Abstract: Many extensions of the Standard Model predict the existence of charged heavy long-lived particles, such as R-hadrons or charginos. These particles, if produced at the Large Hadron Collider, should bemoving non-relativistically and are therefore identifiable through the measurement of an anomalously large specific energy loss in the ATLAS pixel detector. Measuring heavy long-lived particles through their track parameters in the vicinity of the interaction vertex provides sensitivity to metastable particles with lifetimes from 0.6 ns to 30 ns. A search for such particles with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is presented, based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 18.4 fb(-1) of pp collisions at root s = 8 TeV. No significant deviation from the Standard Model background expectation is observed, and lifetime-dependent upper limits on R-hadrons and chargino production are set. Gluino R-hadrons with 10 ns lifetime and masses up to 1185 GeV are excluded at 95 % confidence level, and so are charginos with 15 ns lifetime and masses up to 482 GeV.

Abstract: Studies of the spin, parity and tensor couplings of the Higgs boson in the H -> ZZ* -> 4l, H -> WW* -> e nu μnu and H -> gamma gamma decay processes at the LHC are presented. The investigations are based on 25 fb(-1) of pp collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at root s = 7 TeV and root s = 8 TeV. The Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson hypothesis, corresponding to the quantum numbers J (P) = 0(+), is tested against several alternative spin scenarios, including non-SM spin-0 and spin-2 models with universal and non-universal couplings to fermions and vector bosons. All tested alternative models are excluded in favour of the SM Higgs boson hypothesis at more than 99.9% confidence level. Using the H -> ZZ* -> 4l and H -> WW* -> e nu μnu. decays, the tensor structure of the interaction between the spin-0 boson and the SM vector bosons is also investigated. The observed distributions of variables sensitive to the non-SM tensor couplings are compatible with the SM predictions and constraints on the non-SM couplings are derived.

Abstract: This paper reviews and extends searches for the direct pair production of the scalar supersymmetric partners of the top and bottom quarks in proton-proton collisions collected by the ATLAS collaboration during the LHC Run 1. Most of the analyses use 20 fb(-1) of collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 8 TeV, although in some case an additional 4.7 fb(-1) of collision data at root s = 7 TeV are used. New analyses are introduced to improve the sensitivity to specific regions of the model parameter space. Since no evidence of third-generation squarks is found, exclusion limits are derived by combining several analyses and are presented in both a simplified model framework, assuming simple decay chains, as well as within the context of more elaborate phenomenological supersymmetric models.

Abstract: A search for heavy leptons decaying to a Z boson and an electron or a muon is presented. The search is based on pp collision data taken at root s = 8TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb(-1). Three high-transverse-momentum electrons or muons are selected, with two of them required to be consistent with originating from a Z boson decay. No significant excess above Standard Model background predictions is observed, and 95% confidence level limits on the production cross section of high-mass trilepton resonances are derived. The results are interpreted in the context of vector-like lepton and type-III seesaw models. For the vector-like lepton model, most heavy lepton mass values in the range 114-176 GeV are excluded. For the type-III seesaw model, most mass values in the range 100-468 GeV are excluded.

Abstract: A search for Higgs boson production in association with a W or Z boson, in the H -> WW* decay channel, is performed with a data sample collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies root s = 7 TeV and 8TeV, corresponding to integrated luminosities of 4.5 fb(-1) and 20.3 fb(-1), respectively. The W H production mode is studied in two-lepton and three-lepton final states, while twolepton and four-lepton final states are used to search for the ZH production mode. The observed significance, for the combined WH and ZH production, is 2.5 standard deviations while a significance of 0.9 standard deviations is expected in the Standard Model Higgs boson hypothesis. The ratio of the combined W H and Z H signal yield to the Standard Model expectation, mu(VH), is found to be mu(VH) = 3.0(-1.1)(+1.3)(stat.)(-0.7)(+1.0) (sys.) for the Higgs boson mass of 125.36 GeV. The WH and ZH production modes are also combined with the gluon fusion and vector boson fusion production modes studied in the H -> WW* -> l nu l nu decay channel, resulting in an overall observed significance of 6.5 standard deviations and μF-gg+VBF+VH = 1.16(-0.15)(+0.16)(stat.)(-0.15)(+0.18)(sys.). The results are interpreted in terms of scaling factors of the Higgs boson couplings to vector bosons (kappa(V)) and fermions (kappa(F)); the combined results are: vertical bar kappa(V)vertical bar = 1.06(-0.10)(+0.10), vertical bar kappa(F)vertical bar = 0.85(-0.20)(+0.26)