Abstract: The production of W boson pairs in proton-proton collisions at root s = 8TeV is studied using data corresponding to 20.3 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity collected by the ATLAS detector during 2012 at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The W bosons are reconstructed using their leptonic decays into electrons or muons and neutrinos. Events with reconstructed jets are not included in the candidate event sample. A total of 6636 W W candidate events are observed. Measurements are performed in fiducial regions closely approximating the detector acceptance. The integrated measurement is corrected for all acceptance effects and for the W branching fractions to leptons in order to obtain the total W W production cross section, which is found to be 71.1 +/- 1.1( stat) + (5.7) (5.0) (syst) +/- 1 : 4( lumi) pb. This agrees with the next-to-next-to-leading-order Standard Model prediction of 63.2(+1.6) (-1.4) (scale) +/- 1.2(PDF) pb. Fiducial differential cross sections are measured as a function of each of six kinematic variables. The distribution of the transverse momentum of the leading lepton is used to set limits on anomalous triple-gauge-boson couplings.

Abstract: The reconstruction of the signal from hadrons and jets emerging from the proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and entering the ATLAS calorimeters is based on a three-dimensional topological clustering of individual calorimeter cell signals. The cluster formation follows cell signal-significance patterns generated by electromagnetic and hadronic showers. In this, the clustering algorithm implicitly performs a topological noise suppression by removing cells with insignificant signals which are not in close proximity to cells with significant signals. The resulting topological cell clusters have shape and location information, which is exploited to apply a local energy calibration and corrections depending on the nature of the cluster. Topological cell clustering is established as a well-performing calorimeter signal definition for jet and missing transverse momentum reconstruction in ATLAS.

Abstract: This article documents the performance of the ATLAS muon identification and reconstruction using the LHC dataset recorded at root s = 13 TeVin 2015. Using a large sample of J/.psi -> μμand Z -> μμdecays from 3.2 fb(-1) of pp collision data, measurements of the reconstruction efficiency, as well as of the momentum scale and resolution, are presented and compared to Monte Carlo simulations. The reconstruction efficiency is measured to be close to 99 % over most of the covered phase space (vertical bar eta vertical bar < 2.5 and 5 < p(T) < 100 GeV). The isolation efficiency varies between 93 and 100 % depending on the selection applied and on the momentum of the muon. Both efficiencies are well reproduced in simulation. In the central region of the detector, the momentum resolution is measured to be 1.7 % (2.3 %) for muons from J/psi -> μmu(Z -> μmu) decays, and the momentum scale is known with an uncertainty of 0.05 %. In the region vertical bar eta vertical bar > 2.2, the p(T) resolution for muons from Z -> μdecays is 2.9 % while the precision of the momentum scale for low-p(T) muons from J/psi -> μμdecays is about 0.2 %.

Abstract: This paper discusses various observations on beam-induced and cosmic-ray backgrounds in the ATLAS detector during the LHC 2012 proton-proton run. Building on published results based on 2011 data, the correlations between background and residual pressure of the beam vacuum are revisited. Ghost charge evolution over 2012 and its role for backgrounds are evaluated. New methods to monitor ghost charge with beam-gas rates are presented and observations of LHC abort gap population by ghost charge are discussed in detail. Fake jets from colliding bunches and from ghost charge are analysed with improved methods, showing that ghost charge in individual radio-frequency buckets of the LHC can be resolved. Some results of two short periods of dedicated cosmic-ray background data-taking are shown; in particular cosmic-ray muon induced fake jet rates are compared to Monte Carlo simulations and to the fake jet rates from beam background. A thorough analysis of a particular LHC fill, where abnormally high background was observed, is presented. Correlations between backgrounds and beam intensity losses in special fills with very high beta* are studied.

Abstract: Measurements of the W-+/- -> l(+/-) v and Z -> l(+)l(-) production cross sections (where l(+/-) = e(+/-), mu(+/-)) in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV are presented using data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 81 pb(-1). The total inclusive W+-boson production cross sections times the single-lepton-flavour branching ratios are sigma(tot)(w+) = 11.83 +/- 0.02 (stat) +/- 0.32 (sys) +/- 0.25 (lumi) nb and sigma(tot)(W-) = 8.79 +/- 0.02 (stat) +/- 0.24 (sys) +/- 0.18 (lumi) nb for W+ and W-, respectively. The total inclusive Z-boson production cross section times leptonic branching ratio, within the invariant mass window 66 < m(tt) < 116 GeV, is sigma(tot)(Z) = 1.981 +/- 0.007 (stat) +/- 0.038 (sys) +/- 0.042 (lumi) nb. The W+, W-, and Z-boson production cross sections and cross-section ratios within a fiducial region defined by the detector acceptance are also measured. The cross-section ratios benefit from significant cancellation of experimental uncertainties, resulting in sigma(fid)(W+)/sigma(fid)(W-) = 1.295 +/- 0.003 (stat) +/- 0.010 (sys) and sigma(fid)(W +/-)/sigma(fid)(Z) = 10.31 +/- 0.04 (stat) +/- 0.20 (sys). Theoretical predictions, based on calculations accurate to next-to-next-to-leading order for quantum chromodynamics and to next-to-leading order for electroweak processes and which employ different parton distribution function sets, are compared to these measurements.