A search for heavy resonances decaying into a pair of $Z$ bosons leading to $\ell^+\ell^-\ell^+\ell^-$ and $\ell^+\ell^-\nu\bar\nu$ final states, where $\ell$ stands for either an electron or a muon, is presented. The search uses proton proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb$^{-1}$ collected with the ATLAS detector during 2015 and 2016 at the Large Hadron Collider. Different mass ranges for the hypothetical resonances are considered, depending on the final state and model. The different ranges span between 200 GeV and 2000 GeV. The results are interpreted as upper limits on the production cross section of a spin 0 or spin 2 resonance. The upper limits for the spin 0 resonance are translated to exclusion contours in the context of Type I and Type II two-Higgs-doublet models, while those for the spin 2 resonance are used to constrain the Randall Sundrum model with an extra dimension giving rise to spin 2 graviton excitations.
This Letter presents direct searches for lepton flavour violation in Higgs boson decays, $H\rightarrow e\tau$ and $H\rightarrow\mu\tau$, performed with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The searches are based on a data sample of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $36.1\,\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$. No significant excess is observed above the expected background from Standard Model processes. The observed (median expected) 95 % confidence-level upper limits on the lepton-flavour-violating branching ratios are $0.47\%$ ($0.34^{+0.13}_{-0.10}\,\%$) and $0.28\%$ ($0.37^{+0.14}_{-0.10}\,\%$) for $H\to e\tau$ and $H\to\mu\tau$, respectively.
The associated production of a Higgs boson with a $W$ or $Z$ boson decaying into leptons and where the Higgs boson decays to a $b\bar{b}$ pair is measured in the high vector-boson transverse momentum regime, above 250 GeV, with the ATLAS detector. The analysed data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$, were collected in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider between 2015 and 2018 at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV. The measured signal strength, defined as the ratio of the measured signal yield to that predicted by the Standard Model, is $0.72 ^{+0.39}_{-0.36}$ corresponding to an observed (expected) significance of 2.1 (2.7) standard deviations. Cross-sections of associated production of a Higgs boson decaying into $b$ quark pairs with a $W$ or $Z$ gauge boson, decaying into leptons, are measured in two exclusive vector boson transverse momentum regions, 250-400 GeV and above 400 GeV, and interpreted as constraints on anomalous couplings in the framework of a Standard Model effective field theory.
This paper describes a search for beyond the Standard Model decays of the Higgs boson into a pair of new spin-0 particles subsequently decaying into $b$-quark pairs, $H \rightarrow aa \rightarrow (b\bar{b})(b\bar{b})$, using proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV. This search focuses on the regime where the decay products are collimated and in the range $15 \leq m_a \leq 30$ GeV and is complementary to a previous search in the same final state targeting the regime where the decay products are well separated and in the range $20 \leq m_a \leq 60$ GeV. A novel strategy for the identification of the $a \rightarrow b\bar{b}$ decays is deployed to enhance the efficiency for topologies with small separation angles. The search is performed with 36 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity collected in 2015 and 2016 and sets upper limits on the production cross-section of $H \rightarrow aa \rightarrow (b\bar{b})(b\bar{b})$, where the Higgs boson is produced in association with a $Z$ boson.
A search for heavy resonances decaying into a pair of $Z$ bosons leading to $\ell^+\ell^-\ell'^+\ell'^-$ and $\ell^+\ell^-\nu\bar\nu$ final states, where $\ell$ stands for either an electron or a muon, is presented. The search uses proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected from 2015 to 2018 that corresponds to the full integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$ recorded by the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider. Different mass ranges spanning 200 GeV to 2000 GeV for the hypothetical resonances are considered, depending on the final state and model. In the absence of a significant observed excess, the results are interpreted as upper limits on the production cross section of a spin-0 or spin-2 resonance. The upper limits for the spin-0 resonance are translated to exclusion contours in the context of Type-I and Type-II two-Higgs-doublet models, and the limits for the spin-2 resonance are used to constrain the Randall--Sundrum model with an extra dimension giving rise to spin-2 graviton excitations.
The production of dark matter in association with Higgs bosons is predicted in several extensions of the Standard Model. An exploration of such scenarios is presented, considering final states with missing transverse momentum and $b$-tagged jets consistent with a Higgs boson. The analysis uses proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC during Run 2, amounting to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. The analysis, when compared with previous searches, benefits from a larger dataset, but also has further improvements providing sensitivity to a wider spectrum of signal scenarios. These improvements include both an optimised event selection and advances in the object identification, such as the use of the likelihood-based significance of the missing transverse momentum and variable-radius track-jets. No significant deviation from Standard Model expectations is observed. Limits are set, at 95% confidence level, in two benchmark models with two Higgs doublets extended by either a heavy vector boson $Z'$ or a pseudoscalar singlet $a$ and which both provide a dark matter candidate $\chi$. In the case of the two-Higgs-doublet model with an additional vector boson $Z'$, the observed limits extend up to a $Z'$ mass of 3 TeV for a mass of 100 GeV for the dark matter candidate. The two-Higgs-doublet model with a dark matter particle mass of 10 GeV and an additional pseudoscalar $a$ is excluded for masses of the $a$ up to 520 GeV and 240 GeV for $\tan \beta = 1$ and $\tan \beta = 10$ respectively. Limits on the visible cross-sections are set and range from 0.05 fb to 3.26 fb, depending on the missing transverse momentum and $b$-quark jet multiplicity requirements.
A search for the Higgs boson decaying into a photon and a pair of electrons or muons with an invariant mass $m_{\ell\ell} < 30$ GeV is presented. The analysis is performed using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data, produced by the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV and collected by the ATLAS experiment. Evidence for the $H \rightarrow \ell \ell \gamma$ process is found with a significance of 3.2$\sigma$ over the background-only hypothesis, compared to an expected significance of 2.1$\sigma$. The best-fit value of the signal strength parameter, defined as the ratio of the observed signal yield to the one expected in the Standard Model, is $\mu = 1.5 \pm 0.5$. The Higgs boson production cross-section times the $H \rightarrow\ell\ell\gamma$ branching ratio for $m_{\ell\ell} <$ 30 GeV is determined to be 8.7 $^{+2.8}_{-2.7}$ fb.
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 Higgs and $Z$ bosons into a vector quarkonium state and a photon are performed in the $\mu^+\mu^- \gamma$ final state with a proton$-$proton collision data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $139$ fb$^{-1}$ collected at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The observed data are compatible with the expected backgrounds. The 95% confidence-level upper limits on the branching fractions of the Higgs boson decays into $J/\psi \gamma$, $\psi(2S) \gamma$, and $\Upsilon(1S,2S,3S) \gamma$ are found to be $2.0\times10^{-4}$, $10.5\times10^{-4}$, and $(2.5,4.2,3.4)\times10^{-4}$, respectively, assuming Standard Model production of the Higgs boson. The corresponding 95% CL upper limits on the branching fractions of the $Z$ boson decays are $1.2\times10^{-6}$, $2.4\times10^{-6}$, and $(1.1,1.3,2.4)\times10^{-6}$. An observed 95% CL interval of $(-133,175)$ is obtained for the $\kappa_c/\kappa_\gamma$ ratio of Higgs boson coupling modifiers, and a 95% CL interval of $(-37,40)$ is obtained for $\kappa_b/\kappa_\gamma$.
This paper reports a search for a light CP-odd scalar resonance with a mass of 20 GeV to 90 GeV in 13 TeV proton-proton collision data with an integrated luminosity of 140 fb$^{-1}$ collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis assumes the resonance is produced via gluon-gluon fusion and decays into a $\tau^{+}\tau^{-}$ pair which subsequently decays into a fully leptonic $\mu^{+}\nu_{\mu} \bar{\nu}_{\tau} e^{-} \bar{\nu}_{e} \nu_{\tau}$ or $e^{+}\nu_{e}\bar{\nu}_{\tau} \mu^-\bar{\nu}_{\mu}\nu_{\tau}$ final state. No significant excess of events above the predicted Standard Model background is observed. The results are interpreted within a flavour-aligned two-Higgs-doublet model, and a model-independent cross-section interpretation is also given. Upper limits at 95$%$ confidence level between 3.0 pb and 68 pb are set on the cross-section for producing a CP-odd Higgs boson that decays into a $\tau^+\tau^-$ pair.
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