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.

The inclusive and fiducial $t\bar{t}$ production cross-sections are measured in the lepton+jets channel using 20.2 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Major systematic uncertainties due to the modelling of the jet energy scale and $b$-tagging efficiency are constrained by separating selected events into three disjoint regions. In order to reduce systematic uncertainties in the most important background, the W+jets process is modelled using Z+jets events in a data-driven approach. The inclusive $t\bar{t}$ cross-section is measured with a precision of 5.7% to be $\sigma_{\text{inc}}(t\bar{t})$ = 248.3 $\pm$ 0.7 (stat.) $\pm$ 13.4 (syst.) $\pm$ 4.7 (lumi.) pb, assuming a top-quark mass of 172.5 GeV. The result is in agreement with the Standard Model prediction. The cross-section is also measured in a phase space close to that of the selected data. The fiducial cross-section is $\sigma_{\text{fid}}(t\bar{t})$ = 48.8 $\pm$ 0.1 (stat.) $\pm$ 2.0 (syst.) $\pm$ 0.9 (lumi.) pb with a precision of 4.5%.

Inclusive and differential fiducial cross sections of Higgs boson production in proton-proton collisions are measured in the $H \rightarrow ZZ^* \rightarrow 4\ell$ decay channel. The proton-proton collision data were produced at the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector in 2015 and 2016, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb$^{-1}$. The inclusive fiducial cross section in the $H \rightarrow ZZ^* \rightarrow 4\ell$ decay channel is measured to be 3.62 $\pm$ 0.50 (stat) $^{+0.25}_{-0.20}$ (sys) fb, in agreement with the Standard Model prediction of 2.91 $\pm$ 0.13 fb. The cross section is also extrapolated to the total phase space including all Standard Model Higgs boson decays. Several differential fiducial cross sections are measured for observables sensitive to the Higgs boson production and decay, including kinematic distributions of jets produced in association with the Higgs boson. Good agreement is found between data and Standard Model predictions. The results are used to put constraints on anomalous Higgs boson interactions with Standard Model particles, using the pseudo-observable extension to the kappa-framework.

Several extensions of the Standard Model predict the production of dark matter particles at the LHC. An uncharted signature of dark matter particles produced in association with $VV=W^\pm W^\mp$ or $ZZ$ pairs from a decay of a dark Higgs boson $s$ is searched for using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The $s\to V(q\bar q)V(q\bar q)$ decays are reconstructed with a novel technique aimed at resolving the dense topology from boosted $VV$ pairs using jets in the calorimeter and tracking information. Dark Higgs scenarios with $m_s > 160$ GeV are excluded.

The ratio of the production cross sections times branching fractions (sigma(Bc+) B(Bc+ to J/psi pi+))/ (sigma(B+) B(B+ to J/psi K+)) is studied in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The kinematic region investigated requires Bc+/- and B+/- mesons with transverse momentum pt > 15 GeV and rapidity abs(y) < 1.6. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.1 inverse femtobarns. The ratio is determined to be [0.48 +/- 0.05 (stat) +/- 0.03 (syst) +/- 0.05 (tau_{Bc})]% The J/psi pi+/- pi+/- pi-/+ decay mode is also observed in the same data sample. Using a model-independent method developed to measure the efficiency given the presence of resonant behaviour in the three-pion system, the ratio of the branching fractions B(Bc+/- to J/psi pi+/- pi+/- pi-/+) / B(Bc+/- to J/psi pi+/-) is measured to be 2.55 +/- 0.80 (stat) +/- 0.33 (syst) +0.04/-0.01 (tau[Bc+]), consistent with the previous LHCb result.

A measurement of the splitting scales occuring in the $k_\mathrm{t}$ jet-clustering algorithm is presented for final states containing a $Z$ boson. The measurement is done using 20.2 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data collected at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC in 2012. The measurement is based on charged-particle track information, which is measured with excellent precision in the $p_\mathrm{T}$ region relevant for the transition between the perturbative and the non-perturbative regimes. The data distributions are corrected for detector effects, and are found to deviate from state-of-the-art predictions in various regions of the observables.

A search for long-lived, massive particles predicted by many theories beyond the Standard Model is presented. The search targets final states with large missing transverse momentum and at least one high-mass displaced vertex with five or more tracks, and uses 32.8 fb$^{-1}$ of $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV $pp$ collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The observed yield is consistent with the expected background. The results are used to extract 95\% CL exclusion limits on the production of long-lived gluinos with masses up to 2.37 TeV and lifetimes of $\mathcal{O}(10^{-2})$-$\mathcal{O}(10)$ ns in a simplified model inspired by Split Supersymmetry.

A search for doubly charged Higgs bosons with pairs of prompt, isolated, highly energetic leptons with the same electric charge is presented. The search uses a proton-proton collision data sample at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV corresponding to 36.1 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity recorded in 2015 and 2016 by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. This analysis focuses on the decays $H^{\pm\pm}\rightarrow e^{\pm}e^{\pm}$, $H^{\pm\pm}\rightarrow e^{\pm}\mu^{\pm}$ and $H^{\pm\pm}\rightarrow \mu^{\pm}\mu^{\pm}$, fitting the dilepton mass spectra in several exclusive signal regions. No significant evidence of a signal is observed and corresponding limits on the production cross-section are derived at 95% confidence level. The observed lower limit on the mass of a doubly charged Higgs boson only coupling to left-handed leptons ($e$,$\mu$) varies from 770 GeV to 870 GeV (850 GeV expected) for $B(H^{\pm\pm}\rightarrow \ell^{\pm}\ell^{\pm})$ = 100% and both the expected and observed mass limits are above 450 GeV for $B(H^{\pm\pm}\rightarrow \ell^{\pm}\ell^{\pm})$ = 10% and any combination of partial branching ratios.

A search for the supersymmetric partners of the Standard Model bottom and top quarks is presented. The search uses 36.1 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Direct production of pairs of bottom and top squarks ($\tilde{b}_{1}$ and $\tilde{t}_{1}$) is searched for in final states with $b$-tagged jets and missing transverse momentum. Distinctive selections are defined with either no charged leptons (electrons or muons) in the final state, or one charged lepton. The zero-lepton selection targets models in which the $\tilde{b}_{1}$ is the lightest squark and decays via $\tilde{b}_{1} \rightarrow b \tilde{\chi}^{0}_{1}$, where $\tilde{\chi}^{0}_{1}$ is the lightest neutralino. The one-lepton final state targets models where bottom or top squarks are produced and can decay into multiple channels, $\tilde{b}_{1} \rightarrow b \tilde{\chi}^{0}_{1}$ and $\tilde{b}_{1} \rightarrow t \tilde{\chi}^{\pm}_{1}$, or $\tilde{t}_{1} \rightarrow t \tilde{\chi}^{0}_{1}$ and $\tilde{t}_{1} \rightarrow b \tilde{\chi}^{\pm}_{1}$, where $\tilde{\chi}^{\pm}_{1}$ is the lightest chargino and the mass difference $m_{\tilde{\chi}^{\pm}_{1}}- m_{\tilde{\chi}^{0}_{1}}$ is set to 1 GeV. No excess above the expected Standard Model background is observed. Exclusion limits at 95\% confidence level on the mass of third-generation squarks are derived in various supersymmetry-inspired simplified models.

This Letter presents the measurement of differential cross sections of isolated prompt photons produced in association with a b-jet or a c-jet. These final states provide sensitivity to the heavy-flavour content of the proton and aspects related to the modelling of heavy-flavour quarks in perturbative QCD. The measurement uses proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2012 corresponding to an integrated luminosity of up to 20.2 fb$^{-1}$. The differential cross sections are measured for each jet flavour with respect to the transverse energy of the leading photon in two photon pseudorapidity regions: $|\eta^\gamma|<1.37$ and $1.56<|\eta^\gamma|<2.37$. The measurement covers photon transverse energies $25 < E_\textrm{T}^\gamma<400$ GeV and $25 < E_\textrm{T}^\gamma<350$ GeV respectively for the two $|\eta^\gamma|$ regions. For each jet flavour, the ratio of the cross sections in the two $|\eta^\gamma|$ regions is also measured. The measurement is corrected for detector effects and compared to leading-order and next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD calculations, based on various treatments and assumptions about the heavy-flavour content of the proton. Overall, the predictions agree well with the measurement, but some deviations are observed at high photon transverse energies. The total uncertainty in the measurement ranges between 13% and 66%, while the central $\gamma+b$ measurement exhibits the smallest uncertainty, ranging from 13% to 27%, which is comparable to the precision of the theoretical predictions.

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.

A search for leptoquark pair production decaying into $te^- \bar{t}e^+$ or $t\mu^- \bar{t}\mu^+$ in final states with multiple leptons is presented. The search is based on a dataset of $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$=13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139~fb$^{-1}$. Events are selected with two or more light leptons (electron or muon) and at least two jets out of which at least one jet is identified as coming from a $b$-hadron. Four signal regions, with the requirement of at least three light leptons, are considered based on the number of leptons of a given flavour. The main background processes are estimated using dedicated control regions in a simultaneous fit with the signal regions to data. No excess above the Standard Model background prediction is observed and 95% confidence level limits on the production cross section times branching ratio are derived as a function of the leptoquark mass. Under the assumption of exclusive decays into $te^{-}$ ($t\mu^{-}$), the corresponding lower limit on the scalar mixed-generation leptoquark mass $m_{\mathrm{LQ}_{\mathrm{mix}}^{\mathrm{d}}}$ is at 1.58 (1.59) TeV and on the vector leptoquark mass $m_{\tilde{U}_1}$ at 1.67 (1.67) TeV in the minimal coupling scenario and at 1.95 (1.95) TeV in the Yang-Mills scenario.

A measurement of the production cross section for two isolated photons in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV is presented. The results are based on an integrated luminosity of 20.2 fb$^{-1}$ recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurement considers photons with pseudorapidities satisfying $|\eta^{\gamma}|<1.37$ or ${1.56<|\eta^{\gamma}|<2.37}$ and transverse energies of respectively $E_{\mathrm{T,1}}^{\gamma}>40$ GeV and $E_{\mathrm{T,2}}^{\gamma}>30$ GeV for the two leading photons ordered in transverse energy produced in the interaction.The background due to hadronic jets and electrons is subtracted using data-driven techniques. The fiducial cross sections are corrected for detector effects and measured differentially as a function of six kinematic observables. The measured cross section integrated within the fiducial volume is $16.8 \pm 0.8$ pb. The data are compared to fixed-order QCD calculations at next-to-leading-order and next-to-next-to-leading-order accuracy as well as next-to-leading-order computations including resummation of initial-state gluon radiation at next-to-next-to-leading logarithm or matched to a parton shower, with relative uncertainties varying from 5% to 20%.

This paper presents a search for dark matter, $\chi$, using events with a single top quark and an energetic $W$ boson. The analysis is based on proton-proton collision data collected with the ATLAS experiment at $\sqrt{s}=$ 13 TeV during LHC Run 2 (2015-2018), corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. The search considers final states with zero or one charged lepton (electron or muon), at least one $b$-jet and large missing transverse momentum. In addition, a result from a previous search considering two-charged-lepton final states is included in the interpretation of the results. The data are found to be in good agreement with the Standard Model predictions and the results are interpreted in terms of 95% confidence-level exclusion limits in the context of a class of dark matter models involving an extended two-Higgs-doublet sector together with a pseudoscalar mediator particle. The search is particularly sensitive to on-shell production of the charged Higgs boson state, $H^{\pm}$, arising from the two-Higgs-doublet mixing, and its semi-invisible decays via the mediator particle, $a$: $H^{\pm} \rightarrow W^\pm a (\rightarrow \chi\chi)$. Signal models with $H^{\pm}$ masses up to 1.5 TeV and $a$ masses up to 350 GeV are excluded assuming a tan$\beta$ value of 1. For masses of $a$ of 150 (250) GeV, tan$\beta$ values up to 2 are excluded for $H^{\pm}$ masses between 200 (400) GeV and 1.5 TeV. Signals with tan$\beta$ values between 20 and 30 are excluded for $H^{\pm}$ masses between 500 and 800 GeV.

A measurement is presented of the ratio of the inclusive 3-jet cross section to the inclusive 2-jet cross section as a function of the average transverse momentum, <pT[1,2]>, of the two leading jets in the event. The data sample was collected during 2011 at a proton-proton centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 inverse femtobarns. The strong coupling constant at the scale of the Z boson mass is determined to be alphaS[MZ] = 0.1148 +/- 0.0014 (exp.) +/- 0.0018 (PDF) +/- 0.0050 (theory), by comparing the ratio in the range 0.42 < <pT[1,2]> < 1.39 TeV to the predictions of perturbative QCD at next-to-leading order. This is the first determination of alphaS[MZ] from measurements at momentum scales beyond 0.6 TeV. The predicted ratio depends only indirectly on the evolution of the parton distribution functions of the proton such that this measurement also serves as a test of the evolution of the strong coupling constant. No deviation from the expected behaviour is observed.

A search for charged Higgs bosons decaying into $W^\pm W^\pm$ or $W^\pm Z$ bosons is performed, involving experimental signatures with two leptons of the same charge, or three or four leptons with a variety of charge combinations, missing transverse momentum and jets. A data sample of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider between 2015 and 2018 is used. The data correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. The search is guided by a type-II seesaw model that extends the scalar sector of the Standard Model with a scalar triplet, leading to a phenomenology that includes doubly and singly charged Higgs bosons. Two scenarios are explored, corresponding to the pair production of doubly charged $H^{\pm\pm}$ bosons, or the associated production of a doubly charged $H^{\pm\pm}$ boson and a singly charged $H^\pm$ boson. No significant deviations from the Standard Model predictions are observed. $H^{\pm\pm}$ bosons are excluded at 95% confidence level up to 350 GeV and 230 GeV for the pair and associated production modes, respectively.

This search, a type not previously performed at ATLAS, uses a comparison of the production cross sections for $e^+ \mu^-$ and $e^- \mu^+$ pairs to constrain physics processes beyond the Standard Model. It uses $139 \text{fb}^{-1}$ of proton$-$proton collision data recorded at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV at the LHC. Targeting sources of new physics which prefer final states containing $e^{+}\mu^{-}$ to $e^{-}\mu^{+}$, the search contains two broad signal regions which are used to provide model-independent constraints on the ratio of cross sections at the 2% level. The search also has two special selections targeting supersymmetric models and leptoquark signatures. Observations using one of these selections are able to exclude, at 95% confidence level, singly produced smuons with masses up to 640 GeV in a model in which the only other light sparticle is a neutralino when the $R$-parity-violating coupling $\lambda'_{231}$ is close to unity. Observations using the other selection exclude scalar leptoquarks with masses below 1880 GeV when $g_{\text{1R}}^{eu}=g_{\text{1R}}^{\mu c}=1$, at 95% confidence level. The limit on the coupling reduces to $g_{\text{1R}}^{eu}=g_{\text{1R}}^{\mu c}=0.46$ for a mass of 1420 GeV.

A search for $W'$-boson production in the $W' \rightarrow t\bar{b} \rightarrow q\bar{q}' b\bar{b}$ decay channel is presented using 36.1 fb$^{-1}$ of 13 TeV proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in 2015 and 2016. The search is interpreted in terms of both a left-handed and a right-handed chiral $W'$ boson within the mass range 1-5 TeV. Identification of the hadronically decaying top quark is performed using jet substructure tagging techniques based on a shower deconstruction algorithm. No significant deviation from the Standard Model prediction is observed and the results are expressed as upper limits on the $W' \rightarrow t\bar{b}$ production cross-section times branching ratio as a function of the $W'$-boson mass. These limits exclude $W'$ bosons with right-handed couplings with masses below 3.0 TeV and $W'$ bosons with left-handed couplings with masses below 2.9 TeV, at the 95% confidence level.

The production of exclusive $\gamma \gamma \rightarrow \mu^+ \mu^-$ events in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV is measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC, using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb$^{-1}$. The measurement is performed for a dimuon invariant mass of 12 GeV $<m_{\mu^+\mu^-}<$ 70 GeV. The integrated cross-section is determined within a fiducial acceptance region of the ATLAS detector and differential cross-sections are measured as a function of the dimuon invariant mass. The results are compared to theoretical predictions that include corrections for absorptive effects.

The cross section of a top-quark pair produced in association with a photon is measured in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV with $20.2$ fb$^{-1}$ of data collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in 2012. The measurement is performed by selecting events that contain a photon with transverse momentum $p_\mathrm{T} > 15$ GeV, an isolated lepton with large transverse momentum, large missing transverse momentum, and at least four jets, where at least one is identified as originating from a $b$-quark. The production cross section is measured in a fiducial region close to the selection requirements. It is found to be $139 \pm 7 (\mathrm{stat.}) \pm 17 (\mathrm{syst.})$ fb, in good agreement with the theoretical prediction at next-to-leading order of $151 \pm 24$ fb. In addition, differential cross sections in the fiducial region are measured as a function of the transverse momentum and pseudorapidity of the photon.

The dynamics of isolated-photon production in association with a jet in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV are studied with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using a dataset with an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb$^{-1}$. Photons are required to have transverse energies above 125 GeV. Jets are identified using the anti-$k_t$ algorithm with radius parameter $R=0.4$ and required to have transverse momenta above 100 GeV. Measurements of isolated-photon plus jet cross sections are presented as functions of the leading-photon transverse energy, the leading-jet transverse momentum, the azimuthal angular separation between the photon and the jet, the photon-jet invariant mass and the scattering angle in the photon-jet centre-of-mass system. Tree-level plus parton-shower predictions from SHERPA and PYTHIA as well as next-to-leading-order QCD predictions from JETPHOX and SHERPA are compared to the measurements.

This paper presents a search for direct electroweak gaugino or gluino pair production with a chargino nearly mass-degenerate with a stable neutralino. It is based on an integrated luminosity of 36.1 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ of $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. The final state of interest is a disappearing track accompanied by at least one jet with high transverse momentum from initial-state radiation or by four jets from the gluino decay chain. The use of short track segments reconstructed from the innermost tracking layers significantly improves the sensitivity to short chargino lifetimes. The results are found to be consistent with Standard Model predictions. Exclusion limits are set at 95% confidence level on the mass of charginos and gluinos for different chargino lifetimes. For a pure wino with a lifetime of about 0.2 ns, chargino masses up to 460 GeV are excluded. For the strong production channel, gluino masses up to 1.65 TeV are excluded assuming a chargino mass of 460 GeV and lifetime of 0.2 ns.

A measurement of the production of three isolated photons in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}$ = 8 TeV is reported. The results are based on an integrated luminosity of 20.2 fb$^{-1}$ collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The differential cross sections are measured as functions of the transverse energy of each photon, the difference in azimuthal angle and in pseudorapidity between pairs of photons, the invariant mass of pairs of photons, and the invariant mass of the triphoton system. A measurement of the inclusive fiducial cross section is also reported. Next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD predictions are compared to the cross-section measurements. The predictions underestimate the measurement of the inclusive fiducial cross section and the differential measurements at low photon transverse energies and invariant masses. They provide adequate descriptions of the measurements at high values of the photon transverse energies, invariant mass of pairs of photons, and invariant mass of the triphoton 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.

The results of a search for direct pair production of top squarks and for dark matter in events with two opposite-charge leptons (electrons or muons), jets and missing transverse momentum are reported, using 139 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity from proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV, collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider during Run 2 (2015-2018). This search considers the pair production of top squarks and is sensitive across a wide range of mass differences between the top squark and the lightest neutralino. Additionally, spin-0 mediator dark-matter models are considered, in which the mediator is produced in association with a pair of top quarks. The mediator subsequently decays to a pair of dark-matter particles. No significant excess of events is observed above the Standard Model background, and limits are set at 95% confidence level. The results exclude top squark masses up to about 1 TeV, and masses of the lightest neutralino up to about 500 GeV. Limits on dark-matter production are set for scalar (pseudoscalar) mediator masses up to about 250 (300) GeV.

The dependence of the ratio between the B$_\mathrm{s}^0$ and B$^+$ hadron production fractions, $f_\mathrm{s} / f_\mathrm{u}$, on the transverse momentum ($p_\mathrm{T}$) and rapidity of the B mesons is studied using the decay channels B$_\mathrm{s}^0$$\to$ J$/\psi\,\phi$ and B$^+$$\to$ J$/\psi$ K$^+$. The analysis uses a data sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment in 2018 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 61.6 fb$^{-1}$. The $f_\mathrm{s} / f_\mathrm{u}$ ratio is observed to depend on the B $p_\mathrm{T}$ and to be consistent with becoming asymptotically constant at large $p_\mathrm{T}$. No rapidity dependence is observed. The ratio of the B$^0$ to B$^+$ hadron production fractions, $f_\mathrm{d} / f_\mathrm{u}$, measured using the B$^0$$\to$ J$/\psi$ K$^{*0}$ decay channel, is found to be consistent with unity and independent of $p_\mathrm{T}$ and rapidity, as expected from isospin invariance.

Differential cross sections are measured for the standard model Higgs boson produced in association with vector bosons (W, Z) and decaying to a pair of b quarks. Measurements are performed within the framework of the simplified template cross sections. The analysis relies on the leptonic decays of the W and Z bosons, resulting in final states with 0, 1, or 2 electrons or muons. The Higgs boson candidates are either reconstructed from pairs of resolved b-tagged jets, or from single large distance parameter jets containing the particles arising from two b quarks. Proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment in 2016-2018 and corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$, are analyzed. The inclusive signal strength, defined as the product of the observed production cross section and branching fraction relative to the standard model expectation, combining all analysis categories, is found to be $\mu$ = 1.15$^{+0.22}_{-0.20}$. This corresponds to an observed (expected) significance of 6.3 (5.6) standard deviations.

A search for pair production of third-generation scalar leptoquarks decaying into a top quark and a $\tau$-lepton is presented. The search is based on a dataset of $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. Events are selected if they have one light lepton (electron or muon) and at least one hadronically decaying $\tau$-lepton, or at least two light leptons. In addition, two or more jets, at least one of which must be identified as containing $b$-hadrons, are required. Six final states, defined by the multiplicity and flavour of lepton candidates, are considered in the analysis. Each of them is split into multiple event categories to simultaneously search for the signal and constrain several leading backgrounds. The signal-rich event categories require at least one hadronically decaying $\tau$-lepton candidate and exploit the presence of energetic final-state objects, which is characteristic of signal events. No significant excess above the Standard Model expectation is observed in any of the considered event categories, and 95% CL upper limits are set on the production cross section as a function of the leptoquark mass, for different assumptions about the branching fractions into $t\tau$ and $b\nu$. Scalar leptoquarks decaying exclusively into $t\tau$ are excluded up to masses of 1.43 TeV while, for a branching fraction of 50% into $t\tau$, the lower mass limit is 1.22 TeV.

The production of a $W$ boson in association with a single charm quark is studied using 140 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ of $\sqrt{s} = 13\,\mathrm{TeV}$ proton-proton collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The charm quark is tagged by a charmed hadron, reconstructed with a secondary-vertex fit. The $W$ boson is reconstructed from an electron/muon decay and the missing transverse momentum. The mesons reconstructed are $D^{\pm} \to K^\mp \pi^\pm \pi^\pm$ and $D^{*\pm} \to D^{0} \pi^\pm \to (K^\mp \pi^\pm) \pi^\pm$, where $p_{\text{T}}(e, \mu) > 30\,\mathrm{GeV}$, $|\eta(e, \mu)| < 2.5$, $p_{\text{T}}(D) > 8\,\mathrm{GeV}$, and $|\eta(D)| < 2.2$. The integrated and normalized differential cross-sections as a function of the pseudorapidity of the lepton from the $W$ boson decay, and of the transverse momentum of the meson, are extracted from the data using a profile likelihood fit. The measured fiducial cross-sections are $\sigma^{\mathrm{OS-SS}}_{\mathrm{fid}}(W^{-}{+}D^{+}) = 50.2\pm0.2\,\mathrm{(stat.)}\,^{+2.4}_{-2.3}\,\mathrm{(syst.)}\,\mathrm{pb}$, $\sigma^{\mathrm{OS-SS}}_{\mathrm{fid}}(W^{+}{+}D^{-}) = 48.5\pm0.2\,\mathrm{(stat.)}\,^{+2.3}_{-2.2}\,\mathrm{(syst.)}\,\mathrm{pb}$, $\sigma^{\mathrm{OS-SS}}_{\mathrm{fid}}(W^{-}{+}D^{*+}) = 51.1\pm0.4\,\mathrm{(stat.)}\,^{+1.9}_{-1.8}\,\mathrm{(syst.)}\,\mathrm{pb}$, and $\sigma^{\mathrm{OS-SS}}_{\mathrm{fid}}(W^{+}{+}D^{*-}) = 50.0\pm0.4\,\mathrm{(stat.)}\,^{+1.9}_{-1.8}\,\mathrm{(syst.)}\,\mathrm{pb}$. Results are compared with the predictions of next-to-leading-order quantum chromodynamics calculations performed using state-of-the-art parton distribution functions. The ratio of charm to anti-charm production cross-sections is studied to probe the $s$-$\bar{s}$ quark asymmetry and is found to be $R_c^\pm = 0.971\pm0.006\,\mathrm{(stat.)}\pm0.011\,\mathrm{(syst.)}$.

A search is presented for the direct pair production of the stop, the supersymmetric partner of the top quark, that decays through an $R$-parity-violating coupling to a final state with two leptons and two jets, at least one of which is identified as a $b$-jet. The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV, collected in 2015 and 2016 by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. No significant excess is observed over the Standard Model background, and exclusion limits are set on stop pair production at a 95% confidence level. Lower limits on the stop mass are set between 600 GeV and 1.5 TeV for branching ratios above 10% for decays to an electron or muon and a $b$-quark.

A search for an exotic decay of the Higgs boson to a pair of light pseudoscalar bosons is performed for the first time in the final state with two b quarks and two $\tau$ leptons. The search is motivated in the context of models of physics beyond the standard model (SM), such as two Higgs doublet models extended with a complex scalar singlet (2HDM+S), which include the next-to-minimal supersymmetric SM (NMSSM). The results are based on a data set of proton-proton collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$, accumulated by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2016 at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. Masses of the pseudoscalar boson between 15 and 60 GeV are probed, and no excess of events above the SM expectation is observed. Upper limits between 3 and 12% are set on the branching fraction $\mathcal{B}$(h $\to$ aa $\to$ 2$\tau$2b) assuming the SM production of the Higgs boson. Upper limits are also set on the branching fraction of the Higgs boson to two light pseudoscalar bosons in different 2HDM+S scenarios. Assuming the SM production cross section for the Higgs boson, the upper limit on this quantity is as low as 20% for a mass of the pseudoscalar of 40 GeV in the NMSSM.

Measurements of the production cross-sections of the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson ($H$) decaying into a pair of $\tau$-leptons are presented. The measurements use data collected with the ATLAS detector from $pp$ collisions produced at the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13\,\text{TeV}$, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $139\,\text{fb}^{-1}$. Leptonic ($\tau\to\ell\nu_{\ell}\nu_{\tau}$) and hadronic ($\tau\to\text{hadrons}~\nu_{\tau}$) decays of the $\tau$-lepton are considered. All measurements account for the branching ratio of $H\to\tau\tau$ and are performed with a requirement $|y_H|<2.5$, where $y_H$ is the true Higgs boson rapidity. The cross-section of the $pp\to H\to\tau\tau$ process is measured to be $2.94 \pm 0.21 \text{(stat)} ^{+\,0.37}_{-\,0.32} \text{(syst)}$ pb, in agreement with the SM prediction of $3.17\pm0.09~ \mbox{pb}$. Inclusive cross-sections are determined separately for the four dominant production modes: $2.65 \pm 0.41 \text{(stat)} ^{+\,0.91}_{-\,0.67} \text{(syst)}$ pb for gluon$-$gluon fusion, $0.197 \pm 0.028 \text{(stat)} ^{+\,0.032}_{-\,0.026} \text{(syst)}$ pb for vector-boson fusion, $0.115 \pm 0.058 \text{(stat)} ^{+\,0.042}_{-\,0.040} \text{(syst)}$ pb for vector-boson associated production, and $0.033 \pm 0.031 \text{(stat)} ^{+\,0.022}_{-\,0.017} \text{(syst)}$ pb for top-quark pair associated production. Measurements in exclusive regions of the phase space, using the simplified template cross-section framework, are also performed. All results are in agreement with the SM predictions.

A search for exotic Higgs boson decays to light pseudoscalars in the final state of two muons and two $\tau$ leptons is performed using proton-proton collision data recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV in 2016, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. Masses of the pseudoscalar boson between 15.0 and 62.5 GeV are probed, and no significant excess of data is observed above the prediction of the standard model. Upper limits are set on the branching fraction of the Higgs boson to two light pseudoscalar bosons in different types of two-Higgs-doublet models extended with a complex scalar singlet.

Measurements of the ZZ production cross sections in proton-proton collisions at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV are presented. Candidate events for the leptonic decay mode ZZ to 2 l 2 nu, where l denotes an electron or a muon, are reconstructed and selected from data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.1 (19.6) inverse femtobarns at 7 (8) TeV collected with the CMS experiment. The measured cross sections, sigma(pp to ZZ) = 5.1 -1.4 +1.5 (stat) -1.1 +1.4 (syst) +/- 0.1 (lumi) pb at 7 TeV, and 7.2 -0.8 +0.8 (stat.) -1.5 +1.9 (syst) +/- 0.2 (lumi) pb at 8 TeV, are in good agreement with the standard model predictions with next-to-leading-order accuracy. The selected data are analyzed to search for anomalous triple gauge couplings involving the ZZ final state. In the absence of any deviation from the standard model predictions, limits are set on the relevant parameters. These limits are then combined with the previously published CMS results for ZZ in 4 l final states, yielding the most stringent constraints on the anomalous couplings.

The Lambda(b) differential production cross section and the cross section ratio anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) are measured as functions of transverse momentum pt(Lambda(b)) and rapidity abs(y(Lambda(b))) in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measurements are based on Lambda(b) decays reconstructed in the exclusive final state J/Psi Lambda, with the subsequent decays J/Psi to an opposite-sign muon pair and Lambda to proton pion, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.9 inverse femtobarns. The product of the cross section times the branching ratio for Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda versus pt(Lambda(b)) falls faster than that of b mesons. The measured value of the cross section times the branching ratio for pt(Lambda(b)) > 10 GeV and abs(y(Lambda(b))) < 2.0 is 1.06 +/- 0.06 +/- 0.12 nb, and the integrated cross section ratio for anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) is 1.02 +/- 0.07 +/- 0.09, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.

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.

A search optimized for new heavy particles decaying to two $b$-quarks and produced in association with additional $b$-quarks is reported. The sensitivity is improved by $b$-tagging at least one lower-$p_{\rm{T}}$ jet in addition to the two highest-$p_{\rm{T}}$ jets. The data used in this search correspond to an integrated luminosity of 103 $\text{fb}^{-1}$ collected with a dedicated trijet trigger during the 2017 and 2018 $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV proton-proton collision runs with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The search looks for resonant peaks in the $b$-tagged dijet invariant mass spectrum over a smoothly falling background. The background is estimated with an innovative data-driven method based on orthonormal functions. The observed $b$-tagged dijet invariant mass spectrum is compatible with the background-only hypothesis. Upper limits at 95% confidence level on a heavy vector-boson production cross section times branching ratio to a pair of $b$-quarks are derived.

A search is presented for pairs of light pseudoscalar bosons, in the mass range from 4 to 15 GeV, produced from decays of the 125 GeV Higgs boson. The decay modes considered are final states that arise when one of the pseudoscalars decays to a pair of tau leptons, and the other one either into a pair of tau leptons or muons. The search is based on proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment in 2016 at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV that correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb${-1}$. The 2$\mu$2$\tau$ and 4$\tau$ channels are used in combination to constrain the product of the Higgs boson production cross section and the branching fraction into 4$\tau$ final state, $\sigma\mathcal{B}$, exploiting the linear dependence of the fermionic coupling strength of pseudoscalar bosons on the fermion mass. No significant excess is observed beyond the expectation from the standard model. The observed and expected upper limits at 95% confidence level on $\sigma\mathcal{B}$, relative to the standard model Higgs boson production cross section, are set respectively between 0.022 and 0.23 and between 0.027 and 0.19 in the mass range probed by the analysis.

The associated production of a Higgs boson with a $W$ or $Z$ boson decaying into leptons and where the Higgs boson decays to a $b\bar{b}$ pair is measured in the high vector-boson transverse momentum regime, above 250 GeV, with the ATLAS detector. The analysed data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$, were collected in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider between 2015 and 2018 at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV. The measured signal strength, defined as the ratio of the measured signal yield to that predicted by the Standard Model, is $0.72 ^{+0.39}_{-0.36}$ corresponding to an observed (expected) significance of 2.1 (2.7) standard deviations. Cross-sections of associated production of a Higgs boson decaying into $b$ quark pairs with a $W$ or $Z$ gauge boson, decaying into leptons, are measured in two exclusive vector boson transverse momentum regions, 250-400 GeV and above 400 GeV, and interpreted as constraints on anomalous couplings in the framework of a Standard Model effective field theory.

A measurement is presented of the cross section for electroweak production of a Z boson and a photon in association with two jets (Z$\gamma$jj) in proton-proton collisions. The Z boson candidates are selected through their decay into a pair of electrons or muons. The process of interest, electroweak Z$\gamma$jj production, is isolated by selecting events with a large dijet mass and a large pseudorapidity gap between the two jets. The measurement is based on data collected at the CMS experiment at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. The observed significance of the signal is 3.9 standard deviations, where a significance of 5.2 standard deviations is expected in the standard model. These results are combined with published results by CMS at $\sqrt{s} =$ 8 TeV, which leads to observed and expected respective significances of 4.7 and 5.5 standard deviations. From the 13 TeV data, a value is obtained for the signal strength of electroweak Z$\gamma$jj production and bounds are given on quartic vector boson interactions in the framework of dimension-eight effective field theory operators.

Measurements of the inclusive jet cross section with the anti-kt clustering algorithm are presented for two radius parameters, R=0.5 and 0.7. They are based on data from LHC proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 inverse femtobarns collected with the CMS detector in 2011. The ratio of these two measurements is obtained as a function of the rapidity and transverse momentum of the jets. Significant discrepancies are found comparing the data to leading-order simulations and to fixed-order calculations at next-to-leading order, corrected for nonperturbative effects, whereas simulations with next-to-leading-order matrix elements matched to parton showers describe the data best.

The inclusive production cross sections for forward jets, as well for jets in dijet events with at least one jet emitted at central and the other at forward pseudorapidities, are measured in the range of transverse momenta pt = 35-150 GeV/c in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV by the CMS experiment at the LHC. Forward jets are measured within pseudorapidities 3.2<|eta|<4.7, and central jets within the |eta|<2.8 range. The double differential cross sections with respect to pt and eta are compared to predictions from three approaches in perturbative quantum chromodynamics: (i) next-to-leading-order calculations obtained with and without matching to parton-shower Monte Carlo simulations, (ii) PYTHIA and HERWIG parton-shower event generators with different tunes of parameters, and (iii) CASCADE and HEJ models, including different non-collinear corrections to standard single-parton radiation. The single-jet inclusive forward jet spectrum is well described by all models, but not all predictions are consistent with the spectra observed for the forward-central dijet events.

The WZ production cross section is measured by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC in proton-proton collision data samples corresponding to integrated luminosities of 4.9 inverse femtobarns collected at sqrt(s)= 7 TeV, and 19.6 inverse femtobarns at sqrt(s)= 8 TeV. The measurements are performed using the fully-leptonic WZ decay modes with electrons and muons in the final state. The measured cross sections for 71 < m[Z] < 111 GeV are sigma(pp to WZ; sqrt(s)= 7 TeV) = 20.14 +/- 1.32 (stat) +/- 1.13 (syst) +/- 0.44 (lumi) pb and sigma(pp to WZ; sqrt(s)= 8 TeV) = 24.09 +/- 0.87 (stat) +/- 1.62 (syst) +/- 0.63 (lumi) pb. Differential cross sections with respect to the Z boson pt, the leading jet pt, and the number of jets are obtained using the sqrt(s)= 8 TeV data. The results are consistent with standard model predictions and constraints on anomalous triple gauge couplings are obtained.

In a special run of the LHC with $\beta^\star = 2.5~$km, proton-proton elastic-scattering events were recorded at $\sqrt{s} = 13~$TeV with an integrated luminosity of $340~\mu \textrm{b}^{-1}$ using the ALFA subdetector of ATLAS in 2016. The elastic cross section was measured differentially in the Mandelstam $t$ variable in the range from $-t = 2.5 \cdot 10^{-4}~$GeV$^{2}$ to $-t = 0.46~$GeV$^{2}$ using 6.9 million elastic-scattering candidates. This paper presents measurements of the total cross section $\sigma_{\textrm{tot}}$, parameters of the nuclear slope, and the $\rho$-parameter defined as the ratio of the real part to the imaginary part of the elastic-scattering amplitude in the limit $t \rightarrow 0$. These parameters are determined from a fit to the differential elastic cross section using the optical theorem and different parameterizations of the $t$-dependence. The results for $\sigma_{\textrm{tot}}$ and $\rho$ are \begin{equation*} \sigma_{\textrm{tot}}(pp\rightarrow X) = \mbox{104.7} \pm 1.1 \; \mbox{mb} , \; \; \; \rho = \mbox{0.098} \pm 0.011 . \end{equation*} The uncertainty in $\sigma_{\textrm{tot}}$ is dominated by the luminosity measurement, and in $\rho$ by imperfect knowledge of the detector alignment and by modelling of the nuclear amplitude.

A search is presented for displaced production of Higgs bosons or $Z$ bosons, originating from the decay of a neutral long-lived particle (LLP) and reconstructed in the decay modes $H\rightarrow \gamma\gamma$ and $Z\rightarrow ee$. The analysis uses the full Run 2 data set of proton$-$proton collisions delivered by the LHC at an energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV between 2015 and 2018 and recorded by the ATLAS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. Exploiting the capabilities of the ATLAS liquid argon calorimeter to precisely measure the arrival times and trajectories of electromagnetic objects, the analysis searches for the signature of pairs of photons or electrons which arise from a common displaced vertex and which arrive after some delay at the calorimeter. The results are interpreted in a gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking model with pair-produced higgsinos that decay to LLPs, and each LLP subsequently decays into either a Higgs boson or a $Z$ boson. The final state includes at least two particles that escape direct detection, giving rise to missing transverse momentum. No significant excess is observed above the background expectation. The results are used to set upper limits on the cross section for higgsino pair production, up to a $\tilde\chi^0_1$ mass of 369 (704) GeV for decays with 100% branching ratio of $\tilde\chi^0_1$ to Higgs ($Z$) bosons for a $\tilde\chi^0_1$ lifetime of 2 ns. A model-independent limit is also set on the production of pairs of photons or electrons with a significant delay in arrival at the calorimeter.

The production cross section of a top quark pair in association with a photon is measured in proton-proton collisions in the decay channel with two oppositely charged leptons (e$^\pm\mu^\mp$, e$^+$e$^-$, or $\mu^+\mu^-$). The measurement is performed using 138 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data recorded by the CMS experiment at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV during the 2016-2018 data-taking period of the CERN LHC. A fiducial phase space is defined such that photons radiated by initial-state particles, top quarks, or any of their decay products are included. An inclusive cross section of 175.2 $\pm$ 2.5 (stat) $\pm$ 6.3 (syst) fb is measured in a signal region with at least one jet coming from the hadronization of a bottom quark and exactly one photon with transverse momentum above 20 GeV. Differential cross sections are measured as functions of several kinematic observables of the photon, leptons, and jets, and compared to standard model predictions. The measurements are also interpreted in the standard model effective field theory framework, and limits are found on the relevant Wilson coefficients from these results alone and in combination with a previous CMS measurement of the $\mathrm{t\bar{t}}\gamma$ production process using the lepton+jets final state.

The consistency of the spin correlation strength in top quark pair production with the standard model (SM) prediction is tested in the muon + jets final state. The events are selected from pp collisions, collected by the CMS detector, at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns. The data are compared with the expectation for the spin correlation predicted by the SM and with the expectation of no correlation. Using a template fit method, the fraction of events that show SM spin correlations is measured to be 0.72 +/- 0.08 (stat) +0.15 -0.13 (syst), representing the most precise measurement of this quantity in the lepton + jets final state to date.

A search is presented for particle dark matter produced in association with a pair of top quarks in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 8 TeV. The data were collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns. This search requires the presence of one lepton, multiple jets, and large missing transverse energy. No excess of events is found above the SM expectation, and upper limits are derived on the production cross section. Interpreting the findings in the context of a scalar contact interaction between fermionic dark matter particles and top quarks, lower limits on the interaction scale are set. These limits are also interpreted in terms of the dark matter-nucleon scattering cross sections for the spin-independent scalar operator and they complement direct searches for dark matter particles in the low mass region.

The W boson helicity fractions from top quark decays in t t-bar events are measured using data from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The data were collected in 2012 with the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.8 inverse femtobarns. Events are reconstructed with either one muon or one electron, along with four jets in the final state, with two of the jets being identified as originating from b quarks. The measured helicity fractions from both channels are combined, yielding F[0] = 0.681 +/- 0.012 (stat) +/- 0.023 (syst), F[L] = 0.323 +/- 0.008 (stat) +/- 0.014 (syst), and F[R] = -0.004 +/- 0.005 (stat) +/- 0.014 (syst) for the longitudinal, left-, and right-handed components of the helicity, respectively. These measurements of the W boson helicity fractions are the most accurate to date and they agree with the predictions from the standard model.

This paper presents a measurement of the inclusive 3-jet production differential cross section at a proton-proton centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 inverse femtobarns collected with the CMS detector. The analysis is based on the three jets with the highest transverse momenta. The cross section is measured as a function of the invariant mass of the three jets in a range of 445-3270 GeV and in two bins of the maximum rapidity of the jets up to a value of 2. A comparison between the measurement and the prediction from perturbative QCD at next-to-leading order is performed. Within uncertainties, data and theory are in agreement. The sensitivity of the observable to the strong coupling constant alpha[S] is studied. A fit to all data points with 3-jet masses larger than 664 GeV gives a value of the strong coupling constant of alpha[S](MZ) = 0.1171 +/- 0.0013 (exp) +0.0073/-0.0047 (theo).