A Comparison of two different jet algorithms for the top mass reconstruction at the LHC

We compare the abilities of the cluster-type jet algorithm, KtJet, and a mid-point iterating cone algorithm to reconstruct the top mass at the LHC. We discuss the information contained in the merging scales of cluster-type algorithms, and how this can be used in experimental analyses, as well as the different sources of systematic errors for the two algorithms. We find that the sources of systematic error are different for the two algorithms, which may help to better constrain the systematic error on the top mass at the LHC.Comment: 21 pages, 16 figures, accepted by JHE

Precision electroweak calculation of the production of a high transverse-momentum lepton pair at hadron colliders

We present a detailed study of the production of a high transverse-momentum lepton pair at hadron colliders, which includes the exact O(alpha) electroweak corrections properly matched with leading logarithmic effects due to multiple photon emission, as required by the experiments at the Fermilab Tevatron and the CERN LHC. Numerical results for the relevant observables of single Z-boson production at hadron colliders are presented. The impact of the radiative corrections is discussed in detail. The presence in the proton of a photon density is considered and the effects of the photon-induced partonic subprocesses are analyzed. The calculation has been implemented in the new version of the event generator HORACE, which is available for precision simulations of the neutral and charged current Drell-Yan processes.Comment: October 2007, 22p

Development of planar pixel modules for the ATLAS high luminosity LHC tracker upgrade

The high-luminosity LHC will present significant challenges for tracking systems. ATLAS is preparing to upgrade the entire tracking system, which will include a significantly larger pixel detector. This paper reports on the development of large area planar detectors for the outer pixel layers and the pixel endcaps. Large area sensors have been fabricated and mounted onto 4 FE-I4 readout ASICs, the so-called quad-modules, and their performance evaluated in the laboratory and testbeam. Results from characterisation of sensors prior to assembly, experience with module assembly, including bump-bonding and results from laboratory and testbeam studies are presented

Confronting models on cosmic ray interactions with particle physics at LHC energies

Inelastic pp collisions are dominated by soft (low momentum transfer) physics where perturbative QCD cannot be fully applied. A deep understanding of both soft and semi-hard processes is crucial for predictions of minimum bias and underlying events of the now coming on line pp Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Moreover, the interaction of cosmic ray particles entering in the atmosphere is extremely sensitive to these soft processes and consequently cannot be formulated from first principles. Because of this, air shower analyses strongly rely on hadronic interaction models, which extrapolate collider data several orders of magnitude. A comparative study of Monte Carlo simulations of pp collisions (at the LHC center-of-mass energy ~ 14 TeV) using the most popular hadronic interaction models for ultrahigh energy cosmic ray (SIBYLL and QGSJET) and for collider physics (the PYTHIA multiparton model) is presented. The most relevant distributions are studied including those observables from diffractive events with the aim of discriminating between the different models.Comment: 8 pages revtex, 8 figures, added reference

Dominant next-to-leading order QCD corrections to Higgs plus three jet production in vector-boson fusion

We present the calculation of the dominant next to leading order QCD corrections to Higgs boson production in association with three jets via vector boson fusion in the form of a NLO parton-level Monte Carlo program. QCD corrections to integrated cross sections are modest, while the shapes of some kinematical distributions change appreciably at NLO. Scale uncertainties are shown to be reduced at NLO for the total cross section and for distributions. We consider a central jet veto at the LHC and analyze the veto probability for typical vector boson fusion cuts. Scale uncertainties of the veto probability are sufficiently small at NLO for precise Higgs coupling measurements at the LHC.Comment: 40 pages, 17 figures, 2 tables, published versio

PYTHIA 6.4 Physics and Manual

The PYTHIA program can be used to generate high-energy-physics `events', i.e. sets of outgoing particles produced in the interactions between two incoming particles. The objective is to provide as accurate as possible a representation of event properties in a wide range of reactions, within and beyond the Standard Model, with emphasis on those where strong interactions play a role, directly or indirectly, and therefore multihadronic final states are produced. The physics is then not understood well enough to give an exact description; instead the program has to be based on a combination of analytical results and various QCD-based models. This physics input is summarized here, for areas such as hard subprocesses, initial- and final-state parton showers, underlying events and beam remnants, fragmentation and decays, and much more. Furthermore, extensive information is provided on all program elements: subroutines and functions, switches and parameters, and particle and process data. This should allow the user to tailor the generation task to the topics of interest.Comment: 576 pages, no figures, uses JHEP3.cls. The code and further information may be found on the PYTHIA web page: http://www.thep.lu.se/~torbjorn/Pythia.html Changes in version 2: Mistakenly deleted section heading for "Physics Processes" reinserted, affecting section numbering. Minor updates to take into account referee comments and new colour reconnection option

Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results

Jet size dependence of single jet suppression in lead-lead collisions at sqrt(s(NN)) = 2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

Measurements of inclusive jet suppression in heavy ion collisions at the LHC provide direct sensitivity to the physics of jet quenching. In a sample of lead-lead collisions at sqrt(s) = 2.76 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 7 inverse microbarns, ATLAS has measured jets with a calorimeter over the pseudorapidity interval |eta| < 2.1 and over the transverse momentum range 38 < pT < 210 GeV. Jets were reconstructed using the anti-kt algorithm with values for the distance parameter that determines the nominal jet radius of R = 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5. The centrality dependence of the jet yield is characterized by the jet "central-to-peripheral ratio," Rcp. Jet production is found to be suppressed by approximately a factor of two in the 10% most central collisions relative to peripheral collisions. Rcp varies smoothly with centrality as characterized by the number of participating nucleons. The observed suppression is only weakly dependent on jet radius and transverse momentum. These results provide the first direct measurement of inclusive jet suppression in heavy ion collisions and complement previous measurements of dijet transverse energy imbalance at the LHC.Comment: 15 pages plus author list (30 pages total), 8 figures, 2 tables, submitted to Physics Letters B. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at http://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/HION-2011-02

Search for displaced vertices arising from decays of new heavy particles in 7 TeV pp collisions at ATLAS

We present the results of a search for new, heavy particles that decay at a significant distance from their production point into a final state containing charged hadrons in association with a high-momentum muon. The search is conducted in a pp-collision data sample with a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and an integrated luminosity of 33 pb^-1 collected in 2010 by the ATLAS detector operating at the Large Hadron Collider. Production of such particles is expected in various scenarios of physics beyond the standard model. We observe no signal and place limits on the production cross-section of supersymmetric particles in an R-parity-violating scenario as a function of the neutralino lifetime. Limits are presented for different squark and neutralino masses, enabling extension of the limits to a variety of other models.Comment: 8 pages plus author list (20 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version to appear in Physics Letters

Measurement of the polarisation of W bosons produced with large transverse momentum in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS experiment

This paper describes an analysis of the angular distribution of W->enu and W->munu decays, using data from pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2010, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 35 pb^-1. Using the decay lepton transverse momentum and the missing transverse energy, the W decay angular distribution projected onto the transverse plane is obtained and analysed in terms of helicity fractions f0, fL and fR over two ranges of W transverse momentum (ptw): 35 < ptw < 50 GeV and ptw > 50 GeV. Good agreement is found with theoretical predictions. For ptw > 50 GeV, the values of f0 and fL-fR, averaged over charge and lepton flavour, are measured to be : f0 = 0.127 +/- 0.030 +/- 0.108 and fL-fR = 0.252 +/- 0.017 +/- 0.030, where the first uncertainties are statistical, and the second include all systematic effects.Comment: 19 pages plus author list (34 pages total), 9 figures, 11 tables, revised author list, matches European Journal of Physics C versio