The ABC130 barrel module prototyping programme for the ATLAS strip tracker

For the Phase-II Upgrade of the ATLAS Detector, its Inner Detector, consisting of silicon pixel, silicon strip and transition radiation sub-detectors, will be replaced with an all new 100 % silicon tracker, composed of a pixel tracker at inner radii and a strip tracker at outer radii. The future ATLAS strip tracker will include 11,000 silicon sensor modules in the central region (barrel) and 7,000 modules in the forward region (end-caps), which are foreseen to be constructed over a period of 3.5 years. The construction of each module consists of a series of assembly and quality control steps, which were engineered to be identical for all production sites. In order to develop the tooling and procedures for assembly and testing of these modules, two series of major prototyping programs were conducted: an early program using readout chips designed using a 250 nm fabrication process (ABCN-25) and a subsequent program using a follow-up chip set made using 130 nm processing (ABC130 and HCC130 chips). This second generation of readout chips was used for an extensive prototyping program that produced around 100 barrel-type modules and contributed significantly to the development of the final module layout. This paper gives an overview of the components used in ABC130 barrel modules, their assembly procedure and findings resulting from their tests.Comment: 82 pages, 66 figure

Overview of the ttW process and its measurements by the ATLAS experiment

Production of $t\bar{t}$ in association with a W boson is a rare and massive signature at the LHC and is sensitive to new physics. It is also an important background for measurements of $t\bar{t}H$ and $t\bar{t}t\bar{t}$ in multi-lepton final states. Recent ATLAS measurements have observed production rates 40%-70% higher than expected at NLO+NNLL QCD and NLOPS. While a fully differential cross section measurement is needed to fully resolve these discrepancies, the $t\bar{t}W$ process can be a useful test bed for BSM physics modifying its QCD and EW contributions. This talk will present the results for a recent ATLAS measurement of the leptonic asymmetry in $t\bar{t}W$ events with three leptons. Asymmetries are extracted at the detector and particle level using the profile likelihood formalism. Asymmetries are found to be consistent with Monte Carlo predictions within statistically-dominated uncertainties

Recent results in top quark physics from the ATLAS experiment

This talk will present recent results from the ATLAS experiment with top quarks. Searches for BSM physics, including FCNC, cLFV, and new resonances will be presented along with observations and precision measurements of associated top quark production

The first differential cross section measurements of ttˉt\bar{t} produced with a WW boson in pp collisions

Measurements of inclusive \ttW^\pm production cross sections performed by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations have consistently shown excesses of 20\%-70\% over theoretical predictions. These observations have lead to a growth in interest from the theory community over the last several years, leading to the realization that subleading electroweak corrections involving internal $tW\rightarrow tW$ scattering can be important for differential \ttW production cross section calculations. This thesis presents the first differential cross section measurements of the \ttW process using 138 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment. Of particular interest is the $N_\text{jets}$ distribution, a key input for the measurement of \ttH production in multi-lepton final states. Inclusive and differential cross sections are extracted at the particle level in \ll and \lll fiducial regions, both separated by total charge of the leptons as well as inclusively in charge with relative charge asymmetries. Charge-asymmetric enhancement in the \ttW \ll fiducial regions and charge-symmetric enhancement in the \lll region are observed. Excesses in the \ttW production cross section are localized to events with low jet multiplicity, high leptonic \HT, and high di-lepton invariant mass. Distributions are generally in good agreement with predictions of several Monte Carlo models

Measurements of associated top quark production and searches for new top-quark phenomena with the ATLAS detector

The high center-of-mass energy of proton-proton collisions and the high integrated luminosities at the CERN Large Hadron Collider make it possible to study rare processes of the Standard Model (SM) with unprecedented precision and search for new physics that might enhance extremely rare processes in the SM. Measurements of rare SM processes provide new tests of the SM predictions with the potential to unveil discrepancies with the SM predictions or provide important input for the improvement of theoretical calculations. A significant example of new phenomena are Flavour Changing Neutral Currents (FCNC): forbidden at tree level and highly suppressed at higher orders in the Standard Model (SM), FCNC processes can receive enhanced contributions in many extensions of the SM, so any measurable sign of such interactions is an indication of new physics. In this talk, total and differential measurements of top-quark production in association with additional bosons are shown using data taken with the ATLAS experiment at a center-of-mass-energy of 13 TeV, as well as a recent result on the evidence for the very rare process of four-top-quark production, combining several channels. In addition, searches for FCNCs with the ATLAS experiment are shown, including a new result on the FCNC coupling of the top quark to the Z boson using the full data taken during Run-2 of the LHC, as well as other searches for beyond-the-Standard-Model phenomena in top-quark final states

A Sustainability Roadmap for C3^3

The particle physics community has agreed that an electron-positron collider is the next step for continued progress in this field, giving a unique opportunity for a detailed study of the Higgs boson. Several proposals are current under evaluation of the international community. Any large particle accelerator will be an energy consumer and so, today, we must be concerned about its impact on the environment. This paper evaluates the carbon impact of the construction and operations of one of these Higgs factory proposals, the Cool Copper Collider (C$^{3}$). It introduces several strategies to lower the carbon impact of the accelerator. It proposes a metric to compare the carbon costs of Higgs factories, balancing physics reach, energy needs, and carbon footprint for both construction and operations, and compares the various Higgs factory proposals within this framework. For C$^{3}$, the compact 8 km footprint and the possibility for cut-and-cover construction greatly reduce the dominant contribution from embodied carbon.Comment: 20 Pages, 6 Figure

Improvements to postprandial glucose control in subjects with type 2 diabetes: a multicenter, double blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial of a novel probiotic formulation

Introduction A growing body of evidence suggests that specific, naturally occurring gut bacteria are under-represented in the intestinal tracts of subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and that their functions, like gut barrier stability and butyrate production, are important to glucose and insulin homeostasis. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that enteral exposure to microbes with these proposed functions can safely improve clinical measures of glycemic control and thereby play a role in the overall dietary management of diabetes.Research design and methods We evaluated whether a probiotic comprised of these anaerobic bacteria would enhance dietary management by (1) manufacturing two novel probiotic formulations containing three (WBF-010) or five (WBF-011) distinct strains in a Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) facility, (2) establishing consistent live-cell concentrations, (3) confirming safety at target concentrations dispensed in both animal and human studies and (4) conducting a 12-week parallel, double-blind, placebo-controlled, proof-of-concept study in which subjects previously diagnosed with T2D (n=76) were randomly assigned to a two times a day regimen of placebo, WBF-010 or WBF-011.Results No safety or tolerability issues were observed. Compared with the placebo group, subjects administered WBF-011 (which contains inulin, Akkermansia muciniphila, Clostridium beijerinckii, Clostridium butyricum, Bifidobacterium infantis and Anaerobutyricum hallii) significantly improved in the primary outcome, glucose total area under the curve (AUC): −36.1 mg/dL/180 min, p=0.0500 and also improved in secondary outcomes, glycated hemoglobin (A1c): −0.6, glucose incremental-AUC: −28.6 mg/dL/180 min.Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first randomized controlled trial to administer four of the five strains to human subjects with T2D. This proof-of-concept study (clinical trial number NCT03893422) shows that the intervention was safe and well tolerated and that supplementation with WBF-011 improves postprandial glucose control. The limited sample size and intersubject variability justifies future studies designed to confirm and expand on these observations

The ABC130 barrel module prototyping programme for the ATLAS strip tracker

For the Phase-II Upgrade of the ATLAS Detector [1], its Inner Detector, consisting of silicon pixel, silicon strip and transition radiation sub-detectors, will be replaced with an all new 100% silicon tracker, composed of a pixel tracker at inner radii and a strip tracker at outer radii. The future ATLAS strip tracker will include 11,000 silicon sensor modules in the central region (barrel) and 7,000 modules in the forward region (end-caps), which are foreseen to be constructed over a period of 3.5 years. The construction of each module consists of a series of assembly and quality control steps, which were engineered to be identical for all production sites. In order to develop the tooling and procedures for assembly and testing of these modules, two series of major prototyping programs were conducted: an early program using readout chips designed using a 250 nm fabrication process (ABCN-250) [2,2] and a subsequent program using a follow-up chip set made using 130 nm processing (ABC130 and HCC130 chips). This second generation of readout chips was used for an extensive prototyping program that produced around 100 barrel-type modules and contributed significantly to the development of the final module layout. This paper gives an overview of the components used in ABC130 barrel modules, their assembly procedure and findings resulting from their tests