In these proceedings we present the latest results from ALICE on direct photon and light neutral meson production in p$-$Pb and Pb$-$Pb collisions. The direct photon excess ratio $R_γ$ in different charged particle multiplicity classes of p$-$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\tiny{NN}}}=5.02\,\mathrm{TeV}$ is shown. In addition, we present the direct photon elliptic flow coefficient $v_2$ in central and semicentral events of Pb$-$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\tiny{NN}}}=2.76\,\mathrm{TeV}$. An outlook on ongoing and future measurements is given.
This is a proceeding of the CERN Latin American School of High-Energy physics that took place in the beautiful city of Natal, northern Brazil, in March 2011. In this paper I present a review of the main topics associated with the study of Heavy Ion Collisions, intended for students starting or interested in the field. It is impossible to summarize in a few pages the large amount of information that is available today, after a decade of operations of the RHIC accelerator and the beginning of the LHC operations. Thus, I had to choose some of the results and theories in order to present the main …
The LHC physics era is about to commence; here we discuss a complementary physics program that would be realized at a high luminosity flavor factory. A flavor factory experiment can search for new physics in CP asymmetries, inclusive decay processes, rare leptonic processes, absolute branching fractions, and other measurements that are challenging or not feasible at the LHC. Such measurements would provide good sensitivity to new physics phases, the presence of a charged Higgs, and supersymmetric couplings. The charged Higgs mass range probed is similar to that accessible at the LHC.
This thesis discusses recent advances in precision calculations of quantum chromodynamics and their application to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) physics program and beyond.
The status of the global fits of nuclear parton distributions (nPDFs) is reviewed. In addition to comparing the contemporary analyses of nPDFs, difficulties and controversies posed by the neutrino-nucleus deeply inelastic scattering data is overviewed. At the end, the first dijet data from the LHC proton+lead collisions is briefly discussed.
We present the results for direct photon and neutral pion production obtained from proton-proton and lead-lead collisions in the ALICE experiment. Measurement of neutral pions in pp collisions allows to test the validity of QCD-inspired models. The study of neutral pion yields in Pb-Pb collisions permits to study the medium-induced suppression relative to the pp case. The yield of direct photons is compared to perturbative QCD calculations. In the case of central Pb-Pb collisions the observed excess of photons below 4 GeV/c is used to find the effective temperature of the matter.
These lectures give a topical review of heavy flavour physics, in particular \CP violation and rare decays, from an experimental point of view. They describe the ongoing motivation to study heavy flavour physics in the LHC era, the current status of the field emphasising key results from previous experiments, some selected topics in which new results are expected in the near future, and a brief look at future projects.
Although searches for new physics at the CERN Large Hadron Collider will probably dominate the the agenda of the experimental high energy physics community during the next decade or more, high-intensity experiments at the tau-charm and beauty thresholds will continue to play important complementary roles. These include the establishment of stringent constraints on proposed theories for beyond-the-Standard-Model physics and unique opportunities to address some new physics scenarios that are inaccessible at the LHC. In addition, in the event that the LHC does discover some new phenomena, high se…
We present the measurement of light neutral mesons, $π^{0}$ and $η$, in pp collisions at different center-of-mass energies obtained with the ALICE experiment at the LHC. The $π^{0}$ and $η$ mesons are measured via photons reconstructed by the electromagnetic calorimeters and the central tracking system. The invariant cross-section of $π^{0}$ and $η$ mesons are measured in a broad $p_{\rm T}$ range at $\sqrt{s} = 0.9, 2.76, 7, 5.02$ and 8 TeV. The spectra of $π^{0}$ and $η$ mesons measured in pp collisions at different collision energies show $x_{\rm T}$-scaling at high $p_{\rm T}$ and violatio…
We have just entered a new round in the testing of the flavour sector of the Standard Model through high-precision measurements of B-meson decays. A particularly exciting aspect is the exploration of the B_s-meson system at LHCb. We focus on two particularly promising probes of new physics which may give us first solid evidence for New Physics at the LHC: the strongly suppressed rare decay B_s^0 -> mu^+mu^- and CP-violating effects in the B_s^0 -> J/psi phi channel. We discuss recent theoretical developments related to these measurements and shall also sketch other highlights of the B-physics …
We give a status report on quark flavour physics in view of the latest data from the B factories and the LHC, and discuss the impact of the latest experimental results on new physics in the MFV framework. We also show some examples of the implications in supersymmetry.
Selected results of searches for neutral long-lived particles with displaced and delayed jets, trackless jets and emerging jets, as well as displaced muons, obtained with data recorded at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV by the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations during LHC's Run 2 are presented, as well as challenges and techniques.
We describe recent developments of the public computer code HiggsBounds. In particular, these include the incorporation of LHC Higgs search results from Run 2 at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, and an updated and extended framework for the theoretical input that accounts for improved Higgs cross section and branching ratio predictions and new search channels. We furthermore discuss an improved method used in HiggsBounds to approximately reconstruct the exclusion likelihood for LHC searches for non-standard Higgs bosons decaying to $ττ$ final states. We describe in detail the new and updated…
Precision measurements in nuclear beta decay offer a sensitive window to search for new physics beyond the standard electroweak model and allow also the determination of the fundamental weak vector coupling in processes involving the lightest quarks. Searches for new physics are also a strong motivation for experiments carried out at the high energy frontier reached at the most powerful particle colliders. It is instructive to confront results from the low energy and the high energy frontiers in order to look for possible complementarities and orient new avenues for experiments at low energies…
We perform an up-to-date global fit of top quark effective theory to experimental data from the Tevatron, and from LHC Runs I and II. Experimental data includes total cross-sections up to 13 TeV, as well as differential distributions, for both single top and pair production. We also include the top quark width, charge asymmetries, and polarisation information from top decay products. We present bounds on the coefficients of dimension six operators, and examine the interplay between inclusive and differential measurements, and Tevatron / LHC data. All results are currently in good agreement wit…
We update the global fit to electroweak precision observables, including the effect of the latest measurements at hadron colliders of the $W$ and top-quark masses and the effective leptonic weak mixing angle. We comment on the impact of these measurements in terms of constraints on new physics. We also update the bounds derived from the fit to the Higgs-boson signal strengths, including the observables measured at the LHC Run 2, and compare the improvements with respect to the 7 and 8 TeV results.
Under the hypothesis that the MSSM neutralino accounts for the observed dark matter density, we investigate how light this particle is still allowed to be after the latest LHC data. In particular, we discuss the impact of searches for events with multiple taus and missing transverse momentum, which are a generic prediction of the light neutralino scenario.
High Energy Physics (HEP) experiments rely on the networks as one of the critical parts of their infrastructure both within the participating laboratories and sites as well as globally to interconnect the sites, data centers and experiments instrumentation. Network virtualisation and programmable networks are two key enablers that facilitate agile, fast and more economical network infrastructures as well as service development, deployment and provisioning.Adoption of these technologies by HEP sites and experiments will allow them to design more scalable and robust networks while decreasing the…
We study the prospects of probing large extra dimension model at the LHC through neutral triple gauge boson production processes. In theories with extra dimensions these processes result from the exchange of a tower of massive graviton modes between the SM particles. We consider γγγ, γγZ, γZ Z and ZZZ production processes, and present our results for various kinematic distributions at the LHC for \sqrt{S}=14 TeV.
We present a detailed phenomenological analysis of single-inclusive hadron production at the CERN-LHC in both proton-proton and proton-lead collisions. First data from the LHC experiments on charged hadron spectra are compared to next-to-leading order QCD expectations, and predictions are made for identified pion, kaon, and proton distributions differential in transverse momentum and rapidity for LHC energies from 900 GeV to 14 TeV. The results are obtained with the latest sets of vacuum fragmentation functions based on global QCD analyses, and recently proposed medium modified fragmentation f…
The inclusive production rate of neutral pions in the rapidity range greater than $y=8.9$ has been measured by the Large Hadron Collider forward (LHCf) experiment during LHC $\sqrt{s}=7$\,TeV proton-proton collision operation in early 2010. This paper presents the transverse momentum spectra of the neutral pions. The spectra from two independent LHCf detectors are consistent with each other and serve as a cross check of the data. The transverse momentum spectra are also compared with the predictions of several hadronic interaction models that are often used for high energy particle physics and…
We address the question how light the lightest MSSM neutralino can be as dark matter candidate in a scenario where all supersymmetric scalar particles are heavy. The hypothesis that the neutralino accounts for the observed dark matter density sets strong requirements on the supersymmetric spectrum, thus providing an handle for collider tests. In particular for a lightest neutralino below 100 GeV the relic density constraint translates into an upper bound on the Higgsino mass parameter $μ$ in case all supersymmetric scalar particles are heavy. One can define a simplified model that highlights o…
This document briefly reviews recent short-range gravity experiments that were performed at below laboratory scales to test the Newtonian inverse square law of gravity. To compare sensitivities of these measurements, estimates using the conventional Yukawa parametrization are introduced. Since these experiments were triggered by the prediction of the large extra-dimension model, experiments performed at different length scales are compared with this prediction. In this paper, a direct comparison between laboratory-scale experiments and the LHC results is presented for the first time. A laborat…
We present the first attempt to use a new method to measure CP violation in Dalitz plots. This method is unbinned, model independent and has a greater sensitivity to CP violating effects than binned methods. Preliminary studies have been made using the three-body decays $D^0 \rightarrow K_\mathrm{S}^0 h^+ h^-$ and $D^0 \rightarrow h^+ h^- π^0$, which are especially challenging since there is one neutral particle in each of the final states. An attempt to visualise where CP violation occurs in Dalitz plots is also presented.
When a research infrastructure is funded and implemented, new information and new publications are created. This new information is the measurable output of discovery process. In this paper, we describe the impact of infrastructure for physics experiments in terms of publications and citations. In particular, we consider the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments (ATLAS, CMS, ALICE, LHCb) and compare them to the Large Electron Positron Collider (LEP) experiments (ALEPH, DELPHI, L3, OPAL) and the Tevatron experiments (CDF, D0). We provide an overview of the scientific output of these projects …
We present a new approach to identification of boosted neutral particles using Electromagnetic Calorimeter (ECAL) of the LHCb detector. The identification of photons and neutral pions is currently based on the geometric parameters which characterise the expected shape of energy deposition in the calorimeter. This allows to distinguish single photons in the electromagnetic calorimeter from overlapping photons produced from high momentum $π^0$ decays. The novel approach proposed here is based on applying machine learning techniques to primary calorimeter information, that are energies collected …
We present the discovery prospects for a Z' resonance and some expected results for Z' diagnostic measurements at the LHC. The discovery reach is highly dependent on the energy and luminosities that may be attained at the LHC, and a number of energy and integrated luminosity scenarios are presented. In addition, the use of third generation quark final states for distinguishing between models and for measuring a forward-backward asymmetry is explored.
Flavour-changing neutral-current interactions of the top quark can be searched for in top-quark pair production with one top quark decaying to an up-type quark and a neutral boson, and they can be searched for in the single production of a top quark in association with such a boson. Both processes interfere if an additional up-type quark is produced in the case of single production. The impact of these interference effects on searches for flavour-changing neutral currents at the LHC is studied for the case where the neutral boson is a photon or a $Z$ boson. Interference effects are found to be…
In this paper, triple neutral electroweak gauge boson production processes, viz. γγγ, γγZ, γZZ and ZZZ productions merged to 1-jet have been studied at the leading order in QCD in the context of Randall-Sundrum model at the LHC with center of mass energy \sqrt{S}=13 TeV. Decay of Z bosons into lepton-pairs has been considered. We present a selection of kinematical distributions matched to parton shower and show their deviation from the SM results as a result of the RS model. The uncertainties as a result of the factorization and renormalization scales are also presented.
The search for the production of weakly-interacting SUSY particles at the LHC is crucial for testing supersymmetry in relation to dark matter. Decays of neutralinos into Higgs bosons occur over some significant part of the SUSY parameter space and represent the most important source of $h$ boson production in SUSY decay chains in the MSSM. We study h production in neutralino decays using scans of the phenomenological MSSM. Whilst in constrained MSSM scenarios the decay chi^0_2 -> h chi^0_1 is the dominant channel, this does not hold in more general MSSM scenarios. On the other hand, the chi^0_…
We investigate the current status of the light neutralino dark matter scenario within the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) taking into account latest results from the LHC. A discussion of the relevant constraints, in particular from the dark matter relic abundance, leads us to a manageable simplified model defined by a subset of MSSM parameters. Within this simplified model we reinterpret a recent search for electroweak supersymmetric particle production based on a signature including multi-taus plus missing transverse momentum performed by the ATLAS collaboration. In this way we d…
Ongoing LHC searches for the standard model Higgs Boson in WW or ZZ decay modes strongly constrain the top-Higgs state predicted in many models with new dynamics that preferentially affects top quarks. Such a state couples strongly to top-quarks, and is therefore produced through gluon fusion at a rate that can be greatly enhanced relative to the rate for the standard model Higgs boson. As we discuss in this talk, a top-Higgs state with mass less than 300 GeV is excluded at 95% CL if the associated top-pion has a mass of 150 GeV, and the constraint is even stronger if the mass of the top-pion …
We review recent progress in the determination of the parton distribution functions (PDFs) of the proton, with emphasis on the applications for precision phenomenology at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). First of all, we introduce the general theoretical framework underlying the global QCD analysis of the quark and gluon internal structure of protons. We then present a detailed overview of the hard-scattering measurements, and the corresponding theory predictions, that are used in state-of-the-art PDF fits. We emphasize here the role that higher-order QCD and electroweak corrections play in th…
The model independent bounds on new neutral vector resonances masses, couplings and widths presented at arxiv:1112.0316 are updated with an integrated luminosity of L=4.7 fb^-1 from ATLAS and L=4.6 fb^-1 from CMS. These exclusion limits correspond to the most stringent existing bounds on the production of new neutral spin-1 resonances that decay to electroweak gauge boson pairs and that are associated to the electroweak symmetry breaking sector in several extensions of the Standard Model.
We present LO, NLO and NNLO sets of parton distribution functions (PDFs) of the proton determined from global analyses of the available hard scattering data. These MMHT2014 PDFs supersede the `MSTW2008' parton sets, but are obtained within the same basic framework. We include a variety of new data sets, from the LHC, updated Tevatron data and the HERA combined H1 and ZEUS data on the total and charm structure functions. We also improve the theoretical framework of the previous analysis. These new PDFs are compared to the `MSTW2008' parton sets. In most cases the PDFs, and the predictions, are …
We analyze the effects of the s-channel Higgs bosons exchange on the charginos and neutralinos-pair production in proton-proton collision at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the following channels: $pp \to \Cha^+\Cha^-/\Neu^0\Neu^0 + X$, within the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM). Assuming the usual GUT relation between $M_1$ and $M_2$ at the weak scale, we found that substantial enhancement can be obtained through s-channel Higgs bosons exchange in the mixed regime where $M_2 \sim |μ|$ with moderate to large $\tanβ$ at the resonance of the heavy Higgs bosons. By Combining …
It was shown in a previous study that a lightest neutralino with mass below 30 GeV was severely constrained in the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), unless it annihilates via a light stau and thus yields the observed dark matter abundance. In such a scenario, while the stau is the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP), the charginos and the other neutralinos as well as sleptons of the first two families are also likely to be not too far above the mass bounds laid down by the Large Electron Positron (LEP) collider. As the branching ratios of decays of the charginos and the…
We study the interplay between a soft muon Yukawa coupling generated radiatively with the trilinear A-terms of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) and the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. In the absence of a tree-level muon Yukawa coupling the lightest smuon mass is predicted to be in the range between 750 GeV and 2700 GeV at 2 sigma, if the bino mass M_1 is below 1 TeV. Therefore, a detection of a smuon (in conjunction with a sub-TeV bino) at the LHC would directly imply a non-zero muon Yukawa coupling in the MSSM superpotential. Inclusion of slepton flavor mixing could in …
Parton distributions are an essential ingredient of the LHC program. PDFs are relevant for precision Standard Model measurements, for Higgs boson characterization as well as for New Physics searches. In this contribution I review recent progress in the determination of the parton distributions of the proton during the last year. Important developments include the impact of new LHC measurements to pin down poorly known PDFs, studies of theoretical uncertainties, higher order calculations for processes relevant for PDF determinations, PDF benchmarking exercises with LHC data, as well as methodol…
The top quark is the heaviest of the six quarks of the Standard Model. Precise knowledge of its mass is important for imposing constraints on a number of physics processes, including interactions of the as yet unobserved Higgs boson. The Higgs boson is the only missing particle of the Standard Model, central to the electroweak symmetry breaking mechanism and generation of particle masses. In this Review, experimental measurements of the top quark mass accomplished at the Tevatron, a proton-antiproton collider located at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, are described. Topologies of to…
A U(1)' or Z' is generic in many scenarios of physics beyond the Standard Model, such as string theory compactifications, GUTs, extra-dimensions, compositeness, dynamical electroweak symmetry breaking, dark-sector models, etc. We study the potential of probing a TeV-scale Z' with electroweak couplings in future experiments. In particular, we focus on two scenarios: (1) If a Z' is discovered at the LHC, what is the potential of measuring its mass and width and to distinguish between benchmark models utilizing various observables, especially asymmetries, at a high luminosity LHC and the ILC. (2)…
The program HiggsSignals confronts the predictions of models with arbitrary Higgs sectors with the available Higgs signal rate and mass measurements, resulting in a likelihood estimate. A new version of the program, HiggsSignals-2, is presented that contains various improvements in its functionality and applicability. In particular, the new features comprise improvements in the theoretical input framework and the handling of possible complexities of beyond-the-SM Higgs sectors, as well as the incorporation of experimental results in the form of Simplified Template Cross Section (STXS) measurem…
The two-Higgs-doublet model contains extra Higgs bosons, with mass ranges spanning from several hundred GeV to about 1 TeV. We study the possible experimental searches for the neutral Higgs bosons of $A$ and $H$ at the future high-luminosity LHC runs. Besides of the conventional search modes that are inspired by the supersymmetric models, we discuss two search modes which were not quite addressed previously. They are the decay modes of $A\to hZ$ and $A/H \to t \bar t$. Thanks to the technique of tagging boosted objects of SM-like Higgs bosons and top quarks, we show the improved mass reaches f…
The prospects of searching for the flavor changing neutral current effect in the decay of $t\to H c, H\to ττ$ are investigated with the simulated $p-p$ collision data for the ATLAS detector at the LHC, where the Higgs mass is assumed to be 125~GeV. A fit based on the constraints from the Higgs mass and the tau decay kinematics is performed for each event, which improves significantly the Higgs and top mass reconstruction and helps the signal-background separation. Boosted Decision Trees discriminants are developed to achieve an optimal sensitivity of searching for the FCNC signal. An expected …
Several extensions of the Standard Model predict the existence of new neutral spin-1 resonances associated to the electroweak symmetry breaking sector. Using the data from ATLAS (with integrated luminosity of L=1.02 fb^{-1}) and CMS (with integrated luminosity of L=1.55 fb^{-1}) on the production of W+W- pairs through the process pp -> l^+ l^{\prime -} \sla{E}_T, we place model independent bounds on these new vector resonances masses, couplings and widths. Our analyses show that the present data excludes new neutral vector resonances with masses up to 1-2.3 TeV depending on their couplings and…
Interest in searches for heavy neutral leptons (HNLs) at the LHC has increased considerably in the past few years. In the minimal scenario, HNLs are produced and decay via their mixing with active neutrinos in the Standard Model (SM) spectrum. However, many SM extensions with HNLs have been discussed in the literature, which sometimes change expectations for LHC sensitivities drastically. In the $N_R$SMEFT, one extends the SM effective field theory with operators including SM singlet fermions, which allows to study HNL phenomenology in a "model independent" way. In this paper, we study the sen…
We make use of recently released parton density functions (PDFs) with threshold-resummation improvement to consistently calculate theoretical predictions for neutralino and chargino pair production at next-to-leading order and next-to-leading logarithmic accuracy. The updated cross sections have been computed for experimentally relevant higgsino and gaugino search channels at the ongoing Run II of the LHC. A factorisation method is applied to exploit the smaller PDF uncertainty of the global PDF sets and to avoid complications arising in the refitting of threshold-resummation improved PDF repl…
The Run 2 data taking period of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in years 2015-2018 has presented a great opportunity to search for physics beyond the standard model (BSM). It will be followed by the Run 3 period starting in 2022, and by the High-Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) era starting in late 2020s, where the latter promises an unprecedented wealth of physics prospects due to very high expected integrated luminosity and improved detector features. The ATLAS, CMS and LHCb experiments pursued a rich physics program in Run 2, and are already assessing the physics expectations at the HL-LHC e…
We investigate the potential reach of a search for a long-lived/prompt dark vector boson $Z_D$, also called dark $Z$, and a prompt dark Higgs boson $h_D$ through exotic decays of the observed Higgs boson $h$ into either $Z_DZ_D$, $h_Dh_D$, or $ZZ_D$ with $Z$ being the hypercharge gauge boson. The $Z_D$ production through the Higgs portal is completed via one of two mechanisms, kinetic mixing of $Z_D$ with $Z$ and the mixing of $h_D$ with $h$. All production modes of $h$ are considered, while the branching fractions are calculated in Monte Carlo simulation using the {\textsc{MadGraph5}}\_aMC@NL…
We investigate the observables available in the angular distribution of B to K* mu+ mu- to identify those suitable for measurements in the first few years of LHC data taking. As experimental uncertainties will dominate, we focus on observables that are simple to measure, while maximizing the potential for discovery. There are three observables that may be extracted by counting signal events as a function of one or two decay angles and correspond to large features of the full angular distribution in the Standard Model: Afb, Fl, and S5. Two of these are well known in the experimental community; …
We study the constraints on $t\to u$ flavor changing neutral Higgs (FCNH) coupling, and how it may be explored further at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In the general two Higgs doublet model, such transitions can be induced by a nonzero $ρ_{tu}$ Yukawa coupling. We show that such couplings can be constrained by existing searches at the LHC for $m_H$, $m_A$ and, $m_{H^+}$ in the sub-TeV range, where $H$, $A$ and $H^+$ are the exotic $CP$-even, $CP$-odd and charged scalars. We find that a dedicated $ug\to t H/tA \to t t \bar u$ search can probe the available parameter space of $ρ_{tu}$ down t…
