This paper presents a study of $Z \to ll\gamma~$decays with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis uses a proton-proton data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.2 fb$^{-1}$ collected at a centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}$ = 8 TeV. Integrated fiducial cross-sections together with normalised differential fiducial cross-sections, sensitive to the kinematics of final-state QED radiation, are obtained. The results are found to be in agreement with state-of-the-art predictions for final-state QED radiation. First measurements of $Z \to ll\gamma\gamma$ decays are also reported.

We present an angular analysis of the $B^{+}\rightarrow K^{\ast+}(\rightarrow K_{S}^{0}\pi^{+})\mu^{+}\mu^{-}$ decay using 9$\,\mbox{fb}^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data collected with the LHCb experiment. For the first time, the full set of CP-averaged angular observables is measured in intervals of the dimuon invariant mass squared. Local deviations from Standard Model predictions are observed, similar to those in previous LHCb analyses of the isospin-partner $B^{0}\rightarrow K^{\ast0}\mu^{+}\mu^{-}$ decay. The global tension is dependent on which effective couplings are considered and on the choice of theory nuisance parameters.

Detailed measurements of $t$-channel single top-quark production are presented. They use 20.2 fb$^{-1}$ of data collected by the ATLAS experiment in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV at the LHC. Total, fiducial and differential cross-sections are measured for both top-quark and top-antiquark production. The fiducial cross-section is measured with a precision of 5.8 % (top quark) and 7.8 % (top antiquark), respectively. The total cross-sections are measured to be $\sigma_{\mathrm{tot}}(tq) = 56.7^{+4.3}_{-3.8}\;$pb for top-quark production and $\sigma_{\mathrm{tot}}(\bar{t}q) = 32.9^{+3.0}_{-2.7}\;$pb for top-antiquark production, in agreement with the Standard Model prediction. In addition, the ratio of top-quark to top-antiquark production cross-sections is determined to be $R_t=1.72 \pm 0.09$, with an improved relative precision of 4.9 % since several systematic uncertainties cancel in the ratio. The differential cross-sections as a function of the transverse momentum and rapidity of both the top quark and the top antiquark are measured at both the parton and particle levels. The transverse momentum and rapidity differential cross-sections of the accompanying jet from the $t$-channel scattering are measured at particle level. All measurements are compared to various Monte Carlo predictions as well as to fixed-order QCD calculations where available.

The production of $W$ and $Z$ bosons in association with jets is studied in the forward region of proton-proton collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.98 $\pm$ 0.02 fb$^{-1}$. The $W$ boson is identified using its decay to a muon and a neutrino, while the $Z$ boson is identified through its decay to a muon pair. Total cross-sections are measured and combined into charge ratios, asymmetries, and ratios of $W+$jet and $Z$+jet production cross-sections. Differential measurements are also performed as a function of both boson and jet kinematic variables. All results are in agreement with Standard Model predictions.

This paper presents a measurement of the $W$ boson production cross section and the $W^{+}/W^{-}$ cross-section ratio, both in association with jets, in proton--proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurement is performed in final states containing one electron and missing transverse momentum using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.2 fb$^{-1}$. Differential cross sections for events with one or two jets are presented for a range of observables, including jet transverse momenta and rapidities, the scalar sum of transverse momenta of the visible particles and the missing transverse momentum in the event, and the transverse momentum of the $W$ boson. For a subset of the observables, the differential cross sections of positively and negatively charged $W$ bosons are measured separately. In the cross-section ratio of $W^{+}/W^{-}$ the dominant systematic uncertainties cancel out, improving the measurement precision by up to a factor of nine. The observables and ratios selected for this paper provide valuable input for the up quark, down quark, and gluon parton distribution functions of the proton.

The azimuthal anisotropy of charged particles produced in $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=8.16$ TeV $p$+Pb collisions is measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of $165$ $\mathrm{nb}^{-1}$ that was collected in 2016. Azimuthal anisotropy coefficients, elliptic $v_2$ and triangular $v_3$, extracted using two-particle correlations with a non-flow template fit procedure, are presented as a function of particle transverse momentum ($p_\mathrm{T}$) between $0.5$ and $50$ GeV. The $v_2$ results are also reported as a function of centrality in three different particle $p_\mathrm{T}$ intervals. The results are reported from minimum-bias events and jet-triggered events, where two jet $p_\mathrm{T}$ thresholds are used. The anisotropies for particles with $p_\mathrm{T}$ less than about $2$ GeV are consistent with hydrodynamic flow expectations, while the significant non-zero anisotropies for $p_\mathrm{T}$ in the range $9$-$50$ GeV are not explained within current theoretical frameworks. In the $p_\mathrm{T}$ range $2$-$9$ GeV, the anisotropies are larger in minimum-bias than in jet-triggered events. Possible origins of these effects, such as the changing admixture of particles from hard scattering and the underlying event, are discussed.

Combined ATLAS and CMS measurements of the Higgs boson production and decay rates, as well as constraints on its couplings to vector bosons and fermions, are presented. The combination is based on the analysis of five production processes, namely gluon fusion, vector boson fusion, and associated production with a $W$ or a $Z$ boson or a pair of top quarks, and of the six decay modes $H \to ZZ, WW$, $\gamma\gamma, \tau\tau, bb$, and $\mu\mu$. All results are reported assuming a value of 125.09 GeV for the Higgs boson mass, the result of the combined measurement by the ATLAS and CMS experiments. The analysis uses the CERN LHC proton--proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS and CMS experiments in 2011 and 2012, corresponding to integrated luminosities per experiment of approximately 5 fb$^{-1}$ at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV and 20 fb$^{-1}$ at $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV. The Higgs boson production and decay rates measured by the two experiments are combined within the context of three generic parameterisations: two based on cross sections and branching fractions, and one on ratios of coupling modifiers. Several interpretations of the measurements with more model-dependent parameterisations are also given. The combined signal yield relative to the Standard Model prediction is measured to be 1.09 $\pm$ 0.11. The combined measurements lead to observed significances for the vector boson fusion production process and for the $H \to \tau\tau$ decay of $5.4$ and $5.5$ standard deviations, respectively. The data are consistent with the Standard Model predictions for all parameterisations considered.

Measurements of the electroweak production of a $W$ boson in association with two jets at high dijet invariant mass are performed using $\sqrt{s} = 7$ and $8$ TeV proton-proton collision data produced by the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding respectively to 4.7 and 20.2 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity collected by the ATLAS detector. The measurements are sensitive to the production of a $W$ boson via a triple-gauge-boson vertex and include both the fiducial and differential cross sections of the electroweak process.

The angular distributions of Drell-Yan charged lepton pairs around the $Z$-boson mass peak probe the underlying QCD dynamics of $Z$-boson production. This paper presents a measurement of the complete set of angular coefficients $A_{0-7}$ describing these distributions in the $Z$-boson Collins-Soper frame. The data analysed correspond to 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV, collected by the ATLAS detector at the CERN LHC. The measurements are compared to the most precise fixed-order calculations currently available ($\mathcal{O}(\alpha^{2}_{s})$) and with theoretical predictions embedded in Monte Carlo generators. The measurements are precise enough to probe QCD corrections beyond the formal accuracy of these calculations and to provide discrimination between different parton-shower models. A significant deviation from the $\mathcal{O}(\alpha^{2}_{s})$ predictions is observed for $A_{0}-A_{2}$. Evidence is found for non-zero $A_{5,6,7}$, consistent with expectations.

The dynamics of isolated-photon plus one-, two- and three-jet production in $pp$ collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV are studied with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using a data set with an integrated luminosity of 20.2 fb$^{-1}$. Measurements of isolated-photon plus jets cross sections are presented as functions of the photon and jet transverse momenta. The cross sections as functions of the azimuthal angle between the photon and the jets, the azimuthal angle between the jets, the photon-jet invariant mass and the scattering angle in the photon-jet centre-of-mass system are presented. The pattern of QCD radiation around the photon and the leading jet is investigated by measuring jet production in an annular region centred on each object; enhancements are observed around the leading jet with respect to the photon in the directions towards the beams. The experimental measurements are compared to several different theoretical calculations, and overall a good description of the data is found.