Abstract: The production of a W boson in association with a single charm quark is studied using 140 fb(-1) of vS = 13 TeV proton-proton collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. ffiffis The charm quark is tagged by the presence of a charmed hadron reconstructed with a secondary-vertex fit. The W boson is reconstructed from the decay to either an electron or a muon and the missing transverse momentum present in the event. The charmed mesons reconstructed are D+ ?K-p+p+ and D*+ ? D0p+ ? (K-p+)p+ and the charge conjugate decays in the fiducial regions where pT(e; mu) > 30 GeV, l?(e; mu)l < 2.5, pT(D(*)) > 8 GeV, and l?(D(*))l < 2.2. The integrated and normalized differential cross sections as a function of the pseudorapidity of the lepton from the W boson decay, and of the transverse momentum of the charmed hadron, are extracted from the data using a profile likelihood fit. The measured total fiducial cross sections are sfidOS-SS(W- + D+) = 50.2 + 0.2(stat)+2.4 -2.3(syst) pb, s(OS-SS) (fid)(W- + D+) = 48.5 + 0.2(stat)+2.3-2.2(syst) pb, sfidOS-SS(W- + D*+) = 51.1 + 0.4(stat)+1.9 -1.8 (syst) pb, and s(OS-SS) (fid)(W+ + D*-) = 50.0 + 0.4(stat)+1.9 -1.8 (syst) pb. Results are compared with the predictions of next-to-leading-order quantum chromodynamics calculations performed using state-of-the-art parton distribution functions. Additionally, the ratio of charm to anticharm production cross sections is studied to probe the s -s- quark asymmetry. The ratio is found to be R+ c = 0.971 + 0.006(stat) + 0.011(syst). The ratio and cross-section measurements are consistent with the predictions obtained with parton distribution function sets that have a symmetric s -s- sea, indicating that any s -s- asymmetry in the Bjorken-x region relevant for this measurement is small.

Abstract: A search is presented for displaced production of Higgs bosons or Z bosons, originating from the decay of a neutral long-lived particle (LLP) and reconstructed in the decay modes H -& gamma;& gamma; and Z -ee. The analysis uses the full Run 2 dataset of proton-proton collisions delivered by the LHC at an energy of p1/4 13 TeV between 2015 and 2018 and recorded by the ATLAS detector, corresponding to an ffiffi s integrated luminosity of 139 fb-1. Exploiting the capabilities of the ATLAS liquid argon calorimeter to precisely measure the arrival times and trajectories of electromagnetic objects, the analysis searches for the signature of pairs of photons or electrons which arise from a common displaced vertex and which arrive after some delay at the calorimeter. The results are interpreted in a gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking model with pair-produced Higgsinos that decay to LLPs, and each LLP subsequently decays into either a Higgs boson or a Z boson. The final state includes at least two particles that escape direct detection, giving rise to missing transverse momentum. No significant excess is observed above the background expectation. The results are used to set upper limits on the cross section for Higgsino pair production, up to a & chi;& SIM;01 mass of 369 (704) GeV for decays with 100% branching ratio of & chi; & SIM;01 to Higgs (Z) bosons for a & chi;& SIM;01 lifetime of 2 ns. A model-independent limit is also set on the production of pairs of photons or electrons with a significant delay in arrival at the calorimeter.

Abstract: Several observables sensitive to the fragmentation of b quarks into b hadrons are measured using 36 fb(-1) of root s = 13 TeV proton-proton collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Jets containing b hadrons are obtained from a sample of dileptonic (tt) over bar events, and the associated set of charged-particle tracks is separated into those from the primary pp interaction vertex and those from the displaced b-decay secondary vertex. This division is used to construct observables that characterize the longitudinal and transverse momentum distributions of the b hadron within the jet. The measurements have been corrected for detector effects and provide a test of heavy-quark-fragmentation modeling at the LHC in a system where the top-quark decay products are color connected to the proton beam remnants. The unfolded distributions are compared with the predictions of several modern Monte Carlo parton-shower generators and generator tunes, and a wide range of agreement with the data is observed, with p values varying from 5 x 10(-4) to 0.98. These measurements complement similar measurements from e(+)e(-) collider experiments in which the b quarks originate from a color singlet Z/gamma*.

Abstract: Searches are performed for nonresonant and resonant di-Higgs boson production in the b (b) over bar gamma gamma final state. The dataset used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at a center-of- mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. No excess above the expected background is found and upper limits on the di-Higgs boson production cross sections are set. A 95% confidence-level upper limit of 4.2 times the cross section predicted by the Standard Model is set on pp -> HH nonresonant production, where the expected limit is 5.7 times the Standard Model predicted value. The expected constraints are obtained for a background hypothesis excluding pp -> HH production. The observed (expected) constraints on the Higgs boson trilinear coupling modifier kappa(lambda) are determined to be [-1.5, 6.7] ([-2.4, 7.7]) at 95% confidence level, where the expected constraints on kappa(lambda) are obtained excluding pp -> HH production from the background hypothesis. For resonant production of a new hypothetical scalar particle X (X -> HH -> b (b) over bar gamma gamma), limits on the cross section for pp -> X -> HH are presented in the narrow-width approximation as a function of m x in the range 251 GeV <= m(X) <= 1000 GeV. The observed (expected) limits on the cross section for pp ->> X -> HH range from 640 fb to 44 fb (391 fb to 46 fb) over the considered mass range.

Abstract: The production of dark matter in association with Higgs bosons is predicted in several extensions of the Standard Model. An exploration of such scenarios is presented, considering final states with missing transverse momentum and b-tagged jets consistent with a Higgs boson. The analysis uses proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC during Run 2, amounting to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1). The analysis, when compared with previous searches, benefits from a larger dataset, but also has further improvements providing sensitivity to a wider spectrum of signal scenarios. These improvements include both an optimised event selection and advances in the object identification, such as the use of the likelihood-based significance of the missing transverse momentum and variable-radius track-jets. No significant deviation from Standard Model expectations is observed. Limits are set, at 95% confidence level, in two benchmark models with two Higgs doublets extended by either a heavy vector boson Z' or a pseudoscalar singlet a and which both provide a dark matter candidate chi. In the case of the two-Higgs-doublet model with an additional vector boson Z ', the observed limits extend up to a Z' mass of 3 TeV for a mass of 100 GeV for the dark matter candidate. The two-Higgs-doublet model with a dark matter particle mass of 10 GeV and an additional pseudoscalar a is excluded for masses of the a up to 520 GeV and 240 GeV for tan beta = 1 and tan beta = 10 respectively. Limits on the visible cross-sections are set and range from to 0.05 fb to 3.26 fb, depending on the missing transverse momentum and b-quark jet multiplicity requirements.