Breaking the degeneracy between anisotropy and mass: The dark halo of the E0 galaxy NGC 6703

(abridged) We have measured line-of-sight velocity profiles (VPs) in the E0 galaxy NGC 6703 out to 2.6 R_e. From these data we constrain the mass distribution and the anisotropy of the stellar orbits in this galaxy. We have developed a non-parametric technique to determine the DF f(E,L^2) directly from the kinematic data. From Monte Carlo tests using the spatial extent, sampling, and error bars of the NGC 6703 data we find that smooth underlying DFs can be recovered to an rms accuracy of 12%, and the anisotropy parameter beta(r) to an accuracy of 0.1, in a given potential. An asymptotically constant halo circular velocity v_0 can be determined with an accuracy of +- \lta 50km/s. For NGC 6703 we determine the true circular velocity at 2.6 R_e to be 250 +- 40km/s at 95% c.l., corresponding to a total mass in NGC 6703 inside 78'' (13.5 h_50^-1 kpc), of 1.6-2.6 x 10^11 h_50^-1 Msun. No model without dark matter will fit the data; however, a maximum stellar mass model in which the luminous component provides nearly all the mass in the centre does. In such a model, the total luminous mass inside 78'' is 9 x 10^10 Msun and the integrated M/L_B=5.3-10, corresponding to a rise from the center by at least a factor of 1.6. The anisotropy of the stellar distribution function in NGC 6703 changes from near-isotropic at the centre to slightly radially anisotropic (beta=0.3-0.4 at 30'', beta=0.2-0.4 at 60'') and is not well-constrained at the outer edge of the data. Our results suggest that also elliptical galaxies begin to be dominated by dark matter at radii of \sim 10kpc.Comment: 19 pages LaTex, 18 figures. MNRAS, in press. Also available at http://www.astro.unibas.ch/~gerhard/papers/dm6703.ps.g

Breaking the degeneracy between anisotropy and mass: the dark halo of the E0 galaxy NGC 6703

We have measured line-of-sight velocity profiles (VPs) in the E0 galaxy NGC 6703 out to 2.6Re. Comparing these with the VPs predicted from spherical distribution functions (DFs), we constrain the mass distribution and the anisotropy of the stellar orbits in this galaxy. We have developed a non-parametric technique to determine the DF f(E, L2) directly from the kinematic data. We test this technique on Monte Carlo simulated data with the spatial extent, sampling, and error bars of the NGC 6703 data. We find that smooth underlying DFs can be recovered to an rms accuracy of 12 per cent inside three times the radius of the last kinematic data point, and the anisotropy parameter β(r) can be recovered to an accuracy of 0.1, in a known potential. These uncertainties can be reduced with improved data. By comparing such best-estimate, regularized models in different potentials, we can derive constraints on the mass distribution and anisotropy. Tests show that, with presently available data, an asymptotically constant halo circular velocity υ0 can be determined with an accuracy of ±≲50 km s−1. This formal range often includes high-υ0 models with implausibly large gradients across the data boundary. However, even with extremely high quality data some uncertainty on the detailed shape of the underlying circular velocity curve remains. In the case of NGC 6703, we thus determine the true circular velocity at 2.6Re to be 250±40 km s−1 at 95 per cent confidence, corresponding to a total mass in NGC 6703 inside 78 arcsec (13.5 h−150 kpc, where h50≡H0/50 km s−1 Mpc−1) of 1.6-2.6×1011h−150 M⊙. No model without dark matter will fit the data; however, a maximum stellar mass model in which the luminous component provides nearly all the mass in the centre will. In such a model, the total luminous mass inside 78 arcsec is 9Å-1010 M⊙ and the integrated B-band mass-to-light ratio out to this radius is ΥB=5.3-10, corresponding to a rise from the centre by at least a factor of 1.6. The anisotropy of the stellar distribution function in NGC 6703 changes from near-isotropic at the centre to slightly radially anisotropic (β=0.3-0.4 at 30 arcsec, β=0.2-0.4 at 60 arcsec) and is not well-constrained at the outer edge of the data, where β=−0.5 to +0.4, depending on variations of the potential in the allowed range. Our results suggest that also elliptical galaxies begin to be dominated by dark matter at radii of ∼10 kp

Measurement of the cross-section of high transverse momentum vector bosons reconstructed as single jets and studies of jet substructure in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a measurement of the cross-section for high transverse momentum W and Z bosons produced in pp collisions and decaying to all-hadronic final states. The data used in the analysis were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7 TeV;{\rm Te}{\rm V}$and correspond to an integrated luminosity of$4.6\;{\rm f}{{{\rm b}}^{-1}}$. The measurement is performed by reconstructing the boosted W or Z bosons in single jets. The reconstructed jet mass is used to identify the W and Z bosons, and a jet substructure method based on energy cluster information in the jet centre-of-mass frame is used to suppress the large multi-jet background. The cross-section for events with a hadronically decaying W or Z boson, with transverse momentum${{p}_{{\rm T}}}\gt 320\;{\rm Ge}{\rm V}$and pseudorapidity$|\eta |\lt 1.9$, is measured to be${{\sigma }_{W+Z}}=8.5\pm 1.7$ pb and is compared to next-to-leading-order calculations. The selected events are further used to study jet grooming techniques

Measurement of χ c1 and χ c2 production with s√ = 7 TeV pp collisions at ATLAS

The prompt and non-prompt production cross-sections for the χ c1 and χ c2 charmonium states are measured in pp collisions at s√ = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using 4.5 fb−1 of integrated luminosity. The χ c states are reconstructed through the radiative decay χ c → J/ψγ (with J/ψ → μ + μ −) where photons are reconstructed from γ → e + e − conversions. The production rate of the χ c2 state relative to the χ c1 state is measured for prompt and non-prompt χ c as a function of J/ψ transverse momentum. The prompt χ c cross-sections are combined with existing measurements of prompt J/ψ production to derive the fraction of prompt J/ψ produced in feed-down from χ c decays. The fractions of χ c1 and χ c2 produced in b-hadron decays are also measured

Measurements of fiducial and differential cross sections for Higgs boson production in the diphoton decay channel at s√=8 TeV with ATLAS

Measurements of fiducial and differential cross sections are presented for Higgs boson production in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s√=8 TeV. The analysis is performed in the H → γγ decay channel using 20.3 fb−1 of data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The signal is extracted using a fit to the diphoton invariant mass spectrum assuming that the width of the resonance is much smaller than the experimental resolution. The signal yields are corrected for the effects of detector inefficiency and resolution. The pp → H → γγ fiducial cross section is measured to be 43.2 ±9.4(stat.) − 2.9 + 3.2 (syst.) ±1.2(lumi)fb for a Higgs boson of mass 125.4GeV decaying to two isolated photons that have transverse momentum greater than 35% and 25% of the diphoton invariant mass and each with absolute pseudorapidity less than 2.37. Four additional fiducial cross sections and two cross-section limits are presented in phase space regions that test the theoretical modelling of different Higgs boson production mechanisms, or are sensitive to physics beyond the Standard Model. Differential cross sections are also presented, as a function of variables related to the diphoton kinematics and the jet activity produced in the Higgs boson events. The observed spectra are statistically limited but broadly in line with the theoretical expectations

Measurement of the production of a W boson in association with a charm quark in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The production of a W boson in association with a single charm quark is studied using 4.6 fb−1 of pp collision data at s√ = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. In events in which a W boson decays to an electron or muon, the charm quark is tagged either by its semileptonic decay to a muon or by the presence of a charmed meson. The integrated and differential cross sections as a function of the pseudorapidity of the lepton from the W-boson decay are measured. Results are compared to the predictions of next-to-leading-order QCD calculations obtained from various parton distribution function parameterisations. The ratio of the strange-to-down sea-quark distributions is determined to be 0.96+0.26−0.30 at Q 2 = 1.9 GeV2, which supports the hypothesis of an SU(3)-symmetric composition of the light-quark sea. Additionally, the cross-section ratio σ(W + +c¯¯)/σ(W − + c) is compared to the predictions obtained using parton distribution function parameterisations with different assumptions about the s−s¯¯¯ quark asymmetry

Search for squarks and gluinos with the ATLAS detector in final states with jets and missing transverse momentum using √s=8 TeV proton-proton collision data

A search for squarks and gluinos in final states containing high-p T jets, missing transverse momentum and no electrons or muons is presented. The data were recorded in 2012 by the ATLAS experiment in s√=8 TeV proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider, with a total integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1. Results are interpreted in a variety of simplified and specific supersymmetry-breaking models assuming that R-parity is conserved and that the lightest neutralino is the lightest supersymmetric particle. An exclusion limit at the 95% confidence level on the mass of the gluino is set at 1330 GeV for a simplified model incorporating only a gluino and the lightest neutralino. For a simplified model involving the strong production of first- and second-generation squarks, squark masses below 850 GeV (440 GeV) are excluded for a massless lightest neutralino, assuming mass degenerate (single light-flavour) squarks. In mSUGRA/CMSSM models with tan β = 30, A 0 = −2m 0 and μ > 0, squarks and gluinos of equal mass are excluded for masses below 1700 GeV. Additional limits are set for non-universal Higgs mass models with gaugino mediation and for simplified models involving the pair production of gluinos, each decaying to a top squark and a top quark, with the top squark decaying to a charm quark and a neutralino. These limits extend the region of supersymmetric parameter space excluded by previous searches with the ATLAS detector

Search for direct pair production of the top squark in all-hadronic final states in proton-proton collisions at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for direct pair production of the scalar partner to the top quark using an integrated luminosity of 20.1fb−1 of proton–proton collision data at √s = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC are reported. The top squark is assumed to decay via t˜→tχ˜01 or t˜→ bχ˜±1 →bW(∗)χ˜01 , where χ˜01 (χ˜±1 ) denotes the lightest neutralino (chargino) in supersymmetric models. The search targets a fully-hadronic final state in events with four or more jets and large missing transverse momentum. No significant excess over the Standard Model background prediction is observed, and exclusion limits are reported in terms of the top squark and neutralino masses and as a function of the branching fraction of t˜ → tχ˜01 . For a branching fraction of 100%, top squark masses in the range 270–645 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 30 GeV. For a branching fraction of 50% to either t˜ → tχ˜01 or t˜ → bχ˜±1 , and assuming the χ˜±1 mass to be twice the χ˜01 mass, top squark masses in the range 250–550 GeV are excluded for χ˜01 masses below 60 GeV

Search for a CP-odd Higgs boson decaying to Zh in pp collisions at √s=8TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for a heavy, CP-odd Higgs boson, A, decaying into a Zboson and a 125GeV Higgs boson, h, with the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented. The search uses proton–proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 8TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3fb−1. Decays of CP-even hbosons to ττor bbpairs with the Zboson decaying to electron or muon pairs are considered, as well as h →bbdecays with the Zboson decaying to neutrinos. No evidence for the production of an Aboson in these channels is found and the 95% confidence level upper limits derived for σ(gg→A) ×BR(A →Zh) ×BR(h →f¯f)are 0.098–0.013pb for f=τand 0.57–0.014pb for f=bin a range of mA=220–1000GeV. The results are combined and interpreted in the context of two-Higgs-doublet models. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons