Abstract: The result of a search for pair production of the supersymmetric partner of the Standard Model bottom quark ((b) over tilde (1)) is reported. The search uses 3.2 fb(-1) of pp collisions at root s = 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider in 2015. Bottom squarks are searched for in events containing large missing transverse momentum and exactly two jets identified as originating from b-quarks. No excess above the expected Standard Model background yield is observed. Exclusion limits at 95 % confidence level on the mass of the bottom squark are derived in phenomenological supersymmetric R-parity-conserving models in which the (b) over tilde (1) is the lightest squark and is assumed to decay exclusively via (b) over tilde (1) -> b (chi) over tilde (0)(1), where (chi) over tilde (0)(1) is the lightest neutralino. The limits significantly extend previous results; bottom squark masses up to 800 (840) GeV are excluded for the. (chi) over tilde (0)(1) mass below 360 (100) GeV whilst differences in mass above 100 GeV between the (b) over tilde (1) and the (chi) over tilde (0)(1) are excluded up to a (b) over tilde (1) mass of 500 GeV.

Abstract: The relationship between jet production in the central region and the underlying-event activity in a pseudorapidity-separated region is studied in 4.0 pb(-1) of root s = 2.76 TeV pp collision data recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The underlying event is characterised through measurements of the average value of the sum of the transverse energy at large pseudorapidity downstream of one of the protons, which are reported here as a function of hard-scattering kinematic variables. The hard scattering is characterised by the average transverse momentum and pseudorapidity of the two highest transverse momentum jets in the event. The dijet kinematics are used to estimate, on an event-by-event basis, the scaled longitudinal momenta of the hard-scattered partons in the target and projectile beam-protons moving toward and away from the region measuring transverse energy, respectively. Transverse energy production at large pseudorapidity is observed to decrease with a linear dependence on the longitudinal momentum fraction in the target proton and to depend only weakly on that in the projectile proton. The results are compared to the predictions of various Monte Carlo event generators, which qualitatively reproduce the trends observed in data but generally underpredict the overall level of transverse energy at forward pseudorapidity.

Abstract: The reconstruction of the signal from hadrons and jets emerging from the proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and entering the ATLAS calorimeters is based on a three-dimensional topological clustering of individual calorimeter cell signals. The cluster formation follows cell signal-significance patterns generated by electromagnetic and hadronic showers. In this, the clustering algorithm implicitly performs a topological noise suppression by removing cells with insignificant signals which are not in close proximity to cells with significant signals. The resulting topological cell clusters have shape and location information, which is exploited to apply a local energy calibration and corrections depending on the nature of the cluster. Topological cell clustering is established as a well-performing calorimeter signal definition for jet and missing transverse momentum reconstruction in ATLAS.

Abstract: The ratio of the cross sections for inclusive isolated-photon production in pp collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 13 and 8 TeV is measured using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The integrated luminosities of the 13 TeV and 8 TeV datasets are 3.2 fb(-1) and 20.2 fb(-1), respectively. The ratio is measured as a function of the photon transverse energy in different regions of the photon pseudorapidity. The predictions from next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD calculations are compared with the measured ratio. The experimental systematic uncertainties as well as the uncertainties affecting the predictions are evaluated taking into account the correlations between the two centre-of-mass energies, resulting in a reduction of up to a factor of 2.5 (5) in the experimental (theoretical) systematic uncertainties. The predictions based on several parameterisations of the proton parton distribution functions agree with the data within the reduced experimental and theoretical uncertainties. In addition, this ratio to that of the fiducial cross sections for Z boson production at 13 and 8 TeV using the decay channels Z e(+)e(-) and Z (+-) is made and compared with the theoretical predictions. In this double ratio, a further reduction of the experimental uncertainty is obtained because the uncertainties arising from the luminosity measurement cancel out. The predictions describe the measurements of the double ratio within the theoretical and experimental uncertainties.

Abstract: The production rates of prompt and non-prompt J/psi and psi(2S) mesons in their dimuon decay modes are measured using 2.1 and 11.4 fb(-1) of data collected with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, in proton-proton collisions at root s = 7 and 8 respectively. Production cross-sections for prompt as well as non-prompt sources, ratios of psi(2S) to J/psi production, and the fractions of non-prompt production for J/psi and psi(2S) are measured as a function of meson transverse momentum and rapidity. The measurements are compared to theoretical predictions.