Abstract: The standard model of particle physics encapsulates our best current understanding of physics at the smallest scales. A fundamental axiom of this theory is the universality of the couplings of the different generations of leptons to the electroweak gauge bosons. The measurement of the ratio of the decay rate of W bosons to t leptons and muons, R(tau/mu), constitutes an important test of this axiom. Using 139 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions recorded with the ATLAS detector at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, we report a measurement of this quantity from di-leptonic tt events where the top quarks decay into a W boson and a bottom quark. We can distinguish muons originating from W bosons and those originating from an intermediate t lepton through the muon transverse impact parameter and differences in the muon transverse momentum spectra. The measured value of R(tau/mu) is 0.992 +/- 0.013 [+/- 0.007(stat) +/- 0.011(syst)] and is in agreement with the hypothesis of universal lepton couplings as postulated in the standard model. This is the only such measurement from the Large Hadron Collider, so far, and obtains twice the precision of previous measurements.

Abstract: The standard model of particle physics currently provides our best description of fundamental particles and their interactions. The theory predicts that the different charged leptons, the electron, muon and tau, have identical electroweak interaction strengths. Previous measurements have shown that a wide range of particle decays are consistent with this principle of lepton universality. This article presents evidence for the breaking of lepton universality in beauty-quark decays, with a significance of 3.1 standard deviations, based on proton–proton collision data collected with the LHCb detector at CERN's Large Hadron Collider. The measurements are of processes in which a beauty meson transforms into a strange meson with the emission of either an electron and a positron, or a muon and an antimuon. If confirmed by future measurements, this violation of lepton universality would imply physics beyond the standard model, such as a new fundamental interaction between quarks and leptons.

Abstract: The branching fraction B(B0→D*−τ+ντ) is measured relative to that of the normalization mode B0→D*−π+π−π+ using hadronic τ+→π+π−π+(π0)¯ντ decays in proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2  fb−1. The measured ratio is B(B0→D*−τ+ντ)/B(B0→D*−π+π−π+)=1.70±0.10+0.11−0.10, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is related to systematic effects. Using established branching fractions for the B0→D*−π+π−π+ and B0→D*−μ+νμ modes, the lepton universality test R(D*−)≡B(B0→D*−τ+ντ)/B(B0→D*−μ+νμ) is calculated, R(D*−)=0.247±0.015±0.015±0.012, where the third uncertainty is due to the uncertainties on the external branching fractions. This result is consistent with the Standard Model prediction and with previous measurements.

Abstract: A test of CP invariance in Higgs boson production via vector-boson fusion is performed in the H -> tau tau decay channel. This test uses the Optimal Observable method and is carried out using 36.1 fb(-1) of root s = 13 TeV proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Contributions from CP-violating interactions between the Higgs boson and electroweak gauge bosons are described by an effective field theory, in which the parameter (d) over tilde governs the strength of CP violation. No sign of CP violation is observed in the distributions of the Optimal Observable, and (d) over tilde is constrained to the interval [-0.090, 0.035] at the 68% confidence level (CL), compared to an expected interval of (d) over tilde is an element of [ -0.035, 0.033] based upon the Standard Model prediction. No constraints can be set on (d) over tilde at 95% CL, while an expected 95% CL interval of (d) over tilde is an element of [ -0.21, 0.15] for the Standard Model hypothesis was expected.

Abstract: During single clock inflation, hidden fields (i.e. fields coupled to the inflaton only gravitationally) in their adiabatic vacua can ordinarily only affect observables through virtual effects. After renormalizing background quantities (fixed by observations at some pivot scale), all that remains are logarithmic runnings in correlation functions that are both Planck and slow roll suppressed. In this paper we show how a large number of hidden fields can partially compensate this suppression and generate a potentially observable running in the tensor two point function, consistently inferable courtesy of a large N resummation. We detour to address certain subtleties regarding loop corrections during inflation, extending the analysis of [1]. Our main result is that one can extract bounds on the hidden field content of the universe from bounds on violations of the consistency relation between the tensor spectral index and the tensor to scalar ratio, were primordial tensors ever detected. Such bounds are more competitive than the naive bound inferred from requiring inflation to occur below the strong coupling scale of gravity if deviations from the consistency relation can be bounded to within the sub-percent level. We discuss how one can meaningfully constrain the parameter space of various phenomenological scenarios and constructions that address naturalness with a large number of species (such as N-naturalness') with CMB observations up to cosmic variance limits, and possibly future 21cm and gravitational wave observations.