Abstract: Results of a search for new particles decaying into eight or more jets and moderate missing transverse momentum are presented. The analysis uses 139 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at <mml:msqrt>s</mml:msqrt> = 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider between 2015 and 2018. The selection rejects events containing isolated electrons or muons, and makes requirements according to the number of b-tagged jets and the scalar sum of masses of large-radius jets. The search extends previous analyses both in using a larger dataset and by employing improved jet and missing transverse momentum reconstruction methods which more cleanly separate signal from background processes. No evidence for physics beyond the Standard Model is found. The results are interpreted in the context of supersymmetry-inspired simplified models, significantly extending the limits on the gluino mass in those models. In particular, limits on the gluino mass are set at 2 TeV when the lightest neutralino is nearly massless in a model assuming a two-step cascade decay via the lightest chargino and second-lightest neutralino.

Abstract: Particles beyond the Standard Model (SM) can generically have lifetimes that are long compared to SM particles at the weak scale. When produced at experiments such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, these long-lived particles (LLPs) can decay far from the interaction vertex of the primary proton-proton collision. Such LLP signatures are distinct from those of promptly decaying particles that are targeted by the majority of searches for new physics at the LHC, often requiring customized techniques to identify, for example, significantly displaced decay vertices, tracks with atypical properties, and short track segments. Given their non-standard nature, a comprehensive overview of LLP signatures at the LHC is beneficial to ensure that possible avenues of the discovery of new physics are not overlooked. Here we report on the joint work of a community of theorists and experimentalists with the ATLAS, CMS, and LHCb experiments-as well as those working on dedicated experiments such as MoEDAL, milliQan, MATHUSLA, CODEX-b, and FASER-to survey the current state of LLP searches at the LHC, and to chart a path for the development of LLP searches into the future, both in the upcoming Run 3 and at the high-luminosity LHC. The work is organized around the current and future potential capabilities of LHC experiments to generally discover new LLPs, and takes a signature-based approach to surveying classes of models that give rise to LLPs rather than emphasizing any particular theory motivation. We develop a set of simplified models; assess the coverage of current searches; document known, often unexpected backgrounds; explore the capabilities of proposed detector upgrades; provide recommendations for the presentation of search results; and look towards the newest frontiers, namely high-multiplicity 'dark showers', highlighting opportunities for expanding the LHC reach for these signals.

Abstract: Multi-particle azimuthal cumulants are measured as a function of centrality and transverse momentum using 470 μb(-1) of Pb+Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 5.02TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. These cumulants provide information on the event-by-event fluctuations of harmonic flow coefficients v(n) and correlated fluctuations between two harmonics v(n) and v(m). For the first time, a non-zero four-particle cumulant is observed for dipolar flow, v(1). The four-particle cumulants for elliptic flow, v(2), and triangular flow, v(3), exhibit a strong centrality dependence and change sign in ultra-central collisions. This sign change is consistent with significant non-Gaussian fluctuations in v(2) and v(3). The four-particle cumulant for quadrangular flow, v(4), is found to change sign in mid-central collisions. Correlations between two harmonics are studied with three- and four-particle mixed-harmonic cumulants, which indicate an anti-correlation between v(2) and v(3), and a positive correlation between v(2) and v(4). These correlations decrease in strength towards central collisions and either approach zero or change sign in ultra-central collisions. To investigate the possible flow fluctuations arising from intrinsic centrality or volume fluctuations, the results are compared between two different event classes used for centrality definitions. In peripheral and mid-central collisions where the cumulant signals are large, only small differences are observed. In ultra-central collisions, the differences are much larger and transverse momentum dependent. These results provide new information to disentangle flow fluctuations from the initial and final states, as well as new insights on the influence of centrality fluctuations.