264 Search Results

Anisotropic flow and radial flow are two key probes of the expansion dynamics and properties of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP). While anisotropic flow has been extensively studied, radial flow, which governs the system’s radial expansion, has received less attention. Notably, direct experimental evidence for the global and collective nature of radial flow fluctuations has been lacking. This Letter presents the first measurement of transverse momentum (𝑝_T) dependence of radial flow fluctuations (𝑣₀⁡(𝑝_T)) over 0.5 < 𝑝_T < 10 GeV and demonstrates its collective nature using a two-particle correlation method in Pb+Pb collisions at $$\sqrt{𝑠_{NN}}$$ = 5.02 TeV. The data revealmore » three key features supporting the collective nature of radial flow: long-range correlation in pseudorapidity, factorization in 𝑝_T, and centrality-independent shape in 𝑝_T. The comparison with a hydrodynamic model demonstrates the sensitivity of 𝑣₀⁡(𝑝_T) to bulk viscosity, a crucial transport property of the QGP. These findings establish a new, powerful tool for probing collective dynamics and properties of the QGP.« less

Jet flavour tagging enables the identification of jets originating from heavy-flavour quarks in proton–proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider, playing a critical role in its physics programmes. This paper presents GN2, a transformer-based flavour tagging algorithm deployed by the ATLAS Collaboration that represents a different methodology compared to previous approaches. Designed to classify jets based on the flavour of their constituent particles, GN2 processes low-level tracking information in an end-to-end architecture and incorporates physics-informed auxiliary training objectives to enhance both interpretability and performance. Its performance is validated in both simulation and collision data. The measured c-jet (light-jet) rejection inmore » data is improved by a factor of 3.5 (1.8) for a 70% b-jet tagging efficiency, compared to the previous algorithm. GN2 provides substantial benefits for physics analyses involving heavy-flavour jets, such as measurements of Higgs boson pair production and the couplings of bottom and charm quarks to the Higgs boson, and demonstrates the impact of advanced machine learning methods in experimental particle physics.« less

Measurements of $$t\bar{t}\ell ^{+}\ell ^{-}$$ production in the region of high dilepton invariant mass with effective field theory (EFT) interpretations are presented. They are performed using final states with three isolated leptons (electrons or muons) and are based on $$\sqrt{s} = 13$$ TeV proton–proton collision data with an integrated luminosity of $$140\,\textrm{fb}^{-1}$$, recorded from 2015 to 2018 with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Measurements of the $$t\bar{t}\ell ^{+}\ell ^{-}$$ signal strength and cross-section upper-limits are performed inclusively in lepton flavour and separately for electrons and muons. The study also aims to probe anomalous four-fermion interactions including tomore » test for possible lepton flavor universality violation. No significant deviations from the Standard Model predictions are observed and the measurements are interpreted through the EFT formalism to provide new constraints on the relevant operators.« less

The ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider explores the use of modern neural networks for a multi-dimensional calibration of its calorimeter signal defined by clusters of topologically connected cells (topo-clusters). The Bayesian neural network (BNN) approach not only yields a continuous and smooth calibration function that improves performance relative to the standard calibration but also provides uncertainties on the calibrated energies for each topo-cluster. The results obtained by using a trained BNN are compared to the standard local hadronic calibration and to a calibration provided by training a deep neural network. The uncertainties predicted by the BNN are interpretedmore » in the context of a fractional contribution to the systematic uncertainties of the trained calibration. They are also compared to uncertainty predictions obtained from an alternative estimator employing repulsive ensembles.« less

Higgs boson production cross-sections via gluon–gluon fusion and vector-boson fusion in proton–proton collisions are measured in the $$H\rightarrow WW^*\rightarrow \ell \nu \ell \nu$$ decay channel. The Large Hadron Collider delivered proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV between 2015 and 2018, which were recorded by the ATLAS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $$140\,\text {fb}^{-1}.$$ The total cross-sections for Higgs boson production by gluon–gluon fusion and vector-boson fusion times the $$H\rightarrow WW^*$$ branching ratio are measured to be $$12.4^{+1.3}_{-1.2}\,\text {pb}$$ and $$0.79^{+0.18}_{-0.16}\,\text {pb},$$ respectively, in agreement with the Standard Model predictions. Higgs boson production is further characterisedmore » through measurements of Simplified Template Cross-Sections in a total of fifteen kinematic fiducial regions. A new scheme of kinematic fiducial regions has been introduced to enhance the sensitivity to CP-violating effects in Higgs boson interactions. Both schemes are used to constrain CP-even and CP-odd dimension-six operators in the Standard Model effective field theory.« less

A search for single production of a vector-like quark Q, which could be either a singlet T, with charge $$\frac{2}{3}$$, or a Y from a (T, B, Y) triplet, with charge $$-\frac{4}{3}$$, is performed using data from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The data correspond to the full integrated luminosity of 140 fb⁻¹ recorded with the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis targets Q → Wb decays where the W boson decays leptonically. The data are found to be consistent with the expected Standard Model background, so upper limits aremore » set on the cross-section times branching ratio, and on the coupling of the Q to the Standard Model sector for these two benchmark models. Effects of interference with the Standard Model background are taken into account. For the singlet T, the 95% confidence level limit on the coupling strength κ ranges between 0.22 and 0.52 for masses from 1150 to 2300 GeV. For the (T, B, Y) triplet, the limits on κ vary from 0.14 to 0.46 for masses from 1150 to 2600 GeV.« less

A search for pair-production of vector-like leptons is presented, considering their decays into a third-generation Standard Model (SM) quark and a vector leptoquark (U₁) as predicted by an ultraviolet-complete extension of the SM, referred to as the ‘4321’ model. Given the assumed decay of U₁ into third-generation SM fermions, the final state can contain multiple τ-leptons and b-quarks. This search is based on a dataset of pp collisions at $$\sqrt{s}=13$$ TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of up to $$140~\textrm{fb}^{-1}$$. No significant excess above the SM backgroundmore » prediction is observed, and 95% confidence level limits on the cross-section times branching ratio are derived as a function of the vector-like lepton mass. A lower observed (expected) limit of 910 GeV (970 GeV) is set on the vector-like lepton mass. Additionally, the results are interpreted for a supersymmetric model with an R-parity violating coupling to the third-generation quarks and leptons. Lower observed (expected) limits are obtained on the higgsino mass at 880 GeV (940 GeV) and on the wino mass at 1170 GeV (1170 GeV).« less

A calibration of the ATLAS flavour-tagging algorithms using a new calibration procedure based on optimal transportation maps is presented. Simultaneous, continuous corrections to the b-jet, c-jet, and light-flavour jet classification probabilities from jet-tagging algorithms in simulation are derived for b-jets using $$t\bar{t} \rightarrow e\mu \nu \nu bb$$ data. After application of the derived calibration maps, closure between simulation and observation is achieved for jet flavour observables used in ATLAS analyses of Large Hadron Collider (LHC) Run 2 proton-proton collision data. This continuous calibration opens up new possibilities for the future use of jet flavour information in LHC analyses and alsomore » serves as a guide for deriving high-dimensional corrections to simulation via transportation maps, an important development for a broad range of inference tasks.« less

Measurements of jet substructure in Pb+Pb collisions provide key insights into the mechanism of jet quenching in the hot and dense QCD medium created in these collisions. This Letter presents a measurement of the suppression of large-radius jets with a radius parameter of $R = 1.0$ and its dependence on the jet substructure. The measurement uses 1.72 nb$$^{-1}$$ of Pb+Pb data and 255 pb$$^{-1}$$ of $pp$ data, both at $$\sqrt{s_{_\mathrm{NN}}} = 5.02$$ TeV, recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Large-radius jets are reconstructed by reclustering $R = 0.2$ calorimetric jets and are measured for transverse momentummore » above $200$ GeV. Jet substructure is evaluated using charged-particle tracks, and the overall level of jet suppression is quantified using the jet nuclear modification factor ($$R_\mathrm{AA}$$). The jet $$R_\mathrm{AA}$$ is measured as a function of jet $$p_{\mathrm{T}}$$, the charged $$k_t$$ splitting scale ($$\sqrt{d_{12}}$$), and the angular separation ($$dR_{12}$$) of two leading sub-jets. The jet $$R_\mathrm{AA}$$ gradually decreases with increasing $$\sqrt{d_{12}}$$, implying significantly stronger suppression of large-radius jets with larger $$k_t$$ splitting scale. The jet $$R_\mathrm{AA}$$ gradually decreases for $$dR_{12}$$ in the range $$0.01{-}0.2$$ and then remains consistent with a constant for $$ΔR_{12} \gtrsim 0.2$$. The observed significant dependence of jet suppression on the jet substructure will provide new insights into its role in the quenching process.« less

A search for events with one displaced vertex from long-lived particles using data collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is presented, using 140 fb⁻¹ of proton-proton collision data at $$\sqrt{𝑠}$$ =13 TeV recorded in 2015–2018. The search employs techniques for reconstructing vertices of long-lived particles decaying into hadronic jets in the muon spectrometer displaced between 3 m and 14 m from the primary interaction vertex. The observed number of events is consistent with the expected background and limits for several benchmark signals are determined. A scalar-portal model and a Higgs-boson-portal baryogenesis model are considered. A dedicatedmore » analysis channel is employed to target Z-boson associated long-lived particle production, including an axionlike particle and a dark photon model. For the Higgs boson model, branching fractions above 1% are excluded at 95% confidence level for long-lived particle proper decay lengths ranging from 5 cm to 40 m. For the photophobic axionlike particle model considered, this search produces the strongest limits to date for proper decay lengths greater than 𝒪⁡(10) cm.« less