Image-based wavefront correction using model-free Reinforcement Learning

Optical aberrations prevent telescopes from reaching their theoretical diffraction limit. Once estimated, these aberrations can be compensated for using deformable mirrors in a closed loop. Focal plane wavefront sensing enables the estimation of the aberrations on the complete optical path, directly from the images taken by the scientific sensor. However, current focal plane wavefront sensing methods rely on physical models whose inaccuracies may limit the overall performance of the correction. The aim of this study is to develop a data-driven method using model-free reinforcement learning to automatically perform the estimation and correction of the aberrations, using only phase diversity images acquired around the focal plane as inputs. We formulate the correction problem within the framework of reinforcement learning and train an agent on simulated data. We show that the method is able to reliably learn an efficient control strategy for various realistic conditions. Our method also demonstrates robustness to a wide range of noise levels

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Search for new phenomena in events containing a same-flavour opposite-sign dilepton pair, jets, and large missing transverse momentum in s=\sqrt{s}= 13 pppp collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two searches for new phenomena in final states containing a same-flavour opposite-lepton (electron or muon) pair, jets, and large missing transverse momentum are presented. These searches make use of proton--proton collision data, collected during 2015 and 2016 at a centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider, which correspond to an integrated luminosity of 14.7 fb$^{-1}$, Both searches target the pair production of supersymmetric particles, squarks or gluinos, which decay to final states containing a same-flavour opposite-sign lepton pair via one of two mechanisms: a leptonically decaying Z boson in the final state, leading to a peak in the dilepton invariant-mass distribution around the Z boson mass; and decays of neutralinos (e.g. $\tilde{\chi}_2^0 \rightarrow \ell^+\ell^- \tilde{\chi}_1^0$), yielding a kinematic endpoint in the dilepton invariant-mass spectrum. The data are found to be consistent with the Standard Model expectation. Results are interpreted in simplified models of gluino-pair (squark-pair) production, and provide sensitivity to gluinos (squarks) with masses as large as 1.70 TeV (980 GeV).publishedVersio

Measurement of the W-boson mass in pp collisions at s√=7TeV with the ATLAS detector

A measurement of the mass of the W boson is presented based on proton–proton collision data recorded in 2011 at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC, and corresponding to 4.6 fb−1 of integrated luminosity. The selected data sample consists of 7.8×106 candidates in the → channel and 5.9×106 candidates in the → channel. The W-boson mass is obtained from template fits to the reconstructed distributions of the charged lepton transverse momentum and of the W boson transverse mass in the electron and muon decay channels, yielding =80370=80370±7 (stat.)±11(exp. syst.)±14 (mod. syst.) MeV±19MeV, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second corresponds to the experimental systematic uncertainty, and the third to the physics-modelling systematic uncertainty. A measurement of the mass difference between the + and − bosons yields +−−=−29±28 MeV.publishedVersio

Search for invisible Higgs boson decays in vector boson fusion at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

We report a search for Higgs bosons that are produced via vector boson fusion and subsequently decay into invisible particles. The experimental signature is an energetic jet pair with invariant mass of O(1) TeV and O(100) GeV missing transverse momentum. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of pp collision data at √s=13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. In the signal region the 2252 observed events are consistent with the background estimation. Assuming a 125 GeV scalar particle with Standard Model cross sections, the upper limit on the branching fraction of the Higgs boson decay into invisible particles is 0.37 at 95% confidence level where 0.28 was expected. This limit is interpreted in Higgs portal models to set bounds on the wimp–nucleon scattering cross section. We also consider invisible decays of additional scalar bosons with masses up to 3 TeV for which the upper limits on the cross section times branching fraction are in the range of 0.3–1.7 pb.publishedVersio

Measurement of the cross section for isolated-photon plus jet production in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV using the ATLAS detector

The dynamics of isolated-photon production in association with a jet in proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV are studied with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using a dataset with an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb−1. Photons are required to have transverse energies above 125 GeV. Jets are identified using the anti- algorithm with radius parameter and required to have transverse momenta above 100 GeV. Measurements of isolated-photon plus jet cross sections are presented as functions of the leading-photon transverse energy, the leading-jet transverse momentum, the azimuthal angular separation between the photon and the jet, the photon–jet invariant mass and the scattering angle in the photon–jet centre-of-mass system. Tree-level plus parton-shower predictions from Sherpa and Pythia as well as next-to-leading-order QCD predictions from Jetphox and Sherpa are compared to the measurements.publishedVersio

Search for large missing transverse momentum in association with one top-quark in proton-proton collisions at s√= 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper describes a search for events with one top-quark and large missing transverse momentum in the final state. Data collected during 2015 and 2016 by the ATLAS experiment from 13 TeV proton–proton collisions at the LHC corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb−1 are used. Two channels are considered, depending on the leptonic or the hadronic decays of the W boson from the top quark. The obtained results are interpreted in the context of simplified models for dark-matter production and for the single production of a vector-like T quark. In the absence of significant deviations from the Standard Model background expectation, 95% confidence-level upper limits on the corresponding production cross-sections are obtained and these limits are translated into constraints on the parameter space of the models considered.publishedVersio