Modelling and computational improvements to the simulation of single vector-boson plus jet processes for the ATLAS experiment

This paper presents updated Monte Carlo configurations used to model the production of single electroweak vector bosons (W, Z/gamma*) in association with jets in proton-proton collisions for the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Improvements pertaining to the electroweak input scheme, parton-shower splitting kernels and scale-setting scheme are shown for multi-jet merged configurations accurate to next-to-leading order in the strong and electroweak couplings. The computational resources required for these set-ups are assessed, and approximations are introduced resulting in a factor three reduction of the per-event CPU time without affecting the physics modelling performance. Continuous statistical enhancement techniques are introduced by ATLAS in order to populate low cross-section regions of phase space and are shown to match or exceed the generated effective luminosity. This, together with the lower per-event CPU time, results in a 50% reduction in the required computing resources compared to a legacy set-up previously used by the ATLAS collaboration. The set-ups described in this paper will be used for future ATLAS analyses and lay the foundation for the next generation of Monte Carlo predictions for single vector-boson plus jets production

Measurements of differential cross-sections in top-quark pair events with a high transverse momentum top quark and limits on beyond the Standard Model contributions to top-quark pair production with the ATLAS detector at √s = 13 TeV

Cross-section measurements of top-quark pair production where the hadronically decaying top quark has transverse momentum greater than 355 GeV and the other top quark decays into ℓνb are presented using 139 fb−1 of data collected by the ATLAS experiment during proton-proton collisions at the LHC. The fiducial cross-section at s = 13 TeV is measured to be σ = 1.267 ± 0.005 ± 0.053 pb, where the uncertainties reflect the limited number of data events and the systematic uncertainties, giving a total uncertainty of 4.2%. The cross-section is measured differentially as a function of variables characterising the tt¯ system and additional radiation in the events. The results are compared with various Monte Carlo generators, including comparisons where the generators are reweighted to match a parton-level calculation at next-to-next-to-leading order. The reweighting improves the agreement between data and theory. The measured distribution of the top-quark transverse momentum is used to search for new physics in the context of the effective field theory framework. No significant deviation from the Standard Model is observed and limits are set on the Wilson coefficients of the dimension-six operators OtG and Otq(8), where the limits on the latter are the most stringent to date. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Measurements of sensor radiation damage in the ATLAS inner detector using leakage currents

Non-ionizing energy loss causes bulk damage to the silicon sensors of the ATLAS pixel and strip detectors. This damage has important implications for data-taking operations, charged-particle track reconstruction, detector simulations, and physics analysis. This paper presents simulations and measurements of the leakage current in the ATLAS pixel detector and semiconductor tracker as a function of location in the detector and time, using data collected in Run 1 (2010–2012) and Run 2 (2015–2018) of the Large Hadron Collider. The extracted fluence shows a much stronger |z|-dependence in the innermost layers than is seen in simulation. Furthermore, the overall fluence on the second innermost layer is significantly higher than in simulation, with better agreement in layers at higher radii. These measurements are important for validating the simulation models and can be used in part to justify safety factors for future detector designs and interventions.publishedVersio

Search for dark matter in events with missing transverse momentum and a Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at root s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for dark-matter particles in events with large missing transverse momentum and a Higgs boson candidate decaying into two photons is reported. The search uses 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data collected at s√ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the CERN LHC between 2015 and 2018. No significant excess of events over the Standard Model predictions is observed. The results are interpreted by extracting limits on three simplified models that include either vector or pseudoscalar mediators and predict a final state with a pair of dark-matter candidates and a Higgs boson decaying into two photons

Search for bottom-squark pair production in pp collision events at √s=13 TeV with hadronically decaying τ-leptons, b-jets, and missing transverse momentum using the ATLAS detector

A search for pair production of bottom squarks in events with hadronically decaying τ -leptons, b -tagged jets, and large missing transverse momentum is presented. The analyzed dataset is based on proton-proton collisions at √ s = 13     TeV delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded by the ATLAS detector from 2015 to 2018, and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 139     fb − 1 . The observed data are compatible with the expected Standard Model background. Results are interpreted in a simplified model where each bottom squark is assumed to decay into the second-lightest neutralino ˜ χ 0 2 and a bottom quark, with ˜ χ 0 2 decaying into a Higgs boson and the lightest neutralino ˜ χ 0 1 . The search focuses on final states where at least one Higgs boson decays into a pair of hadronically decaying τ -leptons. This allows the acceptance and thus the sensitivity to be significantly improved relative to the previous results at low masses of the ˜ χ 0 2 , where bottom-squark masses up to 850 GeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level, assuming a mass difference of 130 GeV between ˜ χ 0 2 and ˜ χ 0 1 . Model-independent upper limits are also set on the cross section of processes beyond the Standard Model

Operation and performance of the ATLAS semiconductor tracker in LHC Run 2

The semiconductor tracker (SCT) is one of the tracking systems for charged particles in the ATLAS detector. It consists of 4088 silicon strip sensor modules. During Run 2 (2015–2018) the Large Hadron Collider delivered an integrated luminosity of 156 fb-1 to the ATLAS experiment at a centre-of-mass proton-proton collision energy of 13 TeV. The instantaneous luminosity and pile-up conditions were far in excess of those assumed in the original design of the SCT detector. Due to improvements to the data acquisition system, the SCT operated stably throughout Run 2. It was available for 99.9% of the integrated luminosity and achieved a data-quality efficiency of 99.85%. Detailed studies have been made of the leakage current in SCT modules and the evolution of the full depletion voltage, which are used to study the impact of radiation damage to the modules

Search for chargino–neutralino pair production in final states with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in s√=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for chargino–neutralino pair production in three-lepton final states with missing transverse momentum is presented. The study is based on a dataset of s√=13 TeV pp collisions recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1. No significant excess relative to the Standard Model predictions is found in data. The results are interpreted in simplified models of supersymmetry, and statistically combined with results from a previous ATLAS search for compressed spectra in two-lepton final states. Various scenarios for the production and decay of charginos (χ~±1) and neutralinos (χ~02) are considered. For pure higgsino χ~±1χ~02 pair-production scenarios, exclusion limits at 95% confidence level are set on χ~02 masses up to 210 GeV. Limits are also set for pure wino χ~±1χ~02 pair production, on χ~02 masses up to 640 GeV for decays via on-shell W and Z bosons, up to 300 GeV for decays via off-shell W and Z bosons, and up to 190 GeV for decays via W and Standard Model Higgs bosons

Nuorten päihteiden käyttö ja vanhempien saama tuki

Nuorten päihteiden käyttö on lisääntynyt viime vuosina. Nuoret eivät yleensä ole päihteistä riippuvaisia, mutta satunnainenkin kokeilu ja käyttö ovat haitallisia. Päihteiden käyttö voi olla yksittäinen ongelma, mutta myös osa suurempaa ongelmakokonaisuutta. Tämän vuoksi nuoren tilannetta tulee tarkastella kokonaisvaltaisesti. Päihteiden käyttöä ei aina huomata, ja sen ilmeneminen voi olla sokki läheisille. Päihteiden käyttö on ongelma käyttäjälle, mutta voi sairastuttaa myös läheiset. Läheiset, usein nuorten vanhemmat, tarvitsevat myös tukea ja neuvoa tilanteessa. Vanhempien oma asenne ja päihdekäyttäytyminen sekä nuoren asioista perillä oleminen ovat tärkeitä ehkäiseviä tekijöitä nuoren päihteiden käytölle. Myös nuoren oma asenne päihteisiin sekä sosiaaliset suhteet ja onnistumisen kokemukset ovat päihteiltä suojaavia tekijöitä. Tämä opinnäytetyö on tehty kokoamalla kattavasti teoriatietoa päihteistä, niiden käytöstä ja haitoista. Etelä-Karjalan sosiaali- ja terveyspiirin (Eksoten) internet-sivuilta selvitettiin, mistä ja miten voi hakea apua ja neuvoja läheisen päihteiden käytön ongelmiin. Lisäksi tehtiin kysely päihdenuorten vanhemmille. Kyselyllä selvitettiin päihdenuorten vanhempien omaa kokemusta saamastaan tuesta sosiaali- ja terveysalan ammattilaisilta. Tulokset analysoitiin empiirisesti. Tulosten mukaan osa vanhemmista on tyyty-väisiä saamaansa tukeen, osa taas kokee, ettei ole saanut tarpeeksi tukea ja tietoa. Päihdepalvelujen parempi ja määrällisesti laajempi saatavuus on kyse-lyyn vastanneiden vanhempien toiveissa. Tästä voidaan päätellä, että päih-denuorten vanhemmat otetaan huomioon ja tukea on tarjolla, mutta kaikkia tuki ei tavoita. Jatkotutkimuksessa voisi selvittää millaiseksi päihdenuoret kokevat saamansa hoidon. Lisäksi voisi selvittää miten sosiaali- ja terveysalan ammattilaiset koke-vat voivansa vaikuttaa nuorten päihdekäyttäytymiseen ja miten sosiaali- ja ter-veysalan ammattilaiset voisivat ottaa päihdenuorten vanhemmat paremmin huomioon. Kirjallisen nuorten päihdeasioita käsittelevän oppaan tekeminen ja jakaminen vanhemmille voisi olla hyödyllinen.Intoxicant use and abuse in young people has increased in recent years. Young people are generally not dependent on intoxicants, but occasional experimentation and use are harmful. Intoxicant use can be a single problem or part of a larger set of problems. Because of this, the situation of the young people should be considered from a broad perspective. Intoxicant use is not always noticed and its appearance may be a shock to those close to the user. Intoxicant use is a problem in the user, but can cause problems for families and friends, as well. Closely related, commonly parents, also need support and counsel in these situations. Parent's own attitudes and customs to use intoxicants, and knowing well issues about young people are important preventive factors for young people's intoxicant use. Also young people's attitude to intoxicant use and social affairs and experience of success are protective factors for intoxicant use. This thesis has been done by collecting comprehensive information on theory of intoxicant consumption and drawbacks of them. With the help of South Karelia District of Social and Health Service's websites, information about where and how to get help and advice for those close to young people with problems was found. In addition to this has been done an inquiry to parents of young people who use intoxicants. By the inquiry, the parents own experiences of having support from professionals in social and health care were examined. The results were analyzed empirically. According to the results, a proportion of parents are satisfied for support they have got, whereas part of parents find that they have not had enough support and information. The parents hope for better and wider availability of services for intoxicant users. Parents of young intoxicant abusers were taken into ac-count, and support services are available, but they do not reach all who need them. For further study, the opinions of the young people, and also of the health professionals about care of intoxicant abusers would be of interest

Search for New Phenomena in Final States with Two Leptons and One or No b-Tagged Jets at root S=13 TeV Using the ATLAS Detector

A search for new phenomena is presented in final states with two leptons and one or no b-tagged jets. The event selection requires the two leptons to have opposite charge, the same flavor (electrons or muons), and a large invariant mass. The analysis is based on the full run-2 proton-proton collision dataset recorded at a center-of-mass energy off root S = 13 TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb(-1). No significant deviation from the expected background is observed in the data. Inspired by the B-meson decay anomalies, a four-fermion contact interaction between two quarks (b, s) and two leptons (ee or mu mu) is used as a benchmark signal model, which is characterized by the energy scale and coupling, Lambda and g(*), respectively. Contact interactions with Lambda/g(*) lower than 2.0 (2.4) TeV are excluded for electrons (muons) at the 95% confidence level, still far below the value that is favored by the B-meson decay anomalies. Model-independent limits are set as a function of the minimum dilepton invariant mass, which allow the results to be reinterpreted in various signal scenarios

Search for resonances decaying into photon pairs in 139 fb(-1) of pp collisions at root s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Searches for new resonances in the diphoton final state, with spin 0 as predicted by theories with an extended Higgs sector and with spin 2 using a warped extra-dimension benchmark model, are presented using 139 fb(-1) of root s = 13 TeV pp collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. No significant deviation from the Standard Model is observed and upper limits are placed on the production cross-section times branching ratio to two photons as a function of the resonance mass. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V