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ATLAS Collaboration

Publications and source records attributed to ATLAS Collaboration.

At least 1,225 records · Page 68Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Measurement of top quark polarization in top-antitop events from proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV using the ATLAS detector

This Letter presents measurements of the polarization of the top quark in top-antitop quark pair events, using 4.7 fb^-1 of proton-proton collision data recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV. Final states containing one or two isolated leptons (electrons or muons) and jets are considered. Two measurements of alpha_l P, the product of the leptonic spin-analyzing power and the top quark polarization, are performed assuming that the polarization is introduced by either a CP conserving (CPC) or a CP violating (CPV) production process. The measurements obtained, alpha_l P_CPC = -0.035 +/- 0.014 (stat) +/- 0.037 (syst) and alpha_l P_CPV = 0.020 +/- 0.016 (stat) +0.013 -0.017 (syst), are in good agreement with the Standard Model prediction of negligible top quark polarization.

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arXiv2013

Search for microscopic black holes in a like-sign dimuon final state using large track multiplicity with the ATLAS detector

A search is presented for microscopic black holes in a like-sign dimuon final state in proton--proton collisions at sqrt(s)= 8 TeV. The data were collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in 2012 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb-1. Using a high track multiplicity requirement, 0.6 +- 0.2 background events from Standard Model processes are predicted and none observed. This result is interpreted in the context of low-scale gravity models and 95% CL lower limits on microscopic black hole masses are set for different model assumptions.

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arXiv2013

Search for direct third-generation squark pair production in final states with missing transverse momentum and two b-jets in sqrt{s}=8 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for pair production of supersymmetric partners of the Standard Model third-generation quarks are reported. This search uses 20.1 fb-1 of pp collisions at sqrt{s}=8 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The lightest bottom and top squarks (b1 and t1 respectively) are searched for in a final state with large missing transverse momentum and two jets identified as originating from b-quarks. No excess of events above the expected level of Standard Model background is found. The results are used to set upper limits on the visible cross section for processes beyond the Standard Model. Exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level on the masses of the third-generation squarks are derived in phenomenological supersymmetric R-parity-conserving models in which either the bottom or the top squark is the lightest squark. The b1 is assumed to decay via b1->b chi0 and the t via t1->b chipm, with undetectable products of the subsequent decay of the chipm due to the small mass splitting between the chipm and the chi0.

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arXiv2013

Measurement of charged-particle event shape variables in sqrt(s) = 7 TeV proton-proton interactions with the ATLAS detector

The measurement of charged-particle event shape variables is presented in inclusive inelastic pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The observables studied are the transverse thrust, thrust minor and transverse sphericity, each defined using the final-state charged particles' momentum components perpendicular to the beam direction. Events with at least six charged particles are selected by a minimum-bias trigger. In addition to the differential distributions, the evolution of each event shape variable as a function of the leading charged particle transverse momentum, charged particle multiplicity and summed transverse momentum is presented. Predictions from several Monte Carlo models show significant deviations from data.

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arXiv2013

Physics at a High-Luminosity LHC with ATLAS

The physics accessible at the high-luminosity phase of the LHC extends well beyond that of the earlier LHC program. This white paper, submitted as input to the Snowmass Community Planning Study 2013, contains preliminary studies of selected topics, spanning from Higgs boson studies to new particle searches and rare top quark decays. They illustrate the substantially enhanced physics reach with an increased integrated luminosity of 3000 fb-1, and motivate the planned upgrades of the LHC machine and ATLAS detector.

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arXiv2013

Triggers for displaced decays of long-lived neutral particles in the ATLAS detector

A set of three dedicated triggers designed to detect long-lived neutral particles decaying throughout the ATLAS detector to a pair of hadronic jets is described. The efficiencies of the triggers for selecting displaced decays as a function of the decay position are presented for simulated events. The effect of pile-up interactions on the trigger efficiencies and the dependence of the trigger rate on instantaneous luminosity during the 2012 data-taking period at the LHC are discussed.

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arXiv2013

Dynamics of isolated-photon plus jet production in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The dynamics of isolated-photon plus jet production in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV has been studied with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using an integrated luminosity of 37 pb-1. Measurements of isolated-photon plus jet bin-averaged cross sections are presented as functions of photon transverse energy, jet transverse momentum and jet rapidity. In addition, the bin-averaged cross sections as functions of the difference between the azimuthal angles of the photon and the jet, the photon--jet invariant mass and the scattering angle in the photon--jet centre-of-mass frame have been measured. Next-to-leading-order QCD calculations are compared to the measurements and provide a good description of the data, except for the case of the azimuthal opening angle.

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arXiv2013

Characterisation and mitigation of beam-induced backgrounds observed in the ATLAS detector during the 2011 proton-proton run

This paper presents a summary of beam-induced backgrounds observed in the ATLAS detector and discusses methods to tag and remove background contaminated events in data. Trigger-rate based monitoring of beam-related backgrounds is presented. The correlations of backgrounds with machine conditions, such as residual pressure in the beam-pipe, are discussed. Results from dedicated beam-background simulations are shown, and their qualitative agreement with data is evaluated. Data taken during the passage of unpaired, i.e. non-colliding, proton bunches is used to obtain background-enriched data samples. These are used to identify characteristic features of beam-induced backgrounds, which then are exploited to develop dedicated background tagging tools. These tools, based on observables in the Pixel detector, the muon spectrometer and the calorimeters, are described in detail and their efficiencies are evaluated. Finally an example of an application of these techniques to a monojet analysis is given, which demonstrates the importance of such event cleaning techniques for some new physics searches.

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arXiv2013

Improved luminosity determination in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV using the ATLAS detector at the LHC

The luminosity calibration for the ATLAS detector at the LHC during pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV in 2010 and 2011 is presented. Evaluation of the luminosity scale is performed using several luminosity-sensitive detectors, and comparisons are made of the long-term stability and accuracy of this calibration applied to the pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV. A luminosity uncertainty of Delta L/L = +/- 3.5% is obtained for the 47 pb-1 of data delivered to ATLAS in 2010, and an uncertainty of Delta L/L = +/- 1.8% is obtained for the 5.5 fb-1 delivered in 2011.

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arXiv2013

Search for third generation scalar leptoquarks in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for pair-produced third generation scalar leptoquarks is presented, using proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s)= 7 TeV at the LHC. The data were recorded with the ATLAS detector and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb-1. Each leptoquark is assumed to decay to a tau lepton and a b-quark with a branching fraction equal to 100%. No statistically significant excess above the Standard Model expectation is observed. Third generation leptoquarks are therefore excluded at 95% confidence level for masses less than 534 GeV.

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arXiv2013

Evidence for the spin-0 nature of the Higgs boson using ATLAS data

Studies of the spin and parity quantum numbers of the Higgs boson are presented, based on proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. The Standard Model spin-parity JP = 0+ hypothesis is compared with alternative hypotheses using the Higgs boson decays H->gamma gamma, H -> ZZ -> 4 leptons and H->WW -> l nu l nu, as well as the combination of these channels. The analysed dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 20.7 fb-1 collected at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 8 TeV. For the H -> ZZ -> 4-lepton decay mode the dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb-1 collected at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV is added. The data are compatible with the Standard Model JP = 0+ quantum numbers for the Higgs boson, whereas all alternative hypotheses studied in this letter, namely some specific JP = 0-; 1+; 1-; 2+ models, are excluded at confidence levels above 97.8%. This exclusion holds independently of the assumptions on the coupling strengths to the Standard Model particles and in the case of the JP = 2+ model, of the relative fractions of gluon-fusion and quark-antiquark production of the spin-2 particle. The data thus provide evidence for the spin-0 nature of the Higgs boson, with positive parity being strongly preferred.

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arXiv2013

Search for non-pointing photons in the diphoton and E_T^miss final state in sqrt(s) = 7 TeV proton-proton collisions using the ATLAS detector

A search has been performed for photons originating in the decay of a neutral long-lived particle, exploiting the capabilities of the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter to make precise measurements of the flight direction of photons, as well as the calorimeter's excellent time resolution. The search has been made in the diphoton plus missing transverse energy final state, using the full data sample of 4.8/fb of 7 TeV proton-proton collisions collected in 2011 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. No excess is observed above the background expected from Standard Model processes. The results are used to set exclusion limits in the context of Gauge Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking models, with the lightest neutralino being the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle and decaying with a lifetime in excess of 0.25 ns into a photon and a gravitino.

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arXiv2013

Measurement of the Azimuthal Angle Dependence of Inclusive Jet Yields in Pb+Pb Collisions at sqrt(s(NN))= 2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Measurements of the variation of inclusive jet suppression as a function of relative azimuthal angle, Delta phi, with respect to the elliptic event plane provide insight into the path-length dependence of jet quenching. ATLAS has measured the Delta phi dependence of jet yields in 0.14 nb^-1 of sqrt(s(NN))= 2.76 TeV Pb+Pb collisions at the LHC for jet transverse momenta p_T > 45 GeV in different collision centrality bins using an underlying event subtraction procedure that accounts for elliptic flow. The variation of the jet yield with Delta phi was characterized by the parameter, v_2^jet, and the ratio of out-of-plane (Delta phi ~ pi/2) to in-plane (Delta phi ~ 0) yields. Non-zero v_2^jet values were measured in all centrality bins for p_T < 160 GeV. The jet yields are observed to vary by as much as 20% between in-plane and out-of-plane directions.

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arXiv2013

Performance of jet substructure techniques for large-R jets in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV using the ATLAS detector

This paper presents the application of a variety of techniques to study jet substructure. The performance of various modified jet algorithms, or jet grooming techniques, for several jet types and event topologies is investigated for jets with transverse momentum larger than 300 GeV. Properties of jets subjected to the mass-drop filtering, trimming, and pruning algorithms are found to have reduced sensitivity to multiple proton-proton interactions, are more stable at high luminosity and improve the physics potential of searches for heavy boosted objects. Studies of the expected discrimination power of jet mass and jet substructure observables in searches for new physics are also presented. Event samples enriched in boosted W and Z bosons and top-quark pairs are used to study both the individual jet invariant mass scales and the efficacy of algorithms to tag boosted hadronic objects. The analyses presented use the full 2011 ATLAS dataset, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 +/- 0.1 /fb from proton-proton collisions produced by the Large Hadron Collider at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV.

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arXiv2013

A search for ttbar resonances in the lepton plus jets final state with ATLAS using 4.7 fb^-1 of pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for new particles that decay into top quark pairs (ttbar) is performed with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC using an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb^-1 of proton-proton (pp) collision data collected at a center-of-mass energy sqrt(s)=7 TeV. In the ttbar --> WbWb decay, the lepton plus jets final state is used, where one W boson decays leptonically and the other hadronically. The ttbar system is reconstructed using both small-radius and large-radius jets, the latter being supplemented by a jet substructure analysis. A search for local excesses in the number of data events compared to the Standard Model expectation in the ttbar invariant mass spectrum is performed. No evidence for a ttbar resonance is found and 95% credibility-level limits on the production rate are determined for massive states predicted in two benchmark models. The upper limits on the cross section times branching ratio of a narrow Z' resonance range from 5.1 pb for a boson mass of 0.5 TeV to 0.03 pb for a mass of 3 TeV. A narrow leptophobic topcolor Z' resonance with a mass below 1.74 TeV is excluded. Limits are also derived for a broad color-octet resonance with Gamma/m = 15.3%. A Kaluza-Klein excitation of the gluon in a Randall-Sundrum model is excluded for masses below 2.07 TeV.

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arXiv2013

Search for a light charged Higgs boson in the decay channel H+->csbar in ttbar events using pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for a charged Higgs boson (H+) in ttbar decays is presented, where one of the top quarks decays via t->H+b, followed by H+->two jets (csbar). The other top quark decays to Wb, where the W boson then decays into a lepton (e/mu) and a neutrino. The data were recorded in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7TeV by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2011, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb-1. With no observation of a signal, 95% confidence level (CL) upper limits are set on the decay branching ratio of top quarks to charged Higgs bosons varying between 5% and 1% for H+ masses between 90 GeV and 150 GeV, assuming Br(H+->csbar)=100%.

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arXiv2013

Measurement of the high-mass Drell--Yan differential cross-section in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This Letter reports a measurement of the high-mass Drell-Yan differential cross-section in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV at the LHC. Based on an integrated luminosity of 4.9 /fb, the differential cross-section in the Z/gamma* to e+e- channel is measured with the ATLAS detector as a function of the invariant mass, Mee, in the range 116 < Mee < 1500 GeV, for a fiducial region in which both the electron and the positron have transverse momentum pT > 25 GeV and pseudorapidity eta < 2.5. A comparison is made to various event generators and to the predictions of perturbative QCD calculations at next-to-next-to-leading order.

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arXiv2013

Measurement with the ATLAS detector of multi-particle azimuthal correlations in p+Pb collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=5.02 TeV

In order to study further the long-range correlations ("ridge") observed recently in p+Pb collisions at sqrt(s_NN) =5.02 TeV, the second-order azimuthal anisotropy parameter of charged particles, v_2, has been measured with the cumulant method using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. In a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 1 microb^(-1), the parameter v_2 has been obtained using two- and four-particle cumulants over the pseudorapidity range |eta|<2.5. The results are presented as a function of transverse momentum and the event activity, defined in terms of the transverse energy summed over 3.1<eta<4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. They show features characteristic of collective anisotropic flow, similar to that observed in Pb+Pb collisions. A comparison is made to results obtained using two-particle correlation methods, and to predictions from hydrodynamic models of p+Pb collisions. Despite the small transverse spatial extent of the p+Pb collision system, the large magnitude of v_2 and its similarity to hydrodynamic predictions provide additional evidence for the importance of final-state effects in p+Pb reactions.

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