Abstract: An improved measurement of the mass of the Higgs boson is derived from a combined fit to the reconstructed invariant mass spectra of the decay channels H -> gamma gamma and H -> ZZ* -> 4l. The analysis uses the pp collision data sample recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at center-of-mass energies of 7 TeV and 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 25 fb(-1). The measured value of the Higgs boson mass is m(H) = 125.36 +/- 0.37(stat) +/- 0.18 (syst) GeV. This result is based on improved energy-scale calibrations for photons, electrons, and muons as well as other analysis improvements, and supersedes the previous result from ATLAS. Upper limits on the total width of the Higgs boson are derived from fits to the invariant mass spectra of the H -> gamma gamma and H -> ZZ* -> 4l decay channels.

Abstract: This Letter presents a search for new resonances decaying to final states with a vector boson produced in association with a high transverse momentum photon, V gamma, with V = W(-> l nu) or Z(-> l(+)l(-)), where l = μor mu. The measurements use 20.3fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of root s = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector. No deviations from the Standard Model expectations are found, and production cross section limits are set at 95% confidence level. Masses of the hypothetical a(T) and omega(T) states of a benchmark Low Scale Technicolor model are excluded in the ranges [275, 960] GeV and [200, 700]boolean OR[750, 890] GeV, respectively. Limits at 95% confidence level on the production cross section of a singlet scalar resonance decaying to Z gamma final states have also been obtained for masses below 1180 GeV.

Abstract: A search for excited states of the B-c(+/-) meson is performed using 4.9 fb(-1) of 7 TeV and 19.2 fb(-1) of 8 TeV pp collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. A new state is observed through its hadronic transition to the ground state, with the latter detected in the decayB(c)(+/-) -> J/psi pi(+/-). The state appears in the m(B-c(+/-)pi(+)pi(-)) – m(B-c(+/-)) – 2m(pi(+/-)) mass difference distribution with a significance of 5.2 standard deviations. The mass of the observed state is 6842 +/- 4 +/- 5 MeV, where the first error is statistical and the second is systematic. The mass and decay of this state are consistent with expectations for the second S-wave state of the B-c(+/-) meson, B-c(+/-)(2S).

Abstract: The inclusive top quark pair (t (t) over tilde) production cross-section sigma(t (t) over bar) has been measured in proton-proton collisions at root s = 7 TeV and root s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, using t (t) over bar events with an opposite-charge e μpair in the final state. The measurement was performed with the 2011 7 TeV dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb(-1) and the 2012 8 TeV dataset of 20.3 fb(-1). The numbers of events with exactly one and exactly two b-tagged jets were counted and used to simultaneously determine sigma(t (t) over bar) and the efficiency to reconstruct and b-tag a jet from a top quark decay, thereby minimising the associated systematic uncertainties. The cross-section was measured to be: sigma(t (t) over bar) = 182.9 +/- 3.1 +/- 4.2 +/- 3.6 +/- 3.3 pb (root s = 7 TeV) and sigma(t (t) over bar) = 242.4 +/- 1.7 +/- 5.5 +/- 7.5 +/- 4.2 pb (root s = 8 TeV), where the four uncertainties arise from data statistics, experimental and theoretical systematic effects, knowledge of the integrated luminosity and of the LHC beam energy. The results are consistent with recent theoretical QCD calculations at next-to-next-to-leading order. Fiducial measurements corresponding to the experimental acceptance of the leptons are also reported, together with the ratio of cross-sections measured at the two centre-of-mass energies. The inclusive cross-section results were used to determine the top quark pole mass via the dependence of the theoretically predicted cross-section on m(t)(pole) giving a result of m(t)(pole) = 172.9(-2.6)(+2.5) GeV. By looking for an excess of t (t) over bar production with respect to the QCD prediction, the results were also used to place limits on the pair-production of supersymmetric top squarks (t) over tilde (1) with masses close to the top quarkmass, decaying via (t) over tilde (1) -> t (chi) over tilde (0)(1) 1 to predominantly right-handed top quarks and a light neutralino (chi) over tilde (0)(1) 1, the lightest supersymmetric particle. Top squarks with masses between the top quark mass and 177 GeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level.

Abstract: This paper presents the performance of the ATLAS muon reconstruction during the LHC run with pp collisions at root s = 7-8 TeV in 2011-2012, focusing mainly on data collected in 2012. Measurements of the reconstruction efficiency and of the momentum scale and resolution, based on large reference samples of J/psi -> μmu, Z -> μμand gamma -> μμdecays, are presented and compared to Monte Carlo simulations. Corrections to the simulation, to be used in physics analysis, are provided. Over most of the covered phase space (muon |eta| < 2.7 and 5 less than or similar to p(T) less than or similar to 100 GeV) the efficiency is above 99% and is measured with per-mille precision. The momentum resolution ranges from 1.7% at central rapidity and for transverse momentum p(T) similar or equal to 10 GeV, to 4% at large rapidity and p(T) similar or equal to 100 GeV. The momentum scale is known with an uncertainty of 0.05% to 0.2% depending on rapidity. A method for the recovery of final state radiation from the muons is also presented.