Abstract: To probe the Wtb vertex structure, top-quark and W-boson polarisation observables are measured from t-channel single-top-quark events produced in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 20.2 fb(-1), recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Selected events contain one isolated electron or muon, large missing transverse momentum and exactly two jets, with one of them identified as likely to contain a b-hadron. Stringent selection requirements are applied to discriminate t-channel single-top-quark events from background. The polarisation observables are extracted from asymmetries in angular distributions measured with respect to spin quantisation axes appropriately chosen for the top quark and the W boson. The asymmetry measurements are performed at parton level by correcting the observed angular distributions for detector effects and hadronisation after subtracting the background contributions. The measured top-quark and W-boson polarisation values are in agreement with the Standard Model predictions. Limits on the imaginary part of the anomalous coupling gR are also set from model-independent measurements.

Abstract: Charged Higgs bosons heavier than the top quark and decaying via H-+/- -> tb are searched for in proton-proton collisions measured with the ATLAS experiment at root s = 8 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1). The production of a charged Higgs boson in association with a top quark, gb -> tH(+/-), is explored in the mass range 200 to 600 GeV using multi-jet final states with one electron or muon. In order to separate the signal from the Standard Model background, analysis techniques combining several kinematic variables are employed. An excess of events above the background only hypothesis is observed across a wide mass range, amounting to up to 2.4 standard deviations. Upper limits are set on the gb -> tH(+/-) production cross section times the branching fraction BR(H-+/- -> tb). Additionally, the complementary s-channel production, qq' -> H-+/-, is investigated through a reinterpretation of W' -> tb searches in ATLAS. Final states with one electron or muon are relevant for H-+/- masses from 0.4 to 2.0 TeV, whereas the all-hadronic final state covers the range 1.5 to 3.0 TeV. In these search channels, no significant excesses from the predictions of the Standard Model are observed, and upper limits are placed on the qq' -> H-+/- production cross section times the branching fraction BR(H-+/- -> tb).

Abstract: A measurement of the ZZ production cross section in proton-proton collisions at root s = 7 TeV using data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider is presented. In a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb(-1) collected in 2011, events are selected that are consistent either with two Z bosons decaying to electrons or muons or with one Z boson decaying to electrons or muons and a second Z boson decaying to neutrinos. The ZZ((*)) -> l(+)l(-)l'(+)l'(-) and ZZ -> l(+)l(-) nu(nu) over bar cross sections are measured in restricted phase-space regions. These results are then used to derive the total cross section for ZZ events produced with both Z bosons in the mass range 66 to 116 GeV, sigma(tot)(ZZ) = 6.7 +/- 0.7 (stat.) (+0.4)(-0.3) (syst.) +/- 0.3 (lumi.) pb, which is consistent with the Standard Model prediction of 5.89(-0.18)(+0.22) pb calculated at next-to-leading order in QCD. The normalized differential cross sections in bins of various kinematic variables are presented. Finally, the differential event yield as a function of the transverse momentum of the leading Z boson is used to set limits on anomalous neutral triple gauge boson couplings in ZZ production.