Abstract: This paper reports a search for Higgs boson pair (hh) production in association with a vector boson ( W or Z) using 139 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at root s = 13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The search is performed in final states in which the vector boson decays leptonically (W -> l nu, Z -> ll, nu nu with l = e, mu) and the Higgs bosons each decay into a pair of b-quarks. It targets Vhh signals from both non-resonant hh production, present in the Standard Model (SM), and resonant hh production, as predicted in some SM extensions. A 95% confidence-level upper limit of 183 (87) times the SM cross-section is observed (expected) for non-resonant Vhh production when assuming the kinematics are as expected in the SM. Constraints are also placed on Higgs boson coupling modifiers. For the resonant search, upper limits on the production cross-sections are derived for two specific models: one is the production of a vector boson along with a neutral heavy scalar resonance H, in the mass range 260-1000GeV, that decays into hh, and the other is the production of a heavier neutral pseudoscalar resonance A that decays into a Z boson and H boson, where the A boson mass is 360-800GeV and the H boson mass is 260-400GeV. Constraints are also derived in the parameter space of two-Higgs-doublet models.

Abstract: This paper reports a measurement of D*(+/-) meson production in jets from proton- proton collisions at a center- of- mass energy of root s = 7 TeV at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The measurement is based on a data sample recorded with the ATLAS detector with an integrated luminosity of 0.30 pb(-1) for jets with transverse momentum between 25 and 70 GeV in the pseudorapidity range vertical bar eta vertical bar <2.5. D*(+/-) mesons found in jets are fully reconstructed in the decay chain: D*(+/-)-> D-0 pi(+), D-0 -> K-pi(+), and its charge conjugate. The production rate is found to be N(D*(+/-))/N(jet) = 0.025 +/- 0.001(stat.) +/- 0.004(syst.) for D*(+/-) mesons that carry a fraction z of the jet momentum in the range 0.3< z< 1. Monte Carlo predictions fail to describe the data at small values of z, and this is most marked at low jet transverse momentum.

Abstract: This paper presents updated Monte Carlo configurations used to model the production of single electroweak vector bosons (W, Z/gamma*) in association with jets in proton-proton collisions for the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Improvements pertaining to the electroweak input scheme, parton-shower splitting kernels and scale-setting scheme are shown for multi-jet merged configurations accurate to next-to-leading order in the strong and electroweak couplings. The computational resources required for these set-ups are assessed, and approximations are introduced resulting in a factor three reduction of the per-event CPU time without affecting the physics modelling performance. Continuous statistical enhancement techniques are introduced by ATLAS in order to populate low cross-section regions of phase space and are shown to match or exceed the generated effective luminosity. This, together with the lower per-event CPU time, results in a 50% reduction in the required computing resources compared to a legacy set-up previously used by the ATLAS collaboration. The set-ups described in this paper will be used for future ATLAS analyses and lay the foundation for the next generation of Monte Carlo predictions for single vector-boson plus jets production.

Abstract: This paper presents the method and performance of primary vertex reconstruction in proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment during Run 1 of the LHC. The studies presented focus on data taken during 2012 at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 8 TeV. The performance has been measured as a function of the number of interactions per bunch crossing over a wide range, from one to seventy. The measurement of the position and size of the luminous region and its use as a constraint to improve the primary vertex resolution are discussed. A longitudinal vertex position resolution of about 30 μm is achieved for events with high multiplicity of reconstructed tracks. The transverse position resolution is better than 20 μm and is dominated by the precision on the size of the luminous region. An analytical model is proposed to describe the primary vertex reconstruction efficiency as a function of the number of interactions per bunch crossing and of the longitudinal size of the luminous region. Agreement between the data and the predictions of this model is better than 3% up to seventy interactions per bunch crossing.

Abstract: This paper presents the extended results of measurements of (WW +/-)-W-+/- jj production and limits on anomalous quartic gauge couplings using 20.3 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at root s = 8 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events with two leptons (e or mu) with the same electric charge and at least two jets are analyzed. Production cross sections are determined in two fiducial regions, with different sensitivities to the electroweak and strong production mechanisms. An additional fiducial region, particularly sensitive to anomalous quartic gauge coupling parameters alpha 4 and alpha 5, is introduced, which allows more stringent limits on these parameters compared to the previous ATLAS measurement.