126 Search Results

Sufficiently strong and long-lasting first-order phase transitions can produce primordial black holes (PBHs) that contribute substantially to the dark matter abundance of the Universe, and can produce large-scale primordial magnetic fields. Here, we study these mechanisms in a generic class of conformal U(1)' models that also explain active neutrino oscillation data via the type-I seesaw mechanism. We find that phase transitions that occur at seesaw scales between 10⁴ GeV and 10¹¹ GeV produce gravitational wave signals (from the dynamics of the phase transition and from the decay of cosmic string loops) at LISA/ET that can be correlated with microlensing signalsmore » of PBHs at the Roman Space Telescope, while scales near 10¹¹ GeV can be correlated with Hawking evaporation signals at future gamma-ray telescopes. LISA can probe the entire range of PBH masses between 1 × 10^-16M_⊙ and 8 × 10^-11M_⊙ if PBHs fully account for the dark matter abundance. For Z' masses between 40 TeV and 10⁴ TeV, and 10 TeV right-handed neutrinos, helical magnetic fields can be produced with magnitudes ≳ 0.5 pG and coherence lengths ≳ 0.008 Mpc, above current blazar lower bounds.« less

A search for leptoquark pair production decaying into $$te^- \bar{t}e^+$$ or $$t\mu ^- \bar{t}\mu ^+$$ in final states with multiple leptons is presented. The search is based on a dataset of pp collisions at $$\sqrt{s}=13~\text {TeV}$$ recorded with the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb^-1. Four signal regions, with the requirement of at least three light leptons (electron or muon) and at least two jets out of which at least one jet is identified as coming from a b-hadron, are considered based on the number of leptons ofmore » a given flavour. The main background processes are estimated using dedicated control regions in a simultaneous fit with the signal regions to data. No excess above the Standard Model background prediction is observed and 95% confidence level limits on the production cross section times branching ratio are derived as a function of the leptoquark mass. Under the assumption of exclusive decays into $$te^{-}$$ ($$t\mu ^{-}$$ ), the corresponding lower limit on the scalar mixed-generation leptoquark mass $$m_{\textrm{LQ}_{\textrm{mix}}^{\textrm{d}}}$$ is at 1.58 (1.59) TeV and on the vector leptoquark mass $$m_{{\tilde{U}}_1}$$ at 1.67 (1.67) TeV in the minimal coupling scenario and at 1.95 (1.95) TeV in the Yang–Mills scenario.« less

A search for high-mass resonances decaying into a τ-lepton and a neutrino using proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $$\sqrt{s}$$ =13 TeV is presented. The full run 2 data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb^-1 recorded by the ATLAS experiment in the years 2015–2018 is analyzed. The τ-lepton is reconstructed in its hadronic decay modes and the total transverse momentum carried out by neutrinos is inferred from the reconstructed missing transverse momentum. The search for new physics is performed on the transverse mass between the τ-lepton and the missing transverse momentum. No excess of events abovemore » the Standard Model expectation is observed and upper exclusion limits are set on the W' →τ⁢v production cross section. Heavy W' vector bosons with masses up to 5.0 TeV are excluded at 95% confidence level, assuming that they have the same couplings as the Standard Model W boson. For nonuniversal couplings, W' bosons are excluded for masses less than 3.5–5.0 TeV, depending on the model parameters. In addition, model-independent limits on the visible cross section times branching ratio are determined as a function of the lower threshold on the transverse mass of the τ-lepton and missing transverse momentum.« less

The ATLAS detector is installed in its experimental cavern at Point 1 of the CERN Large Hadron Collider. During Run 2 of the LHC, a luminosity of  ℒ = 2 × 10³⁴ cm^-2 s^-1 was routinely achieved at the start of fills, twice the design luminosity. For Run 3, accelerator improvements, notably luminosity levelling, allow sustained running at an instantaneous luminosity of  ℒ = 2 × 10³⁴ cm^-2 s^-1, with an average of up to 60 interactions per bunch crossing. The ATLAS detector has been upgraded to recover Run 1 single-lepton trigger thresholds while operating comfortably under Run 3 sustainedmore » pileup conditions. A fourth pixel layer 3.3 cm from the beam axis was added before Run 2 to improve vertex reconstruction and b-tagging performance. New Liquid Argon Calorimeter digital trigger electronics, with corresponding upgrades to the Trigger and Data Acquisition system, take advantage of a factor of 10 finer granularity to improve triggering on electrons, photons, taus, and hadronic signatures through increased pileup rejection. The inner muon endcap wheels were replaced by New Small Wheels with Micromegas and small-strip Thin Gap Chamber detectors, providing both precision tracking and Level-1 Muon trigger functionality. Trigger coverage of the inner barrel muon layer near one endcap region was augmented with modules integrating new thin-gap resistive plate chambers and smaller-diameter drift-tube chambers. Tile Calorimeter scintillation counters were added to improve electron energy resolution and background rejection. Upgrades to Minimum Bias Trigger Scintillators and Forward Detectors improve luminosity monitoring and enable total proton-proton cross section, diffractive physics, and heavy ion measurements. These upgrades are all compatible with operation in the much harsher environment anticipated after the High-Luminosity upgrade of the LHC and are the first steps towards preparing ATLAS for the High-Luminosity upgrade of the LHC. This paper describes the Run 3 configuration of the ATLAS detector.« less

The need for large-scale production of highly accurate simulated event samples for the extensive physics programme of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider motivates the development of new simulation techniques. Building on the recent success of deep learning algorithms, variational autoencoders and generative adversarial networks are investigated for modelling the response of the central region of the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter to photons of various energies. The properties of synthesised showers are compared with showers from a full detector simulation using GEANT4. Both variational autoencoders and generative adversarial networks are capable of quickly simulating electromagnetic showers with correct totalmore » energies and stochasticity, though the modelling of some shower shape distributions requires more refinement. This feasibility study demonstrates the potential of using such algorithms for ATLAS fast calorimeter simulation in the future and shows a possible way to complement current simulation techniques.« less

A search for quantum black holes in electron + jet and muon + jet invariant mass spectra is performed with 140 fb^-1 of data collected by the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at $$\sqrt{s}$$ =13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider. The observed invariant mass spectrum of lepton + jet pairs is consistent with Standard Model expectations. Upper limits are set at 95% confidence level on the production cross section times branching fractions for quantum black holes decaying into a lepton and a quark in a search region with invariant mass above 2.0 TeV. The resulting quantum black hole lowermore » mass threshold limit is 9.2 TeV in the Arkani-Hamed-Dimopoulos-Dvali model, and 6.8 TeV in the Randall-Sundrum model.« less

This paper presents a study of $$Z \rightarrow ll\gamma$$ decays with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis uses a proton–proton data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.2 fb^-1 collected at a centre-of-mass energy $$\sqrt{s}$$ = 8 TeV. Integrated fiducial cross-sections together with normalised differential fiducial cross-sections, sensitive to the kinematics of final-state QED radiation, are obtained. The results are found to be in agreement with state-of-the-art predictions for final-state QED radiation. First measurements of $$Z \rightarrow ll\gamma\gamma$$ decays are also reported.

Measurements and searches performed with the ATLAS detector at the CERN LHC often involve signatures with one or more prompt leptons. Such analyses are subject to 'fake/non-prompt' lepton backgrounds, where either a hadron or a lepton from a hadron decay or an electron from a photon conversion satisfies the prompt-lepton selection criteria. These backgrounds often arise within a hadronic jet because of particle decays in the showering process, particle misidentification or particle interactions with the detector material. As it is challenging to model these processes with high accuracy in simulation, their estimation typically uses data-driven methods. Three methods for carryingmore » out this estimation are described, along with their implementation in ATLAS and their performance.« less

A search for heavy long-lived multi-charged particles is performed using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Data collected in 2015-2018 at $$\sqrt{s}$$ = 13 TeV from pp collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb^-1 are examined. Particles producing anomalously high ionization, consistent with long-lived spin-$$\frac{1}{2}$$ massive particles with electric charges from |q|=2e to |q|=7e are searched for. No statistically significant evidence of such particles is observed, and 95% confidence level cross-section upper limits are calculated and interpreted as the lower mass limits for a Drell-Yan plus photon-fusion production mode. The least stringent limit, 1060 GeV, is obtained formore » |q|=2e particles, and the most stringent one, 1600 GeV, is for |q|=6e particles.« less

This Letter reports the observation of single top quarks produced together with a photon, which directly probes the electroweak coupling of the top quark. The analysis uses 139 fb^-1 of 13 TeV proton-proton collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Requiring a photon with transverse momentum larger than 20 GeV and within the detector acceptance, the fiducial cross section is measured to be 688±23(stat) $$^{+75}_{-71}$$(syst) fb, to be compared with the standard model prediction of 515$$^{+36}_{-42}$$ fb at next-to-leading order in QCD.