Professor Claire Gwenlan

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.

Abstract:

A search for microscopic black holes has been performed in a same-sign dimuon final state using 1.3 fb -1 of proton-proton collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at a centre of mass energy of 7 TeV at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The data are found to be consistent with the expectation from the Standard Model and the results are used to derive exclusion contours in the context of a low scale gravity model. © 2012 CERN.

Abstract:

A measurement is presented of the inclusive cross-section for b-jet production in association with a Z boson in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s=7 TeV. The analysis uses the data sample collected by the ATLAS experiment in 2010, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 36 pb-1. The event selection requires a Z boson decaying into high pT electrons or muons, and at least one b-jet, identified by its displaced vertex, with transverse momentum pT>25 GeV and rapidity |y|<2.1. After subtraction of background processes, the yield is extracted from the vertex mass distribution of the candidate b-jets. The ratio of this cross-section to the inclusive Z cross-section (the average number of b-jets per Z event) is also measured. Both results are found to be in good agreement with perturbative QCD predictions at next-to-leading order. © 2011 CERN.