A measurement of the total $pp$ cross section at the LHC at $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV is presented. An integrated luminosity of $500$ $\mu$b$^{-1}$ was accumulated in a special run with high-$\beta^{\star}$ beam optics to measure the differential elastic cross section as a function of the Mandelstam momentum transfer variable $t$. The measurement is performed with the ALFA sub-detector of ATLAS. Using a fit to the differential elastic cross section in the $-t$ range from $0.014$ GeV$^2$ to $0.1$ GeV$^2$ to extrapolate $t\rightarrow 0$, the total cross section, $\sigma_{\mathrm{tot}}(pp\rightarrow X)$, is measured via the optical theorem to be: $\sigma_{\mathrm{tot}}(pp\rightarrow X) = {96.07} \; \pm 0.18 \; ({{stat.}}) \pm 0.85 \; ({{exp.}}) \pm 0.31 \; ({extr.}) \; {mb} \;,$ where the first error is statistical, the second accounts for all experimental systematic uncertainties and the last is related to uncertainties in the extrapolation $t\rightarrow 0$. In addition, the slope of the exponential function describing the elastic cross section at small $t$ is determined to be $B = 19.74 \pm 0.05 \; ({{stat.}}) \pm 0.23 \; ({{syst.}}) \; {GeV}^{-2}$.

Searches for heavy long-lived charged particles are performed using a data sample of 19.8 fb$^{-1}$ from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$ = 8 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No excess is observed above the estimated background and limits are placed on the mass of long-lived particles in various supersymmetric models. Long-lived tau sleptons in models with gauge-mediated symmetry breaking are excluded up to masses between 440 and 385 GeV for $\tan\beta$ between 10 and 50, with a 290 GeV limit in the case where only direct tau slepton production is considered. In the context of simplified LeptoSUSY models, where sleptons are stable and have a mass of 300 GeV, squark and gluino masses are excluded up to a mass of 1500 and 1360 GeV, respectively. Directly produced charginos, in simplified models where they are nearly degenerate to the lightest neutralino, are excluded up to a mass of 620 GeV. $R$-hadrons, composites containing a gluino, bottom squark or top squark, are excluded up to a mass of 1270, 845 and 900 GeV, respectively, using the full detector; and up to a mass of 1260, 835 and 870 GeV using an approach disregarding information from the muon spectrometer.

This Letter describes a model-independent search for the production of new resonances in photon + jet events using 20 inverse fb of proton--proton LHC data recorded with the ATLAS detector at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 8 TeV. The photon + jet mass distribution is compared to a background model fit from data; no significant deviation from the background-only hypothesis is found. Limits are set at 95% credibility level on generic Gaussian-shaped signals and two benchmark phenomena beyond the Standard Model: non-thermal quantum black holes and excited quarks. Non-thermal quantum black holes are excluded below masses of 4.6 TeV and excited quarks are excluded below masses of 3.5 TeV.

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.

A detailed study of pseudorapidity densities and multiplicity distributions of primary charged particles produced in proton-proton collisions, at $\sqrt{s} =$ 0.9, 2.36, 2.76, 7 and 8 TeV, in the pseudorapidity range $|\eta|<2$, was carried out using the ALICE detector. Measurements were obtained for three event classes: inelastic, non-single diffractive and events with at least one charged particle in the pseudorapidity interval $|\eta|<1$. The use of an improved track-counting algorithm combined with ALICE's measurements of diffractive processes allows a higher precision compared to our previous publications. A KNO scaling study was performed in the pseudorapidity intervals $|\eta|<$ 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5. The data are compared to other experimental results and to models as implemented in Monte Carlo event generators PHOJET and recent tunes of PYTHIA6, PYTHIA8 and EPOS.

The production of $\pi^{\pm}$, $\rm{K}^{\pm}$, $\rm{K}^{0}_{S}$, $\rm{K}^{*}(892)^{0}$, $\rm{p}$, $\phi(1020)$, $\Lambda$, $\Xi^{-}$, $\Omega^{-}$, and their antiparticles was measured in inelastic proton-proton (pp) collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV at midrapidity ($|y|<0.5$) as a function of transverse momentum ($p_{\rm{T}}$) using the ALICE detector at the CERN LHC. Furthermore, the single-particle $p_{\rm{T}}$ distributions of $\rm{K}^{0}_{S}$, $\Lambda$, and $\overline{\Lambda}$ in inelastic pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV are reported here for the first time. The $p_{\rm{T}}$ distributions are studied at midrapidity within the transverse momentum range $0\leq p_{\rm{T}}\leq20$ GeV/$c$, depending on the particle species. The $p_{\rm{T}}$ spectra, integrated yields, and particle yield ratios are discussed as a function of collision energy and compared with measurements at lower $\sqrt{s}$ and with results from various general-purpose QCD-inspired Monte Carlo models. A hardening of the spectra at high $p_{\rm{T}}$ with increasing collision energy is observed, which is similar for all particle species under study. The transverse mass and $x_{\rm{T}}\equiv2p_{\rm{T}}/\sqrt{s}$ scaling properties of hadron production are also studied. As the collision energy increases from $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 to 13 TeV, the yields of non- and single-strange hadrons normalized to the pion yields remain approximately constant as a function of $\sqrt{s}$, while ratios for multi-strange hadrons indicate enhancements. The $p_{\rm{T}}$-differential cross sections of $\pi^{\pm}$, $\rm{K}^{\pm}$ and $\rm{p}$ ($\overline{\rm{p}}$) are compared with next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations, which are found to overestimate the cross sections for $\pi^{\pm}$ and $\rm{p}$ ($\overline{\rm{p}}$) at high $p_{\rm{T}}$.

The inclusive production of the J/$\psi$ and $\psi$(2S) charmonium states is studied as a function of centrality in p-Pb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 8.16$ TeV at the LHC. The measurement is performed in the dimuon decay channel with the ALICE apparatus in the centre-of-mass rapidity intervals $-4.46 < y_{\rm cms} < -2.96$ (Pb-going direction) and $2.03 < y_{\rm cms} < 3.53$ (p-going direction), down to zero transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$). The J/$\psi$ and $\psi$(2S) production cross sections are evaluated as a function of the collision centrality, estimated through the energy deposited in the zero degree calorimeter located in the Pb-going direction. The $p_{\rm T}$-differential J/$\psi$ production cross section is measured at backward and forward rapidity for several centrality classes, together with the corresponding average $\langle p_{\rm T} \rangle$ and $\langle p^{2}_{\rm T} \rangle$ values. The nuclear effects affecting the production of both charmonium states are studied using the nuclear modification factor. In the p-going direction, a suppression of the production of both charmonium states is observed, which seems to increase from peripheral to central collisions. In the Pb-going direction, however, the centrality dependence is different for the two states: the nuclear modification factor of the J/$\psi$ increases from below unity in peripheral collisions to above unity in central collisions, while for the $\psi$(2S) it stays below or consistent with unity for all centralities with no significant centrality dependence. The results are compared with measurements in p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV and no significant dependence on the energy of the collision is observed. Finally, the results are compared with theoretical models implementing various nuclear matter effects.

The production of $\mathrm{K}^{*}(\mathrm{892})^{0}$ and $\mathrm{\phi(1020)}$ resonances has been measured in p-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 8.16 TeV using the ALICE detector. Resonances are reconstructed via their hadronic decay channels in the rapidity interval $-$0.5 $<$$y$$<$ 0 and the transverse momentum spectra are measured for various multiplicity classes up to $p_{\rm T}$ = 20 GeV/$c$ for $\mathrm{K}^{*}(\mathrm{892})^{0}$ and $p_{\rm T}$ = 16 GeV/$c$ for $\mathrm{\phi(1020)}$. The $p_{\rm T}$ -integrated yields and mean transverse momenta are reported and compared with previous results in pp, p-Pb and Pb-Pb collisions. The $x_{\mathrm{T}}$ scaling for $\mathrm{K}^{*}(\mathrm{892})^{0}$ and $\mathrm{\phi(1020)}$ resonance production is newly tested in p-Pb collisions and found to hold in the high-$p_{\rm T}$ region at LHC energies. The nuclear modification factors ($R_{\rm pPb}$) as a function of $p_{\rm T}$ for $\mathrm{K}^{*0}$ and $\mathrm{\phi}$ at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 8.16 TeV are presented along with the new $R_{\rm pPb}$ measurements of $\mathrm{K}^{*0}$, $\mathrm{\phi}$ , $\Xi$, and $\Omega$ at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV. At intermediate $p_{\rm T}$ (2-8 GeV/$c$), $R_{\rm pPb}$ of $\Xi$, $\Omega$ show a Cronin-like enhancement, while $\mathrm{K}^{*0}$ and $\mathrm{\phi}$ show no or little nuclear modification. At high $p_{\rm T}$ ($>$ 8 GeV/$c$), the $R_{\rm pPb}$ values of all hadrons are consistent with unity within uncertainties. The $R_{\rm pPb}$ of $\mathrm{K}^{*}(\mathrm{892})^{0}$ and $\mathrm{\phi(1020)}$ at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 8.16 and 5.02 TeV show no significant energy dependence.

A search for scalar particles decaying via narrow resonances into two photons in the mass range $65-600$ GeV is performed using 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ of $\sqrt{s}$ = 8 TeV $pp$ collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The recently discovered Higgs boson is treated as a background. No significant evidence for an additional signal is observed. The results are presented as limits at the 95 % confidence level on the production cross-section of a scalar boson times branching ratio into two photons, in a fiducial volume where the reconstruction efficiency is approximately independent of the event topology. The upper limits set extend over a considerably wider mass range than previous searches.

A measurement of $b$-hadron pair production is presented, based on a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 11.4 fb$^{-1}$ of proton--proton collisions recorded at $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are selected in which a $b$-hadron is reconstructed in a decay channel containing $J/\psi \rightarrow \mu\mu$, and a second $b$-hadron is reconstructed in a decay channel containing a muon. Results are presented in a fiducial volume defined by kinematic requirements on three muons based on those used in the analysis. The fiducial cross section is measured to be $17.7 \pm 0.1 ($stat.$) \pm 2.0 ($syst.$)$ nb. A number of normalised differential cross sections are also measured, and compared to predictions from the Pythia8, Herwig++, MadGraph5\_aMC@NLO+Pythia8 and Sherpa event generators, providing new constraints on heavy flavour production.