We report a study of final states containing a W boson and hadronic jets, produced in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. The data were collected with the ATLAS detector at the CERN LHC and comprise the full 2010 data sample of 36 pb^-1. Cross sections are determined using both the electron and muon decay modes of the W boson and are presented as a function of inclusive jet multiplicity, N_jet, for up to five jets. At each multiplicity, cross sections are presented as a function of jet transverse momentum, the scalar sum of the transverse momenta of the charged lepton, missing transverse momentum, and all jets, the invariant mass spectra of jets, and the rapidity distributions of various combinations of leptons and final-state jets. The results, corrected for all detector effects and for all backgrounds such as diboson and top quark pair production, are compared with particle-level predictions from perturbative QCD. Leading-order multiparton event generators, normalized to the NNLO total cross section for inclusive W-boson production, describe the data reasonably well for all measured inclusive jet multiplicities. Next-to-leading-order calculations from MCFM, studied here for N_jet >= 2, and BlackHat-Sherpa, studied here for N_jet >= 4, are found to be mostly in good agreement with the data.
The $t\bar{t}$ production cross-section dependence on jet multiplicity and jet transverse momentum is reported for proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV in the single-lepton channel. The data were collected with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and comprise the full 2011 data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb$^{-1}$. Differential cross-sections are presented as a function of the jet multiplicity for up to eight jets using jet transverse momentum thresholds of 25, 40, 60, and 80 GeV, and as a function of jet transverse momentum up to the fifth jet. The results are shown after background subtraction and corrections for all detector effects, within a kinematic range closely matched to the experimental acceptance. Several QCD-based Monte Carlo models are compared with the results. Sensitivity to the parton shower modelling is found at the higher jet multiplicities, at high transverse momentum of the leading jet and in the transverse momentum spectrum of the fifth leading jet. The MC@NLO+HERWIG MC is found to predict too few events at higher jet multiplicities.
Measurements of charged particle distributions, sensitive to the underlying event, have been performed with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are based on data collected using a minimum-bias trigger to select proton-proton collisions at center-of-mass energies of 900 GeV and 7 TeV. The 'underlying event' is defined as those aspects of a hadronic interaction attributed not to the hard scattering process, but rather to the accompanying interactions of the rest of the proton. Three regions are defined in azimuthal angle with respect to the highest-pt charged particle in the event, such that the region transverse to the dominant momentum-flow is most sensitive to the underlying event. In each of these regions, distributions of the charged particle multiplicity, pt density, and average pt are measured. The data show a higher underlying event activity than that predicted by Monte Carlo models tuned to pre-LHC data.
Charged-hadron transverse-momentum and pseudorapidity distributions in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV are measured with the inner tracking system of the CMS detector at the LHC. The charged-hadron yield is obtained by counting the number of reconstructed hits, hit-pairs, and fully reconstructed charged-particle tracks. The combination of the three methods gives a charged-particle multiplicity per unit of pseudorapidity, dN(charged)/d(eta), for |eta| < 0.5, of 5.78 +/- 0.01 (stat) +/- 0.23 (syst) for non-single-diffractive events, higher than predicted by commonly used models. The relative increase in charged-particle multiplicity from sqrt(s) = 0.9 to 7 TeV is 66.1% +/- 1.0% (stat) +/- 4.2% (syst). The mean transverse momentum is measured to be 0.545 +/- 0.005 (stat) +/- 0.015 (syst) GeV/c. The results are compared with similar measurements at lower energies.
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.
Measurements are presented from proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of sqrt(s) = 0.9, 2.36 and 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events were collected using a single-arm minimum-bias trigger. The charged-particle multiplicity, its dependence on transverse momentum and pseudorapidity and the relationship between the mean transverse momentum and charged-particle multiplicity are measured. Measurements in different regions of phase-space are shown, providing diffraction-reduced measurements as well as more inclusive ones. The observed distributions are corrected to well-defined phase-space regions, using model-independent corrections. The results are compared to each other and to various Monte Carlo models, including a new AMBT1 PYTHIA 6 tune. In all the kinematic regions considered, the particle multiplicities are higher than predicted by the Monte Carlo models. The central charged-particle multiplicity per event and unit of pseudorapidity, for tracks with pT >100 MeV, is measured to be 3.483 +- 0.009 (stat) +- 0.106 (syst) at sqrt(s) = 0.9 TeV and 5.630 +- 0.003 (stat) +- 0.169 (syst) at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV.
Dijet angular distributions are measured over a wide range of dijet invariant masses in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, at the CERN LHC. The event sample, recorded with the CMS detector, corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 36 inverse picobarns. The data are found to be in good agreement with the predictions of perturbative QCD, and yield no evidence of quark compositeness. With a modified frequentist approach, a lower limit on the contact interaction scale for left-handed quarks of Lambda = 5.6 TeV (6.7 TeV) for destructive (constructive) interference is obtained at the 95% confidence level.
This Letter reports on a first measurement of the inclusive W+jets cross section in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV at the LHC, with the ATLAS detector. Cross sections, in both the electron and muon decay modes of the W boson, are presented as a function of jet multiplicity and of the transverse momentum of the leading and next-to-leading jets in the event. Measurements are also presented of the ratio of cross sections sigma(W+ \ge n) / sigma(W+ \ge n-1) for inclusive jet multiplicities n=1-4. The results, based on an integrated luminosity of 1.3 pb-1, have been corrected for all known detector effects and are quoted in a limited and well-defined range of jet and lepton kinematics. The measured cross sections are compared to particle-level predictions based on perturbative QCD. Next-to-leading order calculations, studied here for n \le 2, are found in good agreement with the data. Leading-order multiparton event generators, normalized to the NNLO total cross section, describe the data well for all measured jet multiplicities.
We present first measurements of charged and neutral particle-flow correlations in pp collisions using the ATLAS calorimeters. Data were collected in 2009 and 2010 at centre-of-mass energies of 900 GeV and 7 TeV. Events were selected using a minimum-bias trigger which required a charged particle in scintillation counters on either side of the interaction point. Particle flows, sensitive to the underlying event, are measured using clusters of energy in the ATLAS calorimeters, taking advantage of their fine granularity. No Monte Carlo generator used in this analysis can accurately describe the measurements. The results are independent of those based on charged particles measured by the ATLAS tracking systems and can be used to constrain the parameters of Monte Carlo generators.
Measurements of dijet azimuthal decorrelations in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV using the CMS detector at the CERN LHC are presented. The analysis is based on an inclusive dijet event sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.9 inverse picobarns. The results are compared to predictions from perturbative QCD calculations and various Monte Carlo event generators. The dijet azimuthal distributions are found to be sensitive to initial-state gluon radiation.