Cross-sections for the production of a $Z$ boson in association with two photons are measured in proton$-$proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The data used correspond to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$ recorded by the ATLAS experiment during Run 2 of the LHC. The measurements use the electron and muon decay channels of the $Z$ boson, and a fiducial phase-space region where the photons are not radiated from the leptons. The integrated $Z(\rightarrow\ell\ell)\gamma\gamma$ cross-section is measured with a precision of 12% and differential cross-sections are measured as a function of six kinematic variables of the $Z\gamma\gamma$ system. The data are compared with predictions from MC event generators which are accurate to up to next-to-leading order in QCD. The cross-section measurements are used to set limits on the coupling strengths of dimension-8 operators in the framework of an effective field theory.
The production of a prompt photon in association with a $Z$ boson is studied in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV. The analysis uses a data sample with an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$ collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC from 2015 to 2018. The production cross-section for the process $pp \rightarrow \ell^+\ell^-\gamma+X$ ($\ell = e, \mu$) is measured within a fiducial phase-space region defined by kinematic requirements on the photon and the leptons, and by isolation requirements on the photon. An experimental precision of 2.9% is achieved for the fiducial cross-section. Differential cross-sections are measured as a function of each of six kinematic variables characterising the $\ell^+\ell^-\gamma$ system. The data are compared with theoretical predictions based on next-to-leading-order and next-to-next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD calculations. The impact of next-to-leading-order electroweak corrections is also considered.
The four-lepton ($4\ell$, $\ell = e, \mu$) production cross section is measured in the mass range from 80 to 1000 GeV using 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ of data in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The $4\ell$ events are produced in the decays of resonant $Z$ and Higgs bosons and the non-resonant $ZZ$ continuum originating from $q\bar q$, $gg$, and $qg$ initial states. A total of 476 signal candidate events are observed with a background expectation of $26.2 \pm 3.6$ events, enabling the measurement of the integrated cross section and the differential cross section as a function of the invariant mass and transverse momentum of the four-lepton system. In the mass range above $180$ GeV, assuming the theoretical constraint on the $q\bar q$ production cross section calculated with perturbative NNLO QCD and NLO electroweak corrections, the signal strength of the gluon-fusion component relative to its leading-order prediction is determined to be $\mu_{gg}=2.4 \pm 1.0 (stat.) \pm 0.5 (syst.)\pm 0.8 (theory)$.
This paper presents a measurement of the production cross-section of a $Z$ boson in association with $b$-jets, in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.6 fb$^{-1}$. Inclusive and differential cross-sections are measured for events containing a $Z$ boson decaying into electrons or muons and produced in association with at least one or at least two $b$-jets with transverse momentum $p_\textrm{T}>$ 20 GeV and rapidity $|y| < 2.5$. Predictions from several Monte Carlo generators based on leading-order (LO) or next-to-leading-order (NLO) matrix elements interfaced with a parton-shower simulation and testing different flavour schemes for the choice of initial-state partons are compared with measured cross-sections. The 5-flavour number scheme predictions at NLO accuracy agree better with data than 4-flavour number scheme ones. The 4-flavour number scheme predictions underestimate data in events with at least one b-jet.
The production of $Z$ bosons with one or two isolated high-energy photons is studied using $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 8 TeV. The analyses use a data sample with an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ collected by the ATLAS detector during the 2012 LHC data taking. The $Z\gamma$ and $Z\gamma\gamma$ production cross sections are measured with leptonic ($e^{+}e^{-}$, $\mu^{+}\mu^{-}$, $\nu\bar{\nu}$) decays of the $Z$ boson, in extended fiducial regions defined in terms of the lepton and photon acceptance. They are then compared to cross-section predictions from the Standard Model, where the sources of the photons are radiation off initial-state quarks and radiative $Z$-boson decay to charged leptons, and from fragmentation of final-state quarks and gluons into photons. The yields of events with photon transverse energy $E_T >$ 250 GeV from $\ell^{+}\ell^{-}\gamma$ events and with $E_T >$ 400 GeV from $\nu\bar{\nu}\gamma$ events are used to search for anomalous triple gauge-boson couplings $ZZ\gamma$ and $Z\gamma\gamma$. The yields of events with diphoton invariant mass $m_{\gamma\gamma} >$ 200 GeV from $\ell^{+}\ell^{-}\gamma\gamma$ events and with $m_{\gamma\gamma} > $ 300 GeV from $\nu\bar{\nu}\gamma\gamma$ events are used to search for anomalous quartic gauge-boson couplings $ZZ\gamma\gamma$ and $Z\gamma\gamma\gamma$. No deviations from Standard Model predictions are observed and limits are placed on parameters used to describe anomalous triple and quartic gauge-boson couplings.
The production of exclusive $\gamma \gamma \rightarrow \mu^+ \mu^-$ events in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV is measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC, using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb$^{-1}$. The measurement is performed for a dimuon invariant mass of 12 GeV $<m_{\mu^+\mu^-}<$ 70 GeV. The integrated cross-section is determined within a fiducial acceptance region of the ATLAS detector and differential cross-sections are measured as a function of the dimuon invariant mass. The results are compared to theoretical predictions that include corrections for absorptive effects.