We present charged-particle distributions sensitive to the underlying event, measured by the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, in low-luminosity Large Hadron Collider fills corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.6 nb$^{-1}$. The distributions were constructed using charged particles with absolute pseudorapidity less than 2.5 and with transverse momentum greater than 500 MeV, in events with at least one such charged particle with transverse momentum above 1 GeV. These distributions characterise the angular distribution of energy and particle flows with respect to the charged particle with highest transverse momentum, as a function of both that momentum and of charged-particle multiplicity. The results have been corrected for detector effects and are compared to the predictions of various Monte Carlo event generators, experimentally establishing the level of underlying-event activity at LHC Run 2 energies and providing inputs for the development of event generator modelling. The current models in use for UE modelling typically describe this data to 5% accuracy, compared with data uncertainties of less than 1%.
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 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.
The production of a $Z$ boson and a photon in association with a high-mass dijet system is studied using 20.2fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$ = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector in 2012 at the Large Hadron Collider. Final states with a photon and a Z boson decaying into a pair of either electrons, muons, or neutrinos are analysed. Electroweak and total $pp \to Z\gamma j j$ cross-sections are extracted in two fiducial regions with different sensitivities to electroweak production processes. Quartic couplings of vector bosons are studied in regions of phase space with an enhanced contribution from pure electroweak production, sensitive to vector-boson scattering processes $VV \to Z\gamma$. No deviations from Standard Model predictions are observed and constraints are placed on anomalous couplings parameterized by higher-dimensional operators using effective field theory.
Measurements of differential cross-sections of top-quark pair production in fiducial phase-spaces are presented as a function of top-quark and $t\bar{t}$ system kinematic observables in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$=13 TeV. The data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of $3.2$ fb${}^{-1}$, recorded in 2015 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Events with exactly one electron or muon and at least two jets in the final state are used for the measurement. Two separate selections are applied that each focus on different top-quark momentum regions, referred to as resolved and boosted topologies of the $t\bar{t}$ final state. The measured spectra are corrected for detector effects and are compared to several Monte Carlo simulations by means of calculated $\chi^2$ and $p$-values.
A search is presented for physics beyond the standard model, based on measurements of dijet angular distributions in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=$ 13 TeV. The data collected with the CMS detector at the LHC correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$. The observed distributions are found to be in agreement with predictions from perturbative quantum chromodynamics that include electroweak corrections. Constraints are placed on models containing quark contact interactions, extra spatial dimensions, quantum black holes, or dark matter using the detector-level distributions. In a benchmark model where only left-handed quarks participate, contact interactions are excluded at the 95% confidence level up to a scale of 12.8 or 17.5 TeV, for destructive or constructive interference, respectively. The most stringent lower limits to date are set on the ultraviolet cutoff in the Arkani-Hamed-Dimopoulos-Dvali model of extra dimensions. In the Giudice-Rattazzi-Wells convention, the cutoff scale is excluded up to 10.1 TeV. The production of quantum black holes is excluded for masses below 5.9 and 8.2 TeV, depending on the model. For the first time, lower limits between 2.0 and 4.6 TeV are set on the mass of a dark matter mediator for (axial-)vector mediators, for the universal quark coupling $g_\mathrm{q}\geq$ 1.
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.
A search for the production of Higgs boson pairs in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV is presented, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 inverse femtobarns collected with the CMS detector at the LHC. Events with one Higgs boson decaying into two bottom quarks and the other decaying into two tau leptons are explored to investigate both resonant and nonresonant production mechanisms. The data are found to be consistent, within uncertainties, with the standard model background predictions. For resonant production, upper limits at the 95% confidence level are set on the production cross section for Higgs boson pairs as a function of the hypothesized resonance mass and are interpreted in the context of the minimal supersymmetric standard model. For nonresonant production, upper limits on the production cross section constrain the parameter space for anomalous Higgs boson couplings. The observed (expected) upper limit at 95% confidence level corresponds to about 30 (25) times the prediction of the standard model.
An analysis of the decay $\Lambda_b \to J/\psi(\to\mu^+\mu^-)\Lambda(\to p \pi^-)$ decay is performed to measure the $\Lambda_b$ polarization and three angular parameters in data from pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 7 and 8 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The $\Lambda_b$ polarization is measured to be 0.00 $\pm$ 0.06 (stat) $\pm$ 0.06 (syst) and the parity-violating asymmetry parameter is determined to be 0.14 $\pm$ 0.14 (stat) $\pm$ 0.10 (syst). The measurements are compared to various theoretical predictions, including those from perturbative quantum chromodynamics.
A measurement of the differential cross sections for a W boson produced in association with jets in the muon decay channel is presented. The measurement is based on 13 TeV proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.2 inverse femtobarns, recorded by the CMS detector at the LHC. The cross sections are reported as functions of jet multiplicity, jet transverse momentum pT, jet rapidity, the scalar pT sum of the jets, and angular correlations between the muon and the jet for different jet multiplicities. The measured cross sections are in agreement with predictions that include multileg leading-order (LO) and next-to-LO matrix element calculations interfaced with parton showers, as well as a next-to-next-to-LO calculation for the W boson and one jet production.