ATLAS

Abstract:

A search for a pseudoscalar a produced in association with a top-quark pair, or in association with a single top quark plus a W boson, with the pseudoscalar decaying into b-quarks (a→bb¯$$a\rightarrow b\bar{b}$$), is performed using the full Run 2 data sample using a dileptonic decay mode signature. The search covers pseudoscalar boson masses between 12 and 100 GeV and involves both the kinematic regime where the decay products of the pseudoscalar are reconstructed as two standard b-tagged small-radius jets, or merged into a large-radius jet due to its Lorentz boost. No significant excess relative to expectations is observed. Assuming a branching ratio BR(a→bb¯)=100%$$\text {BR}(a\rightarrow b\bar{b})=100\% $$, the range of pseudoscalar masses between 50 and 80 GeV is excluded at 95% confidence level for a coupling of the pseudoscalar to the top quark of 0.5, while a coupling of 1.0 is excluded at 95% confidence level for the masses considered, with the coupling defined as the strength modifier of the Standard Model Yukawa coupling.

Abstract:

This paper presents searches for the direct pair production of charged light-flavour sleptons, each decaying into a stable neutralino and an associated Standard Model lepton. The analyses focus on the challenging “corridor” region, where the mass difference, Δ𝑚, between the slepton (𝑒˜ or 𝜇˜) and the lightest neutralino (𝜒˜ 0 1 ) is less or similar to the mass of the 𝑊 boson, 𝑚(𝑊), with the aim to close a persistent gap in sensitivity to models with Δ𝑚 ≲ 𝑚(𝑊). Events are required to contain a high-energy jet, significant missing transverse momentum, and two same-flavour opposite-sign leptons (𝑒 or 𝜇). The analysis uses 𝑝 𝑝 collision data at √ 𝑠 = 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb−1 . Several kinematic selections are applied, including a set of boosted decision trees. These are each optimised for different Δ𝑚 to provide expected sensitivity for the first time across the full Δ𝑚 corridor. The results are generally consistent with the Standard Model, with the most significant deviations observed with a local significance of 2.0 𝜎 in the selectron search, and 2.4 𝜎 in the smuon search. While these deviations weaken the observed exclusion reach in some parts of the signal parameter space, the previously present sensitivity gap to this corridor is largely reduced. Constraints at the 95% confidence level are set on simplified models of selectron and smuon pair production, where selectrons (smuons) with masses up to 300 (350) GeV can be excluded for Δ𝑚 between 2 GeV and 100 GeV.

Abstract:

Measurements of the total and differential Higgs boson production cross-sections, via WH and ZH associated production using H → WW* → ℓνℓν and H → WW* → ℓνjj decays, are presented. The analysis uses proton-proton events delivered by the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector between 2015 and 2018. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb−1. The sum of the WH and ZH cross-sections times the H → WW* branching fraction is measured to be 0.44−0.09+0.10stat.−0.05+0.06syst. pb, in agreement with the Standard Model prediction. Higgs boson production is further characterised through measurements of the differential cross-section as a function of the transverse momentum of the vector boson and in the framework of Simplified Template Cross-Sections.

Abstract:

A measurement is presented of elliptic ( $v_2$ ) and triangular ( $v_3$ ) azimuthal anisotropy coefficients for charged particles produced in $\mathrm{Pb}+\mathrm{Pb}$ collisions at $\sqrt{s_{{}_{\text{NN}}}}=5.02 \text{TeV}$ using a dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $0.44{\text{nb}}^{-1}$ collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2018. The values of $v_2$ and $v_3$ are measured for charged particles over a wide range of transverse momentum ( $p_{\text{T}}$ ), 1–400 $\text{GeV}$ , and $\mathrm{Pb}+\mathrm{Pb}$ collision centrality, 0–60%, using the scalar-product and multiparticle cumulant methods. These methods are sensitive to event-by-event fluctuations and nonflow effects in the measurements of azimuthal anisotropies. Positive values of $v_2$ are observed up to a $p_{\text{T}}$ of approximately 100 $\text{GeV}$ from both methods across all centrality intervals. Positive values of $v_3$ are observed up to approximately 25 $\text{GeV}$ using both methods, though the application of the three-subevent technique to the multiparticle cumulant method leads to significant changes at the highest $p_{\text{T}}$ . At high $p_{\text{T}}$ ( $p_{\text{T}}⪆10 \text{GeV}$ ), charged particles are dominantly from jet fragmentation. These jets, and hence the measurements presented here, are sensitive to the path-length dependence of parton energy loss in the quark-gluon plasma produced in $\mathrm{Pb}+\mathrm{Pb}$ collisions.