Pixel detector performance and study of CP invariance in H to tau tau decays with the ATLAS detector

Following its discovery by the ATLAS and CMS experiments in 2012, the Higgs boson has been studied in a multitude of decay modes. So far, its measured properties match very well with the predictions of the Standard Model of particle physics, which postulates the existence of a scalar field, to which all massive particles must couple. The scalar hypothesis can be tested by studying these couplings in detail. Several models predict an extension of the Higgs sector, which would involve a minimum of four additional Higgs bosons. These can potentially mix with each other, altering the kinematics of how the 125 GeV boson decays. This thesis presents a study of the potential for probing for new physics in Higgs decays into pairs of tau leptons. The correlation between the spin directions of the taus is reconstructed from the kinematics of the tau decay products, resulting in an observable angle, which is sensitive to the charge-parity (CP) state of the Higgs. Successful reconstruction of tau leptons rely on the information from the ATLAS tracking detectors. The innermost part of the detector, consisting of high-granularity pixel sensors, was before the beginning of 2015 operation upgraded with an additional pixel layer, the IBL, positioned extremely close to the collision point. Part of this thesis is devoted to the readout software which converts pixel detector output into data objects used by the event reconstruction algorithms. This software provides the mapping from the subdetector-specific module identification numbers, to the global ATLAS coordinate system. The intense conditions close to the collision point, under the record-breaking luminosity delivered by the LHC during the past three years of running, causes constant damage to the pixel sensors. To both ensure optimal operation of the detector, and to provide numbers to which simulations can be compared, a study has been carried out to measure the bias voltage required to fully deplete the sensors. Dedicated voltage scans have been performed at several occasions, to find the evolution of the depletion voltage over time

Stochastic modeling of stratospheric temperature

This study suggests a stochastic model for time series of daily-zonal (circumpolar) mean stratospheric temperature at a given pressure level. It can be seen as an extension of previous studies which have developed stochastic models for surface temperatures. The proposed model is a sum of a deterministic seasonality function and a L\'evy-driven multidimensional Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process, which is a mean-reverting stochastic process. More specifically, the deseasonalized temperature model is an order 4 continuous time autoregressive model, meaning that the stratospheric temperature is modeled to be directly dependent on the temperature over four preceding days, while the model's longer-range memory stems from its recursive nature. This study is based on temperature data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts ERA-Interim reanalysis model product. The residuals of the autoregressive model are well-represented by normal inverse Gaussian distributed random variables scaled with a time-dependent volatility function. A monthly variability in speed of mean reversion of stratospheric temperature is found, hence suggesting a generalization of the 4th order continuous time autoregressive model. A stochastic stratospheric temperature model, as proposed in this paper, can be used in geophysical analyses to improve the understanding of stratospheric dynamics. In particular, such characterizations of stratospheric temperature may be a step towards greater insight in modeling and prediction of large-scale middle atmospheric events, such as for example sudden stratospheric warmings. Through stratosphere-troposphere coupling, the stratosphere is hence a source of extended tropospheric predictability at weekly to monthly timescales, which is of great importance in several societal and industry sectors.Comment: 23 pages, 9 figure

Search for new phenomena in events containing a same-flavour opposite-sign dilepton pair, jets, and large missing transverse momentum in s=\sqrt{s}= 13 pppp collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two searches for new phenomena in final states containing a same-flavour opposite-lepton (electron or muon) pair, jets, and large missing transverse momentum are presented. These searches make use of proton--proton collision data, collected during 2015 and 2016 at a centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider, which correspond to an integrated luminosity of 14.7 fb$^{-1}$, Both searches target the pair production of supersymmetric particles, squarks or gluinos, which decay to final states containing a same-flavour opposite-sign lepton pair via one of two mechanisms: a leptonically decaying Z boson in the final state, leading to a peak in the dilepton invariant-mass distribution around the Z boson mass; and decays of neutralinos (e.g. $\tilde{\chi}_2^0 \rightarrow \ell^+\ell^- \tilde{\chi}_1^0$), yielding a kinematic endpoint in the dilepton invariant-mass spectrum. The data are found to be consistent with the Standard Model expectation. Results are interpreted in simplified models of gluino-pair (squark-pair) production, and provide sensitivity to gluinos (squarks) with masses as large as 1.70 TeV (980 GeV).publishedVersio

Search for invisible decays of the Higgs boson produced in association with a hadronically decaying vector boson in pppp collisions at s=8\sqrt{s} = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for Higgs boson decays to invisible particles is performed using 20.3 fb\).{-1}\) of $pp$ collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The process considered is Higgs boson production in association with a vector boson $V$ = $W$ or $Z$ that decays hadronically, resulting in events with two or more jets and large missing transverse momentum. No excess of candidates is observed in the data over the background expectation. The results are used to constrain $VH$ production followed by $H$ decaying to invisible particles for the Higgs mass range $115<m_H<300$ GeV. The 95% confidence-level observed upper limit on $\sigma_{VH} \times \text{BR}(H\rightarrow \text{inv.})$ varies from 1.6 pb at 115 GeV to 0.13 pb at 300 GeV. Assuming Standard Model production and including the $gg\rightarrow H$ contribution as signal, the results also lead to an observed upper limit of 78% at 95% confidence level on the branching ratio of Higgs bosons decays to invisible particles at a mass of 125 GeV.publishedVersio

Search for heavy lepton resonances decaying to a ZZ boson and a lepton in pppp collisions at s=8\sqrt{s}=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for heavy leptons decaying to a $Z$ boson and an electron or a muon is presented. The search is based on $pp$ collision data taken at $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb$^{-1}$, Three high-transverse-momentum electrons or muons are selected, with two of them required to be consistent with originating from a $Z$ boson decay. No significant excess above Standard Model background predictions is observed, and 95% confidence level limits on the production cross section of high-mass trilepton resonances are derived. The results are interpreted in the context of vector-like lepton and type-III seesaw models. For the vector-like lepton model, most heavy lepton mass values in the range 114-176 GeV are excluded. For the type-III seesaw model, most mass values in the range 100-468 GeV are excluded.publishedVersio

Measurement of ZZ production in the ℓℓνν final state with the ATLAS detector in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV

This paper presents a measurement of ZZ production with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurement is carried out in the final state with two charged leptons and two neutrinos, using data collected during 2015 and 2016 in pp collisions at s√ = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb−1. The integrated cross-sections in the total and fiducial phase spaces are measured with an uncertainty of 7% and compared with Standard Model predictions, and differential measurements in the fiducial phase space are reported. No significant deviations from the Standard Model predictions are observed, and stringent constraints are placed on anomalous couplings corresponding to neutral triple gauge-boson interactions.publishedVersio

Measurement of the Z(→ ℓ+ℓ−)γ production cross-section in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The production of a prompt photon in association with a Z boson is studied in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy s√ = 13 TeV. The analysis uses a data sample with an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1 collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC from 2015 to 2018. The production cross-section for the process pp → ℓ+ℓ−γ + X (ℓ = e, μ) is measured within a fiducial phase-space region defined by kinematic requirements on the photon and the leptons, and by isolation requirements on the photon. An experimental precision of 2.9% is achieved for the fiducial cross-section. Differential cross-sections are measured as a function of each of six kinematic variables characterising the ℓ+ℓ−γ system. The data are compared with theoretical predictions based on next-to-leading-order and next-to-next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD calculations. The impact of next-to-leading-order electroweak corrections is also considered.publishedVersio

Measurement of the W-boson mass in pp collisions at s√=7TeV with the ATLAS detector

A measurement of the mass of the W boson is presented based on proton–proton collision data recorded in 2011 at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC, and corresponding to 4.6 fb−1 of integrated luminosity. The selected data sample consists of 7.8×106 candidates in the → channel and 5.9×106 candidates in the → channel. The W-boson mass is obtained from template fits to the reconstructed distributions of the charged lepton transverse momentum and of the W boson transverse mass in the electron and muon decay channels, yielding =80370=80370±7 (stat.)±11(exp. syst.)±14 (mod. syst.) MeV±19MeV, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second corresponds to the experimental systematic uncertainty, and the third to the physics-modelling systematic uncertainty. A measurement of the mass difference between the + and − bosons yields +−−=−29±28 MeV.publishedVersio

Measurement of the CP-violating phase ϕs in B0s→J/ψϕ decays in ATLAS at 13 TeV

A measurement of the B0s→J/ψϕ decay parameters using 80.5fb−1 of integrated luminosity collected with the ATLAS detector from 13 TeV proton–proton collisions at the LHC is presented. The measured parameters include the CP-violating phase ϕs, the width difference ΔΓs between the B0s meson mass eigenstates and the average decay width Γs. The values measured for the physical parameters are combined with those from 19.2fb−1 of 7 and 8 TeV data, leading to the following: ϕs=−0.087±0.036 (stat.)±0.021 (syst.) rad ΔΓs=0.0657±0.0043 (stat.)±0.0037 (syst.) ps−1 Γs=0.6703±0.0014 (stat.)±0.0018 (syst.) ps−1 Results for ϕs and ΔΓs are also presented as 68% confidence level contours in the ϕs–ΔΓs plane. Furthermore the transversity amplitudes and corresponding strong phases are measured. ϕs and ΔΓs measurements are in agreement with the Standard Model predictions.publishedVersio

Search for invisible Higgs boson decays in vector boson fusion at √s = 13 TeV 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−1 of pp collision data at √s=13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. In the signal region the 2252 observed events are consistent with the background estimation. Assuming a 125 GeV 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 3 TeV for which the upper limits on the cross section times branching fraction are in the range of 0.3–1.7 pb.publishedVersio