Topological cell clustering in the ATLAS calorimeters and its performance in LHC Run 1

The reconstruction of the signal from hadrons and jets emerging from the proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and entering the ATLAS calorimeters is based on a three-dimensional topological clustering of individual calorimeter cell signals. The cluster formation follows cell signal-significance patterns generated by electromagnetic and hadronic showers. In this, the clustering algorithm implicitly performs a topological noise suppression by removing cells with insignificant signals which are not in close proximity to cells with significant signals. The resulting topological cell clusters have shape and location information, which is exploited to apply a local energy calibration and corrections depending on the nature of the cluster. Topological cell clustering is established as a well-performing calorimeter signal definition for jet and missing transverse momentum reconstruction in ATLAS.

Performance of pile-up mitigation techniques for jets in [Formula: see text] collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV using the ATLAS detector

The large rate of multiple simultaneous proton-proton interactions, or pile-up, generated by the Large Hadron Collider in Run 1 required the development of many new techniques to mitigate the adverse effects of these conditions. This paper describes the methods employed in the ATLAS experiment to correct for the impact of pile-up on jet energy and jet shapes, and for the presence of spurious additional jets, with a primary focus on the large 20.3 [Formula: see text] data sample collected at a centre-of-mass energy of [Formula: see text]. The energy correction techniques that incorporate sophisticated estimates of the average pile-up energy density and tracking information are presented. Jet-to-vertex association techniques are discussed and projections of performance for the future are considered. Lastly, the extension of these techniques to mitigate the effect of pile-up on jet shapes using subtraction and grooming procedures is presented.

Measurement of the differential cross-sections of prompt and non-prompt production of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] in pp collisions at [Formula: see text] and 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The production rates of prompt and non-prompt [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] mesons in their dimuon decay modes are measured using 2.1 and 11.4 fb[Formula: see text] of data collected with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, in proton-proton collisions at [Formula: see text] and 8 respectively. Production cross-sections for prompt as well as non-prompt sources, ratios of [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text] production, and the fractions of non-prompt production for [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are measured as a function of meson transverse momentum and rapidity. The measurements are compared to theoretical predictions.

A new method to distinguish hadronically decaying boosted Z bosons from W bosons using the ATLAS detector

The distribution of particles inside hadronic jets produced in the decay of boosted W and Z bosons can be used to discriminate such jets from the continuum background. Given that a jet has been identified as likely resulting from the hadronic decay of a boosted W or Z boson, this paper presents a technique for further differentiating Z bosons from W bosons. The variables used are jet mass, jet charge, and a b-tagging discriminant. A likelihood tagger is constructed from these variables and tested in the simulation of [Formula: see text] for bosons in the transverse momentum range 200 GeV [Formula: see text] 400 GeV in [Formula: see text] TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. For Z-boson tagging efficiencies of [Formula: see text], 50, and [Formula: see text], one can achieve [Formula: see text]-boson tagging rejection factors ([Formula: see text]) of 1.7, 8.3 and 1000, respectively. It is not possible to measure these efficiencies in the data due to the lack of a pure sample of high [Formula: see text], hadronically decaying Z bosons. However, the modelling of the tagger inputs for boosted W bosons is studied in data using a [Formula: see text]-enriched sample of events in 20.3 fb[Formula: see text] of data at [Formula: see text] TeV. The inputs are well modelled within uncertainties, which builds confidence in the expected tagger performance.

Probing lepton flavour violation via neutrinoless [Formula: see text] decays with the ATLAS detector

This article presents the sensitivity of the ATLAS experiment to the lepton-flavour-violating decays of [Formula: see text]. A method utilising the production of [Formula: see text] leptons via [Formula: see text] decays is used. This method is applied to the sample of 20.3 fb[Formula: see text] of pp collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC in 2012. No event is observed passing the selection criteria, and the observed (expected) upper limit on the [Formula: see text] lepton branching fraction into three muons, [Formula: see text], is [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]) at 90 % confidence level.

Search for new phenomena in events with at least three photons collected in pp collisions at [Formula: see text] = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in events with at least three photons are reported. Data from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb[Formula: see text], were collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The observed data are well described by the Standard Model. Limits at the 95 % confidence level on new phenomena are presented based on the rate of events in an inclusive signal region and a restricted signal region targeting the rare decay [Formula: see text], as well as di-photon and tri-photon resonance searches. For a Standard Model Higgs boson decaying to four photons via a pair of intermediate pseudoscalar particles (a), limits are found to be [Formula: see text] for 10 GeV [Formula: see text] 62 GeV. Limits are also presented for Higgs boson-like scalars (H) for [Formula: see text] 125 GeV, and for a [Formula: see text] decaying to three photons via [Formula: see text]. Additionally, the observed limit on the branching ratio of the Z boson decay to three photons is found to be BR[Formula: see text], a result five times stronger than the previous result from LEP.

Measurement of the centrality dependence of the charged-particle pseudorapidity distribution in proton-lead collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV with the ATLAS detector

The centrality dependence of the mean charged-particle multiplicity as a function of pseudorapidity is measured in approximately 1 [Formula: see text]b[Formula: see text] of proton-lead collisions at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Charged particles with absolute pseudorapidity less than 2.7 are reconstructed using the ATLAS pixel detector. The [Formula: see text] collision centrality is characterised by the total transverse energy measured in the Pb-going direction of the forward calorimeter. The charged-particle pseudorapidity distributions are found to vary strongly with centrality, with an increasing asymmetry between the proton-going and Pb-going directions as the collisions become more central. Three different estimations of the number of nucleons participating in the [Formula: see text] collision have been carried out using the Glauber model as well as two Glauber-Gribov inspired extensions to the Glauber model. Charged-particle multiplicities per participant pair are found to vary differently for these three models, highlighting the importance of including colour fluctuations in nucleon-nucleon collisions in the modelling of the initial state of [Formula: see text] collisions.

Identification of boosted, hadronically decaying W bosons and comparisons with ATLAS data taken at [Formula: see text] TeV

This paper reports a detailed study of techniques for identifying boosted, hadronically decaying W bosons using 20.3 fb[Formula: see text] of proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy [Formula: see text]. A range of techniques for optimising the signal jet mass resolution are combined with various jet substructure variables. The results of these studies in Monte Carlo simulations show that a simple pairwise combination of groomed jet mass and one substructure variable can provide a 50 % efficiency for identifying W bosons with transverse momenta larger than 200 GeV while maintaining multijet background efficiencies of 2-4 % for jets with the same transverse momentum. These signal and background efficiencies are confirmed in data for a selection of tagging techniques.

Measurement of the charge asymmetry in top-quark pair production in the lepton-plus-jets final state in pp collision data at [Formula: see text] with the ATLAS detector

This paper reports inclusive and differential measurements of the [Formula: see text] charge asymmetry [Formula: see text] in [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text] collisions recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Three differential measurements are performed as a function of the invariant mass, transverse momentum and longitudinal boost of the [Formula: see text] system. The [Formula: see text] pairs are selected in the single-lepton channels (e or [Formula: see text]) with at least four jets, and a likelihood fit is used to reconstruct the [Formula: see text] event kinematics. A Bayesian unfolding procedure is performed to infer the asymmetry at parton level from the observed data distribution. The inclusive [Formula: see text] charge asymmetry is measured to be [Formula: see text] (stat. [Formula: see text] syst.). The inclusive and differential measurements are compatible with the values predicted by the Standard Model.

Search for direct top squark pair production in final states with two tau leptons in pp collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for direct pair production of the supersymmetric partner of the top quark, decaying via a scalar tau to a nearly massless gravitino, has been performed using 20 fb[Formula: see text] of proton-proton collision data at [Formula: see text]. The data were collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC in 2012. Top squark candidates are searched for in events with either two hadronically decaying tau leptons, one hadronically decaying tau and one light lepton, or two light leptons. No significant excess over the Standard Model expectation is found. Exclusion limits at [Formula: see text] confidence level are set as a function of the top squark and scalar tau masses. Depending on the scalar tau mass, ranging from the [Formula: see text] LEP limit to the top squark mass, lower limits between 490 and [Formula: see text] are placed on the top squark mass within the model considered.

Search for single top-quark production via flavour-changing neutral currents at 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for single top-quark production via flavour-changing neutral current processes from gluon plus up- or charm-quark initial states in proton-proton collisions at the LHC is presented. Data collected with the ATLAS detector in 2012 at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb[Formula: see text] are used. Candidate events for a top quark decaying into a lepton, a neutrino and a jet are selected and classified into signal- and background-like candidates using a neural network. No signal is observed and an upper limit on the production cross-section multiplied by the [Formula: see text] branching fraction is set. The observed 95 % CL limit is [Formula: see text] and the expected 95 % CL limit is [Formula: see text]. The observed limit can be interpreted as upper limits on the coupling constants of the flavour-changing neutral current interactions divided by the scale of new physics [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] and on the branching fractions [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text].

Search for an additional, heavy Higgs boson in the [Formula: see text] decay channel at [Formula: see text] in [Formula: see text] collision data with the ATLAS detector

A search is presented for a high-mass Higgs boson in the [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] decay modes using the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The search uses proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb[Formula: see text]. The results of the search are interpreted in the scenario of a heavy Higgs boson with a width that is small compared with the experimental mass resolution. The Higgs boson mass range considered extends up to [Formula: see text] for all four decay modes and down to as low as 140 [Formula: see text], depending on the decay mode. No significant excess of events over the Standard Model prediction is found. A simultaneous fit to the four decay modes yields upper limits on the production cross-section of a heavy Higgs boson times the branching ratio to [Formula: see text] boson pairs. 95 % confidence level upper limits range from 0.53 pb at [Formula: see text] GeV to 0.008 pb at [Formula: see text] GeV for the gluon-fusion production mode and from 0.31 pb at [Formula: see text] GeV to 0.009 pb at [Formula: see text] GeV for the vector-boson-fusion production mode. The results are also interpreted in the context of Type-I and Type-II two-Higgs-doublet models.

Search for flavour-changing neutral current top-quark decays to [Formula: see text] in [Formula: see text] collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at [Formula: see text] TeV

A search for the flavour-changing neutral-current decay [Formula: see text] is presented. Data collected by the ATLAS detector during 2012 from proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of [Formula: see text] TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb[Formula: see text], are analysed. Top-quark pair-production events with one top quark decaying through the [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]) channel and the other through the dominant Standard Model mode [Formula: see text] are considered as signal. Only the decays of the Z boson to charged leptons and leptonic W boson decays are used. No evidence for a signal is found and an observed (expected) upper limit on the [Formula: see text] branching ratio of [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]) is set at the 95 % confidence level.

Measurements of fiducial cross-sections for [Formula: see text] production with one or two additional b-jets in pp collisions at [Formula: see text]=8 TeV using the ATLAS detector

Fiducial cross-sections for [Formula: see text] production with one or two additional b-jets are reported, using an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb[Formula: see text] of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider, collected with the ATLAS detector. The cross-section times branching ratio for [Formula: see text] events with at least one additional b-jet is measured to be 950 [Formula: see text] 70 (stat.) [Formula: see text] (syst.) fb in the lepton-plus-jets channel and 50 [Formula: see text] 10 (stat.) [Formula: see text] (syst.) fb in the [Formula: see text] channel. The cross-section times branching ratio for events with at least two additional b-jets is measured to be 19.3 [Formula: see text] 3.5 (stat.) [Formula: see text] 5.7 (syst.) fb in the dilepton channel ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and  ee) using a method based on tight selection criteria, and 13.5 [Formula: see text] 3.3 (stat.) [Formula: see text] 3.6 (syst.) fb using a looser selection that allows the background normalisation to be extracted from data. The latter method also measures a value of 1.30 [Formula: see text] 0.33 (stat.) [Formula: see text] 0.28 (syst.)% for the ratio of [Formula: see text] production with two additional b-jets to [Formula: see text] production with any two additional jets. All measurements are in good agreement with recent theory predictions.

Searches for scalar leptoquarks in pp collisions at [Formula: see text] = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Searches for pair-produced scalar leptoquarks are performed using 20 fb[Formula: see text] of proton-proton collision data provided by the LHC and recorded by the ATLAS detector at [Formula: see text] TeV. Events with two electrons (muons) and two or more jets in the final state are used to search for first (second)-generation leptoquarks. The results from two previously published ATLAS analyses are interpreted in terms of third-generation leptoquarks decaying to [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] final states. No statistically significant excess above the Standard Model expectation is observed in any channel and scalar leptoquarks are excluded at 95 % CL with masses up to [Formula: see text] 1050 GeV for first-generation leptoquarks, [Formula: see text] 1000 GeV for second-generation leptoquarks, [Formula: see text] 625 GeV for third-generation leptoquarks in the [Formula: see text] channel, and 200 [Formula: see text] 640 GeV in the [Formula: see text] channel.

Study of the [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] decays with the ATLAS detector

The decays [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are studied with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using a dataset corresponding to integrated luminosities of 4.9 and 20.6 fb[Formula: see text] of pp collisions collected at centre-of-mass energies [Formula: see text] TeV and 8 TeV, respectively. Signal candidates are identified through [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] decays. With a two-dimensional likelihood fit involving the [Formula: see text] reconstructed invariant mass and an angle between the [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] candidate momenta in the muon pair rest frame, the yields of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], and the transverse polarisation fraction in [Formula: see text] decay are measured. The transverse polarisation fraction is determined to be [Formula: see text], and the derived ratio of the branching fractions of the two modes is [Formula: see text], where the first error is statistical and the second is systematic. Finally, a sample of [Formula: see text] decays is used to derive the ratios of branching fractions [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], where the third error corresponds to the uncertainty of the branching fraction of [Formula: see text] decay. The available theoretical predictions are generally consistent with the measurement.

Measurements of the Higgs boson production and decay rates and coupling strengths using pp collision data at [Formula: see text] and 8 TeV in the ATLAS experiment

Combined analyses of the Higgs boson production and decay rates as well as its coupling strengths to vector bosons and fermions are presented. The combinations include the results of the analyses of the [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] decay modes, and the constraints on the associated production with a pair of top quarks and on the off-shell coupling strengths of the Higgs boson. The results are based on the LHC proton-proton collision datasets, with integrated luminosities of up to 4.7 [Formula: see text] at [Formula: see text] TeV and 20.3 [Formula: see text] at [Formula: see text] TeV, recorded by the ATLAS detector in 2011 and 2012. Combining all production modes and decay channels, the measured signal yield, normalised to the Standard Model expectation, is [Formula: see text]. The observed Higgs boson production and decay rates are interpreted in a leading-order coupling framework, exploring a wide range of benchmark coupling models both with and without assumptions on the Higgs boson width and on the Standard Model particle content in loop processes. The data are found to be compatible with the Standard Model expectations for a Higgs boson at a mass of 125.36 GeV for all models considered.

Measurements of top-quark pair differential cross-sections in the lepton+jets channel in pp collisions at [Formula: see text] using the ATLAS detector

Measurements of normalized differential cross-sections of top-quark pair production are presented as a function of the top-quark, [Formula: see text] system and event-level kinematic observables in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of [Formula: see text]. The observables have been chosen to emphasize the [Formula: see text] production process and to be sensitive to effects of initial- and final-state radiation, to the different parton distribution functions, and to non-resonant processes and higher-order corrections. The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb[Formula: see text], recorded in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Events are selected in the lepton+jets channel, requiring exactly one charged lepton and at least four jets with at least two of the jets tagged as originating from a b-quark. The measured spectra are corrected for detector effects and are compared to several Monte Carlo simulations. The results are in fair agreement with the predictions over a wide kinematic range. Nevertheless, most generators predict a harder top-quark transverse momentum distribution at high values than what is observed in the data. Predictions beyond NLO accuracy improve the agreement with data at high top-quark transverse momenta. Using the current settings and parton distribution functions, the rapidity distributions are not well modelled by any generator under consideration. However, the level of agreement is improved when more recent sets of parton distribution functions are used.

Determination of the Ratio of b-Quark Fragmentation Fractions f(s)/f(d) in pp Collisions at √s=7 TeV with the ATLAS Detector

With an integrated luminosity of 2.47  fb(-1) recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, the exclusive decays B(s)(0)→J/ψϕ and B(d)(0)→J/ψK(*0) of B mesons produced in pp collisions at √s=7  TeV are used to determine the ratio of fragmentation fractions f(s)/f(d). From the observed B(s)(0)→J/ψϕ and B(d)(0)→J/ψK(*0) yields, the quantity (f(s)/f(d))[B(B(s)(0)→J/ψϕ)/B(B(d)(0)→J/ψK(*0))] is measured to be 0.199±0.004(stat)±0.008(syst). Using a recent theory prediction for [B(B(s)(0)→J/ψϕ)/B(B(d)(0)→J/ψK(*0))] yields (f(s)/f(d))=0.240±0.004(stat)±0.010(syst)±0.017(th). This result is based on a new approach that provides a significant improvement of the world average.

ATLAS Run 1 searches for direct pair production of third-generation squarks at the Large Hadron Collider

This paper reviews and extends searches for the direct pair production of the scalar supersymmetric partners of the top and bottom quarks in proton-proton collisions collected by the ATLAS collaboration during the LHC Run 1. Most of the analyses use 20 [Formula: see text] of collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of [Formula: see text] TeV, although in some case an additional [Formula: see text] of collision data at [Formula: see text] TeV are used. New analyses are introduced to improve the sensitivity to specific regions of the model parameter space. Since no evidence of third-generation squarks is found, exclusion limits are derived by combining several analyses and are presented in both a simplified model framework, assuming simple decay chains, as well as within the context of more elaborate phenomenological supersymmetric models.

ATLAS Run 1 searches for direct pair production of third-generation squarks at the Large Hadron Collider

This paper reviews and extends searches for the direct pair production of the scalar supersymmetric partners of the top and bottom quarks in proton-proton collisions collected by the ATLAS collaboration during the LHC Run 1. Most of the analyses use 20 [Formula: see text] of collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of [Formula: see text] TeV, although in some case an additional [Formula: see text] of collision data at [Formula: see text] TeV are used. New analyses are introduced to improve the sensitivity to specific regions of the model parameter space. Since no evidence of third-generation squarks is found, exclusion limits are derived by combining several analyses and are presented in both a simplified model framework, assuming simple decay chains, as well as within the context of more elaborate phenomenological supersymmetric models.

Study of the spin and parity of the Higgs boson in diboson decays with the ATLAS detector

Studies of the spin, parity and tensor couplings of the Higgs boson in the [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] decay processes at the LHC are presented. The investigations are based on [Formula: see text] of pp collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at [Formula: see text] TeV and [Formula: see text] TeV. The Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson hypothesis, corresponding to the quantum numbers [Formula: see text], is tested against several alternative spin scenarios, including non-SM spin-0 and spin-2 models with universal and non-universal couplings to fermions and vector bosons. All tested alternative models are excluded in favour of the SM Higgs boson hypothesis at more than 99.9 % confidence level. Using the [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] decays, the tensor structure of the interaction between the spin-0 boson and the SM vector bosons is also investigated. The observed distributions of variables sensitive to the non-SM tensor couplings are compatible with the SM predictions and constraints on the non-SM couplings are derived.

Two-particle Bose-Einstein correlations in pp collisions at [Formula: see text] 0.9 and 7 TeV measured with the ATLAS detector

The paper presents studies of Bose-Einstein Correlations (BEC) for pairs of like-sign charged particles measured in the kinematic range [Formula: see text] 100 MeV and [Formula: see text] 2.5 in proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 0.9 and 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The integrated luminosities are approximately 7 [Formula: see text]b[Formula: see text], 190 [Formula: see text]b[Formula: see text] and 12.4 nb[Formula: see text] for 0.9 TeV, 7 TeV minimum-bias and 7 TeV high-multiplicity data samples, respectively. The multiplicity dependence of the BEC parameters characterizing the correlation strength and the correlation source size are investigated for charged-particle multiplicities of up to 240. A saturation effect in the multiplicity dependence of the correlation source size parameter is observed using the high-multiplicity 7 TeV data sample. The dependence of the BEC parameters on the average transverse momentum of the particle pair is also investigated.

Search for Dark Matter in Events with Missing Transverse Momentum and a Higgs Boson Decaying to Two Photons in pp Collisions at sqrt[s]=8 TeV with the ATLAS Detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in events with large missing transverse momentum and a Higgs boson decaying to two photons are reported. Data from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb^{-1} have been collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The observed data are well described by the expected standard model backgrounds. Upper limits on the cross section of events with large missing transverse momentum and a Higgs boson candidate are also placed. Exclusion limits are presented for models of physics beyond the standard model featuring dark-matter candidates.

Search for Higgs boson pair production in the [Formula: see text] final state from pp collisions at [Formula: see text] TeVwith the ATLAS detector

A search for Higgs boson pair production [Formula: see text] is performed with 19.5 fb[Formula: see text] of proton-proton collision data at [Formula: see text] TeV, which were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in 2012. The decay products of each Higgs boson are reconstructed as a high-momentum [Formula: see text] system with either a pair of small-radius jets or a single large-radius jet, the latter exploiting jet substructure techniques and associated b-tagged track-jets. No evidence for resonant or non-resonant Higgs boson pair production is observed. The data are interpreted in the context of the Randall-Sundrum model with a warped extra dimension as well as the two-Higgs-doublet model. An upper limit on the cross-section for [Formula: see text] of 3.2 (2.3) fb is set for a Kaluza-Klein graviton [Formula: see text] mass of 1.0 (1.5) TeV, at the 95 % confidence level. The search for non-resonant Standard Model hh production sets an observed 95 % confidence level upper limit on the production cross-section [Formula: see text] of 202 fb, compared to a Standard Model prediction of [Formula: see text] fb.

Search for metastable heavy charged particles with large ionisation energy loss in pp collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV using the ATLAS experiment

Many extensions of the Standard Model predict the existence of charged heavy long-lived particles, such as R-hadrons or charginos. These particles, if produced at the Large Hadron Collider, should be moving non-relativistically and are therefore identifiable through the measurement of an anomalously large specific energy loss in the ATLAS pixel detector. Measuring heavy long-lived particles through their track parameters in the vicinity of the interaction vertex provides sensitivity to metastable particles with lifetimes from 0.6 ns to 30 ns. A search for such particles with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is presented, based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of [Formula: see text] fb[Formula: see text] of pp collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV. No significant deviation from the Standard Model background expectation is observed, and lifetime-dependent upper limits on R-hadrons and chargino production are set. Gluino R-hadrons with 10 ns lifetime and masses up to 1185 GeV are excluded at 95 [Formula: see text] confidence level, and so are charginos with 15 ns lifetime and masses up to 482 GeV.

Measurements of the Total and Differential Higgs Boson Production Cross Sections Combining the H→γγ and H→ZZ^{*}→4ℓ Decay Channels at sqrt[s]=8 TeV with the ATLAS Detector

Measurements of the total and differential cross sections of Higgs boson production are performed using 20.3  fb^{-1} of pp collisions produced by the Large Hadron Collider at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt[s]=8  TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector. Cross sections are obtained from measured H→γγ and H→ZZ^{*}→4ℓ event yields, which are combined accounting for detector efficiencies, fiducial acceptances, and branching fractions. Differential cross sections are reported as a function of Higgs boson transverse momentum, Higgs boson rapidity, number of jets in the event, and transverse momentum of the leading jet. The total production cross section is determined to be σ_{pp→H}=33.0±5.3 (stat)±1.6 (syst)  pb. The measurements are compared to state-of-the-art predictions.

Search for heavy long-lived multi-charged particles in pp collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV using the ATLAS detector

A search for heavy long-lived multi-charged particles is performed using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Data collected in 2012 at [Formula: see text] TeV from pp collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb[Formula: see text]are examined. Particles producing anomalously high ionisation, consistent with long-lived massive particles with electric charges from [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text] are searched for. No signal candidate events are observed, and 95 % confidence level cross-section upper limits are interpreted as lower mass limits for a Drell-Yan production model. The mass limits range between 660 and 785 GeV.

Search for the Standard Model Higgs boson produced in association with top quarks and decaying into [Formula: see text] in [Formula: see text] collisions at [Formula: see text] with the ATLAS detector

A search for the Standard Model Higgs boson produced in association with a top-quark pair, [Formula: see text], is presented. The analysis uses 20.3 fb-1 of pp collision data at [Formula: see text], collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider during 2012. The search is designed for the [Formula: see text] decay mode and uses events containing one or two electrons or muons. In order to improve the sensitivity of the search, events are categorised according to their jet and b-tagged jet multiplicities. A neural network is used to discriminate between signal and background events, the latter being dominated by [Formula: see text]+jets production. In the single-lepton channel, variables calculated using a matrix element method are included as inputs to the neural network to improve discrimination of the irreducible [Formula: see text] background. No significant excess of events above the background expectation is found and an observed (expected) limit of 3.4 (2.2) times the Standard Model cross section is obtained at 95 % confidence level. The ratio of the measured [Formula: see text] signal cross section to the Standard Model expectation is found to be [Formula: see text] assuming a Higgs boson mass of 125[Formula: see text].

Search for invisible decays of the Higgs boson produced in association with a hadronically decaying vector boson in pp collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for Higgs boson decays to invisible particles is performed using 20.3 [Formula: see text] of pp collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The process considered is Higgs boson production in association with a vector boson ([Formula: see text] or Z) that decays hadronically, resulting in events with two or more jets and large missing transverse momentum. No excess of candidates is observed in the data over the background expectation. The results are used to constrain VH production followed by H decaying to invisible particles for the Higgs boson mass range [Formula: see text] GeV. The 95 % confidence-level observed upper limit on [Formula: see text] varies from 1.6 pb at 115 GeV to 0.13 pb at 300 GeV. Assuming Standard Model production and including the [Formula: see text] contribution as signal, the results also lead to an observed upper limit of 78 % at 95 % confidence level on the branching ratio of Higgs bosons decays to invisible particles at a mass of 125 GeV.

Constraints on the off-shell Higgs boson signal strength in the high-mass ZZ and WW final states with the ATLAS detector

Measurements of the ZZ and WW final states in the mass range above the [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] thresholds provide a unique opportunity to measure the off-shell coupling strength of the Higgs boson. This paper presents constraints on the off-shell Higgs boson event yields normalised to the Standard Model prediction (signal strength) in the [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] final states. The result is based on pp collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb[Formula: see text] at a collision energy of [Formula: see text] TeV. Using the [Formula: see text] method, the observed 95 [Formula: see text] confidence level (CL) upper limit on the off-shell signal strength is in the range 5.1-8.6, with an expected range of 6.7-11.0. In each case the range is determined by varying the unknown [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] background K-factor from higher-order quantum chromodynamics corrections between half and twice the value of the known signal K-factor. Assuming the relevant Higgs boson couplings are independent of the energy scale of the Higgs boson production, a combination with the on-shell measurements yields an observed (expected) 95 [Formula: see text] CL upper limit on [Formula: see text] in the range 4.5-7.5 (6.5-11.2) using the same variations of the background K-factor. Assuming that the unknown [Formula: see text] background K-factor is equal to the signal K-factor, this translates into an observed (expected) 95 [Formula: see text] CL upper limit on the Higgs boson total width of 22.7 (33.0) MeV.

Search for a Heavy Neutral Particle Decaying to eμ, eτ, or μτ in pp Collisions at sqrt[s]=8 TeV with the ATLAS Detector

This Letter presents a search for a heavy neutral particle decaying into an opposite-sign different-flavor dilepton pair, e^{±}μ^{∓}, e^{±}τ^{∓}, or μ^{±}τ^{∓} using 20.3  fb^{-1} of pp collision data at sqrt[s]=8  TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The numbers of observed candidate events are compatible with the standard model expectations. Limits are set on the cross section of new phenomena in two scenarios: the production of ν[over ˜]_{τ} in R-parity-violating supersymmetric models and the production of a lepton-flavor-violating Z^{'} vector boson.

Evidence of Wγγ Production in pp Collisions at sqrt[s]=8 TeV and Limits on Anomalous Quartic Gauge Couplings with the ATLAS Detector

This Letter reports evidence of triple gauge boson production pp→W(ℓν)γγ+X, which is accessible for the first time with the 8 TeV LHC data set. The fiducial cross section for this process is measured in a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3  fb^{-1}, collected by the ATLAS detector in 2012. Events are selected using the W boson decay to eν or μν as well as requiring two isolated photons. The measured cross section is used to set limits on anomalous quartic gauge couplings in the high diphoton mass region.

Search for supersymmetry in events containing a same-flavour opposite-sign dilepton pair, jets, and large missing transverse momentum in [Formula: see text] TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two searches for supersymmetric particles in final states containing a same-flavour opposite-sign lepton pair, jets and large missing transverse momentum are presented. The proton-proton collision data used in these searches were collected at a centre-of-mass energy [Formula: see text] TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb[Formula: see text]. Two leptonic production mechanisms are considered: decays of squarks and gluinos with Z bosons in the final state, resulting in a peak in the dilepton invariant mass distribution around the Z-boson mass; and decays of neutralinos (e.g. [Formula: see text]), resulting in a kinematic endpoint in the dilepton invariant mass distribution. For the former, an excess of events above the expected Standard Model background is observed, with a significance of three standard deviations. In the latter case, the data are well-described by the expected Standard Model background. The results from each channel are interpreted in the context of several supersymmetric models involving the production of squarks and gluinos.

Identification and energy calibration of hadronically decaying tau leptons with the ATLAS experiment in pp collisions at [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]

This paper describes the trigger and offline reconstruction, identification and energy calibration algorithms for hadronic decays of tau leptons employed for the data collected from pp collisions in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC center-of-mass energy [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text]. The performance of these algorithms is measured in most cases with [Formula: see text] decays to tau leptons using the full 2012 dataset, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb[Formula: see text]. An uncertainty on the offline reconstructed tau energy scale of 2-4 %, depending on transverse energy and pseudorapidity, is achieved using two independent methods. The offline tau identification efficiency is measured with a precision of 2.5 % for hadronically decaying tau leptons with one associated track, and of 4 % for the case of three associated tracks, inclusive in pseudorapidity and for a visible transverse energy greater than 20 [Formula: see text]. For hadronic tau lepton decays selected by offline algorithms, the tau trigger identification efficiency is measured with a precision of 2-8 %, depending on the transverse energy. The performance of the tau algorithms, both offline and at the trigger level, is found to be stable with respect to the number of concurrent proton-proton interactions and has supported a variety of physics results using hadronically decaying tau leptons at ATLAS.

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at [Formula: see text]TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb[Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text] TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with [Formula: see text] GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between [Formula: see text] GeV and [Formula: see text] GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presented.

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at [Formula: see text]TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb[Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text] TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with [Formula: see text] GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between [Formula: see text] GeV and [Formula: see text] GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presented.

Search for a new resonance decaying to a W or Z boson and a Higgs boson in the [Formula: see text] final states with the ATLAS detector

A search for a new resonance decaying to a W or Z boson and a Higgs boson in the [Formula: see text] final states is performed using 20.3 fb[Formula: see text] of pp collision data recorded at [Formula: see text] 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The search is conducted by examining the WH / ZH invariant mass distribution for a localized excess. No significant deviation from the Standard Model background prediction is observed. The results are interpreted in terms of constraints on the Minimal Walking Technicolor model and on a simplified approach based on a phenomenological Lagrangian of Heavy Vector Triplets.

Observation and measurements of the production of prompt and non-prompt [Formula: see text] mesons in association with a [Formula: see text] boson in [Formula: see text] collisions at [Formula: see text] with the ATLAS detector

The production of a [Formula: see text] boson in association with a [Formula: see text] meson in proton-proton collisions probes the production mechanisms of quarkonium and heavy flavour in association with vector bosons, and allows studies of multiple parton scattering. Using [Formula: see text] of data collected with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC in [Formula: see text] collisions at [Formula: see text], the first measurement of associated [Formula: see text] production is presented for both prompt and non-prompt [Formula: see text] production, with both signatures having a significance in excess of [Formula: see text]. The inclusive production cross-sections for [Formula: see text] boson production (analysed in [Formula: see text] or [Formula: see text] decay modes) in association with prompt and non-prompt [Formula: see text] are measured relative to the inclusive production rate of [Formula: see text] bosons in the same fiducial volume to be [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] respectively. Normalised differential production cross-section ratios are also determined as a function of the [Formula: see text] transverse momentum. The fraction of signal events arising from single and double parton scattering is estimated, and a lower limit of [Formula: see text] at [Formula: see text] confidence level is placed on the effective cross-section regulating double parton interactions.

Determination of spin and parity of the Higgs boson in the [Formula: see text] decay channel with the ATLAS detector

Studies of the spin and parity quantum numbers of the Higgs boson in the [Formula: see text] final state are presented, based on proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb[Formula: see text] at a centre-of-mass energy of [Formula: see text] TeV. The Standard Model spin-parity [Formula: see text] hypothesis is compared with alternative hypotheses for both spin and CP. The case where the observed resonance is a mixture of the Standard-Model-like Higgs boson and CP-even ([Formula: see text]) or CP-odd ([Formula: see text]) Higgs boson in scenarios beyond the Standard Model is also studied. The data are found to be consistent with the Standard Model prediction and limits are placed on alternative spin and CP hypotheses, including CP mixing in different scenarios.

Measurement of three-jet production cross-sections in [Formula: see text] collisions at 7 [Formula: see text] centre-of-mass energy using the ATLAS detector

Double-differential three-jet production cross-sections are measured in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of [Formula: see text] using the ATLAS detector at the large hadron collider. The measurements are presented as a function of the three-jet mass [Formula: see text], in bins of the sum of the absolute rapidity separations between the three leading jets [Formula: see text]. Invariant masses extending up to 5  TeV are reached for [Formula: see text]. These measurements use a sample of data recorded using the ATLAS detector in 2011, which corresponds to an integrated luminosity of [Formula: see text]. Jets are identified using the anti-[Formula: see text] algorithm with two different jet radius parameters, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. The dominant uncertainty in these measurements comes from the jet energy scale. Next-to-leading-order QCD calculations corrected to account for non-perturbative effects are compared to the measurements. Good agreement is found between the data and the theoretical predictions based on most of the available sets of parton distribution functions, over the full kinematic range, covering almost seven orders of magnitude in the measured cross-section values.

Search for production of [Formula: see text] resonances decaying to a lepton, neutrino and jets in [Formula: see text] collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search is presented for narrow diboson resonances decaying to [Formula: see text] or [Formula: see text] in the final state where one [Formula: see text] boson decays leptonically (to an electron or a muon plus a neutrino) and the other [Formula: see text] boson decays hadronically. The analysis is performed using an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb[Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text] collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the large hadron collider. No evidence for resonant diboson production is observed, and resonance masses below 700 and 1490 GeV are excluded at 95 % confidence level for the spin-2 Randall-Sundrum bulk graviton [Formula: see text] with coupling constant of 1.0 and the extended gauge model [Formula: see text] boson respectively.

Search for direct pair production of a chargino and a neutralino decaying to the 125 GeV Higgs boson in [Formula: see text] TeV [Formula: see text] collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search is presented for the direct pair production of a chargino and a neutralino [Formula: see text], where the chargino decays to the lightest neutralino and the [Formula: see text] boson, [Formula: see text], while the neutralino decays to the lightest neutralino and the 125 GeV Higgs boson, [Formula: see text]. The final states considered for the search have large missing transverse momentum, an isolated electron or muon, and one of the following: either two jets identified as originating from bottom quarks, or two photons, or a second electron or muon with the same electric charge. The analysis is based on 20.3 [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text] proton-proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with the Standard Model expectations, and limits are set in the context of a simplified supersymmetric model.

Search for production of [Formula: see text] resonances decaying to a lepton, neutrino and jets in [Formula: see text] collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search is presented for narrow diboson resonances decaying to [Formula: see text] or [Formula: see text] in the final state where one [Formula: see text] boson decays leptonically (to an electron or a muon plus a neutrino) and the other [Formula: see text] boson decays hadronically. The analysis is performed using an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb[Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text] collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the large hadron collider. No evidence for resonant diboson production is observed, and resonance masses below 700 and 1490 GeV are excluded at 95 % confidence level for the spin-2 Randall-Sundrum bulk graviton [Formula: see text] with coupling constant of 1.0 and the extended gauge model [Formula: see text] boson respectively.

Search for Scalar Charm Quark Pair Production in pp Collisions at sqrt[s]=8 TeV with the ATLAS Detector

The results of a dedicated search for pair production of scalar partners of charm quarks are reported. The search is based on an integrated luminosity of 20.3  fb^{-1} of pp collisions at sqrt[s]=8  TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The search is performed using events with large missing transverse momentum and at least two jets, where the two leading jets are each tagged as originating from c quarks. Events containing isolated electrons or muons are vetoed. In an R-parity-conserving minimal supersymmetric scenario in which a single scalar-charm state is kinematically accessible, and where it decays exclusively into a charm quark and a neutralino, 95% confidence-level upper limits are obtained in the scalar-charm-neutralino mass plane such that, for neutralino masses below 200 GeV, scalar-charm masses up to 490 GeV are excluded.

Search for [Formula: see text] decays in [Formula: see text] collisions at [Formula: see text] = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for a massive [Formula: see text] gauge boson decaying to a top quark and a bottom quark is performed with the ATLAS detector in [Formula: see text] collisions at the LHC. The dataset was taken at a centre-of-mass energy of [Formula: see text] and corresponds to [Formula: see text] of integrated luminosity. This analysis is done in the hadronic decay mode of the top quark, where novel jet substructure techniques are used to identify jets from high-momentum top quarks. This allows for a search for high-mass [Formula: see text] bosons in the range 1.5-3.0 [Formula: see text]. [Formula: see text]-tagging is used to identify jets originating from [Formula: see text]-quarks. The data are consistent with Standard Model background-only expectations, and upper limits at 95 % confidence level are set on the [Formula: see text] cross section times branching ratio ranging from [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text] for left-handed [Formula: see text] bosons, and ranging from [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text] for [Formula: see text] bosons with purely right-handed couplings. Upper limits at 95 % confidence level are set on the [Formula: see text]-boson coupling to [Formula: see text] as a function of the [Formula: see text] mass using an effective field theory approach, which is independent of details of particular models predicting a [Formula: see text] boson.

Measurement of the top-quark mass in the fully hadronic decay channel from ATLAS data at [Formula: see text]

The mass of the top quark is measured in a data set corresponding to 4.6 [Formula: see text] of proton-proton collisions with centre-of-mass energy [Formula: see text] TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events consistent with hadronic decays of top-antitop quark pairs with at least six jets in the final state are selected. The substantial background from multijet production is modelled with data-driven methods that utilise the number of identified [Formula: see text]-quark jets and the transverse momentum of the sixth leading jet, which have minimal correlation. The top-quark mass is obtained from template fits to the ratio of three-jet to dijet mass. The three-jet mass is calculated from the three jets produced in a top-quark decay. Using these three jets the dijet mass is obtained from the two jets produced in the [Formula: see text] boson decay. The top-quark mass obtained from this fit is thus less sensitive to the uncertainty in the energy measurement of the jets. A binned likelihood fit yields a top-quark mass of [Formula: see text].

Measurement of spin correlation in top-antitop quark events and search for top squark pair production in pp collisions at √s=8 TeV using the ATLAS detector

A measurement of spin correlation in tt[over ¯] production is presented using data collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3  fb^{-1}. The correlation between the top and antitop quark spins is extracted from dilepton tt[over ¯] events by using the difference in the azimuthal angle between the two charged leptons in the laboratory frame. In the helicity basis the measured degree of correlation corresponds to A_{helicity}=0.38±0.04, in agreement with the standard model prediction. A search is performed for pair production of top squarks with masses close to the top quark mass decaying to predominantly right-handed top quarks and a light neutralino, the lightest supersymmetric particle. Top squarks with masses between the top quark mass and 191 GeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level.

Search for Higgs and Z Boson Decays to J/ψγ and ϒ(nS)γ with the ATLAS Detector

A search for the decays of the Higgs and Z bosons to J/ψγ and ϒ(nS)γ (n=1,2,3) is performed with pp collision data samples corresponding to integrated luminosities of up to 20.3  fb^{-1} collected at sqrt[s]=8  TeV with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. No significant excess of events is observed above expected backgrounds and 95% C.L. upper limits are placed on the branching fractions. In the J/ψγ final state the limits are 1.5×10^{-3} and 2.6×10^{-6} for the Higgs and Z boson decays, respectively, while in the ϒ(1S,2S,3S)γ final states the limits are (1.3,1.9,1.3)×10^{-3} and (3.4,6.5,5.4)×10^{-6}, respectively.