Search for pair production of squarks or gluinos decaying via sleptons or weak bosons in final states with two same-sign or three leptons with the ATLAS detector

A search for pair production of squarks or gluinos decaying via sleptons or weak bosons is reported. The search targets a final state with exactly two leptons with same-sign electric charge or at least three leptons without any charge requirement. The analysed data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Multiple signal regions are defined, targeting several SUSY simplified models yielding the desired final states. A single control region is used to constrain the normalisation of the WZ + jets background. No significant excess of events over the Standard Model expectation is observed. The results are interpreted in the context of several supersymmetric models featuring R-parity conservation or R-parity violation, yielding exclusion limits surpassing those from previous searches. In models considering gluino (squark) pair production, gluino (squark) masses up to 2.2 (1.7) TeV are excluded at 95% confidence level

Search for new particles in final states with a boosted top quark and missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for events with one top quark and missing transverse momentum in the final state is presented. The fully hadronic decay of the top quark is explored by selecting events with a reconstructed boosted top-quark topology produced in association with large missing transverse momentum. The analysis uses 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of s = 13 TeV recorded during 2015-2018 by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The results are interpreted in the context of simplified models for Dark Matter particle production and the single production of a vector-like T quark. Without significant excess relative to the Standard Model expectations, 95% confidence-level upper limits on the corresponding cross-sections are obtained. The production of Dark Matter particles in association with a single top quark is excluded for masses of a scalar (vector) mediator up to 4.3 (2.3) TeV, assuming mχ = 1 GeV and the model couplings λq = 0.6 and λχ = 0.4 (a = 0.5 and gχ = 1). The production of a single vector-like T quark is excluded for masses below 1.8 TeV assuming a coupling to the top quark κT = 0.5 and a branching ratio for T → Zt of 25%

Search for resonant production of dark quarks in the dijet final state with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a search for a new Z′ resonance decaying into a pair of dark quarks which hadronise into dark hadrons before promptly decaying back as Standard Model particles. This analysis is based on proton-proton collision data recorded at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider between 2015 and 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1. After selecting events containing large-radius jets with high track multiplicity, the invariant mass distribution of the two highest-transverse-momentum jets is scanned to look for an excess above a data-driven estimate of the Standard Model multijet background. No significant excess of events is observed and the results are thus used to set 95% confidence-level upper limits on the production cross-section times branching ratio of the Z′ to dark quarks as a function of the Z′ mass for various dark-quark scenarios

Search for non-resonant Higgs boson pair production in the 2 b + 2 ℓ + E T miss final state in pp collisions at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for non-resonant Higgs boson pair (HH) production is presented, in which one of the Higgs bosons decays to a b-quark pair (bb¯) and the other decays to WW*, ZZ*, or τ+τ−, with in each case a final state with ℓ+ℓ−+ neutrinos (ℓ = e, μ). The analysis targets separately the gluon-gluon fusion and vector boson fusion production modes. Data recorded by the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb−1, are used in this analysis. Events are selected to have exactly two b-tagged jets and two leptons with opposite electric charge and missing transverse momentum in the final state. These events are classified using multivariate analysis algorithms to separate the HH events from other Standard Model processes. No evidence of the signal is found. The observed (expected) upper limit on the cross-section for non-resonant Higgs boson pair production is determined to be 9.7 (16.2) times the Standard Model prediction at 95% confidence level. The Higgs boson self-interaction coupling parameter κλ and the quadrilinear coupling parameter κ2V are each separately constrained by this analysis to be within the ranges [−6.2, 13.3] and [−0.17, 2.4], respectively, at 95% confidence level, when all other parameters are fixed

Honey Bee PTEN – Description, Developmental Knockdown, and Tissue-Specific Expression of Splice-Variants Correlated with Alternative Social Phenotypes

Phosphatase and TENsin (PTEN) homolog is a negative regulator that takes part in IIS (insulin/insulin-like signaling) and Egfr (epidermal growth factor receptor) activation in Drosophila melanogaster. IIS and Egfr signaling events are also involved in the developmental process of queen and worker differentiation in honey bees (Apis mellifera). Here, we characterized the bee PTEN gene homologue for the first time and begin to explore its potential function during bee development and adult life.Honey bee PTEN is alternatively spliced, resulting in three splice variants. Next, we show that the expression of PTEN can be down-regulated by RNA interference (RNAi) in the larval stage, when female caste fate is determined. Relative to controls, we observed that RNAi efficacy is dependent on the amount of PTEN dsRNA that is delivered to larvae. For larvae fed queen or worker diets containing a high amount of PTEN dsRNA, PTEN knockdown was significant at a whole-body level but lethal. A lower dosage did not result in a significant gene down-regulation. Finally, we compared same-aged adult workers with different behavior: nursing vs. foraging. We show that between nurses and foragers, PTEN isoforms were differentially expressed within brain, ovary and fat body tissues. All isoforms were expressed at higher levels in the brain and ovaries of the foragers. In fat body, isoform B was expressed at higher level in the nurse bees.Our results suggest that PTEN plays a central role during growth and development in queen- and worker-destined honey bees. In adult workers, moreover, tissue-specific patterns of PTEN isoform expression are correlated with differences in complex division of labor between same-aged individuals. Therefore, we propose that knowledge on the roles of IIS and Egfr activity in developmental and behavioral control may increase through studies of how PTEN functions can impact bee social phenotypes

Measurement of the total cross section and ρ -parameter from elastic scattering in pp collisions at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

In a special run of the LHC with β⋆= 2.5 km, proton–proton elastic-scattering events were recorded at s=13 TeV with an integrated luminosity of 340μb-1 using the ALFA subdetector of ATLAS in 2016. The elastic cross section was measured differentially in the Mandelstam t variable in the range from - t= 2.5 · 10 - 4 GeV 2 to - t= 0.46 GeV 2 using 6.9 million elastic-scattering candidates. This paper presents measurements of the total cross section σtot , parameters of the nuclear slope, and the ρ -parameter defined as the ratio of the real part to the imaginary part of the elastic-scattering amplitude in the limit t→ 0 . These parameters are determined from a fit to the differential elastic cross section using the optical theorem and different parameterizations of the t-dependence. The results for σtot and ρ are σtot(pp→X)=104.7±1.1mb,ρ=0.098±0.011. The uncertainty in σtot is dominated by the luminosity measurement, and in ρ by imperfect knowledge of the detector alignment and by modelling of the nuclear amplitude

Differential tt¯cross-section measurements using boosted top quarks in the all-hadronic final state with 139 fb−1 of ATLAS data

Measurements of single-, double-, and triple-differential cross-sections are presented for boosted top-quark pair-production in 13 TeV proton–proton collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The top quarks are observed through their hadronic decay and reconstructed as large-radius jets with the leading jet having transverse momentum (pT) greater than 500 GeV. The observed data are unfolded to remove detector effects. The particle-level cross-section, multiplied by the tt¯ → WWbb¯ branching fraction and measured in a fiducial phase space defined by requiring the leading and second-leading jets to have pT> 500 GeV and pT> 350 GeV, respectively, is 331 ± 3(stat.) ± 39(syst.) fb. This is approximately 20% lower than the prediction of 398−49+48 fb by Powheg+Pythia 8 with next-to-leading-order (NLO) accuracy but consistent within the theoretical uncertainties. Results are also presented at the parton level, where the effects of top-quark decay, parton showering, and hadronization are removed such that they can be compared with fixed-order next-to-next-to-leading-order (NNLO) calculations. The parton-level cross-section, measured in a fiducial phase space similar to that at particle level, is 1.94 ± 0.02(stat.) ± 0.25(syst.) pb. This agrees with the NNLO prediction of 1.96−0.17+0.02 pb. Reasonable agreement with the differential cross-sections is found for most NLO models, while the NNLO calculations are generally in better agreement with the data. The differential cross-sections are interpreted using a Standard Model effective field-theory formalism and limits are set on Wilson coefficients of several four-fermion operators. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Measurement of the Higgs boson mass in the H → Z Z∗ → 4 decay channel using 139 fb−1 of √s = 13 TeV pp collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC

The mass of the Higgs boson is measured in the H→ZZ⁎→4ℓ decay channel. The analysis uses proton–proton collision data from the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector between 2015 and 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1. The measured value of the Higgs boson mass is 124.99±0.18(stat.)±0.04(syst.) GeV. In final states with muons, this measurement benefits from an improved momentum-scale calibration relative to that adopted in previous publications. The measurement also employs an analytic model that takes into account the invariant-mass resolution of the four-lepton system on a per-event basis and the output of a deep neural network discriminating signal from background events. This measurement is combined with the corresponding measurement using 7 and 8 TeV pp collision data, resulting in a Higgs boson mass of 124.94±0.17(stat.)±0.03(syst.) GeV

Search for new phenomena in multi-body invariant masses in events with at least one isolated lepton and two jets using √s = 13 TeV proton–proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector

A search for resonances in events with at least one isolated lepton (e or μ) and two jets is performed using 139 fb −1 of s = 13 TeV proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Deviations from a smoothly falling background hypothesis are tested in three- and four-body invariant mass distributions constructed from leptons and jets, including jets identified as originating from bottom quarks. Model-independent limits on generic resonances characterised by cascade decays of particles leading to multiple jets and leptons in the final state are presented. The limits are calculated using Gaussian shapes with different widths for the invariant masses. The multi-body invariant masses are also used to set 95% confidence level upper limits on the cross-section times branching ratios for the production and subsequent decay of resonances predicted by several new physics scenarios. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Search for third-generation vector-like leptons in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for vector-like leptons in multilepton (two, three, or four-or-more electrons plus muons) final states with zero or more hadronic τ-lepton decays is presented. The search is performed using a dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. To maximize the separation of signal and background, a machine-learning classifier is used. No excess of events is observed beyond the Standard Model expectation. Using a doublet vector-like lepton model, vector-like leptons coupling to third-generation Standard Model leptons are excluded in the mass range from 130 GeV to 900 GeV at the 95% confidence level, while the highest excluded mass is expected to be 970 GeV. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]