Measurements of $ZZ$ production in the $\ell^{+}\ell^{-}\ell^{\prime +}\ell^{\prime -}$ channel in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV center-of-mass energy at the Large Hadron Collider are presented. The data correspond to 36.1 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ of collisions collected by the ATLAS experiment in 2015 and 2016. Here $\ell$ and $\ell'$ stand for electrons or muons. Integrated and differential $ZZ \to \ell^{+}\ell^{-}\ell^{\prime +}\ell^{\prime -}$ cross sections with $Z \to \ell^+\ell^-$ candidate masses in the range of 66 GeV to 116 GeV are measured in a fiducial phase space corresponding to the detector acceptance and corrected for detector effects. The differential cross sections are presented in bins of twenty observables, including several that describe the jet activity. The integrated cross section is also extrapolated to a total phase space and to all Standard-Model decays of $Z$ bosons with mass between 66 GeV and 116 GeV, resulting in a value of $17.3 \pm 0.9$ [$\pm 0.6$ (stat.) $\pm 0.5$ (syst.) $\pm 0.6$ (lumi.)] pb. The measurements are found to be in good agreement with the Standard-Model predictions. A search for neutral triple gauge couplings is performed using the transverse momentum distribution of the leading $Z$-boson candidate. No evidence for such couplings is found and exclusion limits are set on their parameters.
Integrated fiducial cross sections. Fiducial phase space - At least 4 electrons, 4 muons, or 2 electrons and 2 muons forming two same-flavour opposite-charge dileptons (Z candidates) - Lepton pairing ambiguities are resolved by choosing the combination that results in the smaller value of the sum of |mll - mZ| for the two pairs, where mll is the mass of the dilepton system and mZ the Z boson pole mass - Lepton absolute pseudorapidity |eta| < 2.7 - Lepton transverse momentum pT > 5 GeV - The three leading-pT leptons satisfy pT > 20 GeV, 15 GeV, 10 GeV - Angular separation of any same-flavour (opposite-flavour) leptons DeltaR > 0.1 (0.2) - Both chosen dileptons have invariant mass between 66 GeV and 116 GeV - All possible same-flavour opposite-charge dileptons have mass > 5 GeV Details about the fiducial definition as well as all other aspects of the analysis can be found in the journal publication.
Differential fiducial cross section as function of the transverse momentum of the four-lepton system. Fiducial phase space - At least 4 electrons, 4 muons, or 2 electrons and 2 muons forming two same-flavour opposite-charge dileptons (Z candidates) - Lepton pairing ambiguities are resolved by choosing the combination that results in the smaller value of the sum of |mll - mZ| for the two pairs, where mll is the mass of the dilepton system and mZ the Z boson pole mass - Lepton absolute pseudorapidity |eta| < 2.7 - Lepton transverse momentum pT > 5 GeV - The three leading-pT leptons satisfy pT > 20 GeV, 15 GeV, 10 GeV - Angular separation of any same-flavour (opposite-flavour) leptons DeltaR > 0.1 (0.2) - Both chosen dileptons have invariant mass between 66 GeV and 116 GeV - All possible same-flavour opposite-charge dileptons have mass > 5 GeV Details about the fiducial definition as well as all other aspects of the analysis can be found in the journal publication.
Predicted background as function of the transverse momentum of the four-lepton system.
A search for high-mass resonances decaying to $\tau\nu$ using proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV produced by the Large Hadron Collider is presented. Only $\tau$-lepton decays with hadrons in the final state are considered. The data were recorded with the ATLAS detector and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb$^{-1}$. No statistically significant excess above the Standard Model expectation is observed; model-independent upper limits are set on the visible $\tau\nu$ production cross section. Heavy $W^{\prime}$ bosons with masses less than 3.7 TeV in the Sequential Standard Model and masses less than 2.2-3.8 TeV depending on the coupling in the non-universal G(221) model are excluded at the 95% credibility level.
Observed and predicted $m_{\rm T}$ distributions including SSM and NU (cot$\phi$ = 5.5) $W^{\prime}$ signals with masses of 3 TeV. Please note that in the paper figure the bin content is divided by the bin width, but this is not done in the HepData table.
Observed and predicted $m_{\rm T}$ distributions including SSM and NU (cot$\phi$ = 5.5) $W^{\prime}$ signals with masses of 3 TeV. Please note that in the paper figure the bin content is divided by the bin width, but this is not done in the HepData table.
Observed and predicted $m_{\rm T}$ distributions including SSM and NU (cot$\phi$ = 5.5) $W^{\prime}$ signals with masses of 3 TeV. Please note that in the paper figure the bin content is divided by the bin width, but this is not done in the HepData table. The table also contains each background contribution to the Standard Model expectation separately with their statistical uncertainties.
A search for the $Z\gamma$ decay of the Higgs boson, with $Z$ boson decays into pairs of electrons or muons is presented. The analysis uses proton$-$proton collision data at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$ recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The observed data are consistent with the expected background with a $p$-value of 1.3%. An upper limit at 95% confidence level on the production cross-section times the branching ratio for $pp\to H\to Z\gamma$ is set at 3.6 times the Standard Model prediction while 2.6 times is expected in the presence of the Standard Model Higgs boson. The best-fit value for the signal yield normalised to the Standard Model prediction is $2.0^{+1.0}_{-0.9}$ where the statistical component of the uncertainty is dominant.
The number of data events selected in each category, and in the $Z\gamma$ mass range of 105--160 GeV. In addition, the following numbers are given: the expected number of Higgs boson signal events in an interval around the peak position for a signal of $m_{H}=125.09$ GeV containing 68% of the SM signal ($S_{68}$), the mass resolution quantified by the width of the $S_{68}$ interval ($w_{68}$) defined by the difference between the 84th and the 16th percentile of the signal mass distribution, the background in the $S_{68}$ interval ($B_{68}$) is estimated from fits to the data using the background models described in paper, the observed number of events in the $S_{68}$ interval ($N_{68}$), the expected signal-to-background ratio in the $S_{68}$ window ($S_{68}/B_{68}$), and the expected significance estimate defined as $S_{68}/\sqrt{S_{68}+B_{68}}$. The final row of the table displays the expected number of events for an analysis performed in a single inclusive category.
Upper limit at 95% confidence level on the signal yield normalised to the Standard Model prediction (signal strength) for $pp \to H \to Z+\gamma$
The best fit value for the signal yield normalised to the Standard Model prediction (signal strength) for $pp \to H \to Z+\gamma$
Statistical combinations of searches for charginos and neutralinos using various decay channels are performed using $139\,$fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data at $\sqrt{s}=13\,$TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Searches targeting pure-wino chargino pair production, pure-wino chargino-neutralino production, or higgsino production decaying via Standard Model $W$, $Z$, or $h$ bosons are combined to extend the mass reach to the produced SUSY particles by 30-100 GeV. The depth of the sensitivity of the original searches is also improved by the combinations, lowering the 95% CL cross-section upper limits by 15%-40%.
Expected 95% CL exclusion limits on the simplified models of chargino-pair production decaying via W bosons.
$+1\sigma$ expected 95% CL exclusion limits on the simplified models of chargino-pair production decaying via W bosons.
$-1\sigma$ expected 95% CL exclusion limits on the simplified models of chargino-pair production decaying via W bosons.
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.
Acceptance times efficiency for signal grid in anomaly signal region.
Acceptance times efficiency for signal grid in anomaly signal region.
Acceptance times efficiency for signal grid in merged two-prong signal region.
A search is presented for four-top-quark production using an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are selected if they contain a same-sign lepton pair or at least three leptons (electrons or muons). Jet multiplicity, jet flavour and event kinematics are used to separate signal from the background through a multivariate discriminant, and dedicated control regions are used to constrain the dominant backgrounds. The four-top-quark production cross section is measured to be 24$^{+7}_{-6}$ fb. This corresponds to an observed (expected) significance with respect to the background-only hypothesis of 4.3 (2.4) standard deviations and provides evidence for this process.
The results of fitted inclusive ${t\bar{t}t\bar{t}}$ cross-section
The results of the fitted signal strength $\mu$
List of the uncertainties in the signal strength $\mu$, grouped in categories. The quoted values are obtained by repeating the fit, fixing a set of nuisance parameters of the sources corresponding to the considered category, and subtracting in quadrature the resulting uncertainty from the total uncertainty of the nominal fit presented in the last line. The total uncertainty is different from the sum in quadrature of the components due to correlations between nuisance parameters.
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.
Number of data events selected in each analysis category in the $m_{\ell\ell\gamma}$ mass range of 110--160 GeV. In addition, the following numbers are given: number of $H\rightarrow\gamma^{*}\gamma\rightarrow \ell\ell\gamma$ events in the smallest $m_{\ell\ell\gamma}$ window containing 90\% of the expected signal ($S_{90}$), the non-resonant background in the same interval ($B_{90}^N$) as estimated from fits to the data sidebands using the background models, the resonant background in the same interval ($B_{H\rightarrow\gamma\gamma}$), the expected signal purity $f_{90} = S_{90}/(S_{90}+B_{90})$, and the expected significance estimate defined as $Z_{90} = \sqrt{ 2( (S_{90}+B_{90})\,\ln(1+S_{90}/B_{90}) - S_{90}) }$ where $B_{90} = B_{90}^N+B_{H\rightarrow\gamma\gamma}$. $B_{H\rightarrow\gamma\gamma}$ is only relevant for the electron categories and is marked as 0 otherwise
The best fit value for the signal yield normalised to the Standard Model prediction (signal strength) for $pp \to H \to Z+\gamma$
Measured $\sigma( p p \rightarrow H) \cdot B(H\rightarrow \ell\ell\gamma)$ for $m_{\ell\ell} < 30$ GeV
A search for the production of three massive vector bosons in proton--proton collisions is performed using data at $\sqrt{s}=13\,TeV$ recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in the years 2015--2017, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $79.8\,\text{fb}^{-1}$. Events with two same-sign leptons $\ell$ (electrons or muons) and at least two reconstructed jets are selected to search for $WWW\to\ell\nu\ell\nu qq$. Events with three leptons without any same-flavour opposite-sign lepton pairs are used to search for $WWW\to\ell\nu\ell\nu\ell\nu$, while events with three leptons and at least one same-flavour opposite-sign lepton pair and one or more reconstructed jets are used to search for $WWZ\to\ell\nu qq \ell\ell$. Finally, events with four leptons are analysed to search for $WWZ\to\ell\nu\ell\nu\ell\ell$ and $WZZ\to qq \ell\ell\ell\ell$. Evidence for the joint production of three massive vector bosons is observed with a significance of 4.0 standard deviations, where the expectation is 3.1 standard deviations.
Measurement of the $WWW$ cross section.
Measurement of the $WWZ$ cross section.
Differential and double-differential distributions of kinematic variables of leptons from decays of top-quark pairs ($t\bar{t}$) are measured using the full LHC Run 2 data sample collected with the ATLAS detector. The data were collected at a $pp$ collision energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb$^{-1}$. The measurements use events containing an oppositely charged $e\mu$ pair and $b$-tagged jets. The results are compared with predictions from several Monte Carlo generators. While no prediction is found to be consistent with all distributions, a better agreement with measurements of the lepton $p_{\text{T}}$ distributions is obtained by reweighting the $t\bar{t}$ sample so as to reproduce the top-quark $p_{\text{T}}$ distribution from an NNLO calculation. The inclusive top-quark pair production cross-section is measured as well, both in a fiducial region and in the full phase-space. The total inclusive cross-section is found to be \[ \sigma_{t\bar{t}} = 829 \pm 1\;(\textrm{stat}) \pm 13\;(\textrm{syst}) \pm 8\;(\textrm{lumi}) \pm 2\; (\textrm{beam})\ \textrm{pb}, \] where the uncertainties are due to statistics, systematic effects, the integrated luminosity and the beam energy. This is in excellent agreement with the theoretical expectation.
Definition of the fiducial phase space with the lepton candidate, electron $e$ and muon $\mu$, and jets.
Breakdown of systematic uncertainties in the measured fiducial cross-section. The impact of the top-quark mass on the cross-section is included in the table and not counted in the total uncertainty entry in the paper.
Data bootstrap post unfolding for the fiducial cross-section. The replicas are obtained by reweighting each observed data event by a random integer generated according to Poisson statistics, using the BootstrapGenerator software package (https://gitlab.cern.ch/atlas-physics/sm/StandardModelTools_BootstrapGenerator/BootstrapGenerator), which implements a technique described in ATL-PHYS-PUB-2021-011 (https://cds.cern.ch/record/2759945). The ATLAS event number and run number of each event are used as seed to uniquely but reproducibly initialise the random number generator for each event. All the provided numbers originate from pseudo-data, including the 0th entry, and are in units of [fb].
Measurements of differential cross sections are presented for inclusive isolated-photon production in $pp$ collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV provided by the LHC and using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of data recorded by the ATLAS experiment. The cross sections are measured as functions of the photon transverse energy in different regions of photon pseudorapidity. The photons are required to be isolated by means of a fixed-cone method with two different cone radii. The dependence of the inclusive-photon production on the photon isolation is investigated by measuring the fiducial cross sections as functions of the isolation-cone radius and the ratios of the differential cross sections with different radii in different regions of photon pseudorapidity. The results presented in this paper constitute an improvement with respect to those published by ATLAS earlier: the measurements are provided for different isolation radii and with a more granular segmentation in photon pseudorapidity that can be exploited in improving the determination of the proton parton distribution functions. These improvements provide a more in-depth test of the theoretical predictions. Next-to-leading-order QCD predictions from JETPHOX and SHERPA and next-to-next-to-leading-order QCD predictions from NNLOJET are compared to the measurements, using several parameterisations of the proton parton distribution functions. The measured cross sections are well described by the fixed-order QCD predictions within the experimental and theoretical uncertainties in most of the investigated phase-space region.
Measured cross sections for inclusive isolated-photon production as a function of $E_{\rm T}^{\gamma}$ for $|\eta^{\gamma}|<0.6$ and photon isolation cone radius $R=0.4$.
Measured cross sections for inclusive isolated-photon production as a function of $E_{\rm T}^{\gamma}$ for $0.6<|\eta^{\gamma}|<0.8$ and photon isolation cone radius $R=0.4$.
Measured cross sections for inclusive isolated-photon production as a function of $E_{\rm T}^{\gamma}$ for $0.8<|\eta^{\gamma}|<1.37$ and photon isolation cone radius $R=0.4$.