Engineering topics

Alvarez Estevez, M. (ORCID:0000000281816532)

Publications and source records attributed to Alvarez Estevez, M. (ORCID:0000000281816532).

At least 91 records · Page 5

DOE OSTI2023

Search in diphoton and dielectron final states for displaced production of Higgs or Z bosons with the ATLAS detector in s = 13 TeV p p collisions

A search is presented for displaced production of Higgs bosons or Z bosons, originating from the decay of a neutral long-lived particle (LLP) and reconstructed in the decay modes H → γ γ and Z → ee . The analysis uses the full Run 2 dataset of proton-proton collisions delivered by the LHC at an energy of $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV between 2015 and 2018 and recorded by the ATLAS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb -1 . Exploiting the capabilities of the ATLAS liquid argon calorimeter to precisely measure the arrival times and trajectories of electromagnetic objects, the analysis searches for the signature of pairs of photons or electrons which arise from a common displaced vertex and which arrive after some delay at the calorimeter. The results are interpreted in a gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking model with pair-produced Higgsinos that decay to LLPs, and each LLP subsequently decays into either a Higgs boson or a Z boson. The final state includes at least two particles that escape direct detection, giving rise to missing transverse momentum. No significant excess is observed above the background expectation. The results are used to set upper limits on the cross section for Higgsino pair production, up to a $\bar{χ}^0_1$ mass of 369 (704) GeV for decays with 100% branching ratio of $\bar{χ}^0_1$ to Higgs (Z) bosons for a $\bar{χ}^0_1$ lifetime of 2 ns. A model-independent limit is also set on the production of pairs of photons or electrons with a significant delay in arrival at the calorimeter.

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DOE OSTI2023

Search for supersymmetry in final states with missing transverse momentum and three or more b-jets in 139 fb$^{-1}$ of proton–proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for supersymmetry involving the pair production of gluinos decaying via off-shell third-generation squarks into the lightest neutralino ($\tilde {χ}_{1}^{0}$) is reported. It exploits LHC proton–proton collision data at a centre-of mass energy $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV with an integrated luminosity of 139 fb -1 collected with the ATLAS detector from 2015 to 2018. The search uses events containing large missing transverse momentum, up to one electron or muon, and several energetic jets, at least three of which must be identified as containing b-hadrons. Both a simple kinematic event selection and an event selection based upon a deep neural network are used. No significant excess above the predicted background is found. In simplified models involving the pair production of gluinos that decay via off-shell top (bottom) squarks, gluino masses less than 2.44 TeV (2.35 TeV) are excluded at 95% CL for a massless $\tilde {χ}_{1}^{0}$. Limits are also set on the gluino mass in models with variable branching ratios for gluino decays to $b$$\overline{b}$$\tilde {χ}_{1}^{0}$, $t$$\overline{t}$$\tilde {χ}_{1}^{0}$ and $t$$\overline{b}$$\tilde {χ}_{1}^{-}$ / $t$$\overline{b}$$\tilde {χ}_{1}^{+}$.

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DOE OSTI2023

Measurement of $Z\gamma \gamma$ production in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}= 13$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

Cross-sections for the production of a $Z$ boson in association with two photons are measured in proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The data used correspond to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb -1 recorded by the ATLAS experiment during Run 2 of the LHC. The measurements use the electron and muon decay channels of the $Z$ boson, and a fiducial phase-space region where the photons are not radiated from the leptons. The integrated $Z$($\rightarrow$ $\ell$$\ell$)$\gamma \gamma$ cross-section is measured with a precision of 12% and differential cross-sections are measured as a function of six kinematic variables of the $Z\gamma \gamma$ system. The data are compared with predictions from MC event generators which are accurate to up to next-to-leading order in QCD. The cross-section measurements are used to set limits on the coupling strengths of dimension-8 operators in the framework of an effective field theory.

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DOE OSTI2023

Measurement of the charge asymmetry in top-quark pair production in association with a photon with the ATLAS experiment

A measurement of the charge asymmetry in top-quark pair ($t\bar{t}$) production in association with a photon is presented. The measurement is performed in the single-lepton $t\bar{t}$ decay channel using proton–proton collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN at a centre-of-mass-energy of 13 TeV during the years 2015–2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb –1 . The charge asymmetry is obtained from the distribution of the difference of the absolute rapidities of the top quark and antiquark using a profile likelihood unfolding approach. It is measured to be A C =–0.003 ± 0.029 in agreement with the Standard Model expectation.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Search for pair-production of vector-like quarks in pp collision events at s = 13 TeV with at least one leptonically decaying Z boson and a third-generation quark with the ATLAS detector

Herein a search for the pair-production of vector-like quarks optimized for decays into a Z boson and a third-generation Standard Model quark is presented, using the full Run 2 dataset corresponding to 139fb –1 of pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13TeV, collected in 2015–2018 with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The targeted final state is characterized by the presence of a Z boson with high transverse momentum, reconstructed from a pair of same-flavour leptons with opposite-sign charges, as well as by the presence of b-tagged jets and high-transverse-momentum large-radius jets reconstructed from calibrated smaller-radius jets. Events with exactly two or at least three leptons are used, which are further categorized by the presence of boosted W, Z, and Higgs bosons and top quarks. The categorization is performed using a neural-network-based boosted object tagger to enhance the sensitivity to signal relative to the background. No significant excess above the background expectation is observed and exclusion limits at 95% confidence level are set on the masses of the vector-like partners T and B of the top and bottom quarks, respectively. The limits depend on the branching ratio configurations and, in the case of 100% branching ratio for T→Zt and 100% branching ratio for B→Zb, this search sets the most stringent limits to date, allowing m T >1.60TeV and m B >1.42TeV, respectively.

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DOE OSTI2023

Measurement of the Higgs boson mass in the H → ZZ*→ 4ℓ decay channel using 139 fb –1 of s = 13 TeV pp collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC

The mass of the Higgs boson is measured in the H→ZZ * →4ℓ decay channel. The analysis uses proton–proton collision data from the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector between 2015 and 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb –1 . The measured value of the Higgs boson mass is 124.99 ± 0.18(stat.) ± 0.04(syst.) GeV. In final states with muons, this measurement benefits from an improved momentum-scale calibration relative to that adopted in previous publications. The measurement also employs an analytic model that takes into account the invariant-mass resolution of the four-lepton system on a per-event basis and the output of a deep neural network discriminating signal from background events. This measurement is combined with the corresponding measurement using 7 and 8 TeV pp collision data, resulting in a Higgs boson mass of 124.94 ± 0.17(stat.) ± 0.03(syst.) GeV.

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DOE OSTI2023

Constraints on the Higgs boson self-coupling from single- and double-Higgs production with the ATLAS detector using $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV

Constraints on the Higgs boson self-coupling are set by combining double-Higgs boson analyses in the $b\overline{b}$$b\overline{b}$, $b\overline{b}$$τ^+$$τ^–$ and $b\overline{b}$$γγ$ decay channels with single-Higgs boson analyses targeting the $γγ$, $\overline{Z}$$\overline{Z}$$^*$, $WW^*$, $τ^+$$τ^–$ and $b\overline{b}$ decay channels. The data used in these analyses were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton–proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 126–139 fb –1 . The combination of the double-Higgs analyses sets an upper limit of $μ_{HH}$ < 2.4 at 95% confidence level on the double-Higgs production cross-section normalised to its Standard Model prediction. Combining the single-Higgs and double-Higgs analyses, with the assumption that new physics affects only the Higgs boson self-coupling ($λ_{HHH}$), values outside the interval –0.4 < $κ_λ$ = ($λ_{HHH}$/${λ}_{HHH}^{SM}$) < 6.3 are excluded at 95% confidence level. The combined single-Higgs and doubleHiggs analyses provide results with fewer assumptions, by adding in the fit more coupling modifiers introduced to account for the Higgs boson interactions with the other Standard Model particles. In this relaxed scenario, the constraint becomes –1.4 < $κ_λ$ < 6.1 at 95% CL.

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DOE OSTI2023

Observation of gauge boson joint-polarisation states in W ± Z production from pp collisions at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Measurements of joint-polarisation states of W and Z gauge bosons in W ± Z production are presented. The data set used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb -1 of proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The W ± Z candidate events are reconstructed using leptonic decay modes of the gauge bosons into electrons and muons. The simultaneous pair-production of longitudinally polarised vector bosons is measured for the first time with a significance of 7.1 standard deviations. The measured joint helicity fractions integrated over the fiducial region are $f$ 00 = 0.067 ± 0.010, $f$ 0T = 0.110 ± 0.029, $f$ T0 = 0.179 ± 0.023 and $f$ TT = 0.644 ± 0.032, in agreement with the next-to-leading-order Standard Model predictions. Individual helicity fractions of the W and Z bosons are also measured and found to be consistent with joint helicity fractions within the expected amounts of correlation. Both the joint and individual helicity fractions are also measured separately in W + Z and W - Z events. Inclusive and differential cross sections for several kinematic observables sensitive to polarisation are presented.

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DOE OSTI2023

Measurement of the polarisation of W bosons produced in top-quark decays using dilepton events at $\sqrt{s}$ = $13$ TeV with the ATLAS experiment

A measurement of the polarisation of W bosons produced in top-quark decays is presented, using proton–proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$ = $13$ TeV. The data were collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb -1 . The measurement is performed selecting $t$$\overline{t}$ events decaying into final states with two charged leptons (electrons or muons) and at least two b-tagged jets. The polarisation is extracted from the differential cross-section distribution of the cos$⁡θ$* variable, where $θ$* is the angle between the momentum direction of the charged lepton from the W boson decay and the reversed momentum direction of the b-quark from the top-quark decay, both calculated in the W boson rest frame. Parton-level results, corrected for the detector acceptance and resolution, are presented for the cos⁡θ* angle. The measured fractions of longitudinal, left- and right-handed polarisation states are found to be $f$ 0 = 0.684 ± 0.005 (stat.) ± 0.014 (syst.), $f$ L = 0.318 ± 0.003 (stat.) ± 0.008 (syst.) and $f$ R = -0.002 ± 0.002 (stat.) ± 0.014 (syst.), in agreement with the Standard Model prediction.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Measurement of the total cross section and $\rho$-parameter from elastic scattering in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

In a special run of the LHC with β* = 2.5 km, proton–proton elastic-scattering events were recorded at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV with an integrated luminosity of $340$ μb -1 using the ALFA subdetector of ATLAS in 2016. The elastic cross section was measured differentially in the Mandelstam t variable in the range from - t = 2.5 · 10 -4 GeV 2 to - t = 0.46 GeV 2 using 6.9 million elastic-scattering candidates. This paper presents measurements of the total cross section σ tot , parameters of the nuclear slope, and the p -parameter defined as the ratio of the real part to the imaginary part of the elastic-scattering amplitude in the limit t → 0. These parameters are determined from a fit to the differential elastic cross section using the optical theorem and different parameterizations of the t-dependence. The results for σ tot and p are σ tot (pp → X) = 104.7 ± 1.1 mb, p = 0.098 ± 0.011. The uncertainty in σ tot is dominated by the luminosity measurement, and in p by imperfect knowledge of the detector alignment and by modelling of the nuclear amplitude.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Production of $Υ(nS)$ mesons in Pb + Pb and $pp$ collisions at 5.02 TeV

A measurement of the production of vector bottomonium states, $Υ$(1S), $Υ$(2S), and $Υ$(3S), in Pb + Pb and $pp$ collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 5.02 TeV is presented. The data correspond to integrated luminosities of 1.38 nb –1 of Pb + Pb data collected in 2018, 0.44 nb –1 of Pb + Pb data collected in 2015, and 0.26 fb –1 of $pp$ data collected in 2017 by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurements are performed in the dimuon decay channel for transverse momentum ${p}_{T}^{μμ}$ < 30 GeV, absolute rapidity |$y^{μμ}$| < 1.5, and Pb + Pb event centrality 0–80%. The production rates of the three bottomonium states in Pb + Pb collisions are compared with those in $pp$ collisions to extract the nuclear modification factors as functions of event centrality, ${p}_{T}^{μμ}$, and $|y^{μμ}|$. In addition, the suppression of the excited states relative to the ground state is studied. The results are compared with theoretical model calculations.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Combination of searches for invisible decays of the Higgs boson using 139 fb –1 of proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s}$ TeV collected with the ATLAS experiment

Many extensions of the Standard Model predict the production of dark matter particles at the LHC. Sufficiently light dark matter particles may be produced in decays of the Higgs boson that would appear invisible to the detector. This Letter presents a statistical combination of searches for $H$ → invisible decays where multiple production modes of the Standard Model Higgs boson are considered. These searches are performed with the ATLAS detector using 139 fb –1 of proton–proton collisions at a centre–of–mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV at the LHC. In combination with the results at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV and 8 TeV, an upper limit on the $H$ → invisible branching ratio of 0.107 (0.077) at the 95% confidence level is observed (expected). These results are also interpreted in the context of models where the 125 GeV Higgs boson acts as a portal to dark matter, and limits are set on the scattering cross-section of weakly interacting massive particles and nucleons.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Correlations between flow and transverse momentum in Xe + Xe and Pb + Pb collisions at the LHC with the ATLAS detector: A probe of the heavy-ion initial state and nuclear deformation

The correlations between flow harmonics v n for n = 2, 3, and 4 and mean transverse momentum [p T ] in 129 Xe + 129 Xe and 208 Pb + 208 Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 5.44 and 5.02 TeV, respectively, are measured using charged particles with the ATLAS detector. The correlations are potentially sensitive to the shape and size of the initial geometry, nuclear deformation, and initial momentum anisotropy. The effects from nonflow and centrality fluctuations are minimized, respectively, via a subevent cumulant method and an event-activity selection based on particle production at very forward rapidity. The v n -[p T ] correlations show strong dependencies on centrality, harmonic number n, p T , and pseudorapidity range. Current models qualitatively describe the overall centralityand system-dependent trends but fail to quantitatively reproduce all features of the data. In central collisions, where models generally show good agreement, the v 2 -[p T ] correlations are sensitive to the triaxiality of the quadruple deformation. Comparison of the model with the Pb + Pb and Xe + Xe data confirms that the 129 Xe nucleus is a highly deformed triaxial ellipsoid that has neither a prolate nor oblate shape. This provides strong evidence for a triaxial deformation of the 129 Xe nucleus from high-energy heavy-ion collisions.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Measurement of substructure-dependent jet suppression in Pb + Pb collisions at 5.02 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider has been used to measure jet substructure modification and suppression in Pb + Pb collisions at a nucleon–nucleon center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{{^S}_{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV in comparison with proton–proton (pp) collisions at $\sqrt{{^S}}$ = 5.02 TeV. The Pb + Pb data, collected in 2018, have an integrated luminosity of 1.72 nb -1 , while the pp data, collected in 2017, have an integrated luminosity of 260 pb -1 . Jets used in this analysis are clustered using the anti- k t algorithm with a radius parameter R = 0.4. The jet constituents, defined by both tracking and calorimeter information, are used to determine the angular scale r g of the first hard splitting inside the jet by reclustering them using the Cambridge–Aachen algorithm and employing the soft-drop grooming technique. The nuclear modification factor, R AA , used to characterize jet suppression in Pb + Pb collisions, is presented differentially in r g , jet transverse momentum, and in intervals of collision centrality. The R AA value is observed to depend significantly on jet r g . Jets produced with the largest measured r g are found to be twice as suppressed as those with the smallest r g in central Pb + Pb collisions. The R AA values do not exhibit a strong variation with jet p T in any of the r g intervals. The r g and p T dependence of jet R AA is qualitatively consistent with a picture of jet quenching arising from coherence and provides the most direct evidence in support of this approach.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Measurements of the suppression and correlations of dijets in Pb+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV

Studies of the correlations of the two highest transverse momentum (leading) jets in individual Pb+Pb collision events can provide information about the mechanism of jet quenching by the hot and dense matter created in such collisions. In Pb+Pb and $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 5.02 TeV, measurements of the leading dijet transverse momentum ($p_T$) correlations are presented. Additionally, measurements in Pb+Pb collisions of the dijet pair nuclear modification factors projected along leading and subleading jet $p_T$ are made. The measurements are performed using the ATLAS detector at the LHC with 260 pb –1 of pp data collected in 2017 and 2.2 nb –1 of Pb+Pb data collected in 2015 and 2018. An unfolding procedure is applied to the two-dimensional leading and subleading jet $p_T$ distributions to account for experimental effects in the measurement of both jets. Results are provided for dijets with leading jet $p_T$ greater than 100 GeV. Measurements of the dijet-yield-normalized $x_{J}$ distributions in Pb+Pb collisions show an increased fraction of imbalanced jets compared to pp collisions; these measurements are in agreement with previous measurements of the same quantity at 2.76 TeV in the overlapping kinematic range. Measurements of the absolutely normalized dijet rate in Pb+Pb and pp collisions are also presented, and show that balanced dijets are significantly more suppressed than imbalanced dijets in Pb+Pb collisions. It is observed in the measurements of the pair nuclear modification factors that the subleading jets are significantly suppressed relative to leading jets with $p_T$ between 100 and 316 GeV for all centralities in Pb+Pb collisions.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Measurement of muon pairs produced via γ γ scattering in nonultraperipheral Pb + Pb collisions at s N N = 5.02 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a measurement of dimuon photoproduction in nonultraperipheral Pb + Pb collisions at √ s NN = 5.02 TeV are presented. The measurement uses ATLAS data from the 2015 and 2018 Pb + Pb data-taking periods at the LHC with an integrated luminosity of 1.94 nb –1 . The γγ → μ + μ – pairs are identified via selections on pair momentum asymmetry and acoplanarity. Differential cross sections for dimuon production are measured in different centrality, average muon momentum, and pair rapidity intervals as functions of acoplanarity and k ⊥ , the transverse momentum kick of one muon relative to the other. Measurements are also made as a function of the rapidity separation of the muons and the angle of the muon pair relative to the second-order event plane to test whether magnetic fields generated in the quark-gluon plasma affect the measured muons. A prior observation of a centrality-dependent broadening of the acoplanarity distribution is confirmed. Furthermore, the improved precision of the measurement reveals a depletion in the number of pairs having small acoplanarity or k ⊥ values in more central collisions. The acoplanarity distributions in a given centrality interval are observed to vary with the mean p T of the muons in the pair, but the k ⊥ distributions do not. Comparisons with recent theoretical predictions are made. The predicted trends associated with effects of magnetic fields on the dimuons are not observed.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Search for type-III seesaw heavy leptons in leptonic final states in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 13~\text {TeV}$ with the ATLAS detector

A search for the pair production of heavy leptons as predicted by the type-III seesaw mechanism is presented. The search uses proton–proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to 139 fb –1 of integrated luminosity recorded by the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis focuses on final states with three or four electrons or muons from the possible decays of new heavy leptons via intermediate electroweak bosons. No significant deviations above the Standard Model expectation are observed; upper and lower limits on the heavy lepton production cross-section and masses are derived respectively. These results are then combined for the first time with the ones already published by ATLAS using the channel with two leptons in the final state. The observed lower limit on the mass of the type-III seesaw heavy leptons combining two, three and four lepton channels together is 910 GeV at the 95% confidence level.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Two-particle Bose–Einstein correlations in ${ pp }$ collisions at $\mathbf {\sqrt{s} = 13}$ TeV measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

This paper presents studies of Bose–Einstein correlations (BEC) in proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, using data from the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Data were collected in a special low-luminosity configuration with a minimum-bias trigger and a high-multiplicity track trigger, accumulating integrated luminosities of 151 μb -1 and 8.4 nb -1 , respectively. The BEC are measured for pairs of like-sign charged particles, each with |η|<2.5, for two kinematic ranges: the first with particle p T >100 MeV and the second with particle p T >500 MeV. The BEC parameters, characterizing the source radius and particle correlation strength, are investigated as functions of charged-particle multiplicity (up to 300) and average transverse momentum of the pair (up to 1.5 GeV). The double-differential dependence on charged-particle multiplicity and average transverse momentum of the pair is also studied. The BEC radius is found to be independent of the charged-particle multiplicity for high charged-particle multiplicity (above 100), confirming a previous observation at lower energy. This saturation occurs independent of the transverse momentum of the pair.

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