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Anthony, M. T.

Publications and source records attributed to Anthony, M. T..

At least 19 records

Interpretations of the ATLAS measurements of Higgs boson production and decay rates and differential cross-sections in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV

Measurements of the Higgs boson production times decay rates and differential cross-sections have recently been performed by the ATLAS experiment in several decay channels using up to 139 fb -1 of proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV recorded at the Large Hadron Collider. This paper presents multiple interpretations of these Higgs boson measurements. Measurements of production-mode cross-sections, simplified template cross-sections and fiducial differential cross-sections in different decay channels are reparameterised in terms of the impact of Standard Model effective field theory operators, and constraints are reported on the corresponding Wilson coefficients. Production and decay rate measurements are interpreted in UV-complete extensions of the Standard Model, namely the two-Higgs-doublet model (2HDM) near the alignment limit and the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) for various MSSM benchmark scenarios. The constraints on the 2HDM parameters (cos(β - α), tanβ) and the MSSM parameters (m A , tanβ) are complementary to those obtained from direct searches for additional Higgs bosons.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Search for a resonance decaying into a scalar particle and a Higgs boson in the final state with two bottom quarks and two photons in proton–proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for the resonant production of a heavy scalar X decaying into a Higgs boson and a new lighter scalar S, through the process X → S(→ $b\overline{b}$)H(→γγ), where the two photons are consistent with the Higgs boson decay, is performed. The search is conducted using an integrated luminosity of 140 fb -1 of proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The search is performed over the mass range 170 ≤ m X ≤ 1000 GeV and 15 ≤ m S ≤ 500 GeV. Parameterised neural networks are used to enhance the signal purity and to achieve continuous sensitivity in a domain of the (m X , m S ) plane. No significant excess above the expected background is found and 95% CL upper limits are set on the cross section times branching ratio, ranging from 39 fb to 0.09 fb. The largest deviation from the background-only expectation occurs for (m X , m S ) = (575, 200) GeV with a local (global) significance of 3.5 (2.0) standard deviations.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Measurements of inclusive and differential cross-sections of $t\overline{t}\gamma$ production in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Inclusive and differential cross-sections are measured at particle level for the associated production of a top quark pair and a photon ($t\overline{t}\gamma$). The analysis is performed using an integrated luminosity of 140 fb -1 of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector. The measurements are performed in the single-lepton and dilepton top quark pair decay channels focusing on ($t\overline{t}\gamma$) topologies where the photon is radiated from an initial-state parton or one of the top quarks. The absolute and normalised differential cross-sections are measured for several variables characterising the photon, lepton and jet kinematics as well as the angular separation between those objects. The observables are found to be in good agreement with the Monte Carlo predictions. The photon transverse momentum differential distribution is used to set limits on effective field theory parameters related to the electroweak dipole moments of the top quark. The combined limits using the photon and the Z boson transverse momentum measured in $t\overline{t}$ production in associations with a Z boson are also set.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Search for heavy resonances in final states with four leptons and missing transverse momentum or jets in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for a new heavy boson produced via gluon-fusion in the four-lepton channel with missing transverse momentum or jets is performed. The search uses proton-proton collision data equivalent to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb -1 at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector between 2015 and 2018 at the Large Hadron Collider. This study explores the decays of heavy bosons: R → SH and A → ZH, where R is a CP-even boson, A is a CP-odd boson, H is a CP-even boson, and S is considered to decay into invisible particles that are candidates for dark matter. In these processes, S → invisible and H → ZZ. The Z boson associated with the heavy scalar boson H decays into all decay channels of the Z boson. The mass range under consideration is 390–1300 (320–1300) GeV for the R (A) boson and 220–1000 GeV for the H boson. No significant deviation from the Standard Model backgrounds is observed. The results are interpreted as upper limits at a 95% confidence level on the cross-section times the branching ratio of the heavy resonances.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Search for the Exclusive W Boson Hadronic Decays W ± → π ± γ, W ± → K ± γ and W ± → ρ ± γ with the ATLAS Detector

A search for the exclusive hadronic decays W ± → π ± γ, W ± → K ± γ, and W ± → ρ ± γ is performed using up to 140 fb -1 of proton-proton collisions recorded with the ATLAS detector at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV. If observed, these rare processes would provide a unique test bench for the quantum chromodynamics factorization formalism used to calculate cross sections at colliders. Additionally, at future colliders, these decays could offer a new way to measure the W boson mass through fully reconstructed decay products. The search results in the most stringent upper limits to date on the branching fractions B(W ± → π ± γ) < 1.9 × 10 -6 , B(W ± → K ± γ) < 1.7 × 10 -6 , B(W ± → ρ ± γ) < 5.2 × 10 -6 at 95% confidence level.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Determination of the Relative Sign of the Higgs Boson Couplings to W and Z Bosons Using WH Production via Vector-Boson Fusion with the ATLAS Detector

The associated production of Higgs and W bosons via vector-boson fusion is highly sensitive to the relative sign of the Higgs boson couplings to W and Z bosons. In this Letter, two searches for this process are presented, using 140 fb -1 of proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s} =$ 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The first search targets scenarios with opposite-sign couplings of the W and Z bosons to the Higgs boson, while the second targets standard model-like scenarios with same-sign couplings. Both analyses consider Higgs boson decays into a pair of b quarks and W boson decays with an electron or muon. The data exclude the opposite-sign coupling hypothesis with a significance beyond 5⁢σ, and the observed (expected) upper limit set on the cross section for vector-boson fusion W⁢H production is 9.0 (8.7) times the standard model value at 95% confidence level.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Performance and calibration of quark/gluon-jet taggers using 140 fb -1 of pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The identification of jets originating from quarks and gluons, often referred to as quark/gluon tagging, plays an important role in various analyses performed at the Large Hadron Collider, as Standard Model measurements and searches for new particles decaying to quarks often rely on suppressing a large gluon-induced background. This paper describes the measurement of the efficiencies of quark/gluon taggers developed within the ATLAS Collaboration, using $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV proton–proton collision data with an integrated luminosity of 140 fb -1 collected by the ATLAS experiment. Two taggers with high performances in rejecting jets from gluon over jets from quarks are studied: one tagger is based on requirements on the number of inner-detector tracks associated with the jet, and the other combines several jet substructure observables using a boosted decision tree. A method is established to determine the quark/gluon fraction in data, by using quark/gluon-enriched subsamples defined by the jet pseudorapidity. Differences in tagging efficiency between data and simulation are provided for jets with transverse momentum between 500 GeV and 2 TeV and for multiple tagger working points.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Studies of the Energy Dependence of Diboson Polarization Fractions and the Radiation-Amplitude-Zero Effect in WZ Production with the ATLAS Detector

This Letter presents the first study of the energy dependence of diboson polarization fractions in WZ → ℓνℓ'ℓ'(ℓ,ℓ'=e,μ) production. The dataset used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb -1 of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector. Two fiducial regions with an enhanced presence of events featuring two longitudinally polarized bosons are defined. A nonzero fraction of events with two longitudinally polarized bosons is measured with an observed significance of 5.3 standard deviations in the region with 100< $p$$^{Z}_{T}$ ≤ 200 GeV, and 1.6 standard deviations in the region with $p$$^{Z}_{T}$ > 200 GeV, where $p$$^{Z}_{T}$ is the transverse momentum of the Z boson. This Letter also reports the first study of the radiation-amplitude-zero effect. Events with two transversely polarized bosons are analyzed for the Δ Y (ℓ W Z ) and Δ Y ( WZ ) distributions defined respectively as the rapidity difference between the lepton from the W boson decay and the Z boson and the rapidity difference between the W boson and the Z boson. Significant suppression of events near zero is observed in both distributions. Unfolded Δ Y (ℓ W Z ) and Δ Y ( WZ ) distributions are also measured and compared to theoretical predictions.

Electroweak interaction↗

Simultaneous energy and mass calibration of large-radius jets with the ATLAS detector using a deep neural network

The energy and mass measurements of jets are crucial tasks for the Large Hadron Collider experiments. This paper presents a new calibration method to simultaneously calibrate these quantities for large-radius jets measured with the ATLAS detector using a deep neural network (DNN). To address the specificities of the calibration problem, special loss functions and training procedures are employed, and a complex network architecture, which includes feature annotation and residual connection layers, is used. The DNN-based calibration is compared to the standard numerical approach in an extensive series of tests. The DNN approach is found to perform significantly better in almost all of the tests and over most of the relevant kinematic phase space. In particular, it consistently improves the energy and mass resolutions, with a 30% better energy resolution obtained for transverse momenta $p$ T > $500$ GeV.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Differential cross-sections for events with missing transverse momentum and jets measured with the ATLAS detector in 13 TeV proton-proton collisions

Measurements of inclusive, differential cross-sections for the production of events with missing transverse momentum in association with jets in proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV are presented. The measurements are made with the ATLAS detector using an integrated luminosity of 140 fb –1 and include measurements of dijet distributions in a region in which vector-boson fusion processes are enhanced. They are unfolded to correct for detector resolution and efficiency within the fiducial acceptance, and are designed to allow robust comparisons with a wide range of theoretical predictions. A measurement of differential cross sections for the Z → νν process is made. The measurements are generally well-described by Standard Model predictions except for the dijet invariant mass distribution. Auxiliary measurements of the hadronic system recoiling against isolated leptons, and photons, are also made in the same phase space. Ratios between the measured distributions are then derived, to take advantage of cancellations in modelling effects and some of the major systematic uncertainties. These measurements are sensitive to new phenomena, and provide a mechanism to easily set constraints on phenomenological models. To illustrate the robustness of the approach, these ratios are compared with two common Dark Matter models, where the constraints derived from the measurement are comparable to those set by dedicated detector-level searches.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Search for low-mass resonances decaying into two jets and produced in association with a photon or a jet at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search is performed for localized excesses in the low-mass dijet invariant mass distribution, targeting a hypothetical new particle decaying into two jets and produced in association with either a high transverse momentum photon or a jet. The search uses the full Run 2 data sample from LHC proton-proton collisions collected by the ATLAS experiment at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV during 2015–2018. Two variants of the search are presented for each type of initial-state radiation: one that makes no jet flavor requirements and one that requires both of the jets to have been identified as containing b-hadrons. No excess is observed relative to the Standard Model prediction, and the data are used to set upper limits on the production cross section for a benchmark Z' model and, separately, for generic, beyond the Standard Model scenarios which might produce a Gaussian-shaped contribution to dijet invariant mass distributions. The results extend the current constraints on dijet resonances to the mass range between 200 and 650 GeV.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Search for charged-lepton-flavor violating μ τ q t interactions in top-quark production and decay in p p collisions at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

A search for charged-lepton-flavor violating μ τ q t (q = u, c) ) interactions is presented, considering both top-quark production and decay. The data analyzed correspond to 140 fb -1 of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis targets events containing two muons with the same electric charge, a hadronically decaying $\tau$ -lepton and at least one jet, with exactly one b -tagged jet, produced by a μ τ q t interaction. Agreement with the Standard Model expectation within 1.6 standard deviations is observed, and limits are set at the 95% confidence level (CL) on the charged-lepton-flavor violation branching ratio of $\mathcal{B}$(t → μ$\tau$q) < 8.7 x 10 -7 . An effective field theory interpretation is performed yielding 95% CL limits on Wilson coefficients, dependent on the flavor of the associated light quark and the Lorentz structure of the coupling. These range from |c$^{3(2313)}_{lequ}$|Λ 2 < 0.10 TeV -2 for μ$\tau$ut to |c$^{1(2323)}_{lequ}$| /Λ 2 < 1.8 TeV -2 for μ$\tau$ct. An additional interpretation is performed for scalar leptoquark production inducing charged-lepton-flavor violation, with fixed intergenerational couplings. Upper limits on leptoquark coupling strengths are set at the 95% CL, ranging from $\lambda$ LQ = 1.3 to $\lambda$ LQ =3.7 for leptoquark masses between 0.5 and 2.0 TeV.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Statistical Combination of ATLAS Run 2 Searches for Charginos and Neutralinos at the LHC

Statistical combinations of searches for charginos and neutralinos using various decay channels are performed using 139 fb −1 of 𝑝⁢𝑝 collision data at $\sqrt{𝑠}$ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Searches targeting pure-wino chargino pair production, pure-wino chargino-neutralino production, or Higgsino production decaying via standard model 𝑊, 𝑍, or ℎ bosons are combined to extend the mass reach to the produced supersymmetric particles by 30–100 GeV. The depth of the sensitivity of the original searches is also improved by the combinations, lowering the 95% C.L. cross-section upper limits by 15%–40%.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Inclusive and differential cross-section measurements of $ t\overline{t}Z$ production in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector, including EFT and spin-correlation interpretations

Measurements of both the inclusive and differential production cross sections of a top-quark-top-antiquark pair in association with a Z boson ($t\overline{t}Z$) are presented. Final states with two, three or four isolated leptons (electrons or muons) are targeted. The measurements use the data recorded by the ATLAS detector in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider during the years 2015–2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb -1 . The inclusive cross section is measured to be ${\sigma}_{t\overline{t}Z}$ = 0.86 ± 0.04 (stat.) ± 0.04 (syst.) pb and found to be in agreement with the most advanced Standard Model predictions. The differential measurements are presented as a function of a number of observables that probe the kinematics of the $t\overline{t}Z$ system. Both the absolute and normalised differential cross-section measurements are performed at particle level and parton level for specific fiducial volumes, and are compared with NLO+NNLL theoretical predictions. The results are interpreted in the framework of Standard Model effective field theory and used to set limits on a large number of dimension-6 operators involving the top quark. The first measurement of spin correlations in $t\overline{t}Z$ events is presented: the results are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations, and the null hypothesis of no spin correlations is disfavoured with a significance of 1.8 standard deviations.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Measurement of jet substructure in boosted $t\overline{t}$ events with the ATLAS detector using 140 fb -1 of 13 TeV $pp$ collisions

Measurements of the substructure of top-quark jets are presented, using 140 fb -1 of 13 TeV pp collision data recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Top-quark jets reconstructed with the anti-k t algorithm with a radius parameter R = 1.0 are selected in top-quark pair ($t\overline{t}$) events where one top quark decays semileptonically and the other hadronically, or where both top quarks decay hadronically. The top-quark jets are required to have transverse momentum p T > 350 GeV, yielding large samples of data events with jet p T values between 350 and 600 GeV. One- and two-dimensional differential cross sections for eight substructure variables, defined using only the charged components of the jets, are measured in a particle-level phase space by correcting for the smearing and acceptance effects induced by the detector. The differential cross sections are compared with the predictions of several Monte Carlo simulations in which top-quark pair-production quantum chromodynamic matrix-element calculations at next-to-leading-order precision in the strong coupling constant α S are passed to leading-order parton shower and hadronization generators. The Monte Carlo predictions for measures of the broadness, and also the two-body structure, of the top-quark jets are found to be in good agreement with the measurements, while variables sensitive to the three-body structure of the top-quark jets exhibit some tension with the measured distributions.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Search for pair production of higgsinos in events with two Higgs bosons and missing transverse momentum in $\sqrt{𝑠}$ = 13 TeV 𝑝⁢𝑝 collisions at the ATLAS experiment

This paper presents a search for pair production of higgsinos, the supersymmetric partners of the Higgs bosons, in scenarios with gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking. Each higgsino is assumed to decay into a Higgs boson and a nearly massless gravitino. The search targets events where each Higgs boson decays into $b\bar{b}$, leading to a reconstructed final state with at least three energetic 𝑏-jets and missing transverse momentum. Two complementary analysis channels are used, with each channel specifically targeting either low or high values of the higgsino mass. The low-mass (high-mass) channel exploits 126 (139) fb −1 of $\sqrt{𝑠}$ = 13 TeV data collected by the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider. No significant excess above the Standard Model prediction is found. At 95% confidence level, masses between 130 GeV and 940 GeV are excluded for higgsinos decaying exclusively into Higgs bosons and gravitinos. Exclusion limits as a function of the higgsino decay branching ratio to a Higgs boson are also reported.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Search for singly produced vectorlike top partners in multilepton final states with 139 fb −1 of 𝑝⁢𝑝 collision data at √𝑠 =13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for the single production of a vectorlike top partner (𝑇) with mass greater than 1 TeV decaying into a 𝑍 boson and a top quark is presented, using the full Run 2 dataset corresponding to 139 fb −1 of 𝑝⁢𝑝 collisions at √𝑠 =13 TeV, collected in 2015–2018 with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The targeted final state is characterized by the presence of a pair of electrons or muons with opposite-sign charges which form a 𝑍-boson candidate, as well as by the presence of 𝑏-tagged jets and forward jets. Events with exactly two or at least three leptons are categorized into two independently optimized analysis channels. No significant excess above the background expectation is observed and the results from the two channels are statistically combined to set exclusion limits at 95% confidence level on the masses and couplings of 𝑇. The results are interpreted in several benchmark scenarios to set limits on the mass and universal coupling strength (𝜅) of the vectorlike quark. For singlet 𝑇 quarks, 𝜅 values between 0.22 and 0.64 are excluded for masses between 1000 and 1975 GeV. For 𝑇 quarks in the doublet scenario, where the production cross section is much lower, 𝜅 values between 0.54 and 0.88 are excluded for masses between 1000 and 1425 GeV.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Search for high-mass resonances in final states with a τ-lepton and missing transverse momentum with the ATLAS detector

A search for high-mass resonances decaying into a τ-lepton and a neutrino using proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$ =13 TeV is presented. The full run 2 data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb -1 recorded by the ATLAS experiment in the years 2015–2018 is analyzed. The τ-lepton is reconstructed in its hadronic decay modes and the total transverse momentum carried out by neutrinos is inferred from the reconstructed missing transverse momentum. The search for new physics is performed on the transverse mass between the τ-lepton and the missing transverse momentum. No excess of events above the Standard Model expectation is observed and upper exclusion limits are set on the W' →τ⁢v production cross section. Heavy W' vector bosons with masses up to 5.0 TeV are excluded at 95% confidence level, assuming that they have the same couplings as the Standard Model W boson. For nonuniversal couplings, W' bosons are excluded for masses less than 3.5–5.0 TeV, depending on the model parameters. In addition, model-independent limits on the visible cross section times branching ratio are determined as a function of the lower threshold on the transverse mass of the τ-lepton and missing transverse momentum.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗