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Al Khoury, K. (ORCID:0000000205478199)

Publications and source records attributed to Al Khoury, K. (ORCID:0000000205478199).

At least 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Measurement of the production cross section of pairs of isolated photons in pp collisions at 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A measurement of prompt photon-pair production in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV is presented. The data were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC with an integrated luminosity of 139 fb -1 . Events with two photons in the well-instrumented region of the detector are selected. The photons are required to be isolated and have a transverse momentum of p T, γ1(2) > 40 (30) GeV for the leading (sub-leading) photon. The differential cross sections as functions of several observables for the diphoton system are measured and compared with theoretical predictions from state-of-the-art Monte Carlo and fixed-order calculations. The QCD predictions from next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations and multi-leg merged calculations are able to describe the measured integrated and differential cross sections within uncertainties, whereas lower-order calculations show significant deviations, demonstrating that higher-order perturbative QCD corrections are crucial for this process. The resummed predictions with parton showers additionally provide an excellent description of the low transverse-momentum regime of the diphoton system.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Measurement of the $t\bar{t} t\bar{t}$ production cross section in pp collisions at $ \sqrt{s} $ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A measurement of four-top-quark production using proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb -1 is presented. Events are selected if they contain a single lepton (electron or muon) or an opposite-sign lepton pair, in association with multiple jets. The events are categorised according to the number of jets and how likely these are to contain b-hadrons. A multivariate technique is then used to discriminate between signal and background events. The measured four-top-quark production cross section is found to be 26$^{+17}_{-15}$ fb, with a corresponding observed (expected) significance of 1.9 (1.0) standard deviations over the background-only hypothesis. The result is combined with the previous measurement performed by the ATLAS Collaboration in the multilepton final state. The combined four-top-quark production cross section is measured to be 24$^{+7}_{-6}$ fb, with a corresponding observed (expected) signal significance of 4.7 (2.6) standard deviations over the background-only predictions. It is consistent within 2.0 standard deviations with the Standard Model expectation of 12.0 ± 2.4 fb.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Search for dark matter in events with missing transverse momentum and a Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at $$ \sqrt{s} $$ = 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 $$ \sqrt{s} $$ 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.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

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.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Determination of the parton distribution functions of the proton from ATLAS measurements of differential W ± and Z boson production in association with jets

This article presents a new set of proton parton distribution functions, AT-LASepWZVjet20, produced in an analysis at next-to-next-to-leading order in QCD. The new data sets considered are the measurements of W + and W - boson and Z boson production in association with jets in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 8TeV performed by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC with integrated luminosities of 20.2 fb -1 and 19.9 fb -1 , respectively. The analysis also considers the ATLAS measurements of differential W ± and Z boson production at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7TeV with an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb -1 and deep-inelastic-scattering data from e ± p collisions at the HERA accelerator. An improved determination of the sea-quark densities at high Bjorken x is shown, while confirming a strange-quark density similar in size to the up- and down-sea-quark densities in the range x ≲ 0.02 found by previous ATLAS analyses.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

A search for the decays of stopped long-lived particles at $ \sqrt{\mathrm{s}} $ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for long-lived particles, which have come to rest within the ATLAS detector, is presented. The subsequent decays of these particles can produce high-momentum jets, resulting in large out-of-time energy deposits in the ATLAS calorimeters. These de- cays are detected using data collected during periods in the LHC bunch structure when collisions are absent. The analysed dataset is composed of events from proton-proton collisions produced by the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of s = 13 TeV and recorded by the ATLAS experiment during 2017 and 2018. The dataset used for this search corresponds to a total live time of 579 hours. The results of this search are used to derive lower limits on the mass of gluino R -hadrons, assuming a branching fraction $ \mathcal{B}\left(\overset{\sim }{g}\to q\overline{q}{\chi}_1^0\right) $ B g ~ → q q ¯ χ 1 0 = 100%, with masses of up to 1 . 4 TeV excluded for gluino lifetimes of 10 - 5 to 10 3 s.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Performance of the ATLAS RPC detector and Level-1 muon barrel trigger at √(s)=13 TeV

The ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) employs a trigger system consisting of a first-level hardware trigger (L1) and a software-based high-level trigger. The L1 muon trigger system selects muon candidates, assigns them to the correct LHC bunch crossing and classifies them into one of six transverse-momentum threshold classes. The L1 muon trigger system uses resistive-plate chambers (RPCs) to generate the muon-induced trigger signals in the central (barrel) region of the ATLAS detector. The ATLAS RPCs are arranged in six concentric layers and operate in a toroidal magnetic field with a bending power of 1.5 to 5.5 Tm. The RPC detector consists of about 3700 gas volumes with a total surface area of more than 4000 m2. This paper reports on the performance of the RPC detector and L1 muon barrel trigger using 60.8 fb-1 of proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment in 2018 at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. Detector and trigger performance are studied using Z boson decays into a muon pair. Measurements of the RPC detector response, efficiency, and time resolution are reported. Measurements of the L1 muon barrel trigger efficiencies and rates are presented, along with measurements of the properties of the selected sample of muon candidates. Measurements of the RPC currents, counting rates and mean avalanche charge are performed using zero-bias collisions. Finally, RPC detector response and efficiency are studied at different high voltage and front-end discriminator threshold settings in order to extrapolate detector response to the higher luminosity expected for the High Luminosity LHC.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Search for squarks and gluinos in final states with one isolated lepton, jets, and missing transverse momentum at $\sqrt{s}=13$ with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for gluino and squark pair production with the pairs decaying via the lightest charginos into a final state consisting of two W bosons, the lightest neutralinos ($\tilde{χ}^0_1$), and quarks, are presented: the signal is characterised by the presence of a single charged lepton (e ± or μ ± ) from a W boson decay, jets, and missing transverse momentum. The analysis is performed using 139 fb -1 of proton–proton collision data taken at a centre-of-mass energy √s=13 delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded by the ATLAS experiment. No statistically significant excess of events above the Standard Model expectation is found. Limits are set on the direct production of squarks and gluinos in simplified models. Masses of gluino (squark) up to 2.2 (1.4 ) are excluded at 95% confidence level for a light $\tilde{χ}^0_1$.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Test of the universality of τ and μ lepton couplings in W-boson decays with the ATLAS detector

The standard model of particle physics encapsulates our best current understanding of physics at the smallest scales. A fundamental axiom of this theory is the universality of the couplings of the different generations of leptons to the electroweak gauge bosons. The measurement of the ratio of the decay rate of W bosons to τ leptons and muons, R ( τ/μ ), constitutes an important test of this axiom. Using 139 fb –1 of proton–proton collisions recorded with the ATLAS detector at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, we report a measurement of this quantity from di-leptonic $t\overline{t}$ events where the top quarks decay into a W boson and a bottom quark. We can distinguish muons originating from W bosons and those originating from an intermediate τ lepton through the muon transverse impact parameter and differences in the muon transverse momentum spectra. The measured value of R ( τ/μ ) is 0.992 ± 0.013 [± 0.007(stat) ± 0.011(syst)] and is in agreement with the hypothesis of universal lepton couplings as postulated in the standard model. This is the only such measurement from the Large Hadron Collider, so far, and obtains twice the precision of previous measurements.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Measurements of differential cross-sections in four-lepton events in 13 TeV proton-proton collisions with the ATLAS detector

Measurements of four-lepton differential and integrated fiducial cross-sections in events with two same-flavour, opposite-charge electron or muon pairs are presented. The data correspond to 139 fb -1 of $ \sqrt{s} $ = 13 TeV proton-proton collisions, collected by the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider (2015–2018). The final state has contributions from a number of interesting Standard Model processes that dominate in different four-lepton invariant mass regions, including single Z boson production, Higgs boson production and on-shell ZZ production, with a complex mix of interference terms, and possible contributions from physics beyond the Standard Model. The differential cross-sections include the four-lepton invariant mass inclusively, in slices of other kinematic variables, and in different lepton flavour categories. Also measured are dilepton invariant masses, transverse momenta, and angular correlation variables, in four regions of four-lepton invariant mass, each dominated by different processes. The measurements are corrected for detector effects and are compared with state-of-the-art Standard Model calculations, which are found to be consistent with the data. The Z → 4 ℓ branching fraction is extracted, giving a value of (4.41 ± 0.30) × 10 -6 . Constraints on effective field theory parameters and a model based on a spontaneously broken B – L gauge symmetry are also evaluated. Further reinterpretations can be performed with the provided information.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

The ATLAS Fast TracKer system

The ATLAS Fast TracKer (FTK) was designed to provide full tracking for the ATLAS high-level trigger by using pattern recognition based on Associative Memory (AM) chips and fitting in high-speed field programmable gate arrays. The tracks found by the FTK are based on inputs from all modules of the pixel and silicon microstrip trackers. The as-built FTK system and components are described, as is the online software used to control them while running in the ATLAS data acquisition system. Also described is the simulation of the FTK hardware and the optimization of the AM pattern banks. An optimization for long-lived particles with large impact parameter values is included. A test of the FTK system with the data playback facility that allowed the FTK to be commissioned during the shutdown between Run 2 and Run 3 of the LHC is reported. The resulting tracks from part of the FTK system covering a limited $\eta$-$\phi$ region of the detector are compared with the output from the FTK simulation. It is shown that FTK performance is in good agreement with the simulation.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Measurements of Higgs bosons decaying to bottom quarks from vector boson fusion production with the ATLAS experiment at $\sqrt{s}=13\,\text {TeV}$

The paper presents a measurement of the Standard Model Higgs Boson decaying to b-quark pairs in the vector boson fusion (VBF) production mode. A sample corresponding to 126 fb –1 of √s = 13TeV proton–proton collision data, collected with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, is analyzed utilizing an adversarial neural network for event classification. The signal strength, defined as the ratio of the measured signal yield to that predicted by the Standard Model for VBF Higgs production, is measured to be $0.95$ $^{+0.38}_{–0.36}$, corresponding to an observed (expected) significance of 2.6 (2.8) standard deviations from the background only hypothesis. The results are additionally combined with an analysis of Higgs bosons decaying to b-quarks, produced via VBF in association with a photon.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Measurements of W + W - + ≥ 1 jet production cross-sections in pp collisions at $ \sqrt{s} $ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Fiducial and differential cross-section measurements of W + W - production in association with at least one hadronic jet are presented. These measurements are sensitive to the properties of electroweak-boson self-interactions and provide a test of perturbative quantum chromodynamics and the electroweak theory. The analysis is performed using proton-proton collision data collected at $ \sqrt{s} $ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb -1 . Events are selected with exactly one oppositely charged electron-muon pair and at least one hadronic jet with a transverse momentum of p T > 30 GeV and a pseudorapidity of |η| < 4.5. After subtracting the background contributions and correcting for detector effects, the jet-inclusive W + W - + ≥ 1 jet fiducial cross-section and W + W - + jets differential cross-sections with respect to several kinematic variables are measured. These measurements include leptonic quantities, such as the lepton transverse momenta and the transverse mass of the W + W - system, as well as jet-related observables such as the leading jet transverse momentum and the jet multiplicity. Limits on anomalous triple-gauge-boson couplings are obtained in a phase space where interference between the Standard Model amplitude and the anomalous amplitude is enhanced.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Search for new phenomena in final states with b-jets and missing transverse momentum in $ \sqrt{\mathrm{s}} $ = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for new phenomena in final states with b -jets and missing transverse momentum using 139 fb - 1 of proton-proton data collected at a centre-of-mass energy s = 13 TeV by the ATLAS detector at the LHC are reported. The analysis targets final states produced by the decay of a pair-produced supersymmetric bottom squark into a bottom quark and a stable neutralino. The analysis also seeks evidence for models of pair production of dark matter particles produced through the decay of a generic scalar or pseudoscalar mediator state in association with a pair of bottom quarks, and models of pair production of scalar third-generation down-type leptoquarks. No significant excess of events over the Standard Model background expectation is observed in any of the signal regions considered by the analysis. Bottom squark masses below 1270 GeV are excluded at 95% confidence level if the neutralino is massless. In the case of nearly mass-degenerate bottom squarks and neutralinos, the use of dedicated secondary-vertex identification techniques permits the exclusion of bottom squarks with masses up to 660 GeV for mass splittings between the squark and the neutralino of 10 GeV. These limits extend substantially beyond the regions of parameter space excluded by similar ATLAS searches performed previously.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Search for new phenomena with top quark pairs in final states with one lepton, jets, and missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at $ \sqrt{s} $ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for new phenomena with top quark pairs in final states with one isolated electron or muon, multiple jets, and large missing transverse momentum is performed. Signal regions are designed to search for two-, three-, and four-body decays of the directly pair-produced supersymmetric partner of the top quark (stop). Additional signal regions are designed specifically to search for spin-0 mediators that are produced in association with a pair of top quarks and decay into a pair of dark-matter particles. The search is performed using the Large Hadron Collider proton-proton collision dataset at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector from 2015 to 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb –1 . No significant excess above the Standard Model background is observed, and limits at 95% confidence level are set in the stop-neutralino mass plane and as a function of the mediator mass or the dark-matter particle mass. Stops are excluded up to 1200 GeV (710 GeV) in the two-body (three-body) decay scenario. In the four-body scenario stops up to 640 GeV are excluded for a stop-neutralino mass difference of 60 GeV. Scalar and pseudoscalar dark-matter mediators are excluded up to 200 GeV when the coupling strengths of the mediator to Standard Model and dark-matter particles are both equal to one and when the mass of the dark-matter particle is 1 GeV.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Optimisation of large-radius jet reconstruction for the ATLAS detector in 13 TeV proton–proton collisions

Jet substructure has provided new opportunities for searches and measurements at the LHC, and has seen continuous development since the optimization of the large-radius jet definition used by ATLAS was performed during Run 1. A range of new inputs to jet reconstruction, pile-up mitigation techniques and jet grooming algorithms motivate an optimisation of large-radius jet reconstruction for ATLAS. In this paper, this optimisation procedure is presented, and the performance of a wide range of large-radius jet definitions is compared. The relative performance of these jet definitions is assessed using metrics such as their pileup stability, ability to identify hadronically decaying W bosons and top quarks with large transverse momenta. A new type of jet input object, called a ‘unified flow object’ is introduced which combines calorimeter- and inner-detector-based signals in order to achieve optimal performance across a wide kinematic range. Large-radius jet definitions are identified which significantly improve on the current ATLAS baseline definition, and their modelling is studied using pp collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at √s = 13 TeV

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