Study of High-Transverse-Momentum Higgs Boson Production in Association with a Vector Boson in the qqbb Final State with the ATLAS Detector.

This Letter presents the first study of Higgs boson production in association with a vector boson (V=W or Z) in the fully hadronic qqbb final state using data recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb^{-1}. The vector bosons and Higgs bosons are each reconstructed as large-radius jets and tagged using jet substructure techniques. Dedicated tagging algorithms exploiting b-tagging properties are used to identify jets consistent with Higgs bosons decaying into bb[over ¯]. Dominant backgrounds from multijet production are determined directly from the data, and a likelihood fit to the jet mass distribution of Higgs boson candidates is used to extract the number of signal events. The VH production cross section is measured inclusively and differentially in several ranges of Higgs boson transverse momentum: 250-450, 450-650, and greater than 650 GeV. The inclusive signal yield relative to the standard model expectation is observed to be µ=1.4_{-0.9}^{+1.0} and the corresponding cross section is 3.1±1.3(stat)_{-1.4}^{+1.8}(syst) pb.

Measurement of the Centrality Dependence of the Dijet Yield in p+Pb Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=8.16 TeV with the ATLAS Detector.

ATLAS measured the centrality dependence of the dijet yield using 165 nb^{-1} of p+Pb data collected at sqrt[s_{NN}]=8.16 TeV in 2016. The event centrality, which reflects the p+Pb impact parameter, is characterized by the total transverse energy registered in the Pb-going side of the forward calorimeter. The central-to-peripheral ratio of the scaled dijet yields, R_{CP}, is evaluated, and the results are presented as a function of variables that reflect the kinematics of the initial hard parton scattering process. The R_{CP} shows a scaling with the Bjorken x of the parton originating from the proton, x_{p}, while no such trend is observed as a function of x_{Pb}. This analysis provides unique input to understanding the role of small proton spatial configurations in p+Pb collisions by covering parton momentum fractions from the valence region down to x_{p}∼10^{-3} and x_{Pb}∼4×10^{-4}.

Combination of Searches for Higgs Boson Pair Production in pp Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV with the ATLAS Detector.

This Letter presents results from a combination of searches for Higgs boson pair production using 126-140 fb^{-1} of proton-proton collision data at sqrt[s]=13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector. At 95% confidence level (CL), the upper limit on the production rate is 2.9 times the standard model (SM) prediction, with an expected limit of 2.4 assuming no Higgs boson pair production. Constraints on the Higgs boson self-coupling modifier κ_{λ}=λ_{HHH}/λ_{HHH}^{SM}, and the quartic HHVV coupling modifier κ_{2V}=g_{HHVV}/g_{HHVV}^{SM}, are derived individually, fixing the other parameter to its SM value. The observed 95% CL intervals are -1.2<κ_{λ}<7.2 and 0.6<κ_{2V}<1.5, respectively, while the expected intervals are -1.6<κ_{λ}<7.2 and 0.4<κ_{2V}<1.6 in the SM case. Constraints obtained for several interaction parameters within Higgs effective field theory are the strongest to date, offering insights into potential deviations from SM predictions.

Azimuthal Angle Correlations of Muons Produced via Heavy-Flavor Decays in 5.02 TeV Pb+Pb and pp Collisions with the ATLAS Detector.

Angular correlations between heavy quarks provide a unique probe of the quark-gluon plasma created in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions. Results are presented of a measurement of the azimuthal angle correlations between muons originating from semileptonic decays of heavy quarks produced in 5.02 TeV Pb+Pb and pp collisions at the LHC. The muons are measured with transverse momenta and pseudorapidities satisfying p_{T}^{µ}>4 GeV and |η^{µ}|<2.4, respectively. The distributions of azimuthal angle separation Δϕ for muon pairs having pseudorapidity separation |Δη|>0.8, are measured in different Pb+Pb centrality intervals and compared to the same distribution measured in pp collisions at the same center-of-mass energy. Results are presented separately for muon pairs with opposite-sign charges, same-sign charges, and all pairs. A clear peak is observed in all Δϕ distributions at Δϕ∼π, consistent with the parent heavy-quark pairs being produced via hard-scattering processes. The widths of that peak, characterized using Cauchy-Lorentz fits to the Δϕ distributions, are found to not vary significantly as a function of Pb+Pb collision centrality and are similar for pp and Pb+Pb collisions. This observation will provide important constraints on theoretical descriptions of heavy-quark interactions with the quark-gluon plasma.

Search for Nearly Mass-Degenerate Higgsinos Using Low-Momentum Mildly Displaced Tracks in pp Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV with the ATLAS Detector.

Higgsinos with masses near the electroweak scale can solve the hierarchy problem and provide a dark matter candidate, while detecting them at the LHC remains challenging if their mass splitting is O(1 GeV). This Letter presents a novel search for nearly mass-degenerate Higgsinos in events with an energetic jet, missing transverse momentum, and a low-momentum track with a significant transverse impact parameter using 140 fb^{-1} of proton-proton collision data at sqrt[s]=13 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment. For the first time since LEP, a range of mass splittings between the lightest charged and neutral Higgsinos from 0.3 to 0.9 GeV is excluded at 95% confidence level, with a maximum reach of approximately 170 GeV in the Higgsino mass.

Combination of Searches for Resonant Higgs Boson Pair Production Using pp Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV with the ATLAS Detector.

A combination of searches for a new resonance decaying into a Higgs boson pair is presented, using up to 139 fb^{-1} of pp collision data at sqrt[s]=13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The combination includes searches performed in three decay channels: bb[over ¯]bb[over ¯], bb[over ¯]τ^{+}τ^{-}, and bb[over ¯]γγ. No excess above the expected Standard Model background is observed and upper limits are set at the 95% confidence level on the production cross section of Higgs boson pairs originating from the decay of a narrow scalar resonance with mass in the range 251 GeV-5 TeV. The observed (expected) limits are in the range 0.96-600 fb (1.2-390 fb). The limits are interpreted in the type-I two-Higgs-doublet model and the minimal supersymmetric standard model, and constrain parameter space not previously excluded by other searches.

Determination of the Relative Sign of the Higgs Boson Couplings to W and Z Bosons Using WH Production via Vector-Boson Fusion with the ATLAS Detector.

The associated production of Higgs and W bosons via vector-boson fusion is highly sensitive to the relative sign of the Higgs boson couplings to W and Z bosons. In this Letter, two searches for this process are presented, using 140 fb^{-1} of proton-proton collision data at sqrt[s]=13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The first search targets scenarios with opposite-sign couplings of the W and Z bosons to the Higgs boson, while the second targets standard model-like scenarios with same-sign couplings. Both analyses consider Higgs boson decays into a pair of b quarks and W boson decays with an electron or muon. The data exclude the opposite-sign coupling hypothesis with a significance beyond 5σ, and the observed (expected) upper limit set on the cross section for vector-boson fusion WH production is 9.0 (8.7) times the standard model value at 95% confidence level.

Search for Light Long-Lived Particles in pp Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV Using Displaced Vertices in the ATLAS Inner Detector.

A search for long-lived particles (LLPs) using 140 fb^{-1} of pp collision data with sqrt[s]=13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC is presented. The search targets LLPs with masses between 5 and 55 GeV that decay hadronically in the ATLAS inner detector. Benchmark models with LLP pair production from exotic decays of the Higgs boson and models featuring long-lived axionlike particles (ALPs) are considered. No significant excess above the expected background is observed. Upper limits are placed on the branching ratio of the Higgs boson to pairs of LLPs, the cross section for ALPs produced in association with a vector boson, and, for the first time, on the branching ratio of the top quark to an ALP and a u/c quark.

Search for the Exclusive W Boson Hadronic Decays W

A search for the exclusive hadronic decays W^{±}→π^{±}γ, W^{±}→K^{±}γ, and W^{±}→ρ^{±}γ is performed using up to 140 fb^{-1} of proton-proton collisions recorded with the ATLAS detector at a center-of-mass energy of sqrt[s]=13 TeV. If observed, these rare processes would provide a unique test bench for the quantum chromodynamics factorization formalism used to calculate cross sections at colliders. Additionally, at future colliders, these decays could offer a new way to measure the W boson mass through fully reconstructed decay products. The search results in the most stringent upper limits to date on the branching fractions B(W^{±}→π^{±}γ)<1.9×10^{-6}, B(W^{±}→K^{±}γ)<1.7×10^{-6}, B(W^{±}→ρ^{±}γ)<5.2×10^{-6} at 95% confidence level.

Studies of the Energy Dependence of Diboson Polarization Fractions and the Radiation-Amplitude-Zero Effect in WZ Production with the ATLAS Detector.

This Letter presents the first study of the energy dependence of diboson polarization fractions in WZ→ℓνℓ^{'}ℓ^{'}(ℓ,ℓ^{'}=e,µ) production. The dataset used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb^{-1} of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector. Two fiducial regions with an enhanced presence of events featuring two longitudinally polarized bosons are defined. A nonzero fraction of events with two longitudinally polarized bosons is measured with an observed significance of 5.3 standard deviations in the region with 100200 GeV, where p_{T}^{Z} is the transverse momentum of the Z boson. This Letter also reports the first study of the radiation-amplitude-zero effect. Events with two transversely polarized bosons are analyzed for the ΔY(ℓ_{W}Z) and ΔY(WZ) distributions defined respectively as the rapidity difference between the lepton from the W boson decay and the Z boson and the rapidity difference between the W boson and the Z boson. Significant suppression of events near zero is observed in both distributions. Unfolded ΔY(ℓ_{W}Z) and ΔY(WZ) distributions are also measured and compared to theoretical predictions.

Observation of WZγ Production in pp Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV with the ATLAS Detector.

This Letter reports the observation of WZγ production and a measurement of its cross section using 140.1±1.2 fb^{-1} of proton-proton collision data recorded at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The WZγ production cross section, with both the W and Z bosons decaying leptonically, pp→WZγ→ℓ^{'}^{±}νℓ^{+}ℓ^{-}γ (ℓ^{(^{'})}=e, µ), is measured in a fiducial phase-space region defined such that the leptons and the photon have high transverse momentum and the photon is isolated. The cross section is found to be 2.01±0.30(stat)±0.16(syst) fb. The corresponding standard model predicted cross section calculated at next-to-leading order in perturbative quantum chromodynamics and at leading order in the electroweak coupling constant is 1.50±0.06 fb. The observed significance of the WZγ signal is 6.3σ, compared with an expected significance of 5.0σ.

Search for New Phenomena in Two-Body Invariant Mass Distributions Using Unsupervised Machine Learning for Anomaly Detection at sqrt[s]=13 TeV with the ATLAS Detector.

Searches for new resonances are performed using an unsupervised anomaly-detection technique. Events with at least one electron or muon are selected from 140 fb^{-1} of pp collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV recorded by ATLAS at the Large Hadron Collider. The approach involves training an autoencoder on data, and subsequently defining anomalous regions based on the reconstruction loss of the decoder. Studies focus on nine invariant mass spectra that contain pairs of objects consisting of one light jet or b jet and either one lepton (e,µ), photon, or second light jet or b jet in the anomalous regions. No significant deviations from the background hypotheses are observed. Limits on contributions from generic Gaussian signals with various widths of the resonance mass are obtained for nine invariant masses in the anomalous regions.

Statistical Combination of ATLAS Run 2 Searches for Charginos and Neutralinos at the LHC.

Statistical combinations of searches for charginos and neutralinos using various decay channels are performed using 139 fb^{-1} of pp collision data at sqrt[s]=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Searches targeting pure-wino chargino pair production, pure-wino chargino-neutralino production, or Higgsino production decaying via standard model W, Z, or h bosons are combined to extend the mass reach to the produced supersymmetric particles by 30-100 GeV. The depth of the sensitivity of the original searches is also improved by the combinations, lowering the 95% C.L. cross-section upper limits by 15%-40%.

Strong Constraints on Jet Quenching in Centrality-Dependent p+Pb Collisions at 5.02 TeV from ATLAS.

Jet quenching is the process of color-charged partons losing energy via interactions with quark-gluon plasma droplets created in heavy-ion collisions. The collective expansion of such droplets is well described by viscous hydrodynamics. Similar evidence of collectivity is consistently observed in smaller collision systems, including pp and p+Pb collisions. In contrast, while jet quenching is observed in Pb+Pb collisions, no evidence has been found in these small systems to date, raising fundamental questions about the nature of the system created in these collisions. The ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider has measured the yield of charged hadrons correlated with reconstructed jets in 0.36 nb^{-1} of p+Pb and 3.6 pb^{-1} of pp collisions at 5.02 TeV. The yields of charged hadrons with p_{T}^{ch}>0.5 GeV near and opposite in azimuth to jets with p_{T}^{jet}>30 or 60 GeV, and the ratios of these yields between p+Pb and pp collisions, I_{pPb}, are reported. The collision centrality of p+Pb events is categorized by the energy deposited by forward neutrons from the struck nucleus. The I_{pPb} values are consistent with unity within a few percent for hadrons with p_{T}^{ch}>4 GeV at all centralities. These data provide new, strong constraints that preclude almost any parton energy loss in central p+Pb collisions.

Search for Heavy Neutral Leptons in Decays of W Bosons Using a Dilepton Displaced Vertex in sqrt[s]=13 TeV pp Collisions with the ATLAS Detector.

A search for a long-lived, heavy neutral lepton (N) in 139 fb^{-1} of sqrt[s]=13 TeV pp collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is reported. The N is produced via W→Nµ or W→Ne and decays into two charged leptons and a neutrino, forming a displaced vertex. The N mass is used to discriminate between signal and background. No signal is observed, and limits are set on the squared mixing parameters of the N with the left-handed neutrino states for the N mass range 3 GeV

Test of CP Invariance in Higgs Boson Vector-Boson-Fusion Production Using the H→γγ Channel with the ATLAS Detector.

A test of CP invariance in Higgs boson production via vector-boson fusion has been performed in the H→γγ channel using 139 fb^{-1} of proton-proton collision data at sqrt[s]=13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The optimal observable method is used to probe the CP structure of interactions between the Higgs boson and electroweak gauge bosons, as described by an effective field theory. No sign of CP violation is observed in the data. Constraints are set on the parameters describing the strength of the CP-odd component in the coupling between the Higgs boson and the electroweak gauge bosons in two effective field theory bases: d[over ˜] in the HISZ basis and c_{HW[over ˜]} in the Warsaw basis. The results presented are the most stringent constraints on CP violation in the coupling between Higgs and weak bosons. The 95% C.L. constraint on d[over ˜] is derived for the first time and the 95% C.L. constraint on c_{HW[over ˜]} has been improved by a factor of 5 compared to the previous measurement.

Measurement of the Sensitivity of Two-Particle Correlations in pp Collisions to the Presence of Hard Scatterings.

A key open question in the study of multiparticle production in high-energy pp collisions is the relationship between the "ridge"-i.e., the observed azimuthal correlations between particles in the underlying event that extend over all rapidities-and hard or semihard scattering processes. In particular, it is not known whether jets or their soft fragments are correlated with particles in the underlying event. To address this question, two-particle correlations are measured in pp collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV using data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, with an integrated luminosity of 15.8 pb^{-1}, in two different configurations. In the first case, charged particles associated with jets are excluded from the correlation analysis, while in the second case, correlations are measured between particles within jets and charged particles from the underlying event. Second-order flow coefficients, v_{2}, are presented as a function of event multiplicity and transverse momentum. These measurements show that excluding particles associated with jets does not affect the measured correlations. Moreover, particles associated with jets do not exhibit any significant azimuthal correlations with the underlying event, ruling out hard processes contributing to the ridge.

Observation of the γγ→ττ Process in Pb+Pb Collisions and Constraints on the τ-Lepton Anomalous Magnetic Moment with the ATLAS Detector.

This Letter reports the observation of τ-lepton-pair production in ultraperipheral lead-lead collisions Pb+Pb→Pb(γγ→ττ)Pb and constraints on the τ-lepton anomalous magnetic moment a_{τ}. The dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 1.44 nb^{-1} of LHC Pb+Pb collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment in 2018. Selected events contain one muon from a τ-lepton decay, an electron or charged-particle track(s) from the other τ-lepton decay, little additional central-detector activity, and no forward neutrons. The γγ→ττ process is observed in Pb+Pb collisions with a significance exceeding 5 standard deviations and a signal strength of µ_{ττ}=1.03_{-0.05}^{+0.06} assuming the standard model value for a_{τ}. To measure a_{τ}, a template fit to the muon transverse-momentum distribution from τ-lepton candidates is performed, using a dimuon (γγ→µµ) control sample to constrain systematic uncertainties. The observed 95% confidence-level interval for a_{τ} is -0.057

Observation of an Excess of Dicharmonium Events in the Four-Muon Final State with the ATLAS Detector.

A search is made for potential ccc[over ¯]c[over ¯] tetraquarks decaying into a pair of charmonium states in the four muon final state using proton-proton collision data at sqrt[s]=13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb^{-1} recorded by the ATLAS experiment at LHC. Two decay channels, J/ψ+J/ψ→4µ and J/ψ+ψ(2S)→4µ, are studied. Backgrounds are estimated based on a hybrid approach involving Monte Carlo simulations and data-driven methods. Statistically significant excesses with respect to backgrounds dominated by the single parton scattering are seen in the di-J/ψ channel consistent with a narrow resonance at 6.9 GeV and a broader structure at lower mass. A statistically significant excess is also seen in the J/ψ+ψ(2S) channel. The fitted masses and decay widths of the structures are reported.

Measurement of Suppression of Large-Radius Jets and Its Dependence on Substructure in Pb+Pb Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02 TeV with the ATLAS Detector.

This letter presents a measurement of the nuclear modification factor of large-radius jets in sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02 TeV Pb+Pb collisions by the ATLAS experiment. The measurement is performed using 1.72 nb^{-1} and 257 pb^{-1} of Pb+Pb and pp data, respectively. The large-radius jets are reconstructed with the anti-k_{t} algorithm using a radius parameter of R=1.0, by reclustering anti-k_{t} R=0.2 jets, and are measured over the transverse momentum (p_{T}) kinematic range of 158