Abstract: The production of J/psi mesons in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV is studied with the LHCb detector. Cross-section measurements are performed as a function of the transverse momentum p(T) and the rapidity y of the J/psi meson in the region p(T) < 14 GeV/c and 2.0 < y < 4.5, for both prompt J/psi mesons and J/psi mesons from b-hadron decays. The production cross-sections integrated over the kinematic coverage are 15.30 +/- 0.03 +/- 0.86 μb for prompt J/psi and 2.34 +/- 0.01 +/- 0.13 μb for J/psi from b-hadron decays, assuming zero polarization of the J/psi meson. The first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. The cross-section reported for J/psi mesons from b-hadron decays is used to extrapolate to a total b<(b)over bar> cross-section. The ratios of the cross-sections with respect to root s = 8 TeV are also determined.

Abstract: The production of dark matter in association with Higgs bosons is predicted in several extensions of the Standard Model. An exploration of such scenarios is presented, considering final states with missing transverse momentum and b-tagged jets consistent with a Higgs boson. The analysis uses proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC during Run 2, amounting to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1). The analysis, when compared with previous searches, benefits from a larger dataset, but also has further improvements providing sensitivity to a wider spectrum of signal scenarios. These improvements include both an optimised event selection and advances in the object identification, such as the use of the likelihood-based significance of the missing transverse momentum and variable-radius track-jets. No significant deviation from Standard Model expectations is observed. Limits are set, at 95% confidence level, in two benchmark models with two Higgs doublets extended by either a heavy vector boson Z' or a pseudoscalar singlet a and which both provide a dark matter candidate chi. In the case of the two-Higgs-doublet model with an additional vector boson Z ', the observed limits extend up to a Z' mass of 3 TeV for a mass of 100 GeV for the dark matter candidate. The two-Higgs-doublet model with a dark matter particle mass of 10 GeV and an additional pseudoscalar a is excluded for masses of the a up to 520 GeV and 240 GeV for tan beta = 1 and tan beta = 10 respectively. Limits on the visible cross-sections are set and range from to 0.05 fb to 3.26 fb, depending on the missing transverse momentum and b-quark jet multiplicity requirements.

Abstract: The production of B +/- mesons is studied in pp collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 13 TeV, using B-+/- -> J/psi K-+/- decays and data samples corresponding to 1.0 fb(-1) and 0.3 fb(-1), respectively. The production cross-sections summed over both charges and integrated over the transverse momentum range 0 < pT < 40 GeV/c and the rapidity range 2.0 < y < 4.5 are measured to be sigma-(pp -> B-+/- X, root s = 7 TeV) = 43.0 +/- 0.2 +/- 2.5 +/- 1.7 μb, sigma(pp -> B-+/- X, root s = 13 TeV) = 86.6 +/- 0.5 +/- 5.4 +/- 3.4 μb, where the first uncertainties are statistical, the second are systematic, and the third are due to the limited knowledge of the B-+/- -> J/psi K-+/- branching fraction. The ratio of the cross-section at 13 TeV to that at 7 TeV is determined to be 2.02 +/- 0.02 (stat) +/- 0.12 (syst). Differential cross-sections are also reported as functions of pi, and y. All results are in agreement with theoretical calculations based on the state-of-art fixed next-to-leading order quantum chromodynamics.

Abstract: The production of a W boson in association with a single charm quark is studied using 4.6 fb(-1) of pp collision data at root s = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. In events in which a W boson decays to an electron or muon, the charm quark is tagged either by its semileptonic decay to a muon or by the presence of a charmed meson. The integrated and differential cross sections as a function of the pseudorapidity of the lepton from the W-boson decay are measured. Results are compared to the predictions of next-to-leading-order QCD calculations obtained from various parton distribution function parameterisations. The ratio of the strange-to-down sea-quark distributions is determined to be 0.96(-0.30)(+0.26) at Q (2) = 1.9 GeV2, which supports the hypothesis of an SU(3)-symmetric composition of the light-quark sea. Additionally, the cross-section ratio sigma(W (+) +)/sigma(W (-) + c) is compared to the predictions obtained using parton distribution function parameterisations with different assumptions about the s-(s) over bar quark asymmetry.

Abstract: The production of a prompt photon in association with a Z boson is studied in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy s = 13 TeV. The analysis uses a data sample with an integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1) collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC from 2015 to 2018. The production cross-section for the process pp -> l(+)l(-)gamma + X (l = e, mu) is measured within a fiducial phase-space region defined by kinematic requirements on the photon and the leptons, and by isolation requirements on the photon. An experimental precision of 2.9% is achieved for the fiducial cross-section. Differential cross-sections are measured as a function of each of six kinematic variables characterising the l(+)l(-)gamma system. The data are compared with theoretical predictions based on next-to-leading-order and next-to-next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD calculations. The impact of next-to-leading-order electroweak corrections is also considered.