A measurement of the four-lepton invariant mass spectrum is made with the ATLAS detector, using an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV delivered by the Large Hadron Collider. The differential cross-section is measured for events containing two same-flavour opposite-sign lepton pairs. It exhibits a rich structure, with different mass regions dominated in the Standard Model by single $Z$ boson production, Higgs boson production, and $Z$ boson pair production, and non-negligible interference effects at high invariant masses. The measurement is compared with state-of-the-art Standard Model calculations, which are found to be consistent with the data. These calculations are used to interpret the data in terms of $gg\rightarrow ZZ \rightarrow 4\ell$ and $Z \rightarrow 4\ell$ subprocesses, and to place constraints on a possible contribution from physics beyond the Standard Model.

Cross-sections for the production of a $Z$ boson in association with two photons are measured in proton$-$proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The data used correspond to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$ recorded by the ATLAS experiment during Run 2 of the LHC. The measurements use the electron and muon decay channels of the $Z$ boson, and a fiducial phase-space region where the photons are not radiated from the leptons. The integrated $Z(\rightarrow\ell\ell)\gamma\gamma$ cross-section is measured with a precision of 12% and differential cross-sections are measured as a function of six kinematic variables of the $Z\gamma\gamma$ system. The data are compared with predictions from MC event generators which are accurate to up to next-to-leading order in QCD. The cross-section measurements are used to set limits on the coupling strengths of dimension-8 operators in the framework of an effective field theory.

The $ZZ$ production cross section in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV center-of-mass energy is measured using 3.2 fb$^{-1}$ of data recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The considered $Z$ boson candidates decay to an electron or muon pair of mass 66-116 GeV. The cross section is measured in a fiducial phase space reflecting the detector acceptance. It is also extrapolated to a total phase space for $Z$ bosons in the same mass range and of all decay modes, giving $16.7^{+2.2}_{-2.0}$(stat.)$^{+0.9}_{-0.7}$(syst.)$^{+1.0}_{-0.7}$(lumi.) pb. The results agree with standard model predictions.

Measurements of the $W^{\pm} \rightarrow \ell^{\pm} \nu$ and $Z \rightarrow \ell^+ \ell^-$ production cross sections (where $\ell^{\pm}=e^{\pm},\mu^{\pm}$) in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV are presented using data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 81 pb$^{-1}$ The total inclusive $W^{\pm}$-boson production cross sections times the single-lepton-flavour branching ratios are $\sigma_{W^+}^{tot}= 11.83 \pm 0.02 (stat) \pm 0.32 (sys) \pm 0.25 (lumi)$ nb and $\sigma_{W^-}^{tot} = 8.79 \pm 0.02 (stat) \pm 0.24 (sys) \pm 0.18 (lumi)$ nb for $W^+$ and $W^-$, respectively. The total inclusive $Z$-boson production cross section times leptonic branching ratio, within the invariant mass window $66 < m_{\ell\ell} < 116$ GeV, is $\sigma_{Z}^{tot} = 1.981 \pm 0.007 (stat) \pm 0.038 (sys) \pm 0.042 (lumi)$ nb. The $W^+$, $W^-$, and $Z$-boson production cross sections and cross-section ratios within a fiducial region defined by the detector acceptance are also measured. The cross-section ratios benefit from significant cancellation of experimental uncertainties, resulting in $\sigma_{W^+}^{fid}/\sigma_{W^-}^{fid} = 1.295 \pm 0.003 (stat) \pm 0.010 (sys)$ and $\sigma_{W^{\pm}}^{fid}/\sigma_{Z}^{fid} = 10.31 \pm 0.04 (stat) \pm 0.20 (sys)$. Theoretical predictions, based on calculations accurate to next-to-next-to-leading order for quantum chromodynamics and to next-to-leading order for electroweak processes and which employ different parton distribution function sets, are compared to these measurements.

The production of $W^{\pm}Z$ events in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV is measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The collected data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb$^{-1}$. The $W^{\pm}Z$ candidates are reconstructed using leptonic decays of the gauge bosons into electrons or muons. The measured inclusive cross section in the detector fiducial region for leptonic decay modes is $\sigma_{W^\pm Z \rightarrow \ell^{'} \nu \ell \ell}^{\textrm{fid.}} = 63.2 \pm 3.2$ (stat.) $\pm 2.6$ (sys.) $\pm 1.5$ (lumi.) fb. In comparison, the next-to-leading-order Standard Model prediction is $53.4^{+3.6}_{-2.8}$ fb. The extrapolation of the measurement from the fiducial to the total phase space yields $\sigma_{W^{\pm}Z}^{\textrm{tot.}} = 50.6 \pm 2.6$ (stat.) $\pm 2.0$ (sys.) $\pm 0.9$ (th.) $\pm 1.2$ (lumi.) pb, in agreement with a recent next-to-next-to-leading-order calculation of $48.2^{+1.1}_{-1.0}$ pb. The cross section as a function of jet multiplicity is also measured, together with the charge-dependent $W^+Z$ and $W^-Z$ cross sections and their ratio.

This paper describes precision measurements of the transverse momentum $p_\mathrm{T}^{\ell\ell}$ ($\ell=e,\mu$) and of the angular variable $\phi^{*}_{\eta}$ distributions of Drell-Yan lepton pairs in a mass range of 66-116 GeV. The analysis uses data from 36.1 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC in 2015 and 2016. Measurements in electron-pair and muon-pair final states are performed in the same fiducial volumes, corrected for detector effects, and combined. Compared to previous measurements in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=$7 and 8 TeV, these new measurements probe perturbative QCD at a higher centre-of-mass energy with a different composition of initial states. They reach a precision of 0.2% for the normalized spectra at low values of $p_\mathrm{T}^{\ell\ell}$. The data are compared with different QCD predictions, where it is found that predictions based on resummation approaches can describe the full spectrum within uncertainties.

Measurements of the production cross section of a $Z$ boson in association with jets in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV are presented, using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.16 fb$^{-1}$ collected by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider in 2015. Inclusive and differential cross sections are measured for events containing a $Z$ boson decaying to electrons or muons and produced in association with up to seven jets with $p_T > 30$ GeV and $|y| <2.5$. Predictions from different Monte Carlo generators based on leading-order and next-to-leading-order matrix elements for up to two additional partons interfaced with parton shower and fixed-order predictions at next-to-leading order and next-to-next-to-leading order are compared with the measured cross sections. Good agreement within the uncertainties is observed for most of the modelled quantities, in particular with the generators which use next-to-leading-order matrix elements and the more recent next-to-next-to-leading-order fixed-order predictions.

The ratio of the cross sections for inclusive isolated-photon production in $pp$ collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 13 and 8 TeV is measured using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The integrated luminosities of the 13 TeV and 8 TeV datasets are 3.2 fb$^{-1}$ and 20.2 fb$^{-1}$, respectively. The ratio is measured as a function of the photon transverse energy in different regions of the photon pseudorapidity. The predictions from next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD calculations are compared with the measured ratio. The experimental systematic uncertainties as well as the uncertainties affecting the predictions are evaluated taking into account the correlations between the two centre-of-mass energies, resulting in a reduction of up to a factor of $2.5$ ($5$) in the experimental (theoretical) systematic uncertainties. The predictions based on several parameterisations of the proton parton distribution functions agree with the data within the reduced experimental and theoretical uncertainties. In addition, this ratio to that of the fiducial cross sections for $Z$ boson production at 13 and 8 TeV using the decay channels $Z \rightarrow e^+e^-$ and $Z \rightarrow \mu^+\mu^-$ is made and compared with the theoretical predictions. In this double ratio, a further reduction of the experimental uncertainty is obtained because the uncertainties arising from the luminosity measurement cancel out. The predictions describe the measurements of the double ratio within the theoretical and experimental uncertainties.

The cross-section for the production of two jets in association with a leptonically decaying Z boson ($Zjj$) is measured in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, using data recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb$^{-1}$. The electroweak $Zjj$ cross-section is extracted in a fiducial region chosen to enhance the electroweak contribution relative to the dominant Drell-Yan $Zjj$ process, which is constrained using a data-driven approach. The measured fiducial electroweak cross-section is $\sigma^{Zjj}_{EW}= 119\pm 16 (\mathrm{stat.}) \pm 20 (\mathrm{syst.})\pm 2 (\mathrm{lumi.})$ for dijet invariant mass greater than 250 GeV, and $34.2\pm 5.8 (\mathrm{stat.})\pm 5.5 (\mathrm{syst.})\pm 0.7 (\mathrm{lumi.})$ for dijet invariant mass greater than 1 TeV. Standard Model predictions are in agreement with the measurements. The inclusive $Zjj$ cross-section is also measured in six different fiducial regions with varying contributions from electroweak and Drell-Yan $Zjj$ production.

This paper presents a measurement of the production cross-section of a $Z$ boson in association with $b$-jets, in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.6 fb$^{-1}$. Inclusive and differential cross-sections are measured for events containing a $Z$ boson decaying into electrons or muons and produced in association with at least one or at least two $b$-jets with transverse momentum $p_\textrm{T}>$ 20 GeV and rapidity $|y| < 2.5$. Predictions from several Monte Carlo generators based on leading-order (LO) or next-to-leading-order (NLO) matrix elements interfaced with a parton-shower simulation and testing different flavour schemes for the choice of initial-state partons are compared with measured cross-sections. The 5-flavour number scheme predictions at NLO accuracy agree better with data than 4-flavour number scheme ones. The 4-flavour number scheme predictions underestimate data in events with at least one b-jet.