Abstract: A search for flavour-changing neutral current decays of a top quark to an up-type quark (q = u; c) and the Standard Model Higgs boson, where the Higgs boson decays to b (b) over bar, is presented. The analysis searches for top quark pair events in which one top quark decays to W b, with the W boson decaying leptonically, and the other top quark decays to Hq. The search is based on pp collisions at root s = 8TeV recorded in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and uses an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1). Data are analysed in the lepton-plus-jets final state, characterised by an isolated electron or muon and at least four jets. The search exploits the high multiplicity of b quark jets characteristic of signal events, and employs a likelihood discriminant that uses the kinematic differences between the signal and the background, which is dominated by t (t) over bar -> WbWb decays. No significant excess of events above the background expectation is found, and observed (expected) 95% CL upper limits of 0.56% (0.42%) and 0.61% (0.64%) are derived for the t -> Hc and t -> Hu branching ratios respectively. The combination of this search with other ATLAS searches in the H -> gamma gamma and H -> WW*, tau tau decay modes significantly improves the sensitivity, yielding observed (expected) 95% CL upper limits on the t -> Hc and t -> Hu branching ratios of 0.46% (0.25%) and 0.45% (0.29%) respectively. The corresponding combined observed (expected) upper limits on the vertical bar lambda(tcH)vertical bar and vertical bar lambda(tuH)vertical bar couplings are 0.13 (0.10) and 0.13 (0.10) respectively. These are the most restrictive direct bounds on t q H interactions measured so far.

Abstract: The normalized differential cross section for top-quark pair production in association with at least one jet is studied as a function of the inverse of the invariant mass of the t (t) over bar + 1-jet system. This distribution can be used for a precise determination of the top-quark mass since gluon radiation depends on the mass of the quarks. The experimental analysis is based on proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC with a centre-of-mass energy of 7TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb(-1). The selected events were identified using the lepton+jets top-quark-pair decay channel, where lepton refers to either an electron or a muon. The observed distribution is compared to a theoretical prediction at next-to-leading-order accuracy in quantum chromodynamics using the pole-mass scheme. With this method, the measured value of the top-quark pole mass, m(t)(pole), is: m(t)(pole) t = 173.7 +/- 1.5 (stat.) +/- 1.4 (syst.)(-0.5)(+1.0) (theory) GeV. This result represents the most precise measurement of the top-quark pole mass to date.

Abstract: A search for Higgs boson production in association with a W or Z boson, in the H -> WW* decay channel, is performed with a data sample collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies root s = 7 TeV and 8TeV, corresponding to integrated luminosities of 4.5 fb(-1) and 20.3 fb(-1), respectively. The W H production mode is studied in two-lepton and three-lepton final states, while twolepton and four-lepton final states are used to search for the ZH production mode. The observed significance, for the combined WH and ZH production, is 2.5 standard deviations while a significance of 0.9 standard deviations is expected in the Standard Model Higgs boson hypothesis. The ratio of the combined W H and Z H signal yield to the Standard Model expectation, mu(VH), is found to be mu(VH) = 3.0(-1.1)(+1.3)(stat.)(-0.7)(+1.0) (sys.) for the Higgs boson mass of 125.36 GeV. The WH and ZH production modes are also combined with the gluon fusion and vector boson fusion production modes studied in the H -> WW* -> l nu l nu decay channel, resulting in an overall observed significance of 6.5 standard deviations and μF-gg+VBF+VH = 1.16(-0.15)(+0.16)(stat.)(-0.15)(+0.18)(sys.). The results are interpreted in terms of scaling factors of the Higgs boson couplings to vector bosons (kappa(V)) and fermions (kappa(F)); the combined results are: vertical bar kappa(V)vertical bar = 1.06(-0.10)(+0.10), vertical bar kappa(F)vertical bar = 0.85(-0.20)(+0.26)