The results of a search for pair production of the lighter scalar partners of top quarks in 2.05 fb-1 of pp collisions at sqrt(s) =7 TeV using the ATLAS experiment at the LHC are reported. Scalar top quarks are searched for in events with two same flavour opposite-sign leptons (electrons or muons) with invariant mass consistent with the Z boson mass, large missing transverse momentum and jets in the final state. At least one of the jets is identified as originating from a b-quark. No excess over Standard Model expectations is found. The results are interpreted in the framework of R-parity conserving, gauge mediated Supersymmetry breaking `natural' scenarios, where the neutralino is the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle. Scalar top quark masses up to 310 GeV are excluded for the lightest neutralino mass between 115 GeV and 230 GeV at 95% confidence level, reaching an exclusion of the scalar top quark mass of 330 GeV for the lightest neutralino mass of 190 GeV. Scalar top quark masses below 240 GeV are excluded for all values of the lightest neutralino mass above the Z boson mass.
The production of a $W$ boson decaying to $e\nu$ or $\mu\nu$ in association with a $W$ or $Z$ boson decaying to two jets is studied using $4.6 \mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ of proton--proton collision data at $\sqrt{\rm{s}} = 7$ TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The combined $WW+WZ$ cross section is measured with a significance of 3.4$\sigma$ and is found to be $68 \pm 7 \ \mathrm{(stat.)} \pm 19 \ \mathrm{(syst.)} \ pb$, in agreement with the Standard Model expectation of $61.1 \pm 2.2 \ \mathrm{pb}$. The distribution of the transverse momentum of the dijet system is used to set limits on anomalous contributions to the triple gauge coupling vertices and on parameters of an effective-field-theory model.
A search is presented for the pair production of light scalar top quarks in sqrt(s) = 7 TeV proton-proton collisions recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. This analysis uses the full data sample collected during 2011 that corresponds to a total integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb-1. Light scalar top quarks are searched for in events with two opposite-sign leptons (e, mu), large missing transverse momentum and at least one jet in the final state. No excess over Standard Model expectations is found, and the results are interpreted under the assumption that the light scalar top decays to a b-quark in addition to an on-shell chargino whose decay occurs through a virtual W boson. If the chargino mass is 106 GeV, light scalar top quark masses up to 130 GeV are excluded for neutralino masses below 70 GeV.
A search for events with large missing transverse momentum, jets, and at least two tau leptons has been performed using 2 fb^-1 of proton-proton collision data at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No excess above the Standard Model background expectation is observed and a 95% CL visible cross section upper limit for new phenomena is set. A 95% CL lower limit of 32 TeV is set on the GMSB breaking scale Lambda independent of tan(beta). These limits provide the most stringent tests to date in a large part of the considered parameter space.
Searches are performed for resonant and non-resonant Higgs boson pair production in the $\gamma\gamma b\bar{b}$ final state using 20 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. A 95% confidence level upper limit on the cross section times branching ratio of non-resonant production is set at 2.2 pb, while the expected limit is 1.0 pb. The difference derives from a modest excess of events, corresponding to 2.4 standard deviations from the background-only hypothesis. The limit observed in the search for a narrow $X \to hh$ resonance ranges between 0.7 and 3.5 pb as a function of the resonance mass.
A search is presented for production of dark matter particles recoiling against a leptonically decaying Z boson in 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ of pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events with large missing transverse momentum and two oppositely-charged electrons or muons consistent with the decay of a Z boson are analyzed. No excess above the Standard Model prediction is observed. Limits are set on the mass scale of the contact interaction as a function of the dark matter particle mass using an effective field theory description of the interaction of dark matter with quarks or with Z bosons. Limits are also set on the coupling and mediator mass of a model in which the interaction is mediated by a scalar particle.
This article reports on a search for dark matter pair production in association with bottom or top quarks in 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collisions collected at $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events with large missing transverse momentum are selected when produced in association with high-momentum jets of which one or more are identified as jets containing $b$-quarks. Final states with top quarks are selected by requiring a high jet multiplicity and in some cases a single lepton. The data are found to be consistent with the Standard Model expectations and limits are set on the mass scale of effective field theories that describe scalar and tensor interactions between dark matter and Standard Model particles. Limits on the dark-matter--nucleon cross-section for spin-independent and spin-dependent interactions are also provided. These limits are particularly strong for low-mass dark matter. Using a simplified model, constraints are set on the mass of dark matter and of a coloured mediator suitable to explain a possible signal of annihilating dark matter.
A search for heavy neutral Higgs bosons and $Z^{\prime}$ bosons is performed using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb$^{-1}$ from proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC during 2015 and 2016. The heavy resonance is assumed to decay to $\tau^+\tau^-$ with at least one tau lepton decaying to final states with hadrons and a neutrino. The search is performed in the mass range of 0.2-2.25 TeV for Higgs bosons and 0.2-4.0 TeV for $Z^{\prime}$ bosons. The data are in good agreement with the background predicted by the Standard Model. The results are interpreted in benchmark scenarios. In the context of the hMSSM scenario, the data exclude $\tan\beta > 1.0$ for $m_A$ = 0.25 TeV and $\tan\beta > 42$ for $m_A$ = 1.5 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the Sequential Standard Model, $Z^{\prime}_\mathrm{SSM}$ with $m_{Z^{\prime}} < 2.42$ TeV is excluded at 95% confidence level, while $Z^{\prime}_\mathrm{NU}$ with $m_{Z^{\prime}} < 2.25$ TeV is excluded for the non-universal $G(221)$ model that exhibits enhanced couplings to third-generation fermions.
A summary is presented of ATLAS searches for gluinos and first- and second-generation squarks in final states containing jets and missing transverse momentum, with or without leptons or b-jets, in the $\sqrt{s}$ = 8 TeV data set collected at the Large Hadron Collider in 2012. This paper reports the results of new interpretations and statistical combinations of previously published analyses, as well as a new analysis. Since no significant excess of events over the Standard Model expectation is observed, the data are used to set limits in a variety of models. In all the considered simplified models that assume R-parity conservation, the limit on the gluino mass exceeds 1150 GeV at 95% confidence level, for an LSP mass smaller than 100 GeV. Furthermore, exclusion limits are set for left-handed squarks in a phenomenological MSSM model, a minimal Supergravity/Constrained MSSM model, R-parity-violation scenarios, a minimal gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking model, a natural gauge mediation model, a non-universal Higgs mass model with gaugino mediation and a minimal model of universal extra dimensions.
A search for heavy long-lived charged $R$-hadrons is reported using a data sample corresponding to 3.2$^{-1}$ of proton--proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. The search is based on observables related to large ionisation losses and slow propagation velocities, which are signatures of heavy charged particles travelling significantly slower than the speed of light. No significant deviations from the expected background are observed. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are provided on the production cross section of long-lived $R$-hadrons in the mass range from 600 GeV to 2000 GeV and gluino, bottom and top squark masses are excluded up to 1580 GeV, 805 GeV and 890 GeV, respectively.
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