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RooFit and RooStats, the toolkits for statistical modelling in ROOT, are used in most searches and measurements at the Large Hadron Collider. The data to be collected in Run 3 will enable measurements with higher precision and models with larger complexity, but also require faster data processing. In this work, first results on modernising RooFit's collections, restructuring data flow and vectorising likelihood fits in RooFit will be discussed. These improvements will enable the LHC experiments to process larger datasets without having to compromise with respect to model complexity, as fitting times would increase significantly with the large datasets to be expected in Run 3.

Three-dimensional image reconstruction in medical applications (PET or X-ray CT) utilizes sophisticated filter algorithms to linear trajectories of coincident photon pairs or x-rays. The goal is to reconstruct an image of an emitter density distribution. In a similar manner, tracks in particle physics originate from vertices that need to be distinguished from background track combinations. In this study it is investigated if vertex reconstruction in high energy proton collisions may benefit from medical imaging methods. A new method of vertex finding, the Medical Imaging Vertexer (MIV), is presented based on a three-dimensional filtered backprojection algorithm. It is compared to the open-source RAVE vertexing package. The performance of the vertex finding algorithms is evaluated as a function of instantaneous luminosity using simulated LHC collisions. Tracks in these collisions are described by a simplified detector model which is inspired by the tracking performance of the LHC experiments. At high luminosities (25 pileup vertices and more), the medical imaging approach finds vertices with a higher efficiency and purity than the RAVE “Adaptive Vertex Reconstructor” algorithm. It is also much faster if more than 25 vertices are to be reconstructed because the amount of CPU time rises linearly with the number of tracks whereas it rises quadratically for the adaptive vertex fitter AVR.

Light-by-light scattering (γγ right arrow γγ) is a quantum-mechanical process that is forbidden in the classical theory of electrodynamics. This reaction is accessible at the Large Hadron Collider thanks to the large electromagnetic field strengths generated by ultra-relativistic colliding lead ions. Using 480 μb−1 of lead–lead collision data recorded at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 5.02 TeV by the ATLAS detector, here we report evidence for light-by-light scattering. A total of 13 candidate events were observed with an expected background of 2.6 ± 0.7 events. After background subtraction and analysis corrections, the fiducial cross-section of the process Pb + Pb (γγ) right arrow Pb(∗) + Pb(∗)γγ, for photon transverse energy ET > 3 GeV, photon absolute pseudorapidity |η| < 2.4, diphoton invariant mass greater than 6 GeV, diphoton transverse momentum lower than 2 GeV and diphoton acoplanarity below 0.01, is measured to be 70 ± 24 (stat.) ± 17 (syst.) nb, which is in agreement with the standard model predictions.

A bstract This paper describes a measurement of the Z / γ * boson transverse momentum spectrum using ATLAS proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of s = 7 TeV at the LHC. The measurement is performed in the Z / γ * → e + e − and Z / γ * → μ + μ − channels, using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb −1 . Normalized differential cross sections as a function of the Z / γ * boson transverse momentum are measured for transverse momenta up to 800 GeV. The measurement is performed inclusively for Z / γ * rapidities up to 2.4, as well as in three rapidity bins. The channel results are combined, compared to perturbative and resummed QCD calculations and used to constrain the parton shower parameters of Monte Carlo generators.

A bstract Combined ATLAS and CMS measurements of the Higgs boson production and decay rates, as well as constraints on its couplings to vector bosons and fermions, are presented. The combination is based on the analysis of five production processes, namely gluon fusion, vector boson fusion, and associated production with a W or a Z boson or a pair of top quarks, and of the six decay modes H → ZZ, W W , γγ , ττ, bb , and μμ . All results are reported assuming a value of 125 . 09 GeV for the Higgs boson mass, the result of the combined measurement by the ATLAS and CMS experiments. The analysis uses the CERN LHC proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS and CMS experiments in 2011 and 2012, corresponding to integrated luminosities per experiment of approximately 5 fb −1 at s = 7 TeV and 20 fb −1 at s = 8 TeV. The Higgs boson production and decay rates measured by the two experiments are combined within the context of three generic parameterisations: two based on cross sections and branching fractions, and one on ratios of coupling modifiers. Several interpretations of the measurements with more model-dependent parameterisations are also given. The combined signal yield relative to the Standard Model prediction is measured to be 1 . 09 ± 0 . 11. The combined measurements lead to observed significances for the vector boson fusion production process and for the H → ττ decay of 5 . 4 and 5 . 5 standard deviations, respectively. The data are consistent with the Standard Model predictions for all parameterisations considered.

This article documents the performance of the ATLAS muon identification and reconstruction using the LHC dataset recorded at s√=13 TeV in 2015. Using a large sample of J/ψ→μμ and Z→μμ decays from 3.2 fb−1 of pp collision data, measurements of the reconstruction efficiency, as well as of the momentum scale and resolution, are presented and compared to Monte Carlo simulations. The reconstruction efficiency is measured to be close to 99 % over most of the covered phase space (|η|<2.5 and 52.2, the pT resolution for muons from Z→μμ decays is 2.9 % while the precision of the momentum scale for low-pT muons from J/ψ→μμ decays is about 0.2 %.

The large rate of multiple simultaneous proton–proton interactions, or pile-up, generated by the Large Hadron Collider in Run 1 required the development of many new techniques to mitigate the adverse effects of these conditions. This paper describes the methods employed in the ATLAS experiment to correct for the impact of pile-up on jet energy and jet shapes, and for the presence of spurious additional jets, with a primary focus on the large 20.3 fb−1 data sample collected at a centre-of-mass energy of s√=8 TeV. \\nThe energy correction techniques that incorporate sophisticated estimates of the average pile-up energy density and tracking information are presented. Jet-to-vertex association techniques are discussed and projections of performance for the future are considered. Lastly, the extension of these techniques to mitigate the effect of pile-up on jet shapes using subtraction and grooming procedures is presented.

The luminosity determination for the ATLAS detector at the LHC during pp collisions at s√= 8 TeV in 2012 is presented. The evaluation of the luminosity scale is performed using several luminometers, and comparisons between these luminosity detectors are made to assess the accuracy, consistency and long-term stability of the results. A luminosity uncertainty of δL/L=±1.9% is obtained for the 22.7fb−1 of pp collision data delivered to ATLAS at s√= 8 TeV in 2012.

A bstract A search for Higgs boson pair production in the b b ¯ b b ¯ final state is carried out with up to 36.1 fb −1 of LHC proton-proton collision data collected at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector in 2015 and 2016. Three benchmark signals are studied: a spin-2 graviton decaying into a Higgs boson pair, a scalar resonance decaying into a Higgs boson pair, and Standard Model non-resonant Higgs boson pair production. Two analyses are carried out, each implementing a particular technique for the event reconstruction that targets Higgs bosons reconstructed as pairs of jets or single boosted jets. The resonance mass range covered is 260–3000 GeV. The analyses are statistically combined and upper limits on the production cross section of Higgs boson pairs times branching ratio to b b ¯ b b ¯ are set in each model. No significant excess is observed; the largest deviation of data over prediction is found at a mass of 280 GeV, corresponding to 2.3 standard deviations globally. The observed 95% confidence level upper limit on the non-resonant production is 13 times the Standard Model prediction.

Single- and double-differential cross-section measurements are presented for the production of top-quark pairs, in the lepton + jets channel at particle and parton level. Two topologies, resolved and boosted, are considered and the results are presented as a function of several kinematic variables characterising the top and tt¯ system and jet multiplicities. The study was performed using data from pp collisions at centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected in 2015 and 2016 by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36fb-1. Due to the large tt¯ cross-section at the LHC, such measurements allow a detailed study of the properties of top-quark production and decay, enabling precision tests of several Monte Carlo generators and fixed-order Standard Model predictions. Overall, there is good agreement between the theoretical predictions and the data.