Showing papers by "Georges Aad published in 2012"
TL;DR: In this article, a search for the Standard Model Higgs boson in proton-proton collisions with the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented, which has a significance of 5.9 standard deviations, corresponding to a background fluctuation probability of 1.7×10−9.
9,282 citations
TL;DR: A combined search for the Standard Model Higgs boson with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC using datasets corresponding to integrated luminosities from 1.04 fb(-1) to 4.9 fb(1) of pp collisions is described in this paper.
572 citations
TL;DR: In this article, detailed measurements of the electron performance of the ATLAS detector at the LHC were reported, using decays of the Z, W and J/psi particles.
Abstract: Detailed measurements of the electron performance of the ATLAS detector at the LHC are reported, using decays of the Z, W and J/psi particles. Data collected in 2010 at root s = 7 TeV are used, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of almost 40 pb(-1). The inter-alignment of the inner detector and the electromagnetic calorimeter, the determination of the electron energy scale and resolution, and the performance in terms of response uniformity and linearity are discussed. The electron identification, reconstruction and trigger efficiencies, as well as the charge misidentification probability, are also presented.
505 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a Fourier analysis of the charged particle pair distribution in relative azimuthal angle (Delta phi = phi(a)-phi(b)) is performed to extract the coefficients v(n,n) =.
Abstract: Differential measurements of charged particle azimuthal anisotropy are presented for lead-lead collisions at root sNN = 2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC, based on an integrated luminosity of approximately 8 mu b(-1). This anisotropy is characterized via a Fourier expansion of the distribution of charged particles in azimuthal angle relative to the reaction plane, with the coefficients v(n) denoting the magnitude of the anisotropy. Significant v(2)-v(6) values are obtained as a function of transverse momentum (0.5 = 3 are found to vary weakly with both eta and centrality, and their p(T) dependencies are found to follow an approximate scaling relation, v(n)(1/n)(p(T)) proportional to v(2)(1/2)(p(T)), except in the top 5% most central collisions. A Fourier analysis of the charged particle pair distribution in relative azimuthal angle (Delta phi = phi(a)-phi(b)) is performed to extract the coefficients v(n,n) = . For pairs of charged particles with a large pseudorapidity gap (|Delta eta = eta(a) - eta(b)| > 2) and one particle with p(T) < 3 GeV, the v(2,2)-v(6,6) values are found to factorize as v(n,n)(p(T)(a), p(T)(b)) approximate to v(n) (p(T)(a))v(n)(p(T)(b)) in central and midcentral events. Such factorization suggests that these values of v(2,2)-v(6,6) are primarily attributable to the response of the created matter to the fluctuations in the geometry of the initial state. A detailed study shows that the v(1,1)(p(T)(a), p(T)(b)) data are consistent with the combined contributions from a rapidity-even v(1) and global momentum conservation. A two-component fit is used to extract the v(1) contribution. The extracted v(1) isobserved to cross zero at pT approximate to 1.0 GeV, reaches a maximum at 4-5 GeV with a value comparable to that for v(3), and decreases at higher p(T).
435 citations
TL;DR: The ATLAS trigger system as discussed by the authors selects events by rapidly identifying signatures of muon, electron, photon, tau lepton, jet, and B meson candidates, as well as using global event signatures, such as missing transverse energy.
Abstract: Proton-proton collisions at root s = 7 TeV and heavy ion collisions at root(NN)-N-s = 2.76 TeV were produced by the LHC and recorded using the ATLAS experiment's trigger system in 2010. The LHC is designed with a maximum bunch crossing rate of 40 MHz and the ATLAS trigger system is designed to record approximately 200 of these per second. The trigger system selects events by rapidly identifying signatures of muon, electron, photon, tau lepton, jet, and B meson candidates, as well as using global event signatures, such as missing transverse energy. An overview of the ATLAS trigger system, the evolution of the system during 2010 and the performance of the trigger system components and selections based on the 2010 collision data are shown. A brief outline of plans for the trigger system in 2011 is presented.
417 citations
01 Feb 2012
352 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the performance of the missing transverse momentum reconstruction was evaluated using data collected in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV in 2010.
Abstract: The measurement of missing transverse momentum in the ATLAS detector, described in this paper, makes use of the full event reconstruction and a calibration based on reconstructed physics objects. The performance of the missing transverse momentum reconstruction is evaluated using data collected in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV in 2010. Minimum bias events and events with jets of hadrons are used from data samples corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 0.3 nb(-1) and 600 nb(-1) respectively, together with events containing a Z boson decaying to two leptons (electrons or muons) or a W boson decaying to a lepton (electron or muon) and a neutrino, from a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 36 pb(-1). An estimate of the systematic uncertainty on the missing transverse momentum scale is presented.
288 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe the measurement of elliptic flow of charged particles in lead-lead collisions at root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
265 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the production cross sections of the inclusive Drell-Yan processes W-+/- -> l nu and Z/gamma* -> ll (l = e, mu) are measured in proton-proton collisions at root s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector.
Abstract: The production cross sections of the inclusive Drell-Yan processes W-+/- -> l nu and Z/gamma* -> ll (l = e, mu) are measured in proton-proton collisions at root s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector. The cross sections are reported integrated over a fiducial kinematic range, extrapolated to the full range, and also evaluated differentially as a function of the W decay lepton pseudorapidity and the Z boson rapidity, respectively. Based on an integrated luminosity of about 35 pb(-1) collected in 2010, the precision of these measurements reaches a few percent. The integrated and the differential W-+/- and Z/gamma* cross sections in the e and mu channels are combined, and compared with perturbative QCD calculations, based on a number of different parton distribution sets available at next-to-next-to-leading order.
250 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to measure inclusive jet and dijet cross sections in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV using the anti-kT algorithm.
Abstract: Inclusive jet and dijet cross sections have been measured in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The cross sections were measured using jets clustered with the anti-kT algorithm with parameters R=0.4 and R=0.6. These measurements are based on the 2010 data sample, consisting of a total integrated luminosity of 37 inverse picobarns. Inclusive jet double-differential cross sections are presented as a function of jet transverse momentum, in bins of jet rapidity. Dijet double-differential cross sections are studied as a function of the dijet invariant mass, in bins of half the rapidity separation of the two leading jets. The measurements are performed in the jet rapidity range |y|<4.4, covering jet transverse momenta from 20 GeV to 1.5 TeV and dijet invariant masses from 70 GeV to 5 TeV. The data are compared to expectations based on next-to-leading order QCD calculations corrected for non-perturbative effects, as well as to next-to-leading order Monte Carlo predictions. In addition to a test of the theory in a new kinematic regime, the data also provide sensitivity to parton distribution functions in a region where they are currently not well-constrained.
230 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a search for the standard model Higgs boson is performed in the diphoton decay channel, and the largest excess with respect to the background-only hypothesis is observed at 126.5 GeV, with a local significance of 2.8 standard deviations.
Abstract: A search for the standard model Higgs boson is performed in the diphoton decay channel. The data used correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.9 fb-1 collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of √s=7 TeV. In the diphoton mass range 110–150 GeV, the largest excess with respect to the background-only hypothesis is observed at 126.5 GeV, with a local significance of 2.8 standard deviations. Taking the look-elsewhere effect into account in the range 110–150 GeV, this significance becomes 1.5 standard deviations. The standard model Higgs boson is excluded at 95% confidence level in the mass ranges of 113–115 GeV and 134.5–136 GeV.
TL;DR: In this paper, a QCD analysis of ATLAS data on inclusive W-+/- and Z boson production in pp collisions at the LHC, jointly with ep deep-inelastic scattering data from HERA, is reported.
Abstract: AQCD analysis is reported of ATLAS data on inclusive W-+/- and Z boson production in pp collisions at the LHC, jointly with ep deep-inelastic scattering data from HERA. The ATLAS data exhibit sensitivity to the light quark sea composition and magnitude at Bjorken x similar to 0:01. Specifically, the data support the hypothesis of a symmetric composition of the light quark sea at low x. The ratio of the strange-to-down sea quark distributions is determined to be 1:00(-0:28)(+0.25) at absolute four-momentum transfer squared Q(2) = 1: 9 GeV2 and x = 0: 023.
TL;DR: In this article, the internal substructure of jets generated by QCD radiation is tested on an inclusive sample of jets recorded with the ATLAS detector in 2010, which corresponds to 35 pb(-1) of pp collisions delivered by the LHC at root s = 7 TeV.
Abstract: Recent studies have highlighted the potential of jet substructure techniques to identify the hadronic decays of boosted heavy particles. These studies all rely upon the assumption that the internal substructure of jets generated by QCD radiation is well understood. In this article, this assumption is tested on an inclusive sample of jets recorded with the ATLAS detector in 2010, which corresponds to 35 pb(-1) of pp collisions delivered by the LHC at root s = 7 TeV. In a subsample of events with single pp collisions, measurements corrected for detector efficiency and resolution are presented with full systematic uncertainties. Jet invariant mass, k(t) splitting scales and N-subjettiness variables are presented for anti-k(t) R = 1.0 jets and Cambridge-Aachen R = 1.2 jets. Jet invariant-mass spectra for Cambridge-Aachen R = 1.2 jets after a splitting and filtering procedure are also presented. Leading-order parton-shower Monte Carlo predictions for these variables are found to be broadly in agreement with data. The dependence of mean jet mass on additional pp interactions is also explored.
TL;DR: A combined search for the Standard Model Higgs boson with the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented in this article, where the data sets used correspond to integrated luminosities from 4.6 fb (-1) to 4.9 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions collected at root s = 7 TeV in 2011.
Abstract: A combined search for the Standard Model Higgs boson with the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented. The data sets used correspond to integrated luminosities from 4.6 fb(-1) to 4.9 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions collected at root s = 7 TeV in 2011. The Higgs boson mass ranges of 111.4 GeV to 116.6 GeV, 119.4 GeV to 122.1 GeV, and 129.2 GeV to 541 GeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level, while the range 120 GeV to 560 GeV is expected to be excluded in the absence of a signal. An excess of events is observed at Higgs boson mass hypotheses around 126 GeV with a local significance of 2.9 standard deviations (sigma). The global probability for the background to produce an excess at least as significant anywhere in the entire explored Higgs boson mass range of 110-600 GeV is estimated to be similar to 15%, corresponding to a significance of approximately 1 sigma.
TL;DR: In this paper, an update of a search for supersymmetry in final states containing jets, missing transverse momentum, and one isolated electron or muon is presented, using 1.04 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at root s =7 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC in the first half of 2011.
Abstract: We present an update of a search for supersymmetry in final states containing jets, missing transverse momentum, and one isolated electron or muon, using 1.04 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at root s =7 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC in the first half of 2011. The analysis is carried out in four distinct signal regions with either three or four jets and variations on the (missing) transverse momentum cuts, resulting in optimized limits for various supersymmetry models. No excess above the standard model background expectation is observed. Limits are set on the visible cross section of new physics within the kinematic requirements of the search. The results are interpreted as limits on the parameters of the minimal supergravity framework, limits on cross sections of simplified models with specific squark and gluino decay modes, and limits on parameters of a model with bilinear R-parity violation.
TL;DR: In this paper, a search for squarks and gluinos in events containing jets, missing transverse momentum and no electrons or muons is presented, and the data were recorded in 2011 by the ATLAS experiment in root s = 7 TeV proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider.
TL;DR: The ATLAS experiment at the LHC has measured the centrality dependence of charged particle pseudorapidity distributions over vertical bar eta vertical bar < 2 in lead-lead collisions at a nucleo...
TL;DR: In this paper, a measurement of the cross section of single top-quark production in the t-channel using 1.04 fb -1 of pp collision data at s=7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented.
TL;DR: In this paper, the results of a search for charged Higgs bosons were presented based on 4.6/fb of proton-proton collision data at 7 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider.
Abstract: The results of a search for charged Higgs bosons are presented. The analysis is based on 4.6/fb of proton-proton collision data at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, using top quark pair events with a tau lepton in the final state. The data are consistent with the expected background from Standard Model processes. Assuming that the branching ratio of the charged Higgs boson to a tau lepton and a neutrino is 100%, this leads to upper limits on the branching ratio of top quark decays to a b quark and a charged Higgs boson between 5% and 1% for charged Higgs boson masses ranging from 90 GeV to 160 GeV, respectively. In the context of the mh-max scenario of the MSSM, tan(beta) above 12-26, as well as between 1 and 2-6, can be excluded for charged Higgs boson masses between 90 GeV and 150 GeV.
TL;DR: In this article, a search for doubly-charged Higgs bosons decaying to pairs of electrons and/or muons was performed using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb-1 of pp collisions at the LHC.
Abstract: A search for doubly-charged Higgs bosons decaying to pairs of electrons and/or muons is presented. The search is performed using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb-1 of pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Pairs of prompt, isolated, high-pT leptons with the same electric charge (ee, emu, mumu) are selected, and their invariant mass distribution is searched for a narrow resonance. No significant excess over Standard Model background expectations is observed, and limits are placed on the cross section times branching ratio for pair production of doubly-charged Higgs bosons. The masses of doubly-charged Higgs bosons are constrained depending on the branching ratio into these leptonic final states. Assuming pair production, coupling to left-handed fermions, and a branching ratio of 100% for each final state, masses below 409 GeV, 375 GeV, and 398 GeV are excluded for ee, emu, mumu, respectively.
TL;DR: In this article, a search for the Standard Model Higgs boson in the decay channel H = ZZ((*)) -> l(+)l(-)l(+)+l(')-, where l,l' = e or mu, using proton-proton collisions at root s = 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 fb(-1).
TL;DR: In this article, a measurement of jet activity in t (t) over bar events produced in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented, using 2.05 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider.
Abstract: A measurement of the jet activity in t (t) over bar events produced in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented, using 2.05 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The t (t) over bar events are selected in the dilepton decay channel with two identified b-jets from the top quark decays. Events are vetoed if they contain an additional jet with transverse momentum above a threshold in a central rapidity interval. The fraction of events surviving the jet veto is presented as a function of this threshold for four different central rapidity interval definitions. An alternate measurement is also performed, in which events are vetoed if the scalar transverse momentum sum of the additional jets in each rapidity interval is above a threshold. In both measurements, the data are corrected for detector effects and compared to the theoretical models implemented in MC@NLO, POWHEG, ALPGEN and SHERPA. The experimental uncertainties are often smaller than the spread of theoretical predictions, allowing deviations between data and theory to be observed in some regions of phase space.
TL;DR: In this paper, a search for hypothetical heavy neutrinos, N and right-handed gauge bosons, W-R, in events with high transverse momentum objects which include two reconstructed leptons and...
Abstract: This letter reports on a search for hypothetical heavy neutrinos, N, and right-handed gauge bosons, W-R, in events with high transverse momentum objects which include two reconstructed leptons and ...
TL;DR: The ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN has observed the production of a new particle with a mass of 126 giga–electron volts and decay signatures consistent with those expected for the Higgs particle, strong support for the standard model of particle physics, including the presence of this vacuum field.
Abstract: Nearly 50 years ago, theoretical physicists proposed that a field permeates the universe and gives energy to the vacuum. This field was required to explain why some, but not all, fundamental particles have mass. Numerous precision measurements during recent decades have provided indirect support for the existence of this field, but one crucial prediction of this theory has remained unconfirmed despite 30 years of experimental searches: the existence of a massive particle, the standard model Higgs boson. The ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN has now observed the production of a new particle with a mass of 126 giga–electron volts and decay signatures consistent with those expected for the Higgs particle. This result is strong support for the standard model of particle physics, including the presence of this vacuum field. The existence and properties of the newly discovered particle may also have consequences beyond the standard model itself.
TL;DR: In this article, the mass distributions of jet pairs produced in LHC proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy root s = 7 TeV were studied using a data set corresponding to an integrat...
TL;DR: In this paper, measurements of the polarization of W bosons in top quark decays, derived from ttbar events with missing transverse momentum, one charged lepton and at least four jets, were presented.
Abstract: This paper presents measurements of the polarization of W bosons in top quark decays, derived from ttbar events with missing transverse momentum, one charged lepton and at least four jets, or two charged leptons and at least two jets. Data from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV were collected with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 1.04 fb^-1. The measured fractions of longitudinally, left- and right-handed polarization are F_0=0.67+/-0.07, F_L=0.32+/-0.04 and F_R=0.01+/-0.05, in agreement with the Standard Model predictions. As the polarization of the W bosons in top quark decays is sensitive to the Wtb vertex Lorentz structure and couplings, the measurements were used to set limits on anomalous contributions to the Wtb couplings.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors presented evidence for the associated production of a W boson and a top quark using 2.05 fb(-1) of pp collision data at root s = 7 TeV accumulated with the ATLAS detector at the LHC.
TL;DR: The χb(nP) quarkonium states are produced in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider at √s=7 TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The χb(nP) quarkonium states are produced in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider at √s=7 TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector. Using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.4 fb-1, these states are reconstructed through their radiative decays to Υ(1S,2S) with Υ→μ+μ-. In addition to the mass peaks corresponding to the decay modes χb(1P,2P)→Υ(1S)γ, a new structure centered at a mass of 10.530±0.005(stat)±0.009(syst) GeV is also observed, in both the Υ(1S)γ and Υ(2S)γ decay modes. This structure is interpreted as the χb(3P) system.
TL;DR: The results of a search for direct pair production of heavy top-quark partners in 4.7 fb−1 of integrated luminosity from pp collisions at s√=7 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC are reported in this paper.
Abstract: The results of a search for direct pair production of heavy top-quark partners in 4.7 fb−1 of integrated luminosity from pp collisions at s√=7 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC are reported. Heavy top-quark partners decaying into a top quark and a neutral non-interacting particle are searched for in events with two leptons in the final state. No excess above the Standard Model expectation is observed. Limits are placed on the mass of a supersymmetric scalar top and of a spin-1/2 top-quark partner. A spin-1/2 top-quark partner with a mass between 300 GeV and 480 GeV, decaying to a top quark and a neutral non-interacting particle lighter than 100 GeV, is excluded at 95% confidence level.
TL;DR: A measurement of the production cross-section for top quark pairs (t (t) over bar) in pp collisions at root s = 7 TeV is presented in this paper using data recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Co.