Abstract: A search for the charged-lepton-flavor-violating process Z -> e μis presented, using 139 fb(-1) of root s = 13 TeV pp collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. An excess in the e μinvariant mass spectrum near the Z boson mass would be a striking signature of new physics. No excess is observed, and an upper limit B(Z -> e mu) < 2.62 x 10(-7) is placed on the branching fraction at 95% confidence level, which is the most stringent limit to date.

Abstract: A search is presented for the production of a single top quark via left-handed flavour-changing neutralcurrent (FCNC) interactions of a top quark, a gluon and an up or charm quark. Two production processes are considered: u + g -> t and c + g -> t. The analysis is based on proton-proton collision data taken at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1). Events with exactly one electron or muon, exactly one b-tagged jet and missing transverse momentum are selected, resembling the decay products of a singly produced top quark. Neural networks based on kinematic variables differentiate between events from the two signal processes and events from background processes. The measured data are consistent with the background-only hypothesis, and limits are set on the production cross-sections of the signal processes: sigma(u + g -> t) x B(t -> Wb) x B(W -> l nu) < 3.0 pb and sigma(c + g -> t) xB(t -> Wb) xB(W -> l nu) < 4.7pb at the 95% confidence level, with B(W -> l nu) = 0.325 being the sum of branching ratios of all three leptonic decay modes of the W boson. Based on the framework of an effective field theory, the cross-section limits are translated into limits on the strengths of the tug and tcg couplings occurring in the theory: vertical bar C-uG(ut)vertical bar Lambda(2) < 0.057 TeV-2 and vertical bar C-uG(ct)vertical bar Lambda(2) < 0.14 TeV-2. These bounds correspond to limits on the branching ratios of FCNC-induced top-quark decays: B(t -> u + g) < 0.61 x 10(-4) and B(t -> c + g) < 3.7 x 10(-4).

Abstract: Measurements of single-, double-, and triple-differential cross-sections are presented for boosted top-quark pair-production in 13 TeV proton-proton collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The top quarks are observed through their hadronic decay and reconstructed as large-radius jets with the leading jet having transverse momentum (p(T)) greater than 500 GeV. The observed data are unfolded to remove detector effects. The particle-level cross-section, multiplied by the t (t) over bar branching fraction and measured in a fiducial phase space defined by requiring the leading and second-leading jets to have p(T)> 500 GeV and p(T)> 350 GeV, respectively, is 331 +/- 3(stat.) +/- 39(syst.) fb. This is approximately 20% lower than the prediction of 398(-49)(+48) fb by Powheg+Pythia 8 with next-to-leading-order (NLO) accuracy but consistent within the theoretical uncertainties. Results are also presented at the parton level, where the effects of top-quark decay, parton showering, and hadronization are removed such that they can be compared with fixed-order next-to-next-to-leading-order (NNLO) calculations. The parton-level cross-section, measured in a fiducial phase space similar to that at particle level, is 1.94 +/- 0.02(stat.) +/- 0.25(syst.) pb. This agrees with the NNLO prediction of 1.96(-0.17)(+0.02) pb. Reasonable agreement with the differential cross-sections is found for most NLO models, while the NNLO calculations are generally in better agreement with the data. The differential cross-sections are interpreted using a Standard Model effective field-theory formalism and limits are set on Wilson coefficients of several four-fermion operators.

Abstract: This paper presents a measurement of b-jet production in Pb+Pb and pp collisions at root s(NN) = 5.02 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurement uses 260 pb(-1) of pp collisions collected in 2017 and 1.4 nb(-1) of Pb+Pb collisions collected in 2018. In both collision systems, jets are reconstructed via the anti-kt algorithm. The b-jets are identified from a sample of jets containing muons from the semileptonic decay of b-quarks using template fits of the muon momentum relative to the jet axis. In pp collisions, b-jets are reconstructed for radius parameters R=0.2 and R=0.4, and only R=0.2 jets are used in Pb+Pb collisions. For comparison, inclusive R=0.2 jets are also measured using 1.7 nb(-1) of Pb+Pb collisions collected in 2018 and the same pp collision data as the b-jet measurement. The nuclear modification factor, RAA, is calculated for both b-jets and inclusive jets with R=0.2 over the transverse momentum range of 80-290 GeV. The nuclear modification factor for b-jets decreases from peripheral to central collisions. The ratio of the b-jet RAA to inclusive jet RAA is also presented and suggests that the RAA for b-jets is larger than that for inclusive jets in central Pb+Pb collisions. The measurements are compared with theoretical calculations and suggest a role for mass and colour-charge effects in partonic energy loss in heavy-ion collisions.

Abstract: The correlations between flow harmonics v(n) for n = 2, 3, and 4 and mean transverse momentum [pT] in Xe-129 + Xe-129 and Pb-208 + Pb-208 collisions at root s = 5.44 and 5.02 TeV, respectively, are measured using charged particles with the ATLAS detector. The correlations are potentially sensitive to the shape and size of the initial geometry, nuclear deformation, and initial momentum anisotropy. The effects from nonflow and centrality fluctuations are minimized, respectively, via a subevent cumulant method and an event-activity selection based on particle production at very forward rapidity. The v(n)-[p(T)] correlations show strong dependencies on centrality, harmonic number n, pT, and pseudorapidity range. Current models qualitatively describe the overall centrality -and system-dependent trends but fail to quantitatively reproduce all features of the data. In central collisions, where models generally show good agreement, the v(2)-[p(T)] correlations are sensitive to the triaxiality of the quadruple deformation. Comparison of the model with the Pb + Pb and Xe + Xe data confirms that the Xe-129 nucleus is a highly deformed triaxial ellipsoid that has neither a prolate nor oblate shape. This provides strong evidence for a triaxial deformation of the Xe-129 nucleus from high-energy heavy-ion collisions.