Beyond visual acuity: Patient-relevant assessment measures of visual function in retinal diseases

Purpose: To identify patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and other clinical outcome measures (contrast sensitivity (CS), low-luminance visual acuity (LLVA) and reading acuity or reading speed (RA-RS)), relevant to patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or diabetic retinopathy (DR), which would be recommended for use in clinical practice. Methods: The RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method, based on the synthesis of the scientific evidence and the collective judgment of an expert panel using the two-round Delphi method, was applied. The evidence synthesis was performed by searching for articles on outcome measures for AMD and/or DR published between 2005 and 2018 in English or Spanish. The expert panel consisted of 14 Spanish ophthalmologists, who rated the recommendation degree for each outcome measure on a scale of 1 (extremely irrelevant) to 9 (maximum relevance). The recommended outcome measures were established according to the panel median score and the level of the panelists’ agreement. Results: Through the evidence search, 33 PRO-specific questionnaires (21 for visual function, six for AMD, three for DR, one for AMD and DR) and two treatment satisfaction questionnaires (one on AMD and one on DR) were identified. In addition, 21 methods were found for measuring CS, five for LLVA, and nine for RA-RS. According to the panel ratings, 11 of the 64 outcome measures evaluated for AMD, and seven of the 61 evaluated for DR were recommended. Conclusion: The AMD and DR outcome measures recommended will help ophthalmologists choose the outcome measure most appropriate for their patients. Furthermore, the use of PROs will contribute to shifting clinical practice towards patient-centered medicine

Search for heavy particles decaying into a top-quark pair in the fully hadronic final state in pp collisions at s =13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for new particles decaying into a pair of top quarks is performed using proton-proton collision data recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at a center-of-mass energy of s=13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb-1. Events consistent with top-quark pair production and the fully hadronic decay mode of the top quarks are selected by requiring multiple high transverse momentum jets including those containing b-hadrons. Two analysis techniques, exploiting dedicated top-quark pair reconstruction in different kinematic regimes, are used to optimize the search sensitivity to new hypothetical particles over a wide mass range. The invariant mass distribution of the two reconstructed top-quark candidates is examined for resonant production of new particles with various spins and decay widths. No significant deviation from the Standard Model prediction is observed and limits are set on the production cross-section times branching fraction for new hypothetical Z′ bosons, dark-matter mediators, Kaluza-Klein gravitons and Kaluza-Klein gluons. By comparing with the predicted production cross sections, the Z′ boson in the topcolor-assisted-technicolor model is excluded for masses up to 3.1-3.6 TeV, the dark-matter mediators in a simplified framework are excluded in the mass ranges from 0.8 to 0.9 TeV and from 2.0 to 2.2 TeV, and the Kaluza-Klein gluon is excluded for masses up to 3.4 TeV, depending on the decay widths of the particles.Peer Reviewe

Search for pairs of highly collimated photon-jets in pp collisions at s =13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for the pair production of photon-jets - collimated groupings of photons - in the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider are reported. Highly collimated photon-jets can arise from the decay of new, highly boosted particles that can decay to multiple photons collimated enough to be identified in the electromagnetic calorimeter as a single, photonlike energy cluster. Data from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.7 fb-1, were collected in 2015 and 2016. Candidate photon-jet pair production events are selected from those containing two reconstructed photons using a set of identification criteria much less stringent than that typically used for the selection of photons, with additional criteria applied to provide improved sensitivity to photon-jets. Narrow excesses in the reconstructed diphoton mass spectra are searched for. The observed mass spectra are consistent with the Standard Model background expectation. The results are interpreted in the context of a model containing a new, high-mass scalar particle with narrow width, X, that decays into pairs of photon-jets via new, light particles, a. Upper limits are placed on the cross section times the product of branching ratios σ×B(X→aa)×B(a→γγ)2 for 200 GeV<mX<2 TeV and for ranges of ma from a lower mass of 100 MeV up to between 2 and 10 GeV, depending upon mX. Upper limits are also placed on σ×B(X→aa)×B(a→3π0)2 for the same range of mX and for ranges of ma from a lower mass of 500 MeV up to between 2 and 10 GeV.Peer Reviewe

Search for vector-boson resonances decaying to a top quark and bottom quark in the lepton plus jets final state in pp collisions at s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for new charged massive gauge bosons, W, is performed with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Data were collected in proton–proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of s=13 TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb. This analysis searches for W bosons in the W→tb¯ decay channel in final states with an electron or muon plus jets. The search covers resonance masses between 0.5 and 5.0 TeV and considers right-handed W bosons. No significant deviation from the Standard Model (SM) expectation is observed and upper limits are set on the W→tb¯ cross section times branching ratio and the W boson effective couplings as a function of the W boson mass. For right-handed W bosons with coupling to the SM particles equal to the SM weak coupling constant, masses below 3.15 TeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level. This search is also combined with a previously published ATLAS result for W→tb¯ in the fully hadronic final state. Using the combined searches, right-handed W bosons with masses below 3.25 TeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level.Peer Reviewe

Search for invisible Higgs boson decays in vector boson fusion at s=13TeV 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 of pp collision data at s=13TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. In the signal region the 2252 observed events are consistent with the background estimation. Assuming a 125GeV 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 3TeV for which the upper limits on the cross section times branching fraction are in the range of 0.3–1.7pb.Peer Reviewe

Search for the Higgs boson decays H → ee and H → eμ in pp collisions at s=13TeV with the ATLAS detector

Searches for the Higgs boson decays H→ee and H→eμ are performed using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139fb collected with the ATLAS detector in pp collisions at s=13 TeV at the LHC. No significant signals are observed, in agreement with the Standard Model expectation. For a Higgs boson mass of 125 GeV, the observed (expected) upper limit at the 95% confidence level on the branching fraction B(H→ee) is 3.6×10 (3.5×10) and on B(H→eμ) is 6.2×10 (5.9×10). These results represent improvements by factors of about five and six on the previous best limits on B(H→ee) and B(H→eμ) respectively

Measurement of the t t Z and t t W cross sections in proton-proton collisions at s =13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A measurement of the associated production of a top-quark pair (tt) with a vector boson (W, Z) in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV is presented, using 36.1 fb-1 of integrated luminosity collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events are selected in channels with two same- or opposite-sign leptons (electrons or muons), three leptons or four leptons, and each channel is further divided into multiple regions to maximize the sensitivity of the measurement. The ttZ and ttW production cross sections are simultaneously measured using a combined fit to all regions. The best-fit values of the production cross sections are σttZ=0.95±0.08stat±0.10syst pb and σttW=0.87±0.13stat±0.14syst pb in agreement with the Standard Model predictions. The measurement of the ttZ cross section is used to set constraints on effective field theory operators which modify the ttZ vertex.Peer Reviewe

Measurement of W±Z production cross sections and gauge boson polarisation in pp collisions at √s=13TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents measurements of WZ production cross sections in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The data were collected in 2015 and 2016 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 36.1fb-1. The WZ candidate events are reconstructed using leptonic decay modes of the gauge bosons into electrons and muons. The measured inclusive cross section in the detector fiducial region for a single leptonic decay mode is σW±Z→ℓ′νℓℓfid.=63.7±1.0(stat.)±2.3(syst.)±1.4(lumi.) fb, reproduced by the next-to-next-to-leading-order Standard Model prediction of 61.5-1.3+1.4 fb. Cross sections for WZ and WZ production and their ratio are presented as well as differential cross sections for several kinematic observables. An analysis of angular distributions of leptons from decays of W and Z bosons is performed for the first time in pair-produced events in hadronic collisions, and integrated helicity fractions in the detector fiducial region are measured for the W and Z bosons separately. Of particular interest, the longitudinal helicity fraction of pair-produced vector bosons is also measured.We acknowledge the support of ANPCyT, Argentina; YerPhI, Armenia; ARC, Australia; BMWFW and FWF, Austria; ANAS, Azerbaijan; SSTC, Belarus; CNPq and FAPESP, Brazil; NSERC, NRC and CFI, Canada; CERN; CONICYT, Chile; CAS, MOST and NSFC, China; COLCIENCIAS, Colombia; MSMT CR, MPO CR and VSC CR, Czech Republic; DNRF and DNSRC, Denmark; IN2P3-CNRS, CEA-DRF/IRFU, France; SRNSFG, Georgia; BMBF, HGF, and MPG, Germany; GSRT, Greece; RGC, Hong Kong SAR, China; ISF and Benoziyo Center, Israel; INFN, Italy; MEXT and JSPS, Japan; CNRST, Morocco; NWO, Netherlands; RCN, Norway; MNiSW and NCN, Poland; FCT, Portugal; MNE/IFA, Romania; MES of Russia and NRC KI, Russian Federation; JINR; MESTD, Serbia; MSSR, Slovakia; ARRS and MIZŠ, Slovenia; DST/NRF, South Africa; MINECO, Spain; SRC and Wallenberg Foundation, Sweden; SERI, SNSF and Cantons of Bern and Geneva, Switzerland; MOST, Taiwan; TAEK, Turkey; STFC, UK; DOE and NSF, USA. In addition, individual groups and members have received support from BCKDF, CANARIE, CRC and Compute Canada, Canada; COST, ERC, ERDF, Horizon 2020, and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, European Union; Investissements d’ Avenir Labex and Idex, ANR, France; DFG and AvH Foundation, Germany; Herakleitos, Thales and Aristeia programmes co-financed by EU-ESF and the Greek NSRF, Greece; BSF-NSF and GIF, Israel; CERCA Programme Generalitat de Catalunya, Spain; The Royal Society and Leverhulme Trust, UK. The crucial computing support from all WLCG partners is acknowledged gratefully, in particular from CERN, the ATLAS Tier-1 facilities at TRIUMF (Canada), NDGF (Denmark, Norway, Sweden), CC-IN2P3 (France), KIT/GridKA (Germany), INFN-CNAF (Italy), NL-T1 (Netherlands), PIC (Spain), ASGC (Taiwan), RAL (UK) and BNL (USA), the Tier-2 facilities worldwide and large non-WLCG resource providers. Major contributors of computing resources are listed in Ref. [106].Peer Reviewe

Search for the Production of a Long-Lived Neutral Particle Decaying within the ATLAS Hadronic Calorimeter in Association with a Z Boson from pp Collisions at s =13 TeV

This Letter presents a search for the production of a long-lived neutral particle (Zd) decaying within the ATLAS hadronic calorimeter, in association with a standard model (SM) Z boson produced via an intermediate scalar boson, where Z→+ (=e, μ). The data used were collected by the ATLAS detector during 2015 and 2016 pp collisions with a center-of-mass energy of s=13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 36.1±0.8 fb-1. No significant excess of events is observed above the expected background. Limits on the production cross section of the scalar boson times its decay branching fraction into the long-lived neutral particle are derived as a function of the mass of the intermediate scalar boson, the mass of the long-lived neutral particle, and its cτ from a few centimeters to one hundred meters. In the case that the intermediate scalar boson is the SM Higgs boson, its decay branching fraction to a long-lived neutral particle with a cτ approximately between 0.1 and 7 m is excluded with a 95% confidence level up to 10% for mZd between 5 and 15 GeV

Performance of electron and photon triggers in ATLAS during LHC Run 2

Electron and photon triggers covering transverse energies from 5 GeV to several TeV are essential for the ATLAS experiment to record signals for a wide variety of physics: from Standard Model processes to searches for new phenomena in both proton–proton and heavy-ion collisions. To cope with a fourfold increase of peak LHC luminosity from 2015 to 2018 (Run 2), to 2.1×1034cm-2s-1, and a similar increase in the number of interactions per beam-crossing to about 60, trigger algorithms and selections were optimised to control the rates while retaining a high efficiency for physics analyses. For proton–proton collisions, the single-electron trigger efficiency relative to a single-electron offline selection is at least 75% for an offline electron of 31 GeV, and rises to 96% at 60 GeV; the trigger efficiency of a 25 GeV leg of the primary diphoton trigger relative to a tight offline photon selection is more than 96% for an offline photon of 30 GeV. For heavy-ion collisions, the primary electron and photon trigger efficiencies relative to the corresponding standard offline selections are at least 84% and 95%, respectively, at 5 GeV above the corresponding trigger threshold