Measurements are presented of the cross section for the production of at least four jets, of which at least two originate from b quarks, in proton-proton collisions. Data collected with the CMS detector at the LHC at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV are used, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 inverse picobarns. The cross section is measured as a function of the jet transverse momentum for pt > 20 GeV, and of the jet pseudorapidity for abs(eta) < 2.4 (b jets), 4.7 (untagged jets). The correlations in azimuthal angle and pt between the jets are also studied. The inclusive cross section is measured to be sigma(pp to 2 b + 2 j + X) = 69 +/- 3 (stat) +/- 24 (syst) nb. The eta and pt distributions of the four jets and the correlations between them are well reproduced by event generators that combine perturbative QCD calculations at next-to-leading-order accuracy with contributions from parton showers and multiparton interactions.

Measurements are reported of the normalized differential cross sections for top quark pair production with respect to four kinematic event variables: the missing transverse energy; the scalar sum of the jet transverse momentum (pT); the scalar sum of the pT of all objects in the event; and the pT of leptonically decaying W bosons from top quark decays. The data sample, collected using the CMS detector at the LHC, consists of 5.0 inverse femtobarns of proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV and 19.7 inverse femtobarns at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV. Top quark pair events containing one electron or muon are selected. The results are presented after correcting for detector effects to allow direct comparison with theoretical predictions. No significant deviations from the predictions of several standard model event simulation generators are observed.

The cross section for Higgs boson production in pp collisions is studied using the H to WW decay mode, followed by leptonic decays of the W bosons to an oppositely charged electron-muon pair in the final state. The measurements are performed using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.4 inverse femtobarns. The Higgs boson transverse momentum (pT) is reconstructed using the lepton pair pT and missing pT. The differential cross section times branching fraction is measured as a function of the Higgs boson pT in a fiducial phase space defined to match the experimental acceptance in terms of the lepton kinematics and event topology. The production cross section times branching fraction in the fiducial phase space is measured to be 39 +/- 8 (stat) +/- 9 (syst) fb. The measurements are found to agree, within experimental uncertainties, with theoretical calculations based on the standard model.

Measurements of the associated production of a Z boson with at least one jet originating from a b quark in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV are presented. Differential cross sections are measured with data collected by the CMS experiment corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.8 inverse femtobarns. Z bosons are reconstructed through their decays to electrons and muons. Cross sections are measured as a function of observables characterizing the kinematics of the b jet and the Z boson. Ratios of differential cross sections for the associated production with at least one b jet to the associated production with any jet are also presented. The production of a Z boson with two b jets is investigated, and differential cross sections are measured for the dijet system. Results are compared to theoretical predictions, testing two different flavour schemes for the choice of initial-state partons.

Differential and double-differential cross sections for the production of top quark pairs in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV are measured as a function of jet multiplicity and of kinematic variables of the top quarks and the top quark-antiquark system. This analysis is based on data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.3 inverse femtobarns. The measurements are performed in the lepton+jets decay channels with a single muon or electron in the final state. The differential cross sections are presented at particle level, within a phase space close to the experimental acceptance, and at parton level in the full phase space. The results are compared to several standard model predictions.

Measurements of fiducial and differential cross sections of Higgs boson production in the ${H \rightarrow ZZ ^{*}\rightarrow 4\ell}$ decay channel are presented. The cross sections are determined within a fiducial phase space and corrected for detection efficiency and resolution effects. They are based on 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data, produced at $\sqrt{s}$=8 TeV centre-of-mass energy at the LHC and recorded by the ATLAS detector. The differential measurements are performed in bins of transverse momentum and rapidity of the four-lepton system, the invariant mass of the subleading lepton pair and the decay angle of the leading lepton pair with respect to the beam line in the four-lepton rest frame, as well as the number of jets and the transverse momentum of the leading jet. The measured cross sections are compared to selected theoretical calculations of the Standard Model expectations. No significant deviation from any of the tested predictions is found.

Measurements of differential cross sections d$\sigma$/d$\phi^*$ and double-differential cross sections d$^2\sigma$/d$\phi^*\,$d$|y|$ for inclusive Z boson production are presented using the dielectron and dimuon final states. The kinematic observable $\phi^*$ correlates with the dilepton transverse momentum but has better resolution, and $y$ is the dilepton rapidity. The analysis is based on data collected with the CMS experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb$^{-1}$. The normalised cross section (1/$\sigma$)$\,$d$\sigma$/d$\phi^*$, within the fiducial kinematic region, is measured with a precision of better than 0.5% for $\phi^*$ < 1. The measurements are compared to theoretical predictions and they agree, typically, within few percent.

Differential cross-sections are measured for top-quark pair production in the all-hadronic decay mode, using proton$-$proton collision events collected by the ATLAS experiment in which all six decay jets are separately resolved. Absolute and normalised single- and double-differential cross-sections are measured at particle and parton level as a function of various kinematic variables. Emphasis is placed on well-measured observables in fully reconstructed final states, as well as on the study of correlations between the top-quark pair system and additional jet radiation identified in the event. The study is performed using data from proton$-$proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13~\mbox{TeV}$ collected by the ATLAS detector at CERN's Large Hadron Collider in 2015 and 2016, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $\mbox{36.1 fb}^{-1}$. The rapidities of the individual top quarks and of the top-quark pair are well modelled by several independent event generators. Significant mismodelling is observed in the transverse momenta of the leading three jet emissions, while the leading top-quark transverse momentum and top-quark pair transverse momentum are both found to be incompatible with several theoretical predictions.

This paper describes precision measurements of the transverse momentum $p_\mathrm{T}^{\ell\ell}$ ($\ell=e,\mu$) and of the angular variable $\phi^{*}_{\eta}$ distributions of Drell-Yan lepton pairs in a mass range of 66-116 GeV. The analysis uses data from 36.1 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC in 2015 and 2016. Measurements in electron-pair and muon-pair final states are performed in the same fiducial volumes, corrected for detector effects, and combined. Compared to previous measurements in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=$7 and 8 TeV, these new measurements probe perturbative QCD at a higher centre-of-mass energy with a different composition of initial states. They reach a precision of 0.2% for the normalized spectra at low values of $p_\mathrm{T}^{\ell\ell}$. The data are compared with different QCD predictions, where it is found that predictions based on resummation approaches can describe the full spectrum within uncertainties.

Measurements are presented of associated production of a W boson and a charm quark (W+c) in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35.7 fb$^{-1}$ collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC. The W bosons are identified by their decay into a muon and a neutrino. The charm quarks are tagged via the full reconstruction of D$^*$(2010)$^\pm$ mesons that decay via D$^*$(2010)$^\pm \to$ D$^0$ + $\pi^\pm \to$ K$^{\mp}$ + $\pi^\pm$ + $\pi^\pm$. A cross section is measured in the fiducial region defined by the muon transverse momentum $p_{T}^{\mu} >$ 26 GeV, muon pseudorapidity $|\eta^{\mu}| <$ 2.4, and charm quark transverse momentum $p_{T}^{c} >$ 5 GeV. The inclusive cross section for this kinematic range is $\sigma$(W+c) = 1026 $\pm$ 31 (stat) $\substack{+76\\-72}$ (syst) pb. The cross section is also measured differentially as a function of the pseudorapidity of the muon from the W boson decay. These measurements are compared with theoretical predictions and are used to probe the strange quark content of the proton.

Measurements of differential top quark pair $\mathrm{t\overline{t}}$ cross sections using events produced in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV containing two oppositely charged leptons are presented. The data were recorded by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC in 2016 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. The differential cross sections are presented as functions of kinematic observables of the top quarks and their decay products, the $\mathrm{t\overline{t}}$ system, and the total number of jets in the event. The differential cross sections are defined both with particle-level objects in a fiducial phase space close to that of the detector acceptance and with parton-level top quarks in the full phase space. All results are compared with standard model predictions from Monte Carlo simulations with next-to-leading-order (NLO) accuracy in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) at matrix-element level interfaced to parton-shower simulations. Where possible, parton-level results are compared to calculations with beyond-NLO precision in QCD. Significant disagreement is observed between data and all predictions for several observables. The measurements are used to constrain the top quark chromomagnetic dipole moment in an effective field theory framework at NLO in QCD and to extract $\mathrm{t\overline{t}}$ and leptonic charge asymmetries.

A measurement is presented of differential cross sections for $t$-channel single top quark and antiquark production in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV by the CMS experiment at the LHC. From a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$, events containing one muon or electron and two or three jets are analysed. The cross section is measured as a function of the top quark transverse momentum ($p_\mathrm{T}$), rapidity, and polarisation angle, the charged lepton $p_\mathrm{T}$ and rapidity, and the $p_\mathrm{T}$ of the W boson from the top quark decay. In addition, the charge ratio is measured differentially as a function of the top quark, charged lepton, and W boson kinematic observables. The results are found to be in agreement with standard model predictions using various next-to-leading-order event generators and sets of parton distribution functions. Additionally, the spin asymmetry, sensitive to the top quark polarisation, is determined from the differential distribution of the polarisation angle at parton level to be 0.440 $\pm$ 0.070, in agreement with the standard model prediction.

A measurement of event-shape variables in proton$-$proton collisions at large momentum transfer is presented using data collected at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Six event-shape variables calculated using hadronic jets are studied in inclusive multijet events using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. Measurements are performed in bins of jet multiplicity and in different ranges of the scalar sum of the transverse momenta of the two leading jets, reaching scales beyond 2 TeV. These measurements are compared with predictions from Monte Carlo event generators containing leading-order or next-to-leading order matrix elements matched to parton showers simulated to leading-logarithm accuracy. At low jet multiplicities, shape discrepancies between the measurements and the Monte Carlo predictions are observed. At high jet multiplicities, the shapes are better described but discrepancies in the normalisation are observed.

Measurements of differential and double-differential cross sections of top quark pair ($\text{t}\overline{\text{t}}$) production are presented in the lepton+jets channels with a single electron or muon and jets in the final state. The analysis combines for the first time signatures of top quarks with low transverse momentum $p_\text{T}$, where the top quark decay products can be identified as separated jets and isolated leptons, and with high $p_\text{T}$, where the decay products are collimated and overlap. The measurements are based on proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s} = $ 13 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb$^{-1}$. The cross sections are presented at the parton and particle levels, where the latter minimizes extrapolations based on theoretical assumptions. Most of the measured differential cross sections are well described by standard model predictions with the exception of some double-differential distributions. The inclusive $\text{t}\overline{\text{t}}$ production cross section is measured to be $\sigma_{\text{t}\overline{\text{t}}} = $ 791 $\pm$ 25 pb, which constitutes the most precise measurement in the lepton+jets channel to date.

The dynamics of isolated-photon plus two-jet production in $pp$ collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV are studied with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using a dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb$^{-1}$. Cross sections are measured as functions of a variety of observables, including angular correlations and invariant masses of the objects in the final state, $\gamma+jet+jet$. Measurements are also performed in phase-space regions enriched in each of the two underlying physical mechanisms, namely direct and fragmentation processes. The measurements cover the range of photon (jet) transverse momenta from 150 GeV (100 GeV) to 2 TeV. The tree-level plus parton-shower predictions from SHERPA and PYTHIA as well as the next-to-leading-order QCD predictions from SHERPA are compared with the measurements. The next-to-leading-order QCD predictions describe the data adequately in shape and normalisation except for regions of phase space such as those with high values of the invariant mass or rapidity separation of the two jets, where the predictions overestimate the data.

A measurement of prompt photon-pair production in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV is presented. The data were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC with an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. Events with two photons in the well-instrumented region of the detector are selected. The photons are required to be isolated and have a transverse momentum of $p_\mathrm{T,\gamma_{1(2)}} > 40(30)$ GeV for the leading (sub-leading) photon. The differential cross sections as functions of several observables for the diphoton system are measured and compared with theoretical predictions from state-of-the-art Monte Carlo and fixed-order calculations. The QCD predictions from next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations and multi-leg merged calculations are able to describe the measured integrated and differential cross sections within uncertainties, whereas lower-order calculations show significant deviations, demonstrating that higher-order perturbative QCD corrections are crucial for this process. The resummed predictions with parton showers additionally provide an excellent description of the low transverse-momentum regime of the diphoton system.

Cross-section measurements of top-quark pair production where the hadronically decaying top quark has transverse momentum greater than $355$ GeV and the other top quark decays into $\ell \nu b$ are presented using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of data collected by the ATLAS experiment during proton-proton collisions at the LHC. The fiducial cross-section at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV is measured to be $\sigma = 1.267 \pm 0.005 \pm 0.053$ pb, where the uncertainties reflect the limited number of data events and the systematic uncertainties, giving a total uncertainty of $4.2\%$. The cross-section is measured differentially as a function of variables characterising the $t\bar{t}$ system and additional radiation in the events. The results are compared with various Monte Carlo generators, including comparisons where the generators are reweighted to match a parton-level calculation at next-to-next-to-leading order. The reweighting improves the agreement between data and theory. The measured distribution of the top-quark transverse momentum is used to set limits on the Wilson coefficients of the dimension-six operators $O_{tG}$ and $O_{tq}^{(8)}$ in the effective field theory framework.

Measurements of the total and differential cross sections of Higgs boson production are performed using 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collisions produced by the Large Hadron Collider at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector. Cross sections are obtained from measured $H \rightarrow \gamma \gamma$ and $H \rightarrow ZZ ^{*}\rightarrow 4\ell$ event yields, which are combined accounting for detector efficiencies, fiducial acceptances and branching fractions. Differential cross sections are reported as a function of Higgs boson transverse momentum, Higgs boson rapidity, number of jets in the event, and transverse momentum of the leading jet. The total production cross section is determined to be $\sigma_{pp \to H} = 33.0 \pm 5.3 \, ({\rm stat}) \pm 1.6 \, ({\rm sys}) \mathrm{pb}$. The measurements are compared to state-of-the-art predictions.

This paper presents measurements of $W^\pm Z$ production in $pp$ collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The gauge bosons are reconstructed using their leptonic decay modes into electrons and muons. The data were collected in 2012 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb$^{-1}$. The measured inclusive cross section in the detector fiducial region is $\sigma_{W^\pm Z \rightarrow \ell^{'} \nu\ \ell \ell} = 35.1 \pm$ 0.9 (stat.) $\pm 0.8$ (sys.) $\pm 0.8$ (lumi.) fb, for one leptonic decay channel. In comparison, the next-to-leading-order Standard Model expectation is 30.0 $\pm$ 2.1 fb. Cross sections for $W^+Z$ and $W^-Z$ production and their ratio are presented as well as differential cross sections for several kinematic observables. Limits on anomalous triple gauge boson couplings are derived from the transverse mass spectrum of the $W^\pm Z$ system. From the analysis of events with a $W$ and a $Z$ boson associated with two or more forward jets an upper limit at 95% confidence level on the $W^\pm Z$ scattering cross section of 0.63 fb, for each leptonic decay channel, is established, while the Standard Model prediction at next-to-leading order is 0.13 fb. Limits on anomalous quartic gauge boson couplings are also extracted.

The production of $W$ boson pairs in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=$ 8 TeV is studied using data corresponding to 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity collected by the ATLAS detector during 2012 at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The $W$ bosons are reconstructed using their leptonic decays into electrons or muons and neutrinos. Events with reconstructed jets are not included in the candidate event sample. A total of 6636 $WW$ candidate events are observed. Measurements are performed in fiducial regions closely approximating the detector acceptance. The integrated measurement is corrected for all acceptance effects and for the $W$ branching fractions to leptons in order to obtain the total $WW$ production cross section, which is found to be 71.1$\pm1.1$(stat)$^{+5.7}_{-5.0}$(syst)$\pm1.4$ pb. This agrees with the next-to-next-to-leading-order Standard Model prediction of 63.2$^{+1.6}_{-1.4}$(scale)$\pm1.2$(PDF) pb. Fiducial differential cross sections are measured as a function of each of six kinematic variables. The distribution of the transverse momentum of the leading lepton is used to set limits on anomalous triple-gauge-boson couplings.

Various differential cross-sections are measured in top-quark pair ($t\bar{t}$) events produced in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV at the LHC with the ATLAS detector. These differential cross-sections are presented in a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $4.6$ fb$^{-1}$. The differential cross-sections are presented in terms of kinematic variables, such as momentum, rapidity and invariant mass, of a top-quark proxyreferred to as the pseudo-top-quark as well as the pseudo-top-quark pair system. The dependence of the measurement on theoretical models is minimal. The measurements are performed on $t\bar{t}$ events in the lepton+jets channel, requiring exactly one charged lepton and at least four jets with at least two of them tagged as originating from a $b$-quark. The hadronic and leptonic pseudo-top-quarks are defined via the leptonic or hadronic decay mode of the $W$ boson produced by the top-quark decay in events with a single charged lepton. Differential cross-section measurements of the pseudo-top-quark variables are compared with several Monte Carlo models that implement next-to-leading order or leading-order multi-leg matrix-element calculations.

Measurements of normalized differential cross-sections of top-quark pair production are presented as a function of the top-quark, $t\bar{t}$ system and event-level kinematic observables in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV}. The observables have been chosen to emphasize the $t\bar{t}$ production process and to be sensitive to effects of initial- and final-state radiation, to the different parton distribution functions, and to non-resonant processes and higher-order corrections. The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb$^{-1}$, recorded in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Events are selected in the lepton+jets channel, requiring exactly one charged lepton and at least four jets with at least two of the jets tagged as originating from a $b$-quark. The measured spectra are corrected for detector effects and are compared to several Monte Carlo simulations. The results are in fair agreement with the predictions over a wide kinematic range. Nevertheless, most generators predict a harder top-quark transverse momentum distribution at high values than what is observed in the data. Predictions beyond NLO accuracy improve the agreement with data at high top-quark transverse momenta. Using the current settings and parton distribution functions, the rapidity distributions are not well modelled by any generator under consideration. However, the level of agreement is improved when more recent sets of parton distribution functions are used.

This paper presents a measurement of the double-differential cross section for the Drell-Yan $Z/\gamma^{*} \rightarrow \ell^{+} \ell^{-}$ and photon-induced $\gamma\gamma \rightarrow \ell^{+} \ell^{-}$ processes where $\ell$ is an electron or muon. The measurement is performed for invariant masses of the lepton pairs, $m_{\ell\ell}$, between 116 GeV and 1500 GeV, using a sample of 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ of pp collisions data at centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$ = 8 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2012. The data are presented double differentially in invariant mass and absolute dilepton rapidity as well as in invariant mass and absolute pseudorapidity separation of the lepton pair. The single-differential cross section as a function of $m_{\ell\ell}$ is also reported. The electron and muon channel measurements are combined and a total experimental precision of better than 1% is achieved at low $m_{\ell\ell}$. A comparison to next-to-next-to-leading order perturbative QCD predictions using several recent parton distribution functions and including next-to-leading order electroweak effects indicates the potential of the data to constrain parton distribution functions. In particular, a large impact of the data on the photon PDF is demonstrated.

The dijet production cross section for jets containing a $b$-hadron ($b$-jets) has been measured in proton-proton collisions with a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The data used correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.2 fb$^{-1}$. The cross section is measured for events with two identified $b$-jets with a transverse momentum $p_T > 20$ GeV and a minimum separation in the $\eta$-$\phi$ plane of $\Delta R = 0.4$. At least one of the jets in the event is required to have $p_T > 270$ GeV. The cross section is measured differentially as a function of dijet invariant mass, dijet transverse momentum, boost of the dijet system, and the rapidity difference, azimuthal angle and angular distance between the $b$-jets. The results are compared to different predictions of leading order and next-to-leading order perturbative quantum chromodynamics matrix elements supplemented with models for parton-showers and hadronization.

The $W$ boson angular distribution in events with high transverse momentum jets is measured using data collected by the ATLAS experiment from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}=$ 8 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb$^{-1}$. The focus is on the contributions to $W$ + jets processes from real $W$ emission, which is achieved by studying events where a muon is observed close to a high transverse momentum jet. At small angular separations, these contributions are expected to be large. Various theoretical models of this process are compared to the data in terms of the absolute cross-section and the angular distributions of the muon from the leptonic $W$ decay.