Abstract: A search for a high-mass Higgs boson H is performed in the H -> WW -> l nu l nu and H -> WW -> l nu qq decay channels using pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1) collected at root s = 8TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No evidence of a high-mass Higgs boson is found. Limits on sigma(H) x BR(H -> WW) as a function of the Higgs boson mass m(H) are determined in three different scenarios: one in which the heavy Higgs boson has a narrow width compared to the experimental resolution, one for a width increasing with the boson mass and modeled by the complex-pole scheme following the same behavior as in the Standard Model, and one for intermediate widths. The upper range of the search is m(H) = 1500 GeV for the narrow-width scenario and m(H) = 1000 GeV for the other two scenarios. The lower edge of the search range is 200{300 GeV and depends on the analysis channel and search scenario. For each signal interpretation, individual and combined limits from the two WW decay channels are presented. At m(H) = 1500 GeV, the highest-mass point tested, sigma(H) x BR(H -> WW) for a narrow-width Higgs boson is constrained to be less than 22 fb and 6.6 fb at 95% CL for the gluon fusion and vector-boson fusion production modes, respectively.

Abstract: A search is presented for pair production of a new heavy quark (Q) that decays into aW boson and a light quark (q) in the final state where one W boson decays leptonically (to an electron or muon plus a neutrino) and the other W boson decays hadronically. The analysis is performed using an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1) of pp collisions at root s = 8 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. No evidence of Q (Q) over bar production is observed. New chiral quarks with masses below 690 GeVare excluded at 95% confidence level, assuming BR(Q -> Wq) = 1. Results are also interpreted in the context of vectorlike quark models, resulting in the limits on the mass of a vectorlike quark in the two-dimensional plane of BR(Q -> Wq) versus BR(Q -> Hq).

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.

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.

Abstract: A search for flavour-changing neutral current decays of a top quark to an up-type quark (q = u; c) and the Standard Model Higgs boson, where the Higgs boson decays to b (b) over bar, is presented. The analysis searches for top quark pair events in which one top quark decays to W b, with the W boson decaying leptonically, and the other top quark decays to Hq. The search is based on pp collisions at root s = 8TeV recorded in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and uses an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1). Data are analysed in the lepton-plus-jets final state, characterised by an isolated electron or muon and at least four jets. The search exploits the high multiplicity of b quark jets characteristic of signal events, and employs a likelihood discriminant that uses the kinematic differences between the signal and the background, which is dominated by t (t) over bar -> WbWb decays. No significant excess of events above the background expectation is found, and observed (expected) 95% CL upper limits of 0.56% (0.42%) and 0.61% (0.64%) are derived for the t -> Hc and t -> Hu branching ratios respectively. The combination of this search with other ATLAS searches in the H -> gamma gamma and H -> WW*, tau tau decay modes significantly improves the sensitivity, yielding observed (expected) 95% CL upper limits on the t -> Hc and t -> Hu branching ratios of 0.46% (0.25%) and 0.45% (0.29%) respectively. The corresponding combined observed (expected) upper limits on the vertical bar lambda(tcH)vertical bar and vertical bar lambda(tuH)vertical bar couplings are 0.13 (0.10) and 0.13 (0.10) respectively. These are the most restrictive direct bounds on t q H interactions measured so far.