ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Alvarez Piqueras, D., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Fernandez Martinez, P., et al. (2015). Searches for Higgs boson pair production in the hh -> bb tau tau, gamma gamma WW*, gamma gamma bb, bbbb channels with the ATLAS detector. Phys. Rev. D, 92(9), 092004–30pp.
Abstract: Searches for both resonant and nonresonant Higgs boson pair production are performed in the hh -> bb tau tau, gamma gamma WW* final states using 20.3 fb(-1) of pp collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No evidence of their production is observed and 95% confidence-level upper limits on the production cross sections are set. These results are then combined with the published results of the hh -> gamma gamma bb, bbbb analyses. An upper limit of 0.69 (0.47) pb on the nonresonant hh production is observed (expected), corresponding to 70 (48) times the SM gg -> hh cross section. For production via narrow resonances, cross-section limits of hh production from a heavy Higgs boson decay are set as a function of the heavy Higgs boson mass. The observed (expected) limits range from 2.1 (1.1) pb at 260 GeV to 0.011 (0.018) pb at 1000 GeV. These results are interpreted in the context of two simplified scenarios of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Alvarez Piqueras, D., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Fernandez Martinez, P., et al. (2016). A new method to distinguish hadronically decaying boosted Z bosons from W bosons using the ATLAS detector. Eur. Phys. J. C, 76(5), 238–33pp.
Abstract: The distribution of particles inside hadronic jets produced in the decay of boosted W and Z bosons can be used to discriminate such jets from the continuum background. Given that a jet has been identified as likely resulting from the hadronic decay of a boosted W or Z boson, this paper presents a technique for further differentiating Z bosons from W bosons. The variables used are jet mass, jet charge, and a b-tagging discriminant. A likelihood tagger is constructed from these variables and tested in the simulation of W' -> WZ for bosons in the transverse momentum range 200 GeV < p(T) < 400 GeV in root s = 8 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. For Z-boson tagging efficiencies of epsilon(Z) = 90, 50, and 10 %, one can achieve W+-boson tagging rejection factors (1/epsilon(W+)) of 1.7, 8.3 and 1000, respectively. It is not possible to measure these efficiencies in the data due to the lack of a pure sample of high p(T), hadronically decaying Z bosons. However, the modelling of the tagger inputs for boosted W bosons is studied in data using a t (t) over bar -enriched sample of events in 20.3 fb(-1) of data at root s = 8 TeV. The inputs are well modelled within uncertainties, which builds confidence in the expected tagger performance.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Alvarez Piqueras, D., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Fernandez Martinez, P., et al. (2016). Search for direct top squark pair production in final states with two tau leptons in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector. Eur. Phys. J. C, 76(2), 81–30pp.
Abstract: A search for direct pair production of the supersymmetric partner of the top quark, decaying via a scalar tau to a nearly massless gravitino, has been performed using 20 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at root s = 8 TeV. The data were collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC in 2012. Top squark candidates are searched for in events with either two hadronically decaying tau leptons, one hadronically decaying tau and one light lepton, or two light leptons. No significant excess over the Standard Model expectation is found. Exclusion limits at 95 % confidence level are set as a function of the top squark and scalar tau masses. Depending on the scalar tau mass, ranging from the 87 GeV LEP limit to the top squark mass, lower limits between 490 and 650 GeV are placed on the top squark mass within the model considered.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Alvarez Piqueras, D., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Fernandez Martinez, P., et al. (2016). Search for new phenomena in events with at least three photons collected in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector. Eur. Phys. J. C, 76(4), 210–26pp.
Abstract: Results of a search for new phenomena in events with at least three photons are reported. Data from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1), were collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The observed data are well described by the Standard Model. Limits at the 95 % confidence level on new phenomena are presented based on the rate of events in an inclusive signal region and a restricted signal region targeting the rare decay Z -> 3 gamma, as well as di-photon and tri-photon resonance searches. For a Standard Model Higgs boson decaying to four photons via a pair of intermediate pseudoscalar particles ( a), limits are found to be sigma xBR( h -> aa) xBR(a -> gamma gamma) 2 < 10(-3) sigma(SM) for 10 GeV < m(a) < 62 GeV. Limits are also presented for Higgs boson-like scalars (H) for m(H) > 125 GeV, and for a Z' decaying to three photons via Z' -> a + gamma -> 3 gamma. Additionally, the observed limit on the branching ratio of the Z boson decay to three photons is found to be BR( Z -> 3 gamma) < 2.2 x 10(-6), a result five times stronger than the previous result from LEP.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Alvarez Piqueras, D., Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Fernandez Martinez, P., et al. (2015). Measurement of the t(t)over-barW and t(t)over-barZ production cross sections in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector. J. High Energy Phys., 11(11), 172–48pp.
Abstract: The production cross sections of top-quark pairs in association with massive vector bosons have been measured using data from pp collisions at root s = 8 TeV. The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1) collected by the ATLAS detector in 2012 at the LHC. Final states with two, three or four leptons are considered. A fit to the data considering the t (t) over barW and t (t) over barZ processes simultaneously yields a significance of 5.0 sigma (4.2 sigma) over the background-only hypothesis for t (t) over barW (t (t) over barZ) production. The measured cross sections are sigma(t (t) over barW) = 369(-91)(+100) fb and sigma(t (t) over barZ) = 176(-52)(+58) fb. The background-only hypothesis with neither t (t) over barW nor t (t) over barZ production is excluded at 7.1 sigma. All measurements are consistent with next-to-leading-order calculations for the t (t) over barW and t (t) over barZ processes.
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