Lepton Flavour Violation and B_s Leptonic Final States at the LHC

An overview of ATLAS and CMS studies of B_s leptonic decays providing constraints on the lepton flavour violation phenomenon is presented. Except direct lepton flavour violating final states B_s -> l_1^+ l_2^-, constraints can also be set by a measurement of B_s -> mu^+ mu^- decay, whose branching ratio in some theoretical models correlates with a branching ratio of B_s -> l_1^+ l_2^-, tau -> 3mu and some other lepton flavour violating decays. In this paper, the feasibility of measurements of B_s -> mu^+ mu^- decay is described, including the present status, the trigger and the offline analysis strategies and the expected reach in the branching ratio measurement. The ATLAS and CMS experiments foresee to provide 3-sigma evidence of Standard Model B_s -> mu^+ mu^- branching ratio by the end of LHC low-luminosity stage (30 fb^(-1)). Also a CMS study of the tau -> 3mu decay and an initial particle-level based study of the B_s -> tau mu decay are presented. A sensitivity of ~10^(-8) for the tau -> 3mu branching ratio measurement is predicted by CMS.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, Heavy Quarks and Leptons, Melbourne, 200

Analysis of reversible solid oxide cell technology for grid-energy storage and synthetic natural gas production with CO2

Reducing electricity related carbon emissions requires movement toward renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar, which is challenging due to their inherent intermittency. Electrical energy storage (EES) is expected to play a critical role in enabling greater penetration of renewables, but current technologies suffer from capacity limitations and high cost. Reversible solid oxide cells (ReSOCs) are an electrochemical energy conversion technology that can provide high efficiency and cost effective storage at both distributed and grid scales. This presentation discusses the fundamentals of ReSOC operation and compares the performance, cost, and net carbon emissions of ReSOCs employed in traditional EES systems with that of ReSOCs integrated with natural gas pipeline infrastructure and captured carbon dioxide. ReSOCs are ceramic electrochemical devices that can be used to either produce power from fuel when electricity is needed (fuel cell mode), or produce fuel from electricity when excess energy is available (electrolysis mode). By leveraging C-O-H reaction chemistry and operating at intermediate temperatures (600oC), these cells can be mildly exothermic in both operating modes, eliminating the need for external heat input or high over-potential operation during electrolysis. Storage of fuel (H2, CO, CH4) and exhaust (H2O, CO2) in tanks at the distributed scale and large caverns at the grid scale allows ReSOC systems to provide stand-alone EES services. While previous work has quantified performance and cost of ReSOC energy storage systems at both distributed and grid scales, this work focuses on ReSOC systems that couple natural gas pipelines as a fuel source and captured carbon dioxide as a co-electrolysis feedstock. ReSOCs are well suited for both carbon capture and synthetic fuel production. In fuel cell mode, ReSOCs consume fuel and oxygen and produce water, CO2, and excess air. Because fuel oxidation occurs via oxygen transport across the ReSOC electrolyte, separation of carbon dioxide from the exhaust stream can be achieved without concern for nitrogen. In electrolysis mode, internal methanation can be promoted to both provide heat for co-electrolysis of water and CO2 and to produce methane. Coupling ReSOC systems with natural gas pipelines and piped or tanked CO2 allows for both electricity generation with carbon-rich exhaust and for scalable carbon utilization given a source of CO2 and excess renewable electricity. However, it is unclear how such a system should be designed and operated in order to provide cost competitive electricity and synthetic natural gas, while maintaining low net carbon emissions. This work explores system design concepts, performance, cost, and net carbon emissions of a 50 MWe ReSOC system integrated with natural gas pipelines and stored CO2, and compares to ReSOCs used as flow-battery energy storage systems. Preliminary modeling results predict a fuel cell mode LHV efficiency of 56%, an electrolysis mode LHV efficiency of 62.6%, and system cost of 700$/kW. Additionally, it is observed that the stack and air-side components (heat exchangers, compressors, expanders) can be compatible in both modes of operation, reducing cost. The compatibility of condensers, heat exchangers, and compressors used for fuel and exhaust processing, however, depends strongly on the relative pressures of natural gas and carbon dioxide sources and sinks. Additional ways of reducing cost and net carbon emissions are also investigated and presented

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

Standalone vertex finding in the ATLAS muon spectrometer

A dedicated reconstruction algorithm to find decay vertices in the ATLAS muon spectrometer is presented. The algorithm searches the region just upstream of or inside the muon spectrometer volume for multi-particle vertices that originate from the decay of particles with long decay paths. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated using both a sample of simulated Higgs boson events, in which the Higgs boson decays to long-lived neutral particles that in turn decay to bbar b final states, and pp collision data at √s = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC during 2011

Single hadron response measurement and calorimeter jet energy scale uncertainty with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

The uncertainty on the calorimeter energy response to jets of particles is derived for the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). First, the calorimeter response to single isolated charged hadrons is measured and compared to the Monte Carlo simulation using proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of sqrt(s) = 900 GeV and 7 TeV collected during 2009 and 2010. Then, using the decay of K_s and Lambda particles, the calorimeter response to specific types of particles (positively and negatively charged pions, protons, and anti-protons) is measured and compared to the Monte Carlo predictions. Finally, the jet energy scale uncertainty is determined by propagating the response uncertainty for single charged and neutral particles to jets. The response uncertainty is 2-5% for central isolated hadrons and 1-3% for the final calorimeter jet energy scale.Comment: 24 pages plus author list (36 pages total), 23 figures, 1 table, submitted to European Physical Journal

Search for squarks and gluinos in events with isolated leptons, jets and missing transverse momentum at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for supersymmetry in final states containing at least one isolated lepton (electron or muon), jets and large missing transverse momentum with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider are reported. The search is based on proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy s√=8 TeV collected in 2012, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20 fb−1. No significant excess above the Standard Model expectation is observed. Limits are set on supersymmetric particle masses for various supersymmetric models. Depending on the model, the search excludes gluino masses up to 1.32 TeV and squark masses up to 840 GeV. Limits are also set on the parameters of a minimal universal extra dimension model, excluding a compactification radius of 1/R c = 950 GeV for a cut-off scale times radius (ΛR c) of approximately 30

Measurement of inclusive two-particle angular correlations in pp collisions with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

We present a measurement of two-particle angular correlations in proton- proton collisions at s√=900 GeV and 7 TeV. The collision events were collected during 2009 and 2010 with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider using a single-arm minimum bias trigger. Correlations are measured for charged particles produced in the kinematic range of transverse momentum p T  > 100 MeV and pseudorapidity |η| < 2.5. A complex structure in pseudorapidity and azimuth is observed at both collision energies. Results are compared to pythia 8 and herwig++ as well as to the AMBT2B, DW and Perugia 2011 tunes of pythia 6. The data are not satisfactorily described by any of these models

Search for dark matter in events with heavy quarks and missing transverse momentum in pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

This article reports on a search for dark matterpair production in association with bottom or top quarks in20.3fb−1ofppcollisions collected at√s=8TeVbytheATLAS detector at the LHC. Events with large missing trans-verse momentum are selected when produced in associationwith high-momentum jets of which one or more are identifiedas jets containingb-quarks. Final states with top quarks areselected by requiring a high jet multiplicity and in some casesa single lepton. The data are found to be consistent with theStandard Model expectations and limits are set on the massscale of effective field theories that describe scalar and tensorinteractions between dark matter and Standard Model par-ticles. Limits on the dark-matter–nucleon cross-section forspin-independent and spin-dependent interactions are alsoprovided. These limits are particularly strong for low-massdark matter. Using a simplified model, constraints are set onthe mass of dark matter and of a coloured mediator suitableto explain a possible signal of annihilating dark matter