Abstract: A measurement of J/psi and psi(2S) production is presented. It is based on a data sample from Pb+Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 5.02 TeV and pp collisions at root s = 5.02 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2015, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.42 nb(-1) and 25 pb(-1) in Pb+Pb and pp, respectively. The measurements of per-event yields, nuclear modification factors, and non-prompt fractions are performed in the dimuon decay channel for 9 < p(T)(mu mu) < 40 GeV in dimuon transverse momentum, and -2 < y(mu mu) < 2 in rapidity. Strong suppression is found in Pb+Pb collisions for both prompt and non-prompt J/psi, increasing with event centrality. The suppression of prompt psi(2S) is observed to be stronger than that of J/psi, while the suppression of non-prompt psi(2S) is equal to that of the non-prompt J/psi within uncertainties, consistent with the expectation that both arise from b-quarks propagating through the medium. Despite prompt and non-prompt J/psi arising from different mechanisms, the dependence of their nuclear modification factors on centrality is found to be quite similar.

Abstract: Searches for the exclusive decays of Higgs and Z bosons into a vector quarkonium state and a photon are performed in the mu(+)mu(-) gamma final state with a proton-proton collision data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1) collected at root s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The observed data are compatible with the expected backgrounds. The 95% confidence-level upper limits on the branching fractions of the Higgs boson decays into J/psi gamma, psi(2S)gamma, and Upsilon(1S, 2S, 3S)gamma are found to be 2.0 x 10(-4), 10.5x10(-4), and (2.5, 4.2, 3.4) x10(-4), respectively, assuming Standard Model production of the Higgs boson. The corresponding 95% CL upper limits on the branching fractions of the Z boson decays are 1.2 x 10(-6), 2.4 x 10(-6), and (1.1, 1.3, 2.4) x10(-6). An observed 95% CL interval of (-133, 175) is obtained for the kappa(c)/kappa(gamma) ratio of Higgs boson coupling modifiers, and a 95% CL interval of (-37, 40) is obtained for kappa(b)/kappa(gamma).

Abstract: A search for excited electrons produced in pp collisions at root s = 13 TeV via a contact interaction q (q) over bar -> ee* is presented. The search uses 36.1 fb(-1) of data collected in 2015 and 2016 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Decays of the excited electron into an electron and a pair of quarks (eq (q) over bar) are targeted in final states with two electrons and two hadronic jets, and decays via a gauge interaction into a neutrino and a W boson (nu W) are probed in final states with an electron, missing transverse momentum, and a large-radius jet consistent with a hadronically decaying W boson. No significant excess is observed over the expected backgrounds. Upper limits are calculated for the pp -> ee* -> eeq (q) over bar and pp -> ee* -> e nu W production cross sections as a function of the excited electron mass m(e)* at 95% confidence level. The limits are translated into lower bounds on the compositeness scale parameter Lambda of the model as a function of m(e)*. For m(e)* < 0.5 TeV, the lower bound for Lambda is 11 TeV. In the special case of m(e)* = Lambda, the values of m(e)* < 4.8 TeV are excluded. The presented limits on Lambda are more stringent than those obtained in previous searches.

Abstract: Leptons with essentially the same properties apart from their mass are grouped into three families (or flavours). The number of leptons of each flavour is conserved in interactions, but this is not imposed by fundamental principles. Since the formulation of the standard model of particle physics, the observation of flavour oscillations among neutrinos has shown that lepton flavour is not conserved in neutrino weak interactions. So far, there has been no experimental evidence that this also occurs in interactions between charged leptons. Such an observation would be a sign of undiscovered particles or a yet unknown type of interaction. Here the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN reports a constraint on lepton-flavour-violating effects in weak interactions, searching for Z-boson decays into a tau lepton and another lepton of different flavour with opposite electric charge. The branching fractions for these decays are measured to be less than 8.1 x 10(-6) (e tau) and 9.5 x 10(-6) (mu tau) at the 95% confidence level using 139 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV and 20.3 fb(-1) at root s = 8 TeV. These results supersede the limits from the Large Electron-Positron Collider experiments conducted more than two decades ago.

Abstract: This paper describes a study of techniques for identifying Higgs bosons at high transverse momenta decaying into bottom-quark pairs, H -> b (b) over bar, for proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy root s = 13 TeV. These decays are reconstructed from calorimeter jets found with the anti-k(t) R = 1.0 jet algorithm. To tag Higgs bosons, a combination of requirements is used: b-tagging of R = 0.2 track-jets matched to the large-R calorimeter jet, and requirements on the jet mass and other jet substructure variables. The Higgs boson tagging efficiency and corresponding multijet and hadronic top-quark background rejections are evaluated using Monte Carlo simulation. Several benchmark tagging selections are defined for different signal efficiency targets. The modelling of the relevant input distributions used to tag Higgs bosons is studied in 36 fb(-1) of data collected in 2015 and 2016 using g -> b (b) over bar and Z(-> b (b) over bar)gamma event selections in data. Both processes are found to be well modelled within the statistical and systematic uncertainties.