Abstract: A search for new particles that decay into top quark pairs is reported. The search is performed with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC using an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data collected at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 8TeV. The lepton-plus-jets final state is used, where the top pair decays to W (+) bW(-)(b) over bar, with one W boson decaying leptonically and the other hadronically. The invariant mass spectrum of top quark pairs is examined for local excesses or deficits that are inconsistent with the Standard Model predictions. No evidence for a top quark pair resonance is found, and 95% confidence-level limits on the production rate are determined for massive states in benchmark models. The upper limits on the cross-section times branching ratio of a narrow Z' boson decaying to top pairs range from 4.2 pb to 0.03 pb for resonance masses from 0.4 TeV to 3.0 TeV. A narrow leptophobic topcolour Z' boson with mass below 1.8 TeV is excluded. Upper limits are set on the cross-section times branching ratio for a broad colour-octet resonance with Gamma/m = 15% decaying to tt. These range from 4.8 pb to 0.03 pb for masses from 0.4 TeV to 3.0 TeV. A Kaluza-Klein excitation of the gluon in a Randall-Sundrum model is excluded for masses below 2.2 TeV.

Abstract: Production cross-sections of prompt charm mesons are measured using data from pp collisions at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 5TeV. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 8 : 60 +/- 0 : 33 pb(-1) collected by the LHCb experiment. The production cross-sections of D-0, D+, D-s(+), and D*(+) mesons are measured in bins of charm meson transverse momentum, p(T), and rapidity, y. They cover the rapidity range 2 : 0 < y < 4 : 5 and transverse momentum ranges 0 < p(T) < 10 GeV/c for D-0 and D+ and 1 < p(T) < 10 GeV/c for D-s(+) and D*(+) mesons. The inclusive cross- sections for the four mesons, including charge-conjugate states, within the range of 1 < p(T) < 8 GeV/c are determined to be sigma (pp -> D-0 X) – 1004 +/- 3 +/- 54 μb; sigma ( pp -> D+ X) = 402 +/- 2 +/- 30 μb; sigma ( pp -> Ds+X) = 170 +/- 4 +/- 16 μb; sigma ( pp -> D*(+) X) = 421 +/- 5 +/- 36 μb; where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.

Abstract: In this paper, we minimize and compare two different fine-tuning measures in four high-scale supersymmetric models that are embedded in the MSSM. In addition, we determine the impact of current and future dark matter direct detection and collider experiments on the fine-tuning. We then compare the low-scale electroweak measure with the high-scale Barbieri-Giudice measure. We find that they reduce to the same value when the higgsino parameter drives the degree of fine-tuning. We also find spectra where the high-scale measure turns out to be lower than the low-scale measure. Depending on the high-scale model and fine-tuning definition, we find a minimal fine-tuning of 3-38 (corresponding to O(10-1)%) for the low-scale measure, and 63-571 (corresponding to O(1-0.1)%) for the high-scale measure. We stress that it is too early to conclude on the fate of supersymmetry, based only on the fine-tuning paradigm.