The first measurements of dielectron production at midrapidity ($|\eta_{c}|<0.8$) in proton-proton and proton-lead collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}$ = 5.02 TeV at the LHC are presented. The dielectron cross section is measured with the ALICE detector as a function of the invariant mass $m_{\rm{ee}}$ and the pair transverse momentum $p_{\rm{T,ee}}$ in the ranges $m_{\rm{ee}}$ < 3.5 GeV/$c^{2}$ and $p_{\rm{T,ee}}$ < 8.0 GeV/$c^{2}$, in both collision systems. In proton-proton collisions, the charm and beauty cross sections are determined at midrapidity from a fit to the data with two different event generators. This complements the existing dielectron measurements performed at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 and 13 TeV. The slope of the $\sqrt{s}$ dependence of the three measurements is described by FONLL calculations. The dielectron cross section measured in proton-lead collisions is in agreement, within the current precision, with the expected dielectron production without any nuclear matter effects for $\rm{e}^{+}\rm{e}^{-}$ pairs from open heavy-flavor hadron decays. For the first time at LHC energies, the dielectron production in proton-lead and proton-proton collisions are directly compared at the same $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}$ via the dielectron nuclear modification factor $R_{\rm{pPb}}$. The measurements are compared to model calculations including cold nuclear matter effects, or additional sources of dielectrons from thermal radiation.

A measurement of dielectron production in proton-proton (pp) collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV, recorded with the ALICE detector at the CERN LHC, is presented in this Letter. The data set was recorded with a reduced magnetic solenoid field. This enables the investigation of a kinematic domain at low dielectron invariant mass $m_{\rm ee}$ and pair transverse momentum $p_{\rm T,ee}$ that was previously inaccessible at the LHC. The cross section for dielectron production is studied as a function of $m_{\rm ee}$, $p_{\rm T,ee}$, and event multiplicity ${\rm d} N_{\rm ch}/{\rm d} \eta$. The expected dielectron rate from hadron decays, called hadronic cocktail, utilizes a parametrization of the measured $\eta/\pi^0$ ratio in pp and proton-nucleus (p-A) collisions, assuming that this ratio shows no strong dependence on collision energy at low transverse momentum. Comparison of the measured dielectron yield to the hadronic cocktail at $0.15<m_{\rm ee}<0.6$ GeV/$c^2$ and for $p_{\rm T,ee} < 0.4$ GeV/$c$ indicates an enhancement of soft dielectrons, reminiscent of the 'anomalous' soft-photon and -dilepton excess in hadron-hadron collisions reported by several experiments under different experimental conditions. The enhancement factor over the hadronic cocktail amounts to $1.61\pm 0.13\,(\rm{stat.})\pm 0.17\,(\rm{syst., data}) \pm 0.34\,(\rm{syst., cocktail})$ in the ALICE acceptance. Acceptance-corrected excess spectra in $m_{\rm ee}$ and $p_{\rm T,ee}$ are extracted and compared with calculations of dielectron production from hadronic bremsstrahlung and thermal radiation within a hadronic many-body approach.

The measurement of dielectron production is presented as a function of invariant mass and transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) at midrapidity ($|y_{\rm e}|<0.8$) in proton-proton (pp) collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV. The contributions from light-hadron decays are calculated from their measured cross sections in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV or 13 TeV. The remaining continuum stems from correlated semileptonic decays of heavy-flavour hadrons. Fitting the data with templates from two different MC event generators, PYTHIA and POWHEG, the charm and beauty cross sections at midrapidity are extracted for the first time at this collision energy: ${\rm d}\sigma_{\rm c\bar{c}}/{\rm d}y|_{y=0}=974\pm138(\rm{stat.})\pm140(\rm{syst.})~\mu{\rm b}$ and ${\rm d}\sigma_{\rm b\bar{b}}/{\rm d}y|_{y=0}=79\pm14(\rm{stat.})\pm11(\rm{syst.})~\mu{\rm b}$ using PYTHIA simulations and ${\rm d}\sigma_{\rm c\bar{c}}/{\rm d}y|_{y=0}=1417\pm184(\rm{stat.})\pm204(\rm{syst.})~\mu{\rm b}$ and ${\rm d}\sigma_{\rm b\bar{b}}/{\rm d}y|_{y=0}=48\pm14(\rm{stat.})\pm7(\rm{syst.})~\mu{\rm b}$ for POWHEG. These values, whose uncertainties are fully correlated between the two generators, are consistent with extrapolations from lower energies. The different results obtained with POWHEG and PYTHIA imply different kinematic correlations of the heavy-quark pairs in these two generators. Furthermore, comparisons of dielectron spectra in inelastic events and in events collected with a trigger on high charged-particle multiplicities are presented in various $p_{\rm T}$ intervals. The differences are consistent with the already measured scaling of light-hadron and open-charm production at high charged-particle multiplicity as a function of $p_{\rm T}$. Upper limits for the contribution of virtual direct photons are extracted at 90% confidence level and found to be in agreement with pQCD calculations.

The first measurement of e$^+$e$^-$ pair production at mid-rapidity ($|\eta_{{\rm e}}|$ $<$ 0.8) in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 7$ TeV with ALICE at the LHC is presented. The dielectron production is studied as a function of the invariant mass ($m_{\rm ee}$ $<$ 3.3 GeV/$c^{2}$), the pair transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T,ee}$ $<$ 8 GeV/$c$), and the pair transverse impact parameter (DCA$_{{\rm ee}}$), i.e., the average distance of closest approach of the reconstructed electron and positron tracks to the collision vertex, normalised to its resolution. The results are compared with the expectations from a cocktail of known hadronic sources and are well described when PYTHIA is used to generate the heavy-flavour contributions. In the low-mass region (0.14 $<$ $m_{\rm ee}$ $<$ 1.1 GeV/$c^{2}$), prompt and non-prompt e$^+$e$^-$ sources can be separated via the DCA$_{\rm ee}$. In the intermediate-mass region (1.1 $<$ $m_{\rm ee}$ $<$ 2.7 GeV/$c^{2}$), a double-differential fit to the data in $m_{\rm ee}$ and $p_{\rm T,ee}$ and a fit of the DCA$_{\rm ee}$ distribution allow the total ${\rm c\overline c}$ and ${\rm b\overline b}$ cross sections to be extracted. Two different event generators, PYTHIA and POWHEG, can reproduce the shape of the two-dimensional $m_{\rm ee}$ and $p_{\rm T,ee}$ spectra, as well as the shape of the DCA$_{\rm ee}$ distribution, reasonably well. However, differences in the ${\rm c\overline c}$ and ${\rm b\overline b}$ cross sections are observed when using the generators to extrapolate to full phase space. Finally, the ratio of inclusive to decay photons is studied via the measurement of virtual direct photons in the transverse-momentum range 1 $<$ $p_{\rm T}$ $<$ 8 GeV/$c$. This is found to be unity within the statistical and systematic uncertainties and consistent with expectations from next-to-leading order perturbative quantum chromodynamic calculations.

A search for non-resonant new phenomena, originating from either contact interactions or large extra spatial dimensions, has been carried out using events with two isolated electrons or muons. These events, produced at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, were recorded by the ATLAS detector. The data sample, collected throughout 2011, corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.9 and 5.0 fb-1 in the e+e- and mu+mu- channels, respectively. No significant deviations from the Standard Model expectation are observed. Using a Bayesian approach, 95% confidence limit lower limits ranging from 9.0 to 13.9 TeV are placed on the energy scale of llqq contact interactions in the left-left isoscalar model. Lower limits ranging from 2.4 to 3.9 TeV are also set on the string scale in large extra dimension models. After combination of these limits with results from a similar search in the diphoton channel, slightly more stringent limits are obtained.

A search is conducted for non-resonant new phenomena in dielectron and dimuon final states, originating from either contact interactions or large extra spatial dimensions. The LHC 2012 proton-proton collision dataset recorded by the ATLAS detector is used, corresponding to 20 fb$^{-1}$ at $\sqrt{s}$ = 8 TeV. The dilepton invariant mass spectrum is a discriminating variable in both searches, with the contact interaction search additionally utilizing the dilepton forward-backward asymmetry. No significant deviations from the Standard Model expectation are observed. Lower limits are set on the $\ell\ell q q$ contact interaction scale $\Lambda$ between 15.4 TeV and 26.3 TeV, at the 95% credibility level. For large extra spatial dimensions, lower limits are set on the string scale $M_{S}$ between 3.2 TeV to 5.0 TeV.

The ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is used to search for high-mass resonances decaying to an electron-positron pair or a muon-antimuon pair. The search is sensitive to heavy neutral Z' gauge bosons, Randall-Sundrum gravitons, Z* bosons, techni-mesons, Kaluza-Klein Z/gamma bosons, and bosons predicted by Torsion models. Results are presented based on an analysis of pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.9/fb in the dielectron channel and 5.0/fb in the dimuon channel. A Z' boson with Standard Model-like couplings is excluded at 95 percent confidence level for masses below 2.22 TeV. A Randall-Sundrum graviton with coupling k/Mbar = 0.1 is excluded at 95 percent confidence level for masses below 2.16 TeV. Limits on the other models are also presented, including Technicolor and Minimal Z' Models.

This Letter reports a measurement of the high-mass Drell-Yan differential cross-section in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV at the LHC. Based on an integrated luminosity of 4.9 /fb, the differential cross-section in the Z/gamma* to e+e- channel is measured with the ATLAS detector as a function of the invariant mass, Mee, in the range 116 < Mee < 1500 GeV, for a fiducial region in which both the electron and the positron have transverse momentum pT > 25 GeV and pseudorapidity eta < 2.5. A comparison is made to various event generators and to the predictions of perturbative QCD calculations at next-to-next-to-leading order.

This paper presents a measurement of the double-differential cross section for the Drell-Yan $Z/\gamma^{*} \rightarrow \ell^{+} \ell^{-}$ and photon-induced $\gamma\gamma \rightarrow \ell^{+} \ell^{-}$ processes where $\ell$ is an electron or muon. The measurement is performed for invariant masses of the lepton pairs, $m_{\ell\ell}$, between 116 GeV and 1500 GeV, using a sample of 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ of pp collisions data at centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$ = 8 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2012. The data are presented double differentially in invariant mass and absolute dilepton rapidity as well as in invariant mass and absolute pseudorapidity separation of the lepton pair. The single-differential cross section as a function of $m_{\ell\ell}$ is also reported. The electron and muon channel measurements are combined and a total experimental precision of better than 1% is achieved at low $m_{\ell\ell}$. A comparison to next-to-next-to-leading order perturbative QCD predictions using several recent parton distribution functions and including next-to-leading order electroweak effects indicates the potential of the data to constrain parton distribution functions. In particular, a large impact of the data on the photon PDF is demonstrated.

A measurement of the forward-backward asymmetry (A[FB]) of Drell-Yan lepton pairs in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV is presented. The data sample, collected with the CMS detector, corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5 inverse femtobarns. The asymmetry is measured as a function of dilepton mass and rapidity in the dielectron and dimuon channels. Combined results from the two channels are also presented. The A[FB] measurement in the dimuon channel and the combination of the two channels are the first such results obtained at a hadron collider. The measured asymmetries are consistent with the standard model predictions.