states with one isolated electron or muon, jets, and missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV. The measurement is based on 4.7 fb-1 of data collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Each top squark is assumed to decay to a top quark and the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP). The data are found to be consistent with Standard Model expectations. Top squark masses between 230 GeV and 440 GeV are excluded with 95% confidence for massless LSPs, and top squark masses around 400 GeV are excluded for LSP masses up to 125 GeV.
Distributions sensitive to the underlying event are studied in events containing one or more charged-particle jets produced in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). These measurements reflect 800 inverse microbarns of data taken during 2010. Jets are reconstructed using the antikt algorithm with radius parameter R varying between 0.2 and 1.0. Distributions of the charged-particle multiplicity, the scalar sum of the transverse momentum of charged particles, and the average charged-particle pT are measured as functions of pT^JET in regions transverse to and opposite the leading jet for 4 GeV < pT^JET < 100 GeV. In addition, the R-dependence of the mean values of these observables is studied. In the transverse region, both the multiplicity and the scalar sum of the transverse momentum at fixed pT^JET vary significantly with R, while the average charged-particle transverse momentum has a minimal dependence on R. Predictions from several Monte Carlo tunes have been compared to the data; the predictions from Pythia 6, based on tunes that have been determined using LHC data, show reasonable agreement with the data, including the dependence on R. Comparisons with other generators indicate that additional tuning of soft-QCD parameters is necessary for these generators. The measurements presented here provide a testing ground for further development of the Monte Carlo models.
This paper describes measurements of the sum of the transverse energy of particles as a function of particle pseudorapidity, eta, in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy, sqrt(s) = 7 TeV using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurements are performed in the region |eta| < 4.8 for two event classes: those requiring the presence of particles with a low transverse momentum and those requiring particles with a significant transverse momentum. In the second dataset measurements are made in the region transverse to the hard scatter. The distributions are compared to the predictions of various Monte Carlo event generators, which generally tend to underestimate the amount of transverse energy at high |eta|.
This paper describes a measurement of the flavour composition of dijet events produced in pp collisions at sqrt{s}=7 TeV using the ATLAS detector. The measurement uses the full 2010 data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 39 pb^-1. Six possible combinations of light, charm and bottom jets are identified in the dijet events, where the jet flavour is defined by the presence of bottom, charm or solely light flavour hadrons in the jet. Kinematic variables, based on the properties of displaced decay vertices and optimised for jet flavour identification, are used in a multidimensional template fit to measure the fractions of these dijet flavour states as functions of the leading jet transverse momentum in the range 40 GeV to 500 GeV and jet rapidity |y| < 2.1. The fit results agree with the predictions of leading- and next-to-leading-order calculations, with the exception of the dijet fraction composed of bottom and light flavour jets, which is underestimated by all models at large transverse jet momenta. The ability to identify jets containing two b-hadrons, originating from e.g. gluon splitting, is demonstrated. The difference between bottom jet production rates in leading and subleading jets is consistent with the next-to-leading-order predictions.
A search is presented for the pair production of light scalar top quarks in sqrt(s) = 7 TeV proton-proton collisions recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. This analysis uses the full data sample collected during 2011 that corresponds to a total integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb-1. Light scalar top quarks are searched for in events with two opposite-sign leptons (e, mu), large missing transverse momentum and at least one jet in the final state. No excess over Standard Model expectations is found, and the results are interpreted under the assumption that the light scalar top decays to a b-quark in addition to an on-shell chargino whose decay occurs through a virtual W boson. If the chargino mass is 106 GeV, light scalar top quark masses up to 130 GeV are excluded for neutralino masses below 70 GeV.
The results of a search for pair production of light top squarks are presented, using 4.7 fb^-1 of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV proton-proton collisions collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. This search targets top squarks with masses similar to, or lighter than, the top quark mass. Final states containing exclusively one or two leptons (e, mu), large missing transverse momentum, light-jets and b-jets are used to reconstruct the top squark pair system. Global mass scale variables are used to separate the signal from a large ttbar background. No excess over the Standard Model expectations is found. The results are interpreted in the framework of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, assuming the top squark decays exclusively to a chargino and a b-quark. Light top squarks with masses between 123-167 GeV are excluded for neutralino masses around 55 GeV.
Jet cross sections have been measured for the first time in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV using the ATLAS detector. The measurement uses an integrated luminosity of 17 nb-1 recorded at the Large Hadron Collider. The anti-kt algorithm is used to identify jets, with two jet resolution parameters, R = 0.4 and 0.6. The dominant uncertainty comes from the jet energy scale, which is determined to within 7% for central jets above 60 GeV transverse momentum. Inclusive single-jet differential cross sections are presented as functions of jet transverse momentum and rapidity. Dijet cross sections are presented as functions of dijet mass and the angular variable $\chi$. The results are compared to expectations based on next-to-leading-order QCD, which agree with the data, providing a validation of the theory in a new kinematic regime.
This paper presents a measurement of the W^+W^- production cross section in pp collisions at sqrt{s}=7 TeV. The leptonic decay channels are analyzed using data corresponding to an integrated 4.6 fb-1 collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The W^+W^- production cross section sigma(pp -> W^+W^-+X) is measured to be 51.9 +- 2.0 (stat) +- 3.9 (syst) +- 2.0 (lumi) pb, compatible with the Standard Model prediction of 44.7 +2.1 -1.9 pb. A measurement of the normalized fiducial cross section as a function of the leading lepton transverse momentum is also presented. The reconstructed transverse momentum distribution of the leading lepton is used to extract limits on anomalous WWZ and WWgamma couplings.
First measurements of the W -> lnu and Z/gamma* -> ll (l = e, mu) production cross sections in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV are presented using data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. The results are based on 2250 W -> lnu and 179 Z/gamma* -> ll candidate events selected from a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 320 nb-1. The measured total W and Z/gamma*-boson production cross sections times the respective leptonic branching ratios for the combined electron and muon channels are $\stotW$ * BR(W -> lnu) = 9.96 +- 0.23(stat) +- 0.50(syst) +- 1.10(lumi) nb and $\stotZg$ * BR(Z/gamma* -> ll) = 0.82 +- 0.06(stat) +- 0.05(syst) +- 0.09(lumi) nb (within the invariant mass window 66 < m_ll < 116 GeV). The W/Z cross-section ratio is measured to be 11.7 +- 0.9(stat) +- 0.4(syst). In addition, measurements of the W+ and W- production cross sections and of the lepton charge asymmetry are reported. Theoretical predictions based on NNLO QCD calculations are found to agree with the measurements.
Dijet angular distributions from the first LHC pp collisions at center-of-mass energy sqrt(s) = 7 TeV have been measured with the ATLAS detector. The dataset used for this analysis represents an integrated luminosity of 3.1 pb-1. Dijet $\chi$ distributions and centrality ratios have been measured up to dijet masses of 2.8 TeV, and found to be in good agreement with Standard Model predictions. Analysis of the $\chi$ distributions excludes quark contact interactions with a compositeness scale $\Lambda$ below 3.4 TeV, at 95% confidence level, significantly exceeding previous limits.
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