Professor Claire Gwenlan

Abstract:

The production cross sections of the inclusive Drell-Yan processes W ±→ν and Z/γ∗→(=e, μ) are measured in proton-proton collisions at √s=7TeV with the ATLAS detector. The cross sections are reported integrated over a fiducial kinematic range, extrapolated to the full range, and also evaluated differentially as a function of the W decay lepton pseudorapidity and the Z boson rapidity, respectively. Based on an integrated luminosity of about 35pb-1 collected in 2010, the precision of these measurements reaches a few percent. The integrated and the differential W± and Z/γ∗ cross sections in the e and μ channels are combined, and compared with perturbative QCD calculations, based on a number of different parton distribution sets available at next-to-next-to-leading order.

Abstract:

Scaled momentum distributions for the strange hadrons K S0 and ∧/∧were measured in deep inelastic ep scattering with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 330 pb -1. The evolution of these distributions with the photon virtuality, Q 2, was studied in the kinematic region 10 < Q 2 < 40000 GeV 2 and 0.001 < x < 0.75, where x is the Bjorken scaling variable. Clear scaling violations are observed. Predictions based on different approaches to fragmentation were compared to the measurements. Leading-logarithm parton-shower Monte Carlo calculations interfaced to the Lund string fragmentation model describe the data reasonably well in the whole range measured. Nextto-leading-order QCD calculations based on fragmentation functions, FFs, extracted from e +e - data alone, fail to describe the measurements. The calculations based on FFs extracted from a global analysis including e +e -, ep and pp data give an improved description. The measurements presented in this paper have the potential to further constrain the FFs of quarks, anti-quarks and gluons yielding K S0 and ∧/∧ strange hadrons. © SISSA 2012.

Abstract:

The χb(nP) quarkonium states are produced in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider at √s=7TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector. Using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.4fb-1, these states are reconstructed through their radiative decays to Υ(1S,2S) with Υ→μ+μ-. In addition to the mass peaks corresponding to the decay modes χ b(1P,2P)→Υ(1S)γ, a new structure centered at a mass of 10.530±0.005(stat)±0.009(syst)GeV is also observed, in both the Υ(1S)γ and Υ(2S)γ decay modes. This structure is interpreted as the χb(3P) system. © 2012 CERN.

Abstract:

A search is presented for same-sign top-quark production and down-type heavy quarks of charge -1/3 in events with two isolated leptons (e or μ) that have the same electric charge, at least two jets and large missing transverse momentum. The data are selected from pp collisions at ps = 7 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 1.04 fb-1. The observed data are consistent with expectations from Standard Model processes. Upper limits are set at 95% confidence level on the cross section of new sources of same-sign top-quark pair production of 1.4-2.0 pb depending on the assumed mediator mass. Upper limits are also set on the pair-production cross-section for new heavy down-type quarks; a lower limit of 450 GeV is set at 95% confidence level on the mass of heavy down-type quarks under the assumption that they decay 100% of the time to Wt. Copyright CERN.

Abstract:

Three-jet production in deep inelastic ep scattering and photoproduction was investigated with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an integrated luminosity of up to 127pb-1. Measurements of differential cross sections are presented as functions of angular correlations between the three jets in the final state and the proton-beam direction. These correlations provide a stringent test of perturbative QCD and show sensitivity to the contributions from different color configurations. Fixed-order perturbative calculations assuming the values of the color factors CF, CA, and TF as derived from a variety of gauge groups were compared to the measurements to study the underlying gauge group symmetry. The measured angular correlations in the deep inelastic ep scattering and photoproduction regimes are consistent with the admixture of color configurations as predicted by SU(3) and disfavour other symmetry groups, such as SU(N) in the limit of large N. © 2012 American Physical Society.