Person:

Sun, Siyuan

The production rates of prompt and non-prompt J/ψ and ψ(2S) mesons are measured using 2.1 fb−1 and 11.4 fb−1 of data collected with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at s√=7 and 8 TeV respectively. Production cross-sections for both prompt and non-prompt production sources, ratios of ψ(2S) to J/ψ production, and fractions of non-prompt to inclusive production for J/ψ and ψ(2S) are measured double-differentially as a function of meson pT and rapidity. These measurements are made in a restricted fiducial volume and also corrected for geometrical acceptance after which they are compared to a variety of theoretical predictions.

A measurement of the correlations between the polar angles of leptons from the decay of pair-produced t and t¯ quarks in the helicity basis is reported, using proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.6fb−1 at a center-of-mass energy of s√=7TeV collected during 2011. Candidate events are selected in the dilepton topology with large missing transverse momentum and at least two jets. The angles θ1 and θ2 between the charged leptons and the direction of motion of the parent quarks in the tt¯ rest frame are sensitive to the spin information, and the distribution of {\mbox{cosθ1⋅cosθ2}} is sensitive to the spin correlation between the t and t¯ quarks. The distribution is unfolded to parton level and compared to the next-to-leading order prediction. A good agreement is observed.

The production of D∗±, D± and D±s charmed mesons has been measured with the ATLAS detector in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV at the LHC, using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 280nb−1. The charmed mesons have been reconstructed in the range of transverse momentum 3.5<pT(D)<100 GeV and pseudorapidity |η(D)|<2.1. The differential cross sections as a function of transverse momentum and pseudorapidity were measured for D∗± and D± production. The next-to-leading-order QCD predictions are consistent with the data in the visible kinematic region within the large theoretical uncertainties. Using the visible D cross sections and an extrapolation to the full kinematic phase space, the strangeness-suppression factor in charm fragmentation, the fraction of charged non-strange D mesons produced in a vector state, and the total cross section of charm production at s√=7 TeV were derived.

This article reports on a search for dark matter pair production in association with a Higgs boson decaying to a pair of bottom quarks, using data from 20.3fb−1 of pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The decay of the Higgs boson is reconstructed as a high-momentum bb¯ system with either a pair of small-radius jets, or a single large-radius jet with substructure. The observed data are found to be consistent with the expected Standard Model backgrounds. Model-independent upper limits are placed on the visible cross-sections for events with a Higgs boson decaying into bb¯ and large missing transverse momentum with thresholds ranging from 150 GeV to 400 GeV. Results are interpreted using a simplified model with a Z′ gauge boson decaying into different Higgs bosons predicted in a two-Higgs-doublet model, of which the heavy pseudoscalar Higgs decays into a pair of dark matter particles. Exclusion limits are also presented for the mass scales of various effective field theory operators that describe the interaction between dark matter particles and the Higgs boson.

The decays B+c→J/ψD+s and B+c→J/ψD∗+s are studied with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using a dataset corresponding to integrated luminosities of 4.9 and 20.6 fb−1 of pp collisions collected at centre-of-mass energies √s=7 TeV and 8 TeV, respectively. Signal candidates are identified through J/ψ→μ+μ− and D(∗)+s→ϕπ+(γ/π0) decays. With a two-dimensional likelihood fit involving the B+c reconstructed invariant mass and an angle between the μ+ and D+s candidate momenta in the muon pair rest frame, the yields of B+c→J/ψD+s and B+c→J/ψD∗+s, and the transverse polarisation fraction in B+c→J/ψD∗+s decay are measured. The transverse polarisation fraction is determined to be Γ±±(B+c→J/ψD∗+s)/Γ(B+c→J/ψD∗+s)=0.38±0.23±0.07, and the derived ratio of the branching fractions of the two modes is BB+c→J/ψD∗+s/BB+c→J/ψD+s=2.8+1.2−0.8±0.3, where the first error is statistical and the second is systematic. Finally, a sample of B+c→J/ψπ+ decays is used to derive the ratios of branching fractions BB+c→J/ψD+s/BB+c→J/ψπ+=3.8±1.1±0.4±0.2 and BB+c→J/ψD∗+s/BB+c→J/ψπ+=10.4±3.1±1.5±0.6, where the third error corresponds to the uncertainty of the branching fraction of D+s→ϕ(K+K−)π+ decay. The available theoretical predictions are generally consistent with the measurement.

The production of W boson pairs in association with one jet in pp collisions at s√=8 TeV is studied using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1 collected by the ATLAS detector during 2012 at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The cross section is measured in a fiducial phase-space region defined by the presence of exactly one electron and one muon, missing transverse momentum and exactly one jet with a transverse momentum above 25 GeV and a pseudorapidity of |η|<4.5. The leptons are required to have opposite electric charge and to pass transverse momentum and pseudorapidity requirements. The fiducial cross section is found to be σfid,1-jetWW=136±6(stat)±14(syst)±3(lumi) fb. In combination with a previous measurement restricted to leptonic final states with no associated jets, the fiducial cross section of WW production with zero or one jet is measured to be σfid,≤1-jetWW=511±9(stat)±26(syst)±10(lumi) fb. The ratio of fiducial cross sections in final states with one and zero jets is determined to be 0.36±0.05. Finally, a total cross section extrapolated from the fiducial measurement of WW production with zero or one associated jet is reported. The measurements are compared to theoretical predictions and found in good agreement.

A search for highly ionizing particles produced in proton-proton collisions at 8 TeV center-of-mass energy is performed by the ATLAS collaboration at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The dataset used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 7.0 fb−1. A customized trigger significantly increases the sensitivity, permitting a search for such particles with charges and energies beyond what was previously accessible. No events were found in the signal region, leading to production cross section upper limits in the mass range 200--2500 GeV for magnetic monopoles with magnetic charge in the range 0.5gD<|g|<2.0gD, where gD is the Dirac charge, and for stable particles with electric charge in the range 10<|z|<60. Model-dependent limits are presented in given pair-production scenarios, and model-independent limits are presented in fiducial regions of particle energy and pseudorapidity.

This Letter describes a model-agnostic search for pairs of jets (dijets) produced by resonant and non-resonant phenomena beyond the Standard Model in 3.6 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions with a centre-of-mass energy of s√=13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The distribution of the invariant mass of the two leading jets is examined for local excesses above a data-derived estimate of the smoothly falling prediction of the Standard Model. The data are also compared to a Monte Carlo simulation of Standard Model angular distributions derived from the rapidity of the two jets. No evidence of anomalous phenomena is observed in the data, which are used to exclude, at 95% CL, quantum black holes with threshold masses below 8.3 TeV, 8.1 TeV, or 5.3 TeV in three different benchmark scenarios; resonance masses below 5.2 TeV for excited quarks, 2.6 TeV in a W′ model, a range of masses starting from mZ′=1.5 TeV and couplings from gq=0.2 in a Z′ model; and contact interactions with a compositeness scale below 12.0 TeV and 17.5 TeV respectively for destructive and constructive interference between the new interaction and QCD processes. These results significantly extend the ATLAS limits obtained from 8 TeV data. Gaussian-shaped contributions to the mass distribution are also excluded if the effective cross-section exceeds values ranging from approximately 50-300 fb for masses below 2 TeV to 2-20 fb for masses above 4 TeV.

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 fb−1 data sample collected at a centre-of-mass energy of √s=8 TeV. 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.

The decays B+c→J/ψD+s and B+c→J/ψD∗+s are studied with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using a dataset corresponding to integrated luminosities of 4.9 fb−1 and 20.6 fb−1 of pp collisions collected at centre-of-mass energies s√=7 TeV and 8 TeV, respectively. Signal candidates are identified through J/ψ→μ+μ− and D(∗)+s→ϕπ+(γ/π0) decays. With a two-dimensional likelihood fit involving the B+c reconstructed invariant mass and an angle between the μ+ and D+s candidate momenta in the muon pair rest frame, the yields of B+c→J/ψD+s and B+c→J/ψD∗+s, and the transverse polarisation fraction in B+c→J/ψD∗+s decay are measured. The transverse polarisation fraction is determined to be Γ±±(B+c→J/ψD∗+s)/Γ(B+c→J/ψD∗+s)=0.38±0.23±0.07, and the derived ratio of the branching fractions of the two modes is B+c→J/ψD∗+s/B+c→J/ψD+s=2.8+1.2−0.8±0.3, where the first error is statistical and the second is systematic. Finally, a sample of B+c→J/ψπ+ decays is used to derive the ratios of branching fractions B+c→J/ψD+s/B+c→J/ψπ+=3.8±1.1±0.4±0.2 and B+c→J/ψD∗+s/B+c→J/ψπ+=10.4±3.1±1.5±0.6, where the third error corresponds to the uncertainty of the branching fraction of D+s→ϕ(K+K−)π+ decay. The available theoretical predictions are generally consistent with the measurement.