BROOKS, WILLIAM K.

The observation of the electroweak production of single-top-quarks is made using 255 pb−1 of proton-proton collision data recorded at s√=5.02 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. An event selection is used to identify single-top-quark candidates arising from t-channel production with the top quark decaying semi-leptonically. Events passing the selection are then used to measure the inclusive cross-section for the combined production of single-top-quarks and antiquarks, σ(tq+t¯q), and the ratio Rt between these two. They are measured to be σ(tq+t¯q)=27.1+4.4−4.1(stat.)+4.4−3.7(syst.) pb and Rt=2.73+1.43−0.82(stat.)+1.01−0.29(syst.). The individual single-top-quark (tq) and single-top-antiquark (t¯q) production cross-sections are measured to be σ(tq)=19.8+3.9−3.1(stat.)+2.9−2.2(syst.) pb and σ(t¯q)=7.3+3.2−2.1(stat.)+2.8−1.5(syst.) pb. All measurements are in good agreement with the Standard Model predictions.

Angular correlations between heavy quarks provide a unique probe of the quark-gluon plasma created in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions. Results are presented of a measurement of the azimuthal angle correlations between muons originating from semileptonic decays of heavy quarks produced in 5.02 TeV Pb+Pb and 𝑝⁢𝑝 collisions at the LHC. The muons are measured with transverse momenta and pseudorapidities satisfying 𝑝𝜇T>4  GeV and |𝜂𝜇|<2.4, respectively. The distributions of azimuthal angle separation Δ⁢𝜙 for muon pairs having pseudorapidity separation |Δ⁢𝜂|>0.8, are measured in different Pb+Pb centrality intervals and compared to the same distribution measured in 𝑝⁢𝑝 collisions at the same center-of-mass energy. Results are presented separately for muon pairs with opposite-sign charges, same-sign charges, and all pairs. A clear peak is observed in all Δ⁢𝜙 distributions at Δ⁢𝜙∼𝜋, consistent with the parent heavy-quark pairs being produced via hard-scattering processes. The widths of that peak, characterized using Cauchy-Lorentz fits to the Δ⁢𝜙 distributions, are found to not vary significantly as a function of Pb+Pb collision centrality and are similar for 𝑝⁢𝑝 and Pb+Pb collisions. This observation will provide important constraints on theoretical descriptions of heavy-quark interactions with the quark-gluon plasma.

ATLAS measured the centrality dependence of the dijet yield using 165  nb−1 of 𝑝+Pb data collected at √𝑠NN=8.16  TeV in 2016. The event centrality, which reflects the 𝑝+Pb impact parameter, is characterized by the total transverse energy registered in the Pb-going side of the forward calorimeter. The central-to-peripheral ratio of the scaled dijet yields, 𝑅CP, is evaluated, and the results are presented as a function of variables that reflect the kinematics of the initial hard parton scattering process. The 𝑅CP shows a scaling with the Bjorken 𝑥 of the parton originating from the proton, 𝑥𝑝, while no such trend is observed as a function of 𝑥Pb. This analysis provides unique input to understanding the role of small proton spatial configurations in 𝑝+Pb collisions by covering parton momentum fractions from the valence region down to 𝑥𝑝∼10−3 and 𝑥Pb∼4×10−4.