Abstract: Measurements of spin correlation in top quark pair production are presented using data collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC with proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb(-1). Events are selected in final states with two charged leptons and at least two jets and in final states with one charged lepton and at least four jets. Four different observables sensitive to different properties of the top quark pair production mechanism are used to extract the correlation between the top and antitop quark spins. Some of these observables are measured for the first time. The measurements are in good agreement with the Standard Model prediction at next-to-leading-order accuracy.

Abstract: Simultaneous measurements of the t (t) over bar, W+W-, and Z/gamma* -> tau tau production cross-sections using an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb(-1) of pp collisions at root s = 7 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC are presented. Events are selected with two high transverse momentum leptons consisting of an oppositely charged electron and muon pair. The three processes are separated using the distributions of the missing transverse momentum of events with zero and greater than zero jet multiplicities. Measurements of the fiducial cross-section are presented along with results that quantify for the first time the underlying correlations in the predicted and measured cross-sections due to proton parton distribution functions. These results indicate that the correlated next-to-leading-order predictions for t (t) over bar and Z/gamma* -> tau tau underestimate the data, while those at next-to-next-to-leading-order generally describe the data well. The full cross-sections are measured to be sigma(t (t) over bar) = 181.2 +/- 2.8(-9.5)(+9.7) +/- 3.3 +/- 3.3 pb, sigma(W+W-) = 53.3 +/- 2.7(-8.0)(+7.3) +/- 1.0 +/- 0.5 pb, and sigma(Z/gamma* -> tau tau) = 1174 +/- 24(-87)(+72) +/- 21 +/- 9 pb, where the cited uncertainties are due to statistics, systematic effects, luminosity and the LHC beam energy measurement, respectively. The W+W- measurement includes the small contribution from Higgs boson decays, H -> W+W-.

Abstract: A search has been performed for pair production of heavy vectorlike down-type (B) quarks. The analysis explores the lepton-plus-jets final state, characterized by events with one isolated charged lepton (electron or muon), significant missing transverse momentum, and multiple jets. One or more jets are required to be tagged as arising from b quarks, and at least one pair of jets must be tagged as arising from the hadronic decay of an electroweak boson. The analysis uses the full data sample of pp collisions recorded in 2012 by the ATLAS detector at the LHC, operating at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1). No significant excess of events is observed above the expected background. Limits are set on vectorlike B production, as a function of the B branching ratios, assuming the allowable decay modes are B -> Wt/Zb/Hb. In the chiral limit with a branching ratio of 100% for the decay B -> Wt, the observed (expected) 95% C.L. lower limit on the vectorlike B mass is 810 GeV (760 GeV). In the case where the vectorlike B quark has branching ratio values corresponding to those of an SU(2) singlet state, the observed (expected) 95% C.L. lower limit on the vectorlike B mass is 640 GeV (505 GeV). The same analysis, when used to investigate pair production of a colored, charge 5/3 exotic fermion T-5/3, with subsequent decay T-5/3 -> Wt, sets an observed (expected) 95% C.L. lower limit on the T-5/3 mass of 840 GeV (780 GeV).