A search is presented for flavour-changing neutral-current interactions involving the top quark, the Higgs boson and an up-type quark ($q=u,c$) with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis considers leptonic decays of the top quark along with Higgs boson decays into two $W$ bosons, two $Z$ bosons or a $\tau^{+}\tau^{-}$ pair. It focuses on final states containing either two leptons (electrons or muons) of the same charge or three leptons. The considered processes are $t\bar{t}$ and $Ht$ production. For the $t\bar{t}$ production, one top quark decays via $t\to Hq$. The proton-proton collision data set analysed amounts to 140 fb$^{-1}$ at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV. No significant excess beyond Standard Model expectations is observed and upper limits are set on the $t\to Hq$ branching ratios at 95% confidence level, amounting to observed (expected) limits of $\mathcal{B}(t\to Hu)<2.8\,(3.0) \times 10^{-4}$ and $\mathcal{B}(t\to Hc)<3.3\,(3.8) \times 10^{-4}$. Combining this search with other searches for $tHq$ flavour-changing neutral-current interactions previously conducted by ATLAS, considering $H\to b\bar{b}$ and $H\to\gamma\gamma$ decays, as well as $H\to\tau^{+}\tau^{-}$ decays with one or two hadronically decaying $\tau$-leptons, yields observed (expected) upper limits on the branching ratios of $\mathcal{B}(t\to Hu)<2.6\,(1.8) \times 10^{-4}$ and $\mathcal{B}(t\to Hc)<3.4\,(2.3) \times 10^{-4}$.
Pre-fit background composition of the SR$2\ell$ Dec. The table shows the event yields as opposed to just the percentages of the relevant background processes.
Pre-fit background composition of the SR$2\ell$ Prod. The table shows the event yields as opposed to just the percentages of the relevant background processes.
Pre-fit background composition of the SR$3\ell$ Dec. The table shows the event yields as opposed to just the percentages of the relevant background processes.
Searches for the exclusive decays of the Higgs boson into $D^*\gamma$ and of the $Z$ boson into $D^0\gamma$ and $K^0_s\gamma$ can probe flavour-violating Higgs and $Z$ boson couplings to light quarks. Searches for these decays are performed with a $pp$ collision data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $136.3$ fb$^{-1}$ collected at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV between 2016-2018 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. In the $D^*\gamma$ and $D^0\gamma$ channels, the observed (expected) 95$\%$ confidence-level upper limits on the respective branching fractions are ${\cal B}(H\rightarrow D^*\gamma)< 1.0 (1.2)\times 10^{-3}$, ${\cal B}(Z\rightarrow D^0\gamma)< 4.0 (3.4)\times 10^{-6}$, while the corresponding results in the $K^0_s\gamma$ channel are ${\cal B}(Z\rightarrow K^0_s\gamma)< 3.1 (3.0)\times 10^{-6}$.
Numbers of observed and expected background events for the $m_{\mathcal{M}\gamma}$ ranges of interest. Each expected background and the corresponding uncertainty is obtained by integrating the total pdf after a background-only fit to the data, where the uncertainty does not take into account statistical fluctuations in each mass range. Expected Higgs and $Z$ boson signal contributions, with their corresponding total systematic uncertainty, are shown for reference branching fractions of $10^{-3}$ and $10^{-6}$, respectively. Entries are marked with a dash when there is no signal of that type in the specified range.
Observed and expected (with the corresponding $\pm1\sigma$ intervals) 95% CL upper limits on the branching fractions for $H\rightarrow D^*\gamma$, $Z\rightarrow D^0\gamma$ and $Z\rightarrow K^0_s\gamma$. Standard Model production of the Higgs boson is assumed. The corresponding upper limits on the production cross-section times branching fraction $\sigma\times\mathcal{B}$ are also shown.
A search for a new $Z'$ gauge boson predicted by $L_{\mu}-L_{\tau}$ models, based on charged-current Drell-Yan production, $pp \rightarrow W^{\pm(*)} \rightarrow Z' \mu^{\pm} \nu \rightarrow \mu^{\pm}\mu^{\mp}\mu^{\pm}\nu$, is presented. The data sample used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The search examines a final state of $3\mu$ plus large missing transverse momentum. Upper limits are set on the $Z'$ production cross-section times branching ratio in the mass range of 5-81 GeV. After combining with the previous $Z'$ search using the neutral-current Drell-Yan production with a $4\mu$ final state, the most stringent exclusion limits to date are achieved in the parameter space of the $Z'$ coupling strength and mass.
Observed and expected upper limits at 95% CL on the production cross-section times branching fraction of the process $pp\to W\to Z^{\prime}$ $\mu \nu \to \mu \mu \mu \nu$ as a function of $m_{Z^{\prime}}$.
Observed and expected upper limits at 95% CL on the coupling parameter $g_{Z^{\prime}}$ as a function of $m_{Z^{\prime}}$ from the statistical combination of the $3\mu$ and $4\mu$ channels.
Exclusion contour compared to the limits from the Neutrino Trident and the $B_{S}$ mixing experimental results.
Higgsinos with masses near the electroweak scale can solve the hierarchy problem and provide a dark matter candidate, while detecting them at the LHC remains challenging if their mass-splitting is $\mathcal{O}$(1 GeV). This Letter presents a novel search for nearly mass-degenerate higgsinos in events with an energetic jet, missing transverse momentum, and a low-momentum track with a significant transverse impact parameter using 140 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment. For the first time since LEP, a range of mass-splittings between the lightest charged and neutral higgsinos from 0.3 GeV to 0.9 GeV is excluded at 95% confidence level, with a maximum reach of approximately 170 GeV in the higgsino mass.
Number of expected and observed data events in the SR (top), and the model-independent upper limits obtained from their consistency (bottom). The symbol $\tau_{\ell}$ ($\tau_{h}$) refers to fully-leptonic (hadron-involved) tau decays. The Others category includes contributions from minor background processes including $t\bar{t}$, single-top and diboson. The individual uncertainties can be correlated and do not necessarily sum up in quadrature to the total uncertainty. The bottom section shows the observed 95% CL upper limits on the visible cross-section ($\langle\epsilon\sigma\rangle_{\mathrm{obs}}^{95}$), on the number of generic signal events ($S_{\mathrm{obs}}^{95}$) as well as the expected limit ($S_{\mathrm{exp}}^{95}$) given the expected number (and $\pm 1\sigma$ deviations from the expectation) of background events.
Expected (dashed black line) and observed (solid red line) 95% CL exclusion limits on the higgsino simplified model being considered. These are shown with $\pm 1\sigma_{\mathrm{exp}}$ (yellow band) from experimental systematic and statistical uncertainties, and with $\pm 1\sigma_{\mathrm{theory}}^{\mathrm{SUSY}}$ (red dotted lines) from signal cross-section uncertainties, respectively. The limits set by the latest ATLAS searches using the soft lepton and disappearing track signatures are illustrated by the blue and green regions, respectively, while the limit imposed by the LEP experiments is shown in gray. The dot-dashed gray line indicates the predicted mass-splitting for the pure higgsino scenario.
Expected (dashed black line) and observed (solid red line) 95% CL exclusion limits on the higgsino simplified model being considered. These are shown with $\pm 1\sigma_{\mathrm{exp}}$ (yellow band) from experimental systematic and statistical uncertainties, and with $\pm 1\sigma_{\mathrm{theory}}^{\mathrm{SUSY}}$ (red dotted lines) from signal cross-section uncertainties, respectively. The limits set by the latest ATLAS searches using the soft lepton and disappearing track signatures are illustrated by the blue and green regions, respectively, while the limit imposed by the LEP experiments is shown in gray. The dot-dashed gray line indicates the predicted mass-splitting for the pure higgsino scenario.
A search for a new heavy boson produced via gluon-fusion in the four-lepton channel with missing transverse momentum or jets is performed. The search uses proton-proton collision data equivalent to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$ at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector between 2015 and 2018 at the Large Hadron Collider. This study explores the decays of heavy bosons: $R\rightarrow SH$ and $A\rightarrow ZH$, where $R$ is a CP-even boson, $A$ is a CP-odd boson, $H$ is a CP-even boson, and $S$ is considered to decay into invisible particles that are candidates for dark matter. In these processes, $S\rightarrow \textrm{invisible}$ and $H\rightarrow ZZ$. The $Z$ boson associated with the heavy scalar boson $H$ decays into all decay channels of the $Z$ boson. The mass range under consideration is 390-1300 (320-1300) GeV for the $R$ ($A$) boson and 220-1000 GeV for the $H$ boson. No significant deviation from the Standard Model backgrounds is observed. The results are interpreted as upper limits at a 95% confidence level on the cross-section times the branching ratio of the heavy resonances.
Observed and expected distributions of the invariant mass of the four-lepton system in the $R\to SH\to 4\ell+E^{\textrm{miss}}_{\textrm{T}}$ search for SR1 under a background-only fit to data. The total background includes the $q\overline{q}\to ZZ$, $gg\to ZZ$, $q\overline{q}\to ZZ$ (EW), $VVV$, $t\overline{t}V$, $t\overline{t}$, $Z$+jets and $WZ$ processes. The distribution of the $(m_{R}, m_{H}) = (500, 300)$ GeV signal is normalised to the observed upper limit on the cross-section (25.0 fb).
Observed and expected distributions of the invariant mass of the four-lepton system in the $R\to SH\to 4\ell+E^{\textrm{miss}}_{\textrm{T}}$ search for SR2 under a background-only fit to data. The total background includes the $q\overline{q}\to ZZ$, $gg\to ZZ$, $q\overline{q}\to ZZ$ (EW), $VVV$, $t\overline{t}V$, $t\overline{t}$, $Z$+jets and $WZ$ processes. The distribution of the $(m_{R}, m_{H}) = (500, 300)$ GeV signal is normalised to the observed upper limit on the cross-section (25.0 fb).
Observed and expected distributions of the invariant mass of the four-lepton system in the $R\to SH\to 4\ell+E^{\textrm{miss}}_{\textrm{T}}$ search for SR3 under a background-only fit to data. The total background includes the $q\overline{q}\to ZZ$, $gg\to ZZ$, $q\overline{q}\to ZZ$ (EW), $VVV$, $t\overline{t}V$, $t\overline{t}$, $Z$+jets and $WZ$ processes. The distribution of the $(m_{R}, m_{H}) = (500, 300)$ GeV signal is normalised to the observed upper limit on the cross-section (25.0 fb).
A combination of searches for resonant Higgs boson pair production is presented, using up to 139 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The combination includes searches performed in three decay channels: $b\bar{b}b\bar{b}$, $bb\tau^+\tau^-$ and $bb\gamma\gamma$. No excess above the expected background is observed and upper limits are set at the 95% confidence level on the production cross section of Higgs boson pairs originating from the decay of a narrow scalar resonance with mass in the range 251 GeV-5 TeV. The observed (expected) limits are in the range 0.96-600 fb (1.2-390 fb). The limits are interpreted in the Type-I Two-Higgs-Doublet Model and the Minimimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, and constrain parameter space not previously excluded by other searches.
Local p-value as a function of the resonance mass $m_{X}$. Some table entries are empty because resonance masses from 251 GeV to 5 TeV are considered, whereas some channels only use masses in a certain, more restricted, range.
Observed significance as a function of the resonance $m_{X}$. Some table entries are empty because resonance masses from 251 GeV to 5 TeV are considered, whereas some channels only use masses in a certain, more restricted, range.
Observed and expected upper limits at the 95% CL on the resonant Higgs boson pair production cross section as a function of the resonance mass $m_{X}$. Some table entries are empty because resonance masses from 251 GeV to 5 TeV are considered, whereas some channels only use masses in a certain, more restricted, range.
This Letter presents the measurement of near-side associated per-trigger yields, denoted ridge yields, from the analysis of angular correlations of charged hadrons in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV. Long-range ridge yields are extracted for pairs of charged particles with a pseudorapidity difference of $1.4 < |\Delta\eta| < 1.8$ and a transverse momentum of $1 < p_{\rm T} < 2$ GeV/$c$, as a function of the charged-particle multiplicity measured at midrapidity. This study extends the measurements of the ridge yield to the low multiplicity region, where in hadronic collisions it is typically conjectured that a strongly-interacting medium is unlikely to be formed. The precision of the new results allows for the first direct quantitative comparison with the results obtained in $\mathrm {e^{+}e^{-}}$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 91 GeV, where initial-state effects such as pre-equilibrium dynamics and collision geometry are not expected to play a role. In the multiplicity range where the $\mathrm {e^{+}e^{-}}$ results have good precision, the measured ridge yields in pp collisions are substantially larger than the limits set in $\mathrm {e^{+}e^{-}}$ annihilations. Consequently, the findings presented in this Letter suggest that the processes involved in $\mathrm {e^{+}e^{-}}$ annihilations do not contribute significantly to the emergence of long-range correlations in pp collisions.
Ridge yield $Y_\mathrm{ridge}$ extracted at $1.4<|\Delta\eta|<1.8$ with $1.0<p_\mathrm{T,trig}<2.0\,\mathrm{GeV}/c$, $1.0<p_\mathrm{T,assoc}<2.0\,\mathrm{GeV}/c$ as a function of charged particle multiplicity counted at midrapidity $|\eta|<1.0$. The first three points at $N_\mathrm{ch}<8$ represent a 95% upper confidence limit where the statistical and systematic uncertainty have been combined.
Measurements of charged-particle production in pp, p$-$Pb, and Pb$-$Pb collisions in the toward, away, and transverse regions with the ALICE detector are discussed. These regions are defined event-by-event relative to the azimuthal direction of the charged trigger particle, which is the reconstructed particle with the largest transverse momentum ($p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\rm trig}$) in the range $8<p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\rm trig}<15$ GeV$/c$. The toward and away regions contain the primary and recoil jets, respectively; both regions are accompanied by the underlying event (UE). In contrast, the transverse region perpendicular to the direction of the trigger particle is dominated by the so-called UE dynamics, and includes also contributions from initial- and final-state radiation. The relative transverse activity classifier, $R_{\mathrm{T}}=N_{\mathrm{ch}}^{\mathrm{T}}/\langle N_{\mathrm{ch}}^{\mathrm{T}}\rangle$, is used to group events according to their UE activity, where $N_{\mathrm{ch}}^{\mathrm{T}}$ is the charged-particle multiplicity per event in the transverse region and $\langle N_{\mathrm{ch}}^{\mathrm{T}}\rangle$ is the mean value over the whole analysed sample. The energy dependence of the $R_{\mathrm{T}}$ distributions in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=2.76$, 5.02, 7, and 13 TeV is reported, exploring the Koba-Nielsen-Olesen (KNO) scaling properties of the multiplicity distributions. The first measurements of charged-particle $p_{\rm T}$ spectra as a function of $R_{\mathrm{T}}$ in the three azimuthal regions in pp, p$-$Pb, and Pb$-$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV are also reported. Data are compared with predictions obtained from the event generators PYTHIA 8 and EPOS LHC. This set of measurements is expected to contribute to the understanding of the origin of collective-like effects in small collision systems (pp and p$-$Pb).
$R_\mathrm{T}$ distribution using events with trigger particles $5<p_\mathrm{T}^\mathrm{trig}<40~\mathrm{GeV}/c$ in the pseudorapidity range of $|\eta|<0.8$ and with $p_\mathrm{T}>0.5~\mathrm{GeV}/c$ in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=2.76~\mathrm{TeV}$
$R_\mathrm{T}$ distribution using events with trigger particles $5<p_\mathrm{T}^\mathrm{trig}<40~\mathrm{GeV}/c$ in the pseudorapidity range of $|\eta|<0.8$ and with $p_\mathrm{T}>0.5~\mathrm{GeV}/c$ in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=5.02~\mathrm{TeV}$
$R_\mathrm{T}$ distribution using events with trigger particles $5<p_\mathrm{T}^\mathrm{trig}<40~\mathrm{GeV}/c$ in the pseudorapidity range of $|\eta|<0.8$ and with $p_\mathrm{T}>0.5~\mathrm{GeV}/c$ in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=7~\mathrm{TeV}$
Long- and short-range correlations for pairs of charged particles are studied via two-particle angular correlations in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV and p$-$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}} = 5.02$ TeV. The correlation functions are measured as a function of relative azimuthal angle $\Delta\varphi$ and pseudorapidity separation $\Delta\eta$ for pairs of primary charged particles within the pseudorapidity interval $|\eta| < 0.9$ and the transverse-momentum interval $1 < p_{\rm T} < 4$ GeV/$c$. Flow coefficients are extracted for the long-range correlations ($1.6 < |\Delta\eta| <1.8$) in various high-multiplicity event classes using the low-multiplicity template fit method. The method is used to subtract the enhanced yield of away-side jet fragments in high-multiplicity events. These results show decreasing flow signals toward lower multiplicity events. Furthermore, the flow coefficients for events with hard probes, such as jets or leading particles, do not exhibit any significant changes compared to those obtained from high-multiplicity events without any specific event selection criteria. The results are compared with hydrodynamic-model calculations, and it is found that a better understanding of the initial conditions is necessary to describe the results, particularly for low-multiplicity events.
High and low multiplicity long-range delta phi correlations
Jet fragmentation yields of near and away side as a function of multiplicity class and and the ratio of them, please see the definition of x-axis
The second and third harmonic coefficients as a function of transverse momentum in pp and p--Pb collisions.
The ALICE Collaboration reports a search for jet quenching effects in high-multiplicity (HM) proton$-$proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV, using the semi-inclusive azimuthal-difference distribution $\Delta\varphi$ of charged-particle jets recoiling from a high transverse momentum (high-$p_{\mathrm{T,trig}}$) trigger hadron. Jet quenching may broaden the $\Delta\varphi$ distribution measured in HM events compared to that in minimum bias (MB) events. The measurement employs a $p_{\mathrm{T,trig}}$-differential observable for data-driven suppression of the contribution of multiple partonic interactions, which is the dominant background. While azimuthal broadening is indeed observed in HM compared to MB events, similar broadening for HM events is observed for simulations based on the PYTHIA 8 Monte Carlo generator, which does not incorporate jet quenching. We elucidate the origin of the broadening by comparing biases induced by HM selection in the data and simulations, and discuss its implications for the study of jet quenching in small collision systems.
Probability distribution of $\mathrm{V0M}/\langle \mathrm{V0M} \rangle$ in MB pp collisions measured at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV.
Fully-corrected $\Delta_{\mathrm{recoil}} (p_{\mathrm{T, jet}}^{\mathrm{ch}})$ distributions measured in MB and HM-selected events in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}= 13$ TeV.
Fully-corrected $\Delta_{\mathrm{recoil}} (\Delta\phi)$ distributions for $p_{\mathrm{T, jet}}^{\mathrm{ch}} \in (20, 40)$ GeV/$c$ measured in MB and HM-selected events in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}= 13$ TeV.
Forum