Accelerator Neutrinos

Abstract:

We report a measurement of cross section σ(νμ+nucleus→μ-+X) and the first measurements of the cross section σ(ν-μ+nucleus→μ++X) and their ratio R(σ(ν-)σ(ν)) at (anti) neutrino energies below 1.5 GeV. We determine the single momentum bin cross section measurements, averaged over the T2K ν-/ν-flux, for the detector target material (mainly carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and copper) with phase space restricted laboratory frame kinematics of θμ < 32° and pμ > 500 MeV/c. The results are σ(ν-)=(0.900±0.029(stat)±0.088(syst))×10-39 and σ(ν)=(2.41±0.022(stat)±0.231(syst))×10-39 in units of cm2/nucleon and R(σ(ν-)σ(ν))=0.373±0.012(stat)±0.015(syst).

Abstract:

The rejection of forward jets originating from additional proton–proton interactions (pile-up) is crucial for a variety of physics analyses at the LHC, including Standard Model measurements and searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. The identification of such jets is challenging due to the lack of track and vertex information in the pseudorapidity range | η| > 2.5. This paper presents a novel strategy for forward pile-up jet tagging that exploits jet shapes and topological jet correlations in pile-up interactions. Measurements of the per-jet tagging efficiency are presented using a data set of 3.2 fb - 1 of proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector. The fraction of pile-up jets rejected in the range 2.5 < | η| < 4.5 is estimated in simulated events with an average of 22 interactions per bunch-crossing. It increases with jet transverse momentum and, for jets with transverse momentum between 20 and 50 GeV, it ranges between 49% and 67% with an efficiency of 85% for selecting hard-scatter jets. A case study is performed in Higgs boson production via the vector-boson fusion process, showing that these techniques mitigate the background growth due to additional proton–proton interactions, thus enhancing the reach for such signatures.

Abstract:

Dijet events are studied in the proton-proton collision data set recorded at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in 2015 and 2016, corresponding to integrated luminosities of 3.5 fb^−1 and 33.5 fb^−1 respectively. Invariant mass and angular distributions are compared to background predictions and no significant deviation is observed. For resonance searches, a new method for fitting the background component of the invariant mass distribution is employed. The data set is then used to set upper limits at a 95% confidence level on a range of new physics scenarios. Excited quarks with masses below 6.0 TeV are excluded, and limits are set on quantum black holes, heavy W' bosons, W* bosons, and a range of masses and couplings in a Z' dark matter mediator model. Model-independent limits on signals with a Gaussian shape are also set, using a new approach allowing factorization of physics and detector effects. From the angular distributions, a scale of new physics in contact interaction models is excluded for scenarios with either constructive or destructive interference. These results represent a substantial improvement over those obtained previously with lower integrated luminosity.