Abstract: 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 fb(-1) of collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 8 TeV, although in some case an additional 4.7 fb(-1) of collision data at root s = 7 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.

Abstract: Event-shape observables measured using charged particles in inclusive Z-boson events are presented, using the electron and muon decay modes of the Z bosons. The measurements are based on an integrated luminosity of 1.1 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy root s = 7 TeV. Charged-particle distributions, excluding the lepton-antilepton pair from the Z-boson decay, are measured in different ranges of transverse momentum of the Z boson. Distributions include multiplicity, scalar sum of transverse momenta, beam thrust, transverse thrust, spherocity, and F-parameter, which are in particular sensitive to properties of the underlying event at small values of the Z-boson transverse momentum. The measured observables are compared with predictions from PYTHIA 8, Sherpa, and HERWIG 7. Typically, all three Monte Carlo generators provide predictions that are in better agreement with the data at high Z-boson transverse momenta than at low Z-boson transverse momenta, and for the observables that are less sensitive to the number of charged particles in the event.

Abstract: The performance of the jet trigger for the ATLAS detector at the LHC during the 2011 data taking period is described. During 2011 the LHC provided proton-proton collisions with a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and heavy ion collisions with a 2.76 TeV per nucleon-nucleon collision energy. The ATLAS trigger is a three level system designed to reduce the rate of events from the 40 MHz nominal maximum bunch crossing rate to the approximate 400 Hz which can be written to offline storage. The ATLAS jet trigger is the primary means for the online selection of events containing jets. Events are accepted by the trigger if they contain one or more jets above some transverse energy threshold. During 2011 data taking the jet trigger was fully efficient for jets with transverse energy above 25 GeV for triggers seeded randomly at Level 1. For triggers which require a jet to be identified at each of the three trigger levels, full efficiency is reached for offline jets with transverse energy above 60 GeV. Jets reconstructed in the final trigger level and corresponding to offline jets with transverse energy greater than 60 GeV, are reconstructed with a resolution in transverse energy with respect to offline jets, of better than 4 % in the central region and better than 2.5 % in the forward direction.