Abstract: The ATLAS Collaboration (and also CMS) has recently reported an excess over Standard Model expectations for gauge boson pair production in the invariant mass region 1.8-2.2 TeV. In light of these results, we argue that such a signal might be the first manifestation of the production and further decay of a heavy CP-even Higgs resulting from a type-I two Higgs doublet model. We demonstrate that in the presence of colored vectorlike fermions, its gluon fusion production cross section is strongly enhanced, with the enhancement depending on the color representation of the new fermion states. Our findings show that barring the color triplet case, any QCD “exotic” representation can fit the ATLAS result in fairly large portions of the parameter space. We have found that if the diboson excess is confirmed and this mechanism is indeed responsible for it, then the LHC Run-2 should find (i) a CP-odd scalar with mass below similar to 2.3 TeV, (ii) new colored states with masses below similar to 2 TeV, (iii) no statistically significant diboson events in the W(+/-)Z channel, (iv) events in the triboson channels W(+/-)W(-/+)Z and ZZZ with invariant mass amounting to the mass of the CP-odd scalar.

Abstract: A 6.8 nb(-1) sample of pp collision data collected under low-luminosity conditions at root s = 7 TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is used to study diffractive dijet production. Events containing at least two jets with p(T) > 20 GeV are selected and analysed in terms of variables which discriminate between diffractive and non-diffractive processes. Cross sections are measured differentially in Delta eta(F), the size of the observable forward region of pseudorapidity which is devoid of hadronic activity, and in an estimator, (xi) over tilde, of the fractional momentum loss of the proton assuming single diffractive dissociation (pp -> pX). Model comparisons indicate a dominant non-diffractive contribution up to moderately large Delta eta(F) and small (xi) over tilde, with a diffractive contribution which is significant at the highest Delta eta(F) and the lowest (xi) over tilde. The rapidity-gap survival probability is estimated from comparisons of the data in this latter region with predictions based on diffractive parton distribution functions.

Abstract: We have analyzed the singularities of a triangle loop integral in detail and derived a formula for an easy evaluation of the triangle singularity on the physical boundary. It is applied to the Lambda(b) -> J/psi K(-)p process via Lambda*-charmonium-proton intermediate states. Although the evaluation of absolute rates is not possible, we identify the chi(c1) and the psi(2S)as the relatively most relevant states among all possible charmonia up to the psi(2S). The Lambda(1890)chi(c1)p loop is very special, as its normal threshold and triangle singularities merge at about 4.45 GeV, generating a narrow and prominent peak in the amplitude in the case that the chi(c1)p is in an S wave. We also see that loops with the same charmonium and other Lambda* hyperons produce less dramatic peaks from the threshold singularity alone. For the case of chi(c1)p -> J/psi p and quantum numbers 3/2(-) or 5/2(+), one needs P and D waves, respectively, in the chi(c1)p, which drastically reduce the strength of the contribution and smooth the threshold peak. In this case, we conclude that the singularities cannot account for the observed narrow peak. In the case of 1/2(+), 3/2(-) quantum numbers, where chi(c1)p -> J/psi p can proceed in an S wave, the Lambda(1890)chi(c1)p triangle diagram could play an important role, though neither can assert their strength without further input from experiments and lattice QCD calculations.