Abstract: This article presents the results of two studies of Higgs boson properties using the WW*(-> e nu μnu)jj final state, based on a dataset corresponding to 36.1fb(-1) of root s = 13 TeV proton-proton collisions recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The first study targets Higgs boson production via gluon-gluon fusion and constrains the CP properties of the effective Higgs-gluon interaction. Using angular distributions and the overall rate, a value of tan (alpha) = 0.0 +/- 0.4(stat.) +/- 0.3(syst.) is obtained for the tangent of the mixing angle for CP-even and CP-odd contributions. The second study exploits the vector-boson fusion production mechanism to probe the Higgs boson couplings to longitudinally and transversely polarised W and Z bosons in both the production and the decay of the Higgs boson; these couplings have not been directly constrained previously. The polarisation-dependent coupling-strength scale factors are defined as the ratios of the measured polarisation-dependent coupling strengths to those predicted by the Standard Model, and are determined using rate and kinematic information to be a(L) = 0.91(-0.18)(+0.10)(stat.)(-0.17)(+0.09)(syst.) and a(T) = 1.2 +/- 0.4(stat.)(-0.3)(+0.2)(syst.). These coupling strengths are translated into pseudo-observables, resulting in kappa(VV) = 0.91(-0.18)(+0.10)(stat.)(-0.17)(+0.09)(syst.) and epsilon(VV) = 0.13(-0.20)(+0.28)(stat.)(-0.10)(+0.08)(syst.). All results are consistent with the Standard Model predictions.

Abstract: This letter presents a measurement of the nuclear modification factor of large-radius jets in root sNN=5.02 TeV Pb+Pb collisions by the ATLAS experiment. The measurement is performed using 1.72nb^{-1} and 257pb^{-1} of Pb+Pb and pp data, respectively. The large-radius jets are reconstructed with the anti-k{t} algorithm using a radius parameter of R=1.0, by reclustering anti-k{t} R=0.2 jets, and are measured over the transverse momentum (p{T}) kinematic range of 158<p{T}<1000GeV and absolute pseudorapidity |y|<2.0. The large-radius jet constituents are further reclustered using the k{t} algorithm in order to obtain the splitting parameters, sqrt[d{12}] and DeltaR{12}, which characterize the transverse momentum scale and angular separation for the hardest splitting in the jet, respectively. The nuclear modification factor, R{AA}, obtained by comparing the Pb+Pb jet yields to those in pp collisions, is measured as a function of jet transverse momentum (p{T}) and sqrt[d{12}] or DeltaR{12}. A significant difference in the quenching of large-radius jets having single subjet and those with more complex substructure is observed. Systematic comparison of jet suppression in terms of R{AA} for different jet definitions is also provided. Presented results support the hypothesis that jets with hard internal splittings lose more energy through quenching and provide a new perspective for understanding the role of jet structure in jet suppression.

Abstract: This Letter reports on a search for off-shell production of the Higgs boson using 139 fb(-1) of pp collision data at root s = 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The signature is a pair of Z bosons, with contributions from both the production and subsequent decay of a virtual Higgs boson and the interference of that process with other processes. The two observable final states are ZZ -> 4l and Z Z -> 2l2 nu with l = e or mu. In the ZZ -> 4l final state, a dense Neural Network is used to enhance analysis sensitivity with respect to matrix element-based discrimination. The background-only hypothesis is rejected with an observed (expected) significance of 3.3 (2.2) standard deviations, representing experimental evidence for off-shell Higgs boson production. Assuming that no new particles enter the production of the virtual Higgs boson, its total width can be deduced from the measurement of its off-shell production cross-section. The measured total width of the Higgs boson is 4.5(-2.5)(+3.3) MeV, and the observed (expected) upper limit on the total width is found to be 10.5 (10.9) MeV at 95% confidence level.

Abstract: This Letter reports the observation of tau-lepton-pair production in ultraperipheral lead-lead collisions Pb + Pb -> Pb(gamma gamma -> tau tau)Pb and constraints on the tau-lepton anomalous magnetic moment a(tau). The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 1.44 nb(-1) of LHC Pb + Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-s = 5.02 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment in 2018. Selected events contain one muon from a t-lepton decay, an electron or charged-particle track(s) from the other tau-lepton decay, little additional central-detector activity, and no forward neutrons. The gamma gamma -> tau tau process is observed in Pb + Pb collisions with a significance exceeding 5 standard deviations and a signal strength of mu(tau tau) = 1.03(-0.05)(+0.06) assuming the standard model value for a(tau). To measure a(tau), a template fit to the muon transverse-momentum distribution from tau-lepton candidates is performed, using a dimuon (gamma gamma -> μmu) control sample to constrain systematic uncertainties. The observed 95% confidence-level interval for a(tau) is -0.057 < a(tau) < 0.024.

Abstract: This paper describes a search for dark photons (gamma(d)) in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13TeV at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The dark photons are searched for in the decay of Higgs bosons ( H -> gamma gamma(d)) produced through the ZH production mode. The transverse mass of the system, made of the photon and the missing transverse momentum from the non-interacting gamma(d), presents a distinctive signature as it peaks near the Higgs boson mass. The results presented use the total Run-2 integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1) recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The dominant reducible background processes are estimated using data-driven techniques. A Boosted Decision Tree technique is adopted to enhance the sensitivity of the search. As no excess is observed with respect to the Standard Model prediction, an observed (expected) upper limit on the branching ratio BR( H -> gamma gamma(d)) of 2.28% (2.82(-0.84%)(+1.33)) is set at 95% CL for massless gamma(d). For massive dark photons up to 40 GeV, the observed (expected) upper limits on BR( H -> gamma gamma(d)) at 95% confidence level is found within the [2.19,2.52]% ([2.71,3.11]%) range.