Abstract: The extended electroweak SU(3)(c) circle times SU(3)(L) circle times U(1)(X) symmetry framework “explaining” the number of fermion families is revisited. While 331-based schemes can not easily be unified within the conventional field theory sense, we show how to do it within an approach based on D-branes and (un)oriented open strings, on Calabi-Yau singularities. We show how the theory can be UV-completed in a quiver setup, free of gauge and string anomalies. Lepton and baryon numbers are perturbatively conserved, so neutrinos are Dirac-type, and their lightness results from a novel TeV scale seesaw mechanism. Dynamical violation of baryon number by exotic instantons could induce neutron-antineutron oscillations, with proton decay and other dangerous R-parity violating processes strictly forbidden. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license.

Abstract: We investigate the gravitational wave background from a first order phase transition in a matter-dominated universe, and show that it has a unique feature from which important information about the properties of the phase transition and thermal history of the universe can be easily extracted. Also, we discuss the inverse problem of such a gravitational wave background in view of the degeneracy among macroscopic parameters governing the signal.

Abstract: Measurements of the per-event charged-particle yield as a function of the charged-particle transverse momentum and rapidity are performed using p + Pbcollision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of root sNN= 5.02 TeV. Charged particles are reconstructed over pseudorapidity |eta| < 2.3and transverse momentum between 0.1GeVand 22GeVin a dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1 μb(-1). The results are presented in the form of chargedparticle nuclear modification factors, where the p + Pbcharged-particle multiplicities are compared between central and peripheral p + Pbcollisions as well as to charged-particle cross sections measured in ppcollisions. The p + Pbcollision centrality is characterized by the total transverse energy measured in -4.9<eta<-3.1, which is in the direction of the outgoing lead beam. Three different estimations of the number of nucleons participating in the p + Pbcollision are carried out using the Glauber model and two Glauber-Gribov colour-fluctuation extensions to the Glauber model. The values of the nuclear modification factors are found to vary significantly as a function of rapidity and transverse momentum. Abroad peak is observed for all centralities and rapidities in the nuclear modification factors for chargedparticle transverse momentum values around 3GeV. The magnitude of the peak increases for more central collisions as well as rapidity ranges closer to the direction of the outgoing lead nucleus.

Abstract: The top quark mass is measured in the t (t) over bar -> dilepton channel (lepton= e, mu) using ATLAS data recorded in the year 2012 at the LHC. The data were taken at a proton-proton centre-of-mass energy of root s = 8 TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of about 20.2 fb(-1). Exploiting the template method, and using the distribution of invariant masses of lepton-b-jetpairs, the top quark mass is measured to be m(top) = 172.99 +/- 0.41(stat)+/- 0.74(syst) GeV, with a total uncertainty of 0.84 GeV. Finally, acombination with previous ATLAS m(top) measurements from root s = 7 TeV data in the t (t) over bar -> dilepton and t (t) over bar -> lepton + jets channels results in m(top) = 172.84 +/- 0.34(stat)+/- 0.61(syst) GeV, with a total uncertainty of 0.70 GeV.

Abstract: This paper describes a measurement of the inclusive top quark pair production cross-section (sigma(t (t) over bar)) with a data sample of 3.2 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV, collected in 2015 by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. This measurement uses events with an opposite-charge electron-muon pair in the final state. Jets containing b-quarks are tagged using an algorithm based on track impact parameters and reconstructed secondary vertices. The numbers of events with exactly one and exactly two b-tagged jets are counted and used to determine simultaneously sigma(t (t) over bar) and the efficiency to reconstruct and b-tag a jet from a top quark decay, thereby minimising the associated systematic uncertainties. The cross-section is measured to be: s(t (t) over bar)= 818 +/- 8 (stat) +/- 27 (syst) +/- 19 (lumi) +/- 12 (beam) pb, where the four uncertainties arise from data statistics, experimental and theoretical systematic effects, the integrated luminosity and the LHC beam energy, giving a total relative uncertainty of 4.4%. The result is consistent with theoretical QCD calculations at next-to-next-to-leading order. A fiducial measurement corresponding to the experimental acceptance of the leptons is also presented.