Abstract: A search for the lepton-flavour violating decays B-(s)(0) -> e(+/-)mu(-/+) and B-(s)(0) -> e(+/-)mu(-/+) performed based on a sample of proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb(-1), collected with the LHCb experiment at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8TeV. The observed yields are consistent with the background-only hypothesis. Upper limits on the branching fraction of the B-(s)(0) -> e(+/-)mu(-/+) decays are evaluated both in the hypotheses of an amplitude completely dominated by the heavy eigenstate and by the light eigenstate. The results are B(B-s(0) -> e(+/-)mu(-/+)) < 6.3 (5.4) x 10(-9) and B(B-s(0) -> e(+/-)mu(-/+)) < 7.2(6.0) x 10(-9) at 95% (90%) confidence level, respectively. The upper limit on the branching fraction of the B-0 -> e(+/-)mu(-/+) decay is also evaluated, obtaining B(B-0 -> e(+/-)mu(-/+)) < 1.3 (1.0) x 10(-9) at 95% (90%) confidence level. These are the strongest limits on these decays to date.

Abstract: An analysis of the angular distribution of the decay Lambda(0)(b) -> Lambda mu(+)mu(-) is presented, using data collected with the LHCb detector between 2011 and 2016 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 5 fb(-1). Angular observables are determined using a moment analysis of the angular distribution at low hadronic recoil, corresponding to the dimuon invariant mass squared range 15 < q(2) < 20 GeV2/c(4). The full basis of observables is measured for the first time. The lepton-side, hadron-side and combined forward-backward asymmetries of the decay are determined to be A(FB)(l) = -0.39 +/- 0.04 (stat) +/- 0.01 (syst), AFB(h) = -0.30 +/- 0.05 (stat) +/- 0.02 (syst), A(FB)(lh) = +0.25 +/- 0.04 (stat) +/- 0.01 (syst). The measurements are consistent with Standard Model predictions.

Abstract: The NEXT experiment aims at searching for the hypothetical neutrinoless double-beta decay from the Xe-136 isotope using a high-purity xenon TPC. Efficient discrimination of the events through pattern recognition of the topology of primary ionisation tracks is a major requirement for the experiment. However, it is limited by the diffusion of electrons. It is known that the addition of a small fraction of a molecular gas to xenon reduces electron diffusion. On the other hand, the electroluminescence (EL) yield drops and the achievable energy resolution may be compromised. We have studied the effect of adding several molecular gases to xenon (CO2, CH4 and CF4) on the EL yield and energy resolution obtained in a small prototype of driftless gas proportional scintillation counter. We have compared our results on the scintillation characteristics (EL yield and energy resolution) with a microscopic simulation, obtaining the diffusion coefficients in those conditions as well. Accordingly, electron diffusion may be reduced from about 10 for pure xenon down to 2.5 using additive concentrations of about 0.05%, 0.2% and 0.02% for CO2, CH4 and CF4, respectively. Our results show that CF4 admixtures present the highest EL yield in those conditions, but very poor energy resolution as a result of huge fluctuations observed in the EL formation. CH4 presents the best energy resolution despite the EL yield being the lowest. The results obtained with xenon admixtures are extrapolated to the operational conditions of the NEXT-100 TPC. CO2 and CH4 show potential as molecular additives in a large xenon TPC. While CO2 has some operational constraints, making it difficult to be used in a large TPC, CH4 shows the best performance and stability as molecular additive to be used in the NEXT-100 TPC, with an extrapolated energy resolution of 0.4% at 2.45 MeV for concentrations below 0.4%, which is only slightly worse than the one obtained for pure xenon. We demonstrate the possibility to have an electroluminescence TPC operating very close to the thermal diffusion limit without jeopardizing the TPC performance, if CO2 or CH4 are chosen as additives.

Abstract: A search for flavour-changing neutral current decays of a top quark into an up-type quark (q = u, c) and the Standard Model Higgs boson, t Hq, is presented. The search is based on a dataset of pp collisions at = 13 TeV recorded in 2015 and 2016 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1). Two complementary analyses are performed to search for top-quark pair events in which one top quark decays into Wb and the other top quark decays into Hq, and target the Hbb and H (+-) decay modes, respectively. The high multiplicity of b-quark jets, or the presence of hadronically decaying -leptons, is exploited in the two analyses respectively. Multivariate techniques are used to separate the signal from the background, which is dominated by top-quark pair production. No significant excess of events above the background expectation is found, and 95% CL upper limits on the t Hq branching ratios are derived. The combination of these searches with ATLAS searches in diphoton and multilepton final states yields observed (expected) 95% CL upper limits on the t Hc and t Hu branching ratios of 1.1 x 10(-3) (8.3 x 10(-4)) and 1.2 x 10(-3) (8.3 x 10(-4)), respectively. The corresponding combined observed (expected) upper limits on the |(tcH)| and |(tuH)| couplings are 0.064 (0.055) and 0.066 (0.055), respectively.

Abstract: The ratio of branching fractions of the decays -> pK(-)mu(+)mu(-),RpK-1}, is measured for the first time using proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb(-1) recorded with the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and 13 TeV. In the dilepton mass-squared range 0.1 < q(2)< 6.0 GeV2/c(4) and the pK(-) mass range m(pK(-)) < 2600 MeV/c(2), the ratio of branching fractions is measured to be RpK-1=1.17-0.16+0.18 +/- 0.0$$ {R}{pK}<^>{-1}={1.17}{-0.16}<^>{+0.18}\pm 0.07 $$\end{document}, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. This is the first test of lepton universality with b baryons and the first observation of the decay -> pK(-)e(+)e(-).