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arXiv · 2312.04450

Inclusive and differential cross-section measurements of $t\bar{t}Z$ production in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV with the ATLAS detector, including EFT and spin-correlation interpretations

ATLAS Collaboration
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Abstract

Measurements of both the inclusive and differential production cross sections of a top-quark-top-antiquark pair in association with a $Z$ boson ($t\bar{t}Z$) are presented. Final states with two, three or four isolated leptons (electrons or muons) are targeted. The measurements use the data recorded by the ATLAS detector in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV at the Large Hadron Collider during the years 2015-2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $140$ fb$^{-1}$. The inclusive cross section is measured to be $\sigma_{t\bar{t}Z}= 0.86 \pm 0.04~\mathrm{(stat.)} \pm 0.04~\mathrm{(syst.)}~$pb and found to be in agreement with the most advanced Standard Model predictions. The differential measurements are presented as a function of a number of observables that probe the kinematics of the $t\bar{t}Z$ system. Both the absolute and normalised differential cross-section measurements are performed at particle level and parton level for specific fiducial volumes, and are compared with NLO+NNLL theoretical predictions. The results are interpreted in the framework of Standard Model effective field theory and used to set limits on a large number of dimension-6 operators involving the top quark. The first measurement of spin correlations in $t\bar{t}Z$ events is presented: the results are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations, and the null hypothesis of no spin correlations is disfavoured with a significance of $1.8$ standard deviations.

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ATLAS Collaboration. 2023-12-07. Inclusive and differential cross-section measurements of $t\bar{t}Z$ production in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV with the ATLAS detector, including EFT and spin-correlation interpretations. https://doi.org/10.1007/jhep07(2024)163

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