Abstract: A search for exotic decays of the Higgs boson into a pair of spin-zero particles, H -> aa, where the a-boson decays into b-quarks promptly or with a mean proper lifetime c tau(a) up to 6 mm and has a mass in the range of 20-60GeV, is presented. The search is performed in events where the Higgs boson is produced in association with a W or Z boson, giving rise to a signature of one or two charged leptons (electrons or muons) and multiple jets from b-quark decays. The analysis is based on the dataset of proton-proton collisions at root s = 13TeV recorded in 2015 and 2016 by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36: 1 fb(-1). No significant excess of events above the Standard Model background prediction is observed, and 95% confidence-level upper limits are derived for the production cross-sections for pp -> WH, ZH and their combination, times the branching ratio of the decay chain H -> aa -> 4b. For a-bosons which decay promptly, the upper limit on the combination of cross-sections for WH and ZH times the branching ratio of H -> aa -> 4b ranges from 3.0 pb for m(a) = 20 GeV to 1.3 pb for m(a) = 60 GeV, assuming that the ratio of WH to ZH cros-ssections follows the Standard Model prediction. For a-bosons with longer proper lifetimes, the most stringent limits are 1.8 pb and 0.68 pb, respectively, at c tau(a) similar to 0.4 mm.

Abstract: measurement of the rapidity and transverse momentum dependence of dijet azimuthal decorrelations is presented, using the quantity R-Delta phi. The quantity R-Delta phi specifies the fraction of the inclusive dijet events in which the azimuthal opening angle of the two jets with the highest transverse momenta is less than a given value of the parameter Delta phi(max). The quantity R-Delta phi is measured in proton-proton collisions at root s = 8 TeV as a function of the dijet rapidity interval, the event total scalar transverse momentum, and Delta phi(max). The measurement uses an event sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.2 fb(-1) collected with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Predictions of a perturbative QCD calculation at next-to-leading order in the strong coupling with corrections for nonperturbative effects are compared to the data. The theoretical predictions describe the data in the whole kinematic region. The data are used to determine the strong coupling alpha(S) and to study its running for momentum transfers from 260 GeV to above 1.6 TeV. Analysis that combines data at all momentum transfers results in alpha(S) (m(Z)) = 0.1127(- 0.0027) (+0.0063).

Abstract: A search for pair production of the supersymmetric partners of the Higgs boson (higgsinos (H) over tilde) in gaugemediated scenarios is reported. Each higgsino is assumed to decay to a Higgs boson and a gravitino. Two complementary analyses, targeting high- and low-mass signals, are performed to maximize sensitivity. The two analyses utilize LHC pp collision data at a center-of-mass energy root s = 13 TeV, the former with an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1) and the latter with 24.3 fb(-1), collected with the ATLAS detector in 2015 and 2016. The search is performed in events containing missing transverse momentum and several energetic jets, at least three of which must be identified as b-quark jets. No significant excess is found above the predicted background. Limits on the cross section are set as a function of the mass of the <(Hover tilde> in simplified models assuming production via mass-degenerate higgsinos decaying to a Higgs boson and a gravitino. Higgsinos with masses between 130 and 230 GeV and between 290 and 880 GeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level. Interpretations of the limits in terms of the branching ratio of the higgsino to a Z boson or a Higgs boson are also presented, and a 45% branching ratio to a Higgs boson is excluded for m(<(Hover tilde>) approximate to 400 GeV.

Abstract: A search is performed for resonant and non-resonant Higgs boson pair production in the final state. The data set used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. No significant excess relative to the Standard Model expectation is observed. The observed limit on the non-resonant Higgs boson pair cross-section is 0.73 pb at 95% confidence level. This observed limit is equivalent to 22 times the predicted Standard Model cross-section. The Higgs boson self-coupling (=(HHH)/SM) is constrained at 95% confidence level to -8.2 < < 13.2. For resonant Higgs boson pair production through , the limit is presented, using the narrow-width approximation, as a function of m(X) in the range 260 GeV < m(X) < 1000 GeV. The observed limits range from 1.1 pb to 0.12 pb over this mass range.

Abstract: A search is performed for a heavy particle decaying into different-flavor, dilepton pairs (e mu, e tau or μtau), using 36.1 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at root s = 13 TeV collected in 2015-2016 by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No excesses over the Standard Model predictions are observed. Bayesian lower limits at the 95% credibility level are placed on the mass of a Z' boson, the mass of a supersymmetric tau-sneutrino, and on the threshold mass for quantum black-hole production. For the Z' and sneutrino models, upper cross-section limits are converted to upper limits on couplings, which are compared with similar limits from low-energy experiments and which are more stringent for the e tau and μtau modes.