We investigate the possibility that the excess observed in the leptonic-$Z +$jets $+\slashed{E}_T$ ATLAS SUSY search is due to pair productions of a vector-like quark $U$ decaying to the first-generation quarks and $Z$ boson. We find that the excess can be explained within the 2$σ$ (up to 1.4$σ$) level while evading the constraints from the other LHC searches. The preferred range of the mass and branching ratio are $610 < m_{U} < 760$ GeV and ${\rm Br}(U \rightarrow Z q) > 0.3$-$0.45$, respectively.
Recently the ATLAS collaboration reported a 3 sigma excess in the search for the events containing a dilepton pair from a Z boson and large missing transverse energy. Although the excess is not sufficiently significant yet, it is quite tempting to explain this excess by a well-motivated model beyond the standard model. In this paper we study a possibility of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) for this excess. Especially, we focus on the MSSM spectrum where the sfermions are heavier than the gauginos and Higgsinos. We show that the excess can be explained by the reasonable MSSM ma…
A possible explanation of the excesses observed by ATLAS in the Z+jets+MET channel within the p(henomenological)MSSM is discussed. We have found that the cascade of first/second generation squarks to binos to Higgsino LSPs, with judiciously chosen sparticle masses, can provide a viable scenario that is consistent with all other experimental constraints.
The ATLAS Collaboration announced a 3$σ$ excess in the leptonic-$Z+jets+\met$ channel. We show that such an excess can be interpreted in the extension of the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM) with a heavy Dirac gluino and light squarks. The abundant $Z$ bosons can be produced by light squark pair productions with the subsequent decays $\tilde{q} \to q \tildeχ_2^0 \to q Z \tildeχ_1^0$. We investigate the relevant parameter space by considering the constraints from both the ATLAS and CMS direct SUSY searches. Our model can provide sufficient $Z$-signal events in large paramet…
The excess seen in the diphoton channel at around 750 GeV by both ATLAS and CMS has caused a great deal of excitement in the particle physics community. However, there has recently been much discussion about uncertainties in the significance of the peak seen by the ATLAS experiment. In this note, we aim to estimate this significance using a range of possible parametrisations for the smooth diphoton background. We obtain a local significance close to that reported by ATLAS and further demonstrate that the significance of the excess is not substantially reduced when more complicated background f…
The ATLAS collaboration recently reported a $3σ$ excess in the leptonic-$Z+jets+E_{T}^{miss}$ channel. We intend to interpret this excess by squark pair production in the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM). The decay chain we employ is $\tilde{q} \to q \tildeχ_2^0 \to q \tildeχ_1^0 Z$, where $\tildeχ_1^0$ and $\tildeχ_2^0$ denote the lightest and the next-to-lightest neutralinos with singlino and bino as their dominant components respectively. Our simulations indicate that after considering the constraints from the ATLAS searches for $jets + E_{T}^{miss}$ signal the central …
We interpret the recent ATLAS multi-jet search results using 20.3 fb-1 data at sqrt(s)=8 TeV in the context of searching for excited quarks. Within the effective field theory framework, using the null results of that search, our analysis shows that the excited quark mass below 5 TeV can be excluded at the 95% confidence level. Our analysis also indicates that when the validation of effective field theory is considered, the limit can be largely compromised.
We classify the complete set of dimension-5 operators relevant for the resonant production of a singlet of spin 0 or 2 linearly coupled to the Standard Model (SM). We compute the decay width of such states as a function of the effective couplings, and provide the matching to various well-motivated New Physics scenarios. We then investigate the possibility that one of these neutral resonances be at the origin of the excess in diboson production recently reported by the ATLAS collaboration. We perform a shape analysis of the excess under full consideration of the systematic uncertainties to extr…
We use the framework of the p19MSSM to perform a fit to the mild excesses over the Standard Model background recently observed in three bins of the ATLAS 1-lepton + (b-)jets + MET search. We find a few types of spectra that can fit the emerging signal and at the same time are not excluded by other LHC searches. They can be grouped roughly in two categories. The first class is characterized by the presence of one stop or stop and sbottoms with mass in the ballpark of 700-800 GeV and a neutralino LSP of mass around 400 GeV, with or without the additional presence of an intermediate chargino. In …
We propose a new possible explanation of the ATLAS di-boson excess: that it is due to heavy resonant slepton production, followed by decay into di-smuons. The smuon has a mass not too far from the W and Z masses, and so it is easily confused with W or Z bosons after its subsequent decay into di-jets, through a supersymmetry violating and R-parity violating interaction. Such a scenario is not currently excluded by other constraints and remains to be definitively tested in Run II of the LHC. Such light smuons can easily simultaneously explain the discrepancy between the measurement of the anomal…
We provide an interpretation of the recent ATLAS diboson excess in terms of a class of supersymmetric models in which the scale of supersymmetry (SUSY) breaking is in the few TeV range. The particle responsible for the excess is the scalar superpartner of the Goldstone fermion associated with SUSY breaking, the sgoldstino. This scalar couples strongly to the Standard Model vector bosons and weakly to the fermions, with all coupling strengths determined by ratios of soft SUSY breaking parameters over the SUSY breaking scale. Explaining the ATLAS excess selects particular relations and ranges fo…
The ATLAS collaboration reported a 3sigma excess in the search of events containing on-Z dilepton, jets, and large missing momentum (MET) in the 8 TeV LHC run. Motivated by this excess, many models of new physics have been proposed. Recently, the ATLAS and CMS collaborations reported new results for similar Z+MET channels in the 13 TeV run. In this paper, we comprehensively discuss the consistency between the proposed models and the LHC results of Run 1 and Run 2. We find that in models with heavy gluino production, there is generically some tension between the 8 TeV and 13 TeV results. On the…
The ATLAS excess in fat jet pair production is kinematically compatible with the decay of a heavy resonance into two gauge bosons plus an extra particle. This hypothesis would explain the absence of such a large excess in the analogous CMS analysis of fat dijet final states, as well as the negative results of diboson resonance searches in the semi-leptonic decay modes. If the extra particle is the Higgs boson, this hypothesis might also explain -statistical fluctuations aside- why the CMS search for WH resonances in the semi-leptonic channel finds some excess while in the fully hadronic one it…
Recently the ATLAS experiment has reported 3.0 sigma excess in an on-Z signal region in searches for supersymmetric particles. We find that the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model can explain this excess by the production of gluinos which mainly decay via $\tilde{g} \to g \tildeχ^0_{2,3} \to g Z \tildeχ^0_{1}$ where $\tildeχ^0_{2,3}$ and $\tildeχ^0_1$ are the Higgsino and the singlino-like neutralinos, respectively. We show that the observed dark matter density is explained by the thermal relic density of the singlino-like neutralino, simultaneously. We also discuss the searches for …
ATLAS recently reported a $3σ$ excess in a leptonic-$Z+E_T^{\rm miss}$ channel. This was interpreted in the literature in a simplified General Gauge Mediation model containing a gluino, a higgsino next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP) and a gravitino lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP). We test the consistency of this explanation in lieu of the results of the corresponding search in CMS, and other LHC searches for New Physics. Due to non-decoupling effects from squarks the parameter space of these models is split into two regions; in one region additional leptons via top quark pro…
The recent results of 13 TeV ATLAS and CMS di-photon searches show an excess at di-photon invariant mass of 750 GeV. We look for possible explanation of this within minimal left right symmetric model (MLRSM). The possible candidate is a neutral Higgs of mass 750 GeV that can decay to di-photon via charged Higgs and right handed gauge boson loop. However, the cross-section is not consistent with the ATLAS and CMS results. We then discuss one possible variation of this model with universal seesaw for fermion masses that can explain this excess.
Motivated by ATLAS diboson excess around 2 TeV, we investigate a phenomenology of spin-1 resonances in a model where electroweak sector in the SM is weakly coupled to strong dynamics. The spin-1 resonances, W' and Z', are introduced as effective degrees of freedom of the dynamical sector. We explore several theoretical constraints by investigating the scalar potential of the model as well as the current bounds from the LHC and precision measurements. It is found that the main decay modes are V' -> VV and V' -> Vh, and the V' width is narrow enough so that the ATLAS diboson excess can be explai…
The ATLAS experiment has recently observed a 3-sigma excess in a channel with a leptonically decaying Z, jets, and ETmiss. It is tantalizing to interpret the signal as the first sign of a natural supersymmetric spectrum. We study such a possibility in a minimal model containing light stops and a neutralino LSP. The signal is characterized by a novel topology (compared to previous attempts) where the Z is emitted from a colored particle in the first step of a decay chain, namely t2 -> t1 Z which is characteristic of mixed stops. We show that the excess is compatible with a compressed stop spect…
Composite vector resonances in the triplet of the SM SU$(2)_{L}$ gauge group are a universal prediction of "natural" new physics models involving a new strongly-interacting sector and are therefore among the most plausible new particles that the LHC could discover. We consider the possibility that one such triplet could account for the ATLAS excess in the invariant-mass spectrum of boson-tagged jets and we assess the compatibility of this hypothesis with all other relevant resonance searches. We find that the hypothesis is not excluded and that the predicted signal is close to the expected sen…
The ATLAS collaboration has recently reported a 2.6 sigma excess in the search for a heavy resonance decaying into a pair of weak gauge bosons. Only fully hadronic final states are being looked for in the analysis. If the observed excess really originates from the gauge bosons' decays, other decay modes of the gauge bosons would inevitably leave a trace on other exotic searches. In this paper, we propose the use of the Z boson decay into a pair of neutrinos to test the excess. This decay leads to a very large missing energy and can be probed with conventional dark matter searches at the LHC. W…
We study an s-channel resonance $R$ as a viable candidate to fit the diboson excess reported by ATLAS. We compute the contribution of the $\sim 2$ TeV resonance $R$ to semileptonic and leptonic final states at 13 TeV LHC. To explain the absence of an excess in semileptonic channel, we explore the possibility where the particle $R$ decays to additional light scalars $X,X$ or $X,Y$. Modified analysis strategy has been proposed to study three particle final state of the resonance decay and to identify decay channels of $X$. Associated production of $R$ with gauge bosons has been studied in detail…
We consider the diphoton resonance at the 13 TeV LHC in a consistent model with new scalars and vector-like fermions added to the Standard Model (SM), which can be constructed from orbifold grand unified theories and string models. The gauge coupling unification can be achieved, neutrino masses can be generated radiatively, and electroweak vacuum stability problem can be solved. To explain the diphoton resonance, we study a spin-0 particle, and discuss various associated final states.
Recently the ATLAS collaboration reported a $3σ$ excess in the leptonic-$Z+jets+E_{T}^{miss}$ channel. This may be interpreted in the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM) by gluino pair production with the decay chain $\tilde{g} \to q \bar{q} \tildeχ_2^0 \to q \bar{q} Z \tildeχ_1^0$, where $\tildeχ_1^0$ and $\tildeχ_2^0$ denote the lightest and the next-to-lightest neutralinos with singlino and bino as their dominant components respectively. After exploring the relevant parameter space of the NMSSM by considering the constraints from the ATLAS searches for $jets + E_{T}^{miss}…
We present a calculation of Bayes-factors for the digamma resonance ($\digamma$) versus the SM in light of ATLAS 8 TeV 20.3/fb, 13 TeV 3.2/fb and 13 TeV 15.4/fb data, sidestepping any difficulties in interpreting significances in frequentist statistics. We matched, wherever possible, parameterisations in the ATLAS analysis. We calculated that the plausibility of the $\digamma$ versus the Standard Model increased by about eight in light of the 8 TeV 20.3/fb and 13 TeV 3.2/fb ATLAS data, somewhat justifying interest in $\digamma$ models. All told, however, in light of 15.4/fb data, the $\digamma…
Theoretical predictions for standard model (SM) processes involving top quarks, such as top quark-antiquark pair or single top production, depend on fundamental SM parameters like the strong coupling constant or the top quark mass. By confronting predictions with measurements performed at the ATLAS and CMS Collaboration using data collected at the CERN LHC in the second data taking period, these parameters can be determined precisely. In these proceedings, recent results measuring SM and top quark properties are presented.
Selected topics of the top-quark mass measurements in well-defined schemes are presented. The measurements have been performed using data recorded with the ATLAS and CMS detectors at the LHC at proton-proton centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV. Precision theoretical QCD calculations for both inclusive top-antitop quark pair production and top-antitop quark pair production with an additional jet to extract the top quark mass in the pole-mass scheme have been used.
We attempt to explain the recent ATLAS 3$σ$ excess of dilepton events with an invariant mass near $Z$ peak through the gluino-mediated sbottom production in a simplified scenario inspired by the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The additional $Z$ bosons can be produced through the cascade decay chain $\tilde{g} \to b \tilde{b}^{\dagger}_{1} \to b \bar{b} \tildeχ^{0}_{2,3} \to b \bar{b} \tildeχ^{0}_1 Z$, in which $\tilde b_1$ is the right-handed sbottom, $\tildeχ_1^0$ is the bino-like lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) and $\tildeχ_{2,3}^0$ are two nearly degenerate higgsino-li…
Polarization of strange quarks is preserved to a high degree when they hadronize into Lambda baryons, as observed in Z decays at LEP. This opens up the possibility for ATLAS and CMS to use strange-quark polarization measurements as a characterization tool for new physics scenarios that produce such quarks. Measurements in ttbar samples would be useful for obtaining additional information about the polarization transfer from the strange quark to the Lambda baryon. Already with 100/fb in Run 2, ttbar samples in ATLAS and CMS become competitive in sensitivity with the Z samples of the LEP experim…
Measurements of single top and rare top quark production may be sensitive to theories of physics beyond the standard model (SM), including those in which the energy scale of new physics is beyond the energies directly accessible at the Large Hadron Collider. Such models may be observable through signatures like forbidden SM interactions or deviations of the top quark's couplings from the SM predictions. An overview of recent searches from the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations is presented, with a focus on flavor-changing neutral currents.
Theoretical predictions of top-quark cross sections depend on the values of the parameters of the quantum chromodynamics Lagrangian, such as the strong coupling constant and the mass of the top quark, but also on parameters of the electroweak sector of the standard model and parton distribution functions. Comparisons between state-of-the-art calculations and recent measurements at the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the CERN LHC allow for the precise determination of these parameters. In this proceeding, the most recent results by the two collaborations are summarized and discussed.
The process $pp \to W^-c$ produces polarized charm quarks. The polarization is expected to be partly retained in $Λ_c$ baryons when those form in the $c$-quark hadronization. We argue that it will likely be possible for ATLAS and CMS to measure the $Λ_c$ polarization in the $W$+$c$ samples in Run 2 of the LHC. This can become the first measurement ever of a longitudinal polarization of charm quarks. Its results will provide a unique input to the understanding of polarization transfer in fragmentation. They will also allow applying the same measurement technique to other (e.g., new physics) sam…
With the absence of the direct detection of new physics and the large data set collected at the LHC, the search for indirect effects in precision measurements became popular. Effective field theories enable to interpret these effects that originate from physics manifested at currently unreachable energy scales in a model independent framework. In this report, an overview of new analyses performed by the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations in the field of top quark physics is given.
We demonstrate that the $3σ$ excess observed by ATLAS in the Z + MET channel can be explained within the context of the MSSM. Using the freedom inherent in the pMSSM, we perform a detailed analysis of the parameter space and find a scenario that describes the excess while simultaneously complying with all other search constraints from the Run I data at 7 and 8 TeV, including the Z + MET analysis by CMS. We generate a small sample of simplified models, using promising models from our existing pMSSM sample as seeds, and study their properties. The successful region is described by the production…
Fits to determine parton distribution functions using top-antitop, inclusive $W/Z$ boson and $W^{\pm}$ boson production measurements in association with jets from ATLAS, in combination with deep-inelastic scattering data from HERA, are presented. The ATLAS $W/Z$ boson data exhibit sensitivity to the valence quark distributions and the light quark sea composition, whereas the top-quark pair production data have sensitivity to the gluon distribution. The impact of the these data is increased by fitting several distributions simultaneously, with the full information on the systematic and statisti…
The dependence of jet shapes in $t\bar{t}$ events on the $b$-quark mass and the strong coupling is investigated. To this end, the Pythia Monte Carlo generator is used to produce samples of $t\bar{t}$ events in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 7 \ \mathrm{TeV}$, performing a scan over the values for the shower QCD scale $Λ_s$ and the $b$-quark mass $m_b$. The obtained jet shapes are compared with recently published data from the ATLAS collaboration. From fits to the light-jet data, the Monte Carlo shower scale is determined, while the $b$-quark mass is extracted using the $b$-jet shapes. The resu…
The production of $W$/$Z$-bosons in association with jets is an important test of perturbative QCD predictions and also yields information about the parton distribution functions of the proton. We present fits to determine PDFs using inclusive $W$/$Z$-boson and $W$/$Z$+jets measurements from the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. The ATLAS measurements are used in combination with deep-inelastic scattering data from HERA. An improved determination of the sea-quark densities at high Bjorken-$x$ is seen, while confirming a strange-quark density similar in size to the up- and down-sea-quark densities i…
We discuss the diboson excess seen by the ATLAS detector around 2 TeV in the LHC run I at $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV. We explore the possibility that such an excess can arise from a $Z'$ boson which acquires mass through a $U(1)_X$ Stueckelberg extension. The corresponding $Z'$ gauge boson is leptophobic with a mass of around 2 TeV and has interactions with $SU(2)_L$ Yang-Mills fields and gauge fields of the hypercharge. The analysis predicts $Z'$ decays into $WW$ and $ZZ$ as well as into $Zγ$. Further three-body as well as four-body decays of the $Z'$ such as $WWZ, WWγ, WWZZ$ etc are predicted. In the …
Being able to measure the polarization of quarks produced in various processes at the LHC would be of fundamental significance. Measuring the polarizations of quarks produced in new physics processes, once discovered, can provide crucial information about the new physics Lagrangian. In a series of recent papers, we have investigated how quark polarization measurements can be done in practice. The polarizations of heavy quarks (b and c) are expected to be largely preserved in the lightest baryons they hadronize into, the Lambda_b and Lambda_c, respectively. Furthermore, it is known experimental…
By applying the Error PDF Updating Method, we analyze the impact of the absolute and normalized single differential cross-sections for top-quark pair production data from the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the Large Hadron Collider, at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}= 8$ TeV, on the CT14HERA2 PDFs. We find that the top quark pair single differential distributions provide minor constraints on the CT14HERA2 gluon PDF when the nominal CT14HERA2 inclusive jet production data are included in the fit. Larger constraints on the gluon distribution are present when the jet data are removed (CT14HERA…
In 2012 the discovery of the Higgs boson by the ATLAS and CMS collaborations set a milestone in particle physics by finding the missing piece of the Standard Model. Nonetheless some questions are still open: the origin of the mass of the neutrino and finding the missing candidate for dark matter are some examples. One of the main issues with the Standard Model is the hierarchy problem which appears when trying to go to high energy scales at which the theory cannot accommodate corrections large enough to explain the observed nature. Vector-like quarks appear naturally in some non-supersymmetric…
