A study of the associated production of a Z boson and a charm quark jet (Z + c), and a comparison to production with a b quark jet (Z + b), in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV are presented. The analysis uses a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb$^{-1}$, collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. The Z boson candidates are identified through their decays into pairs of electrons or muons. Jets originating from heavy flavour quarks are identified using semileptonic decays of c or b flavoured hadrons and hadronic decays of charm hadrons. The measurements are performed in the kinematic region with two leptons with $p_{\rm T}^{\ell} > $ 20 GeV, ${|\eta^{\ell}|} < $ 2.1, 71 $ < m_{\ell\ell} < $ 111 GeV, and heavy flavour jets with $p_{\rm T}^{{\rm jet}} > $ 25 GeV and ${|\eta^{{\rm jet}}|} < $ 2.5. The Z + c production cross section is measured to be $\sigma({\mathrm{p}}{\mathrm{p}} \rightarrow \mathrm{Z} + \mathrm{c} + \mathrm{X}) {\cal B}(\mathrm{Z} \rightarrow \ell^+\ell^-) = $ 8.8 $ \pm $ 0.5 (stat) $ \pm $ 0.6 (syst) pb. The ratio of the Z + c and Z + b production cross sections is measured to be $\sigma({\mathrm{p}}{\mathrm{p}} \rightarrow \mathrm{Z} + \mathrm{c} + \mathrm{X}) / \sigma({\mathrm{p}}{\mathrm{p}} \rightarrow \mathrm{Z} + \mathrm{b} + \mathrm{X}) = $ 2.0 $ \pm $ 0.2 (stat) $ \pm $ 0.2 (syst). The Z + c production cross section and the cross section ratio are also measured as a function of the transverse momentum of the Z boson and of the heavy flavour jet. The measurements are compared with theoretical predictions.

A search for physics beyond the standard model in events with at least three leptons is presented. The data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 inverse femtobarns of proton-proton collisions with center-of-mass energy sqrt(s) = 8 TeV, was collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC during 2012. The data are divided into exclusive categories based on the number of leptons and their flavor, the presence or absence of an opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pair (OSSF), the invariant mass of the OSSF pair, the presence or absence of a tagged bottom-quark jet, the number of identified hadronically decaying tau leptons, and the magnitude of the missing transverse energy and of the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta. The numbers of observed events are found to be consistent with the expected numbers from standard model processes, and limits are placed on new-physics scenarios that yield multilepton final states. In particular, scenarios that predict Higgs boson production in the context of supersymmetric decay chains are examined. We also place a 95% confidence level upper limit of 1.3% on the branching fraction for the decay of a top quark to a charm quark and a Higgs boson (t to c H), which translates to a bound on the left- and right-handed top-charm flavor-violating Higgs Yukawa couplings, lambda[H, tc] and lambda[H, ct], respectively, of sqrt(abs(lambda[H, tc])^2 + abs(lambda[H, ct])^2) < 0.21.

A search for heavy long-lived multi-charged particles is performed using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Data collected in 2012 at $\sqrt{s}$=8 TeV from $pp$ collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $20.3$ fb$^{-1}$ are examined. Particles producing anomalously high ionisation, consistent with long-lived massive particles with electric charges from $|q|=2e$ to $|q|=6e$ are searched for. No signal candidate events are observed, and 95\% confidence level cross-section upper limits are interpreted as lower mass limits for a Drell--Yan production model. The mass limits range between 660 and 785 GeV.

A search for a massive $W'$ gauge boson decaying to a top quark and a bottom quark is performed with the ATLAS detector in $pp$ collisions at the LHC. The dataset was taken at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV and corresponds to 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity. This analysis is done in the hadronic decay mode of the top quark, where novel jet substructure techniques are used to identify jets from high-momentum top quarks. This allows for a search for high-mass $W'$ bosons in the range $1.5 - 3.0$ TeV. $b$-tagging is used to identify jets originating from $b$-quarks. The data are consistent with Standard Model background-only expectations, and upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the $W' \rightarrow tb$ cross section times branching ratio ranging from $0.16$ pb to $0.33$ pb for left-handed $W'$ bosons, and ranging from $0.10$ pb to $0.21$ pb for $W'$ bosons with purely right-handed couplings. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the $W'$-boson coupling to $tb$ as a function of the $W'$ mass using an effective field theory approach, which is independent of details of particular models predicting a $W'$ boson.

A search for pair production of third-generation scalar leptoquarks and supersymmetric top quark partners, top squarks, in final states involving tau leptons and bottom quarks is presented. The search uses events from a data sample of proton-proton collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC with sqrt(s) = 8 TeV. The number of observed events is found to be in agreement with the expected standard model background. Third-generation scalar leptoquarks with masses below 740 GeV are excluded at 95% confidence level, assuming a 100% branching fraction for the leptoquark decay to a tau lepton and a bottom quark. In addition, this mass limit applies directly to top squarks decaying via an R-parity violating coupling lambda'[333]. The search also considers a similar signature from top squarks undergoing a chargino-mediated decay involving the R-parity violating coupling lambda'[3jk]. Each top squark decays to a tau lepton, a bottom quark, and two light quarks. Top squarks in this model with masses below 580 GeV are excluded at 95% confidence level. The constraint on the leptoquark mass is the most stringent to date, and this is the first search for top squarks decaying via lambda'[3jk].

Results from a search for supersymmetry in events with four or more leptons including electrons, muons and taus are presented. The analysis uses a data sample corresponding to 20.3 $fb^{-1}$ of proton--proton collisions delivered by the Large Hadron Collider at $\sqrt{s}$ = 8 TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector. Signal regions are designed to target supersymmetric scenarios that can be either enriched in or depleted of events involving the production of a $Z$ boson. No significant deviations are observed in data from Standard Model predictions and results are used to set upper limits on the event yields from processes beyond the Standard Model. Exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level on the masses of relevant supersymmetric particles are obtained. In R-parity-violating simplified models with decays of the lightest supersymmetric particle to electrons and muons, limits of 1350 GeV and 750 GeV are placed on gluino and chargino masses, respectively. In R-parity-conserving simplified models with heavy neutralinos decaying to a massless lightest supersymmetric particle, heavy neutralino masses up to 620 GeV are excluded. Limits are also placed on other supersymmetric scenarios.

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.

Measurements of the associated production of a W boson and a charm (c) quark in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV are reported. The analysis uses a data sample corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb$^{-1}$ collected by the CMS detector at the LHC. The W bosons are identified through their leptonic decays to an electron or a muon, and a neutrino. Charm quark jets are selected using distinctive signatures of charm hadron decays. The product of the cross section and branching fraction $\sigma$(pp $\to$ W + c + X) $\mathcal{B}$(W $\to$$\ell\nu$), where $\ell$ = e or $\mu$, and the cross section ratio $\sigma$(pp $\to$ W$^+$ + c + X) / $\sigma$(pp $\to$ W$^-$ + $\mathrm{\bar{c}}$ + X) are measured inclusively and differentially as functions of the pseudorapidity and of the transverse momentum of the lepton from the W boson decay. The results are compared with theoretical predictions. The impact of these measurements on the determination of the strange quark distribution is assessed.

Many extensions of the Standard Model predict the existence of charged heavy long-lived particles, such as $R$-hadrons or charginos. These particles, if produced at the Large Hadron Collider, should be moving non-relativistically and are therefore identifiable through the measurement of an anomalously large specific energy loss in the ATLAS pixel detector. Measuring heavy long-lived particles through their track parameters in the vicinity of the interaction vertex provides sensitivity to metastable particles with lifetimes from 0.6 ns to 30 ns. A search for such particles with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is presented, based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 18.4 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 8 TeV. No significant deviation from the Standard Model background expectation is observed, and lifetime-dependent upper limits on $R$-hadrons and chargino production are set. Gluino $R$-hadrons with 10 ns lifetime and masses up to 1185 GeV are excluded at 95$\%$ confidence level, and so are charginos with 15 ns lifetime and masses up to 482 GeV.

A search for heavy leptons decaying to a $Z$ boson and an electron or a muon is presented. The search is based on $pp$ collision data taken at $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb$^{-1}$. Three high-transverse-momentum electrons or muons are selected, with two of them required to be consistent with originating from a $Z$ boson decay. No significant excess above Standard Model background predictions is observed, and 95% confidence level limits on the production cross section of high-mass trilepton resonances are derived. The results are interpreted in the context of vector-like lepton and type-III seesaw models. For the vector-like lepton model, most heavy lepton mass values in the range 114-176 GeV are excluded. For the type-III seesaw model, most mass values in the range 100-468 GeV are excluded.

A search is performed for heavy Majorana neutrinos (N) decaying into a W boson and a lepton using the CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. A signature of two jets and either two same sign electrons or a same sign electron-muon pair is searched for using 19.7 inverse femtobarns of data collected during 2012 in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The data are found to be consistent with the expected standard model (SM) background and, in the context of a Type-1 seesaw mechanism, upper limits are set on the cross section times branching fraction for production of heavy Majorana neutrinos in the mass range between 40 and 500 GeV. The results are additionally interpreted as limits on the mixing between the heavy Majorana neutrinos and the SM neutrinos. In the mass range considered, the upper limits range between 0.00015 - 0.72 for |V[eN]|^2 and 6.6E-5 - 0.47 for |V[eN] V*[muN]|^2 / ( |V[eN]|^2 + |V[muN]|^2 ), where V[lN] is the mixing element describing the mixing of the heavy neutrino with the SM neutrino of flavour l. These limits are the most restrictive direct limits for heavy Majorana neutrino masses above 200 GeV.

Many extensions of the Standard Model posit the existence of heavy particles with long lifetimes. This article presents the results of a search for events containing at least one long-lived particle that decays at a significant distance from its production point into two leptons or into five or more charged particles. This analysis uses a data sample of proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 8 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ collected in 2012 by the ATLAS detector operating at the Large Hadron Collider. No events are observed in any of the signal regions, and limits are set on model parameters within supersymmetric scenarios involving R-parity violation, split supersymmetry, and gauge mediation. In some of the search channels, the trigger and search strategy are based only on the decay products of individual long-lived particles, irrespective of the rest of the event. In these cases, the provided limits can easily be reinterpreted in different scenarios.

The results of a search for top squark (stop) pair production in final states with one isolated lepton, jets, and missing transverse momentum are reported. The analysis is performed with proton--proton collision data at $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2012 corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $20$ fb$^{-1}$. The lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) is taken to be the lightest neutralino which only interacts weakly and is assumed to be stable. The stop decay modes considered are those to a top quark and the LSP as well as to a bottom quark and the lightest chargino, where the chargino decays to the LSP by emitting a $W$ boson. A wide range of scenarios with different mass splittings between the stop, the lightest neutralino and the lightest chargino are considered, including cases where the $W$ bosons or the top quarks are off-shell. Decay modes involving the heavier charginos and neutralinos are addressed using a set of phenomenological models of supersymmetry. No significant excess over the Standard Model prediction is observed. A stop with a mass between $210$ and $640$ GeV decaying directly to a top quark and a massless LSP is excluded at $95$ % confidence level, and in models where the mass of the lightest chargino is twice that of the LSP, stops are excluded at $95$ % confidence level up to a mass of $500$ GeV for an LSP mass in the range of $100$ to $150$ GeV. Stringent exclusion limits are also derived for all other stop decay modes considered, and model-independent upper limits are set on the visible cross-section for processes beyond the Standard Model.

A search is presented for the direct pair production of a chargino and a neutralino $pp\to\tilde{\chi}^\pm_1\tilde{\chi}^0_2$, where the chargino decays to the lightest neutralino and the $W$ boson, $\tilde{\chi}^\pm_1 \to \tilde{\chi}^0_1 (W^{\pm}\to\ell^{\pm}\nu)$, while the neutralino decays to the lightest neutralino and the 125 GeV Higgs boson, $\tilde{\chi}^0_2 \to \tilde{\chi}^0_1 (h\to bb/\gamma\gamma/\ell^{\pm}\nu qq)$. The final states considered for the search have large missing transverse momentum, an isolated electron or muon, and one of the following: either two jets identified as originating from bottom quarks, or two photons, or a second electron or muon with the same electric charge. The analysis is based on 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ of $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV proton-proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with the Standard Model expectations, and limits are set in the context of a simplified supersymmetric model.

Two searches for supersymmetric particles in final states containing a same-flavour opposite-sign lepton pair, jets and large missing transverse momentum are presented. The proton-proton collision data used in these searches were collected at a centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb$^{-1}$. Two leptonic production mechanisms are considered: decays of squarks and gluinos with $Z$ bosons in the final state, resulting in a peak in the dilepton invariant mass distribution around the $Z$-boson mass; and decays of neutralinos (e.g. $\tilde{\chi}^{0}_{2} \rightarrow \ell^{+}\ell^{-}\tilde{\chi}^{0}_{1}$), resulting in a kinematic endpoint in the dilepton invariant mass distribution. For the former, an excess of events above the expected Standard Model background is observed, with a significance of 3 standard deviations. In the latter case, the data are well-described by the expected Standard Model background. The results from each channel are interpreted in the context of several supersymmetric models involving the production of squarks and gluinos.