A search for decays of pair-produced neutral long-lived particles (LLPs) is presented using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2015-2018 at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. Dedicated techniques were developed for the reconstruction of displaced jets produced by LLPs decaying hadronically in the ATLAS hadronic calorimeter. Two search regions are defined for different LLP kinematic regimes. The observed numbers of events are consistent with the expected background, and limits for several benchmark signals are determined. For a SM Higgs boson with a mass of 125 GeV, branching ratios above 10% are excluded at 95% confidence level for values of $c$ times LLP mean proper lifetime in the range between 20 mm and 10 m depending on the model. Upper limits are also set on the cross-section times branching ratio for scalars with a mass of 60 GeV and for masses between 200 GeV and 1 TeV.
The 95% CL observed limits, expected limits and ± 1 σ and 2 σ bands for the Φ mass of 60 GeV compared to the results from the 2016-data analysis and subsequent combinations, where available.
The 95% CL observed limits, expected limits and ± 1 σ and 2 σ bands for the Φ mass of 60 GeV compared to the results from the 2016-data analysis and subsequent combinations, where available.
The 95% CL observed limits, expected limits and ± 1 σ and 2 σ bands for the Φ mass 125 GeV, compared to the results from the 2016-data analysis and subsequent combinations, where available.
A search for new resonances decaying into a pair of jets is reported using the dataset of proton-proton collisions 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$^{-1}$. The distribution of the invariant mass of the two leading jets is examined for local excesses above a data-derived estimate of the Standard Model background. In addition to an inclusive dijet search, events with jets identified as containing $b$-hadrons are examined specifically. No significant excess of events above the smoothly falling background spectra is observed. The results are used to set cross-section upper limits at 95% confidence level on a range of new physics scenarios. Model-independent limits on Gaussian-shaped signals are also reported. The analysis looking at jets containing $b$-hadrons benefits from improvements in the jet flavour identification at high transverse momentum, which increases its sensitivity relative to the previous analysis beyond that expected from the higher integrated luminosity.
The probability of an event to pass the b-tagging requirement after the rest of the event selection, shown as a function of the resonance mass and for the 1b and 2b analysis categories.
The expected 95% CL upper limits on the cross-section times acceptance times b-tagging efficiency times branching ratio as a function of the DM mediator Z' mass for the current and previous iterations of the analysis. The upper limit of the previous result was obtained with the Bayesian method and is also shown scaled to the 139 fb$^{-1}$ integrated luminosity of the current result to illustrate the effect of the analysis improvements.
The expected 95% CL upper limits on the cross-section times branching ratio as a function of the DM mediator Z' mass for the current and previous iterations of the analysis. The upper limit of the previous result was obtained with the Bayesian method and is also shown scaled to the 139 fb$^{-1}$ integrated luminosity of the current result to illustrate the effect of the analysis improvements. The current b-tagging requirement is tighter than the previous one for high-$p_T$ jets, resulting in a data sample with limited size for mass above 4 TeV. The background rejection, instead, has improved significantly across the entire mass spectrum inspected by the analysis.
A search is presented for pair-production of long-lived neutral particles using 33 fb$^{-1}$ of $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV proton-proton collision data, collected during 2016 by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. This search focuses on a topology in which one long-lived particle decays in the ATLAS inner detector and the other decays in the muon spectrometer. Special techniques are employed to reconstruct the displaced tracks and vertices in the inner detector and in the muon spectrometer. One event is observed that passes the full event selection, which is consistent with the estimated background. Limits are placed on scalar boson propagators with masses from 125 GeV to 1000 GeV decaying into pairs of long-lived hidden-sector scalars with masses from 8 GeV to 400 GeV. The limits placed on several low-mass scalars extend previous exclusion limits in the range of proper lifetimes $c \tau$ from 5 cm to 1 m.
Combined limits from this analysis (ID) and the CR and MS analyses for $m_{H} = 125$ GeV, $m_s = 15$ GeV.
Combined limits from this analysis (ID) and the CR and MS analyses for $m_{H} = 125$ GeV, $m_s = 25$ GeV.
Combined limits from this analysis (ID) and the CR and MS analyses for $m_{H} = 125$ GeV, $m_s = 40$ GeV.
A search is presented for a heavy resonance $Y$ decaying into a Standard Model Higgs boson $H$ and a new particle $X$ in a fully hadronic final state. The full Large Hadron Collider Run 2 dataset of proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}= 13$ TeV collected by the ATLAS detector from 2015 to 2018 is used, and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. The search targets the high $Y$-mass region, where the $H$ and $X$ have a significant Lorentz boost in the laboratory frame. A novel signal region is implemented using anomaly detection, where events are selected solely because of their incompatibility with a learned background-only model. It is defined using a jet-level tagger for signal-model-independent selection of the boosted $X$ particle, representing the first application of fully unsupervised machine learning to an ATLAS analysis. Two additional signal regions are implemented to target a benchmark $X$ decay into two quarks, covering topologies where the $X$ is reconstructed as either a single large-radius jet or two small-radius jets. The analysis selects Higgs boson decays into $b\bar{b}$, and a dedicated neural-network-based tagger provides sensitivity to the boosted heavy-flavor topology. No significant excess of data over the expected background is observed, and the results are presented as upper limits on the production cross section $\sigma(pp \rightarrow Y \rightarrow XH \rightarrow q\bar{q}b\bar{b}$) for signals with $m_Y$ between 1.5 and 6 TeV and $m_X$ between 65 and 3000 GeV.
A search for the electroweak production of charginos and sleptons decaying into final states with two electrons or muons is presented. The analysis is based on 139 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV. Three $R$-parity-conserving scenarios where the lightest neutralino is the lightest supersymmetric particle are considered: the production of chargino pairs with decays via either $W$ bosons or sleptons, and the direct production of slepton pairs. The analysis is optimised for the first of these scenarios, but the results are also interpreted in the others. No significant deviations from the Standard Model expectations are observed and limits at 95 % confidence level are set on the masses of relevant supersymmetric particles in each of the scenarios. For a massless lightest neutralino, masses up to 420 GeV are excluded for the production of the lightest-chargino pairs assuming $W$-boson-mediated decays and up to 1 TeV for slepton-mediated decays, whereas for slepton-pair production masses up to 700 GeV are excluded assuming three generations of mass-degenerate sleptons.
Observed events and predicted background yields from the fit for the CRs. For backgrounds whose normalisation is extracted from the fit, the yield expected from the simulation before the fit is also reported. The background denoted as "Other" in the Table includes the non-dominant background sources for this analysis, i.e. Z+jets, $t\bar t$ +V, Higgs and Drell-Yan events. A "–" symbol indicates that the background contribution is negligible.
Observed events and predicted background yields from the fit for the CRs. For backgrounds whose normalisation is extracted from the fit, the yield expected from the simulation before the fit is also reported. The background denoted as "Other" in the Table includes the non-dominant background sources for this analysis, i.e. Z+jets, $t\bar t$ +V, Higgs and Drell-Yan events. A "–" symbol indicates that the background contribution is negligible.
Observed events and predicted background yields from the fit for the CRs. For backgrounds whose normalisation is extracted from the fit, the yield expected from the simulation before the fit is also reported. The background denoted as "Other" in the Table includes the non-dominant background sources for this analysis, i.e. Z+jets, $t\bar t$ +V, Higgs and Drell-Yan events. A "–" symbol indicates that the background contribution is negligible.
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.
Summary of the observed 95% CL upper limits on $\sigma_{ZH} BR(H\rightarrow aa \rightarrow (b\bar{b})(b\bar{b}))$ for the resolved analysis.
Summary of the 95% C.L. upper limits on $\sigma_{ZH} BR(H\rightarrow aa \rightarrow (b\bar{b})(b\bar{b}))$ for the dilepton channel in the resolved analysis. The observed limits are shown, together with the expected limits (dotted black lines). In the case of the expected limits, one- and two-standard-deviation uncertainty bands are also displayed. The data was published in JHEP 10 (2018) 031.
Efficiency and acceptance for simulated $ZH(\rightarrow aa\rightarrow (b\bar{b})(b\bar{b}))$ samples in two signal regions (SR) of the analysis, one with two $a\to b\bar{b}$ candidates in the High Purity Category (HPC), and the other with one $a\to b\bar{b}$ candidate in the High Purity Category (HPC) and one in the Low Purity Category (LPC).
Several extensions of the Standard Model predict the production of dark matter particles at the LHC. An uncharted signature of dark matter particles produced in association with $VV=W^\pm W^\mp$ or $ZZ$ pairs from a decay of a dark Higgs boson $s$ is searched for using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The $s\to V(q\bar q)V(q\bar q)$ decays are reconstructed with a novel technique aimed at resolving the dense topology from boosted $VV$ pairs using jets in the calorimeter and tracking information. Dark Higgs scenarios with $m_s > 160$ GeV are excluded.
The associated production of a Higgs boson and a top-quark pair is measured in events characterised by the presence of one or two electrons or muons. The Higgs boson decay into a $b$-quark pair is used. 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 $0.35^{+0.36}_{-0.34}$. This result is compatible with the Standard Model prediction and corresponds to an observed (expected) significance of 1.0 (2.7) standard deviations. The signal strength is also measured differentially in bins of the Higgs boson transverse momentum in the simplified template cross-section framework, including a bin for specially selected boosted Higgs bosons with transverse momentum above 300 GeV.
Post-fit yields of signal ($S$) and total background ($B$) as a function of $\log (S/B)$, compared with data. Final-discriminant bins in all dilepton and single-lepton analysis regions are combined into bins of $\log (S/B)$, with the signal normalised to the SM prediction used for the computation of $\log (S/B)$. The signal is then shown normalised to the best-fit value and the SM prediction. The lower frame reports the ratio of data to background, and this is compared with the expected ${t\bar {t}H}$-signal-plus-background yield divided by the background-only yield for the best-fit signal strength (solid red line) and the SM prediction (dashed orange line).
The ratios $S/B$ (black solid line, referring to the vertical axis on the left) and $S/\sqrt{B}$ (red dashed line, referring to the vertical axis on the right) for each category in the inclusive analysis in the dilepton channel (left) and in the single-lepton channels (right), where $S$ ($B$) is the number of selected signal (background) events predicted by the simulation and normalised to a luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$ .
This paper presents a search for new heavy particles decaying into a pair of top quarks using 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. The search is performed using events consistent with pair production of high-transverse-momentum top quarks and their subsequent decays into the fully hadronic final states. The analysis is optimized for resonances decaying into a $t\bar{t}$ pair with mass above 1.4 TeV, exploiting a dedicated multivariate technique with jet substructure to identify hadronically decaying top quarks using large-radius jets and evaluating the background expectation from data. No significant deviation from the background prediction is observed. Limits are set on the production cross-section times branching fraction for the new $Z'$ boson in a topcolor-assisted-technicolor model. The $Z'$ boson masses below 3.9 and 4.7 TeV are excluded at 95% confidence level for the decay widths of 1% and 3%, respectively.
Acceptance and acceptance times selection efficiency as a function of $m^{gen}_{t\bar{t}}$ in SR$1b$. The acceptance is measured as the fraction of events with two leading truth-contained large-$R$ jets, both satisfying the kinematic requirements, but not containing generator-level electrons or muons, as described in the paper. The acceptance $\times$ efficiency is calculated with respect to the full analysis selections including top- and $b$-tagging requirements on the two leading large-$R$ jets. The $m^{gen}_{t\bar{t}}$ is calculated from the momenta of top and anti-top quarks at the generator level before final-state radiation. The branching fractions of the $t \bar{t}$ into all possible final states are included in the acceptance calculation.
Acceptance and acceptance times selection efficiency as a function of $m^{gen}_{t\bar{t}}$ in SR$2b$. The acceptance is measured as the fraction of events with two leading truth-contained large-$R$ jets, both satisfying the kinematic requirements, but not containing generator-level electrons or muons, as described in the paper. The acceptance $\times$ efficiency is calculated with respect to the full analysis selections including top- and $b$-tagging requirements on the two leading large-$R$ jets. The $m^{gen}_{t\bar{t}}$ is calculated from the momenta of top and anti-top quarks at the generator level before final-state radiation. The branching fractions of the $t \bar{t}$ into all possible final states are included in the acceptance calculation.
A search for supersymmetry through the pair production of electroweakinos with mass splittings near the electroweak scale and decaying via on-shell $W$ and $Z$ bosons is presented for a three-lepton final state. The analyzed proton-proton collision data taken at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV were collected between 2015 and 2018 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. A search, emulating the recursive jigsaw reconstruction technique with easily reproducible laboratory-frame variables, is performed. The two excesses observed in the 2015-2016 data recursive jigsaw analysis in the low-mass three-lepton phase space are reproduced. Results with the full dataset are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations. They are interpreted to set exclusion limits at 95% confidence level on simplified models of chargino-neutralino pair production for masses up to 345 GeV.
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