Abstract: Measurements of the production cross section of a Z boson in association with jets in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13TeV are presented, using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.16 fb(-1) collected by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider in 2015. Inclusive and differential cross sections are measured for events containing a Z boson decaying to electrons or muons and produced in association with up to seven jets with p(T) > 30GeV and vertical bar y vertical bar < 2.5. Predictions from different Monte Carlo generators based on leading-order and nextto-leading-order matrix elements for up to two additional partons interfaced with parton shower and fixed-order predictions at next-to-leading order and next-to-next-to-leading order are compared with the measured cross sections. Good agreement within the uncertainties is observed for most of the modelled quantities, in particular with the generators which use next-to-leading-order matrix elements and the more recent next-to-next-to-leading-order fixed-order predictions.

Abstract: PurposeA joint working group was created by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO), and the Australasian Brachytherapy Group (ABG) with the charge, among others, to develop a set of well-defined test case plans and perform calculations and comparisons with model-based dose calculation algorithms (MBDCAs). Its main goal is to facilitate a smooth transition from the AAPM Task Group No. 43 (TG-43) dose calculation formalism, widely being used in clinical practice for brachytherapy, to the one proposed by Task Group No. 186 (TG-186) for MBDCAs. To do so, in this work a hypothetical, generic high-dose rate (HDR) Ir-192 shielded applicator has been designed and benchmarked. MethodsA generic HDR Ir-192 shielded applicator was designed based on three commercially available gynecological applicators as well as a virtual cubic water phantom that can be imported into any DICOM-RT compatible treatment planning system (TPS). The absorbed dose distribution around the applicator with the TG-186 Ir-192 source located at one dwell position at its center was computed using two commercial TPSs incorporating MBDCAs (Oncentra((R)) Brachy with Advanced Collapsed-cone Engine, ACE, and BrachyVision ACUROS) and state-of-the-art Monte Carlo (MC) codes, including ALGEBRA, BrachyDose, egs_brachy, Geant4, MCNP6, and Penelope2008. TPS-based volumetric dose distributions for the previously reported source centered in water and source displaced test cases, and the new source centered in applicator test case, were analyzed here using the MCNP6 dose distribution as a reference. Volumetric dose comparisons of TPS results against results for the other MC codes were also performed. Distributions of local and global dose difference ratios are reported. ResultsThe local dose differences among MC codes are comparable to the statistical uncertainties of the reference datasets for the source centered in water and source displaced test cases and for the clinically relevant part of the unshielded volume in the source centered in applicator case. Larger local differences appear in the shielded volume or at large distances. Considering clinically relevant regions, global dose differences are smaller than the local ones. The most disadvantageous case for the MBDCAs is the one including the shielded applicator. In this case, ACUROS agrees with MC within [-4.2%, +4.2%] for the majority of voxels (95%) while presenting dose differences within [-0.12%, +0.12%] of the dose at a clinically relevant reference point. For ACE, 95% of the total volume presents differences with respect to MC in the range [-1.7%, +0.4%] of the dose at the reference point. ConclusionsThe combination of the generic source and generic shielded applicator, together with the previously developed test cases and reference datasets (available in the Brachytherapy Source Registry), lay a solid foundation in supporting uniform commissioning procedures and direct comparisons among treatment planning systems for HDR Ir-192 brachytherapy.

Abstract: The T2K experiment reports an updated analysis of neutrino and antineutrino oscillations in appearance and disappearance channels. A sample of electron neutrino candidates at Super-Kamiokande in which a pion decay has been tagged is added to the four single-ring samples used in previous T2K oscillation analyses. Through combined analyses of these five samples, simultaneous measurements of four oscillation parameters, vertical bar Delta m(32)(2)vertical bar, sin(2) theta(23), sin(2) theta(13), and delta(CP) and of the mass ordering are made. A set of studies of simulated data indicates that the sensitivity to the oscillation parameters is not limited by neutrino interaction model uncertainty. Multiple oscillation analyses are performed, and frequentist and Bayesian intervals are presented for combinations of the oscillation parameters with and without the inclusion of reactor constraints on sin(2) theta(13). When combined with reactor measurements, the hypothesis of CP conservation (delta(CP) = 0 or pi) is excluded at 90% confidence level. The 90% confidence region for delta(CP) is [-2.95, -0.44] ([-1.47, -1.27]) for normal (inverted) ordering. The central values and 68% confidence intervals for the other oscillation parameters for normal (inverted) ordering are Delta m(32)(2) = 2.54 +/- 0.08(2.51 +/- 0.08) x 10(-3) eV(2)/c(4) and sin(2) theta(23) = 0.55(-0.09)(+0.005) (0.55(-0.08)(+0.05)), compatible with maximal mixing. In the Bayesian analysis, the data weakly prefer normal ordering (Bayes factor 3.7) and the upper octant for sin(2) theta(23) (Bayes factor 2.4).

Abstract: A measurement of b-hadron pair production is presented, based on a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 11.4 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions recorded at root s = 8TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are selected in which a b-hadron is reconstructed in a decay channel containing J = psi -> μmu, and a second b-hadron is reconstructed in a decay channel containing a muon. Results are presented in a fiducial volume de fined by kinematic requirements on three muons based on those used in the analysis. The fiducial cross section is measured to be 17.7 +/- 0.1(stat.) +/- 2.0(syst.) nb. A number of normalised differential cross sections are also measured, and compared to predictions from the PYTHIA8, HERWIG++, MADGRAPH5_AMC@NLO+PYTHIA8 and SHERPA event generators, providing new constraints on heavy flavour production.

Abstract: Observables sensitive to the anomalous production of events containing hadronic jets and missing momentum in the plane transverse to the proton beams at the Large Hadron Collider are presented. The observables are defined as a ratio of cross sections, for events containing jets and large missing transverse momentum to events containing jets and a pair of charged leptons from the decay of a Z/gamma* boson. This definition minimises experimental and theoretical systematic uncertainties in the measurements. This ratio is measured differentially with respect to a number of kinematic properties of the hadronic system in two phase-space regions; one inclusive single-jet region and one region sensitive to vector-boson-fusion topologies. The data are found to be in agreement with the Standard Model predictions and used to constrain a variety of theoretical models for dark-matter production, including simplified models, effective field theory models, and invisible decays of the Higgs boson. The measurements use 3.2 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of 13TeV and are fully corrected for detector effects, meaning that the data can be used to constrain new-physics models beyond those shown in this paper.