Professor Amanda Cooper-Sarkar

Abstract:

A search for single-top production, ep→etX, has been performed with the ZEUS detector at HERA using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.37 fb -1. No evidence for top production was found, consistent with the expectation from the Standard Model. Limits were computed for single-top production via flavour changing neutral current transitions involving a neutral electroweak vector boson, γ or Z. The result was combined with a previous ZEUS result yielding a total luminosity of 0.50 fb -1. A 95% credibility level upper limit of 0.13 pb was obtained for the cross section at the centre-of-mass energy of √s=315 GeV. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Abstract:

A measurement is presented of the cross section for the production of a W boson with one or two jets, of which at least one must be a b-jet, in pp collisions at s=7TeV. Production via top decay is not included in the signal definition. The measurement is based on 35pb -1 of data collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The W+b-jet cross section is defined for jets reconstructed with the anti-k t clustering algorithm with transverse momentum above 25 GeV and rapidity within ±2.1. The b-jets are identified by reconstructing secondary vertices. The fiducial cross section is measured both for the electron and muon decay channel of the W boson and is found to be 10.2±1.9(stat)±2.6(syst)pb for one lepton flavour. The results are compared with next-to-leading order QCD calculations, which predict a cross section smaller than, though consistent with, the measured value. © 2011 CERN.

Abstract:

A measurement of the production cross section of top quark pairs (tt̄) in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is reported. Candidate events are selected in the dilepton topology with large missing transverse energy and at least two jets. Using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35pb-1, a tt̄ production cross section σtt̄=177±20(stat.)±14(syst.)±7(lum.)pb is measured for an assumed top quark mass of mt=172.5GeV. A second measurement requiring at least one jet identified as coming from a b quark yields a comparable result, demonstrating that the dilepton final states are consistent with being accompanied by b-quark jets. These measurements are in good agreement with Standard Model predictions. © 2011 CERN.