Higgs boson production cross-section measurements and their EFT interpretation in the 4 ℓ decay channel at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Abstract: Higgs boson properties are studied in the four-lepton decay channel (where lepton = e, μ) using 139 fb-1 of proton–proton collision data recorded at s=13 TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The inclusive cross-section times branching ratio for H→ZZ∗ decay is measured to be 1.34±0.12 pb for a Higgs boson with absolute rapidity below 2.5, in good agreement with the Standard Model prediction of 1.33±0.08 pb. Cross-sections times branching ratio are measured for the main Higgs boson production modes in several exclusive phase-space regions. The measurements are interpreted in terms of coupling modifiers and of the tensor structure of Higgs boson interactions using an effective field theory approach. Exclusion limits are set on the CP-even and CP-odd ‘beyond the Standard Model’ couplings of the Higgs boson to vector bosons, gluons and top quarks

A search for the dimuon decay of the Standard Model Higgs boson with the ATLAS detector

A search for the dimuon decay of the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson is performed using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1) collected with the ATLAS detector in Run 2 pp collisions at root s = 13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider. The observed (expected) significance over the background-only hypothesis for a Higgs boson with a mass of 125.09 GeV is 2.0 sigma (1.7 sigma). The observed upper limit on the cross section times branching ratio for pp -> H -> mu mu is 2.2 times the SM prediction at 95% confidence level, while the expected limit on a H -> mu mu signal assuming the absence (presence) of a SM signal is 1.1(2.0). The best-fit value of the signal strength parameter, defined as the ratio of the observed signal yield to the one expected in the SM, is mu = 1.2 +/- 0.6. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V

Search for heavy resonances decaying into a pair of Z bosons in the ℓ + ℓ - ℓ ′ + ℓ ′ - and ℓ + ℓ - ν ν ¯ final states using 139 fb - 1 of proton–proton collisions at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Abstract: A search for heavy resonances decaying into a pair of Z bosons leading to ℓ+ℓ-ℓ′+ℓ′- and ℓ+ℓ-νν¯ final states, where ℓ stands for either an electron or a muon, is presented. The search uses proton–proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected from 2015 to 2018 that corresponds to the integrated luminosity of 139 fb-1 recorded by the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider. Different mass ranges spanning 200 GeV to 2000 GeV for the hypothetical resonances are considered, depending on the final state and model. In the absence of a significant observed excess, the results are interpreted as upper limits on the production cross section of a spin-0 or spin-2 resonance. The upper limits for the spin-0 resonance are translated to exclusion contours in the context of Type-I and Type-II two-Higgs-doublet models, and the limits for the spin-2 resonance are used to constrain the Randall–Sundrum model with an extra dimension giving rise to spin-2 graviton excitations

Alignment of the ATLAS Inner Detector in Run 2

The performance of the ATLAS Inner Detector alignment has been studied using pp collision data at v s = 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment during Run 2 (2015-2018) of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The goal of the detector alignment is to determine the detector geometry as accurately as possible and correct for time-dependent movements. The Inner Detector alignment is based on the minimization of track-hit residuals in a sequence of hierarchical levels, from global mechanical assembly structures to local sensors. Subsequent levels have increasing numbers of degrees of freedom; in total there are almost 750,000. The alignment determines detector geometry on both short and long timescales, where short timescales describe movementswithin anLHCfill. The performance and possible track parameter biases originating from systematic detector deformations are evaluated. Momentum biases are studied using resonances decaying to muons or to electrons. The residual sagitta bias and momentum scale bias after alignment are reduced to less than similar to 0.1 TeV-1 and 0.9 x 10(-3), respectively. Impact parameter biases are also evaluated using tracks within jets

Differential cross-section measurements for the electroweak production of dijets in association with a Z boson in proton–proton collisions at ATLAS

AbstractDifferential cross-section measurements are presented for the electroweak production of two jets in association with a Z boson. These measurements are sensitive to the vector-boson fusion production mechanism and provide a fundamental test of the gauge structure of the Standard Model. The analysis is performed using proton–proton collision data collected by ATLAS at $$\sqrt{s}=13\ \hbox {TeV}$$ s = 13 TeV and with an integrated luminosity of $$139\ \hbox {fb}^{-1}$$ 139 fb - 1 . The differential cross-sections are measured in the $$Z\rightarrow \ell ^+\ell ^-$$ Z → ℓ + ℓ - decay channel ($$\ell =e,\mu$$ ℓ = e , μ ) as a function of four observables: the dijet invariant mass, the rapidity interval spanned by the two jets, the signed azimuthal angle between the two jets, and the transverse momentum of the dilepton pair. The data are corrected for the effects of detector inefficiency and resolution and are sufficiently precise to distinguish between different state-of-the-art theoretical predictions calculated using Powheg+Pythia8, Herwig7+Vbfnlo and Sherpa 2.2. The differential cross-sections are used to search for anomalous weak-boson self-interactions using a dimension-six effective field theory. The measurement of the signed azimuthal angle between the two jets is found to be particularly sensitive to the interference between the Standard Model and dimension-six scattering amplitudes and provides a direct test of charge-conjugation and parity invariance in the weak-boson self-interactions.</jats:p

Constraints on Higgs boson properties using WW∗(→ eνμν) jj production in 36.1fb-1 of √s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

This article presents the results of two studies of Higgs boson properties using the WW∗(→ eνμν) jj final state, based on a dataset corresponding to 36.1 fb - 1 of s=13 TeV proton–proton collisions recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The first study targets Higgs boson production via gluon–gluon fusion and constrains the CP properties of the effective Higgs–gluon interaction. Using angular distributions and the overall rate, a value of tan (α) = 0.0 ± 0.4 (stat.) ± 0.3 (syst.) is obtained for the tangent of the mixing angle for CP-even and CP-odd contributions. The second study exploits the vector-boson fusion production mechanism to probe the Higgs boson couplings to longitudinally and transversely polarised W and Z bosons in both the production and the decay of the Higgs boson; these couplings have not been directly constrained previously. The polarisation-dependent coupling-strength scale factors are defined as the ratios of the measured polarisation-dependent coupling strengths to those predicted by the Standard Model, and are determined using rate and kinematic information to be aL=0.91-0.18+0.10(stat.)-0.17+0.09(syst.) and aT= 1.2 ± 0.4 (stat.)-0.3+0.2(syst.). These coupling strengths are translated into pseudo-observables, resulting in κVV=0.91-0.18+0.10(stat.)-0.17+0.09(syst.) and ϵVV=0.13-0.20+0.28 (stat.)-0.10+0.08(syst.). All results are consistent with the Standard Model predictions

Search for squarks and gluinos in final states with jets and missing transverse momentum using 139fb−1139 fb^{-1} of s=13\sqrt{s}=13 TeV pp collision data with the ATLAS detector

A search for the supersymmetric partners of quarks and gluons (squarks and gluinos) in final states containing jets and missing transverse momentum, but no electrons or muons, is presented. The data used in this search were recorded by the ATLAS experiment in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of √ s = 13 TeV during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1. The results are interpreted in the context of various R-parity-conserving models where squarks and gluinos are produced in pairs or in association and a neutralino is the lightest supersymmetric particle. An exclusion limit at the 95% confidence level on the mass of the gluino is set at 2.30 TeV for a simplified model containing only a gluino and the lightest neutralino, assuming the latter is massless. For a simplified model involving the strong production of mass-degenerate first- and second-generation squarks, squark masses below 1.85 TeV are excluded if the lightest neutralino is massless. These limits extend substantially beyond the region of supersymmetric parameter space excluded previously by similar searches with the ATLAS detector