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Creators/Authors contains: "Ehsan, Muhammad"

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  1. Abstract Understanding the temporal variability of plate tectonics is key to unraveling how mantle convection transports heat, and one critical factor for the formation and evolution of plate boundaries is rheological “memory,” that is, the persistence of weak zones. Here, we analyze the impact of such damage memory in global, oceanic‐lithosphere‐only models of visco‐plastic mantle convection. Self‐consistently‐formed weak zones are found to be reactivated in distinct ways, and convection preferentially selects such damaged zones for new plate boundaries. Reactivation of damage zones increases the frequency of plate reorganizations, and hence reduces the dominant periods of surface heat loss. The inheritance of distributed lithospheric damage thus dominates global surface dynamics over any local boundary stabilizing effects of weakening. In nature, progressive generation of weak zones may thus counteract and perhaps overcome any effects of reduced convective vigor throughout planetary cooling, with implications for the frequency of orogeny and convective transport throughout Wilson cycles. 
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  2. A<sc>bstract</sc> A search for supersymmetry targeting the direct production of winos and higgsinos is conducted in final states with either two leptons (eorμ) with the same electric charge, or three leptons. The analysis uses 139 fb−1ofppcollision data at$$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 13 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider. No significant excess over the Standard Model expectation is observed. Simplified and complete models with and withoutR-parity conservation are considered. In topologies with intermediate states including eitherWhorWZpairs, wino masses up to 525 GeV and 250 GeV are excluded, respectively, for a bino of vanishing mass. Higgsino masses smaller than 440 GeV are excluded in a naturalR-parity-violating model with bilinear terms. Upper limits on the production cross section of generic events beyond the Standard Model as low as 40 ab are obtained in signal regions optimised for these models and also for anR-parity-violating scenario with baryon-number-violating higgsino decays into top quarks and jets. The analysis significantly improves sensitivity to supersymmetric models and other processes beyond the Standard Model that may contribute to the considered final states. 
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  3. A<sc>bstract</sc> A search for dark matter produced in association with a Higgs boson in final states with two hadronically decayingτ-leptons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis uses 139 fb−1of proton-proton collision data at$$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider between 2015 and 2018. No evidence of physics beyond the Standard Model is found. The results are interpreted in terms of a 2HDM+amodel featuring two scalar Higgs doublets and a pseudoscalar singlet field. Exclusion limits on the parameters of the model in selected benchmark scenarios are derived at 95% confidence level. Model-independent limits are also set on the visible cross-section for processes beyond the Standard Model producing missing transverse momentum in association with a Higgs boson decaying intoτ-leptons. 
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  4. Abstract A search for pair-produced vector-like quarks using events with exactly one lepton (eor$$\mu $$ μ ), at least four jets including at least oneb-tagged jet, and large missing transverse momentum is presented. Data from proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of$$\sqrt{s}=$$ s = 13 $$\text {TeV}$$ TeV , recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC from 2015 to 2018 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$$^{-1}$$ - 1 , are analysed. Vector-like partnersTandBof the top and bottom quarks are considered, as is a vector-likeXwith charge$$+5/3$$ + 5 / 3 , assuming their decay into aW,Z, or Higgs boson and a third-generation quark. No significant deviations from the Standard Model expectation are observed. Upper limits on the production cross-section ofTandBquark pairs as a function of their mass are derived for various decay branching ratio scenarios. The strongest lower limits on the masses are 1.59 $$\text {TeV}$$ TeV assuming mass-degenerate vector-like quarks and branching ratios corresponding to the weak-isospin doublet model, and 1.47 $$\text {TeV}$$ TeV (1.46 $$\text {TeV}$$ TeV ) for exclusive$$T \rightarrow Zt$$ T Z t ($$B/X \rightarrow Wt$$ B / X W t ) decays. In addition, lower limits on theTandBquark masses are derived for all possible branching ratios. 
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  5. A<sc>bstract</sc> This paper describes a search for the single production of an up-type vector-like quark (T) decaying asT→HtorT→Zt. The search utilises a dataset ofppcollisions at$$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 13 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector during the 2015–2018 data-taking period of the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1. Data are analysed in final states containing a single lepton with multiple jets andb-jets. The presence of boosted heavy resonances in the event is exploited to discriminate the signal from the Standard Model background. No significant excess above the Standard Model expectation is observed, and 95% CL upper limits are set on the production cross section ofTquarks in different decay channels. The results are interpreted in several benchmark scenarios to set limits on the mass and universal coupling strength (κ) of the vector-like quark. For singletTquarks,κvalues above 0.53 are excluded for all masses below 2.3 TeV. At a mass of 1.6 TeV,κvalues as low as 0.35 are excluded. ForTquarks in the doublet scenario, where the production cross section is much lower,κvalues above 0.72 are excluded for all masses below 1.7 TeV, and this exclusion is extended toκabove 0.55 for low masses around 1.0 TeV. 
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  6. A<sc>bstract</sc> Measurements of Higgs boson production cross-sections are carried out in the diphoton decay channel using 139 fb−1ofppcollision data at$$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. The analysis is based on the definition of 101 distinct signal regions using machine-learning techniques. The inclusive Higgs boson signal strength in the diphoton channel is measured to be$$ {1.04}_{-0.09}^{+0.10} $$ 1.04 0.09 + 0.10 . Cross-sections for gluon-gluon fusion, vector-boson fusion, associated production with aWorZboson, and top associated production processes are reported. An upper limit of 10 times the Standard Model prediction is set for the associated production process of a Higgs boson with a single top quark, which has a unique sensitivity to the sign of the top quark Yukawa coupling. Higgs boson production is further characterized through measurements of Simplified Template Cross-Sections (STXS). In total, cross-sections of 28 STXS regions are measured. The measured STXS cross-sections are compatible with their Standard Model predictions, with ap-value of 93%. The measurements are also used to set constraints on Higgs boson coupling strengths, as well as on new interactions beyond the Standard Model in an effective field theory approach. No significant deviations from the Standard Model predictions are observed in these measurements, which provide significant sensitivity improvements compared to the previous ATLAS results. 
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  7. A bstract A search for heavy Higgs bosons produced in association with a vector boson and decaying into a pair of vector bosons is performed in final states with two leptons (electrons or muons) of the same electric charge, missing transverse momentum and jets. A data sample of proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider between 2015 and 2018 is used. The data correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 139 fb − 1 . The observed data are in agreement with Standard Model background expectations. The results are interpreted using higher-dimensional operators in an effective field theory. Upper limits on the production cross-section are calculated at 95% confidence level as a function of the heavy Higgs boson’s mass and coupling strengths to vector bosons. Limits are set in the Higgs boson mass range from 300 to 1500 GeV, and depend on the assumed couplings. The highest excluded mass for a heavy Higgs boson with the coupling combinations explored is 900 GeV. Limits on coupling strengths are also provided. 
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  8. Abstract A study of the charge conjugation and parity ( $$\textit{CP}$$ CP ) properties of the interaction between the Higgs boson and $$\tau $$ τ -leptons is presented. The study is based on a measurement of $$\textit{CP}$$ CP -sensitive angular observables defined by the visible decay products of $$\tau $$ τ -leptons produced in Higgs boson decays. The analysis uses 139 fb $$^{-1}$$ - 1 of proton–proton collision data recorded at a centre-of-mass energy of $$\sqrt{s}= 13$$ s = 13  TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Contributions from $$\textit{CP}$$ CP -violating interactions between the Higgs boson and $$\tau $$ τ -leptons are described by a single mixing angle parameter $$\phi _{\tau }$$ ϕ τ in the generalised Yukawa interaction. Without constraining the $$H\rightarrow \tau \tau $$ H → τ τ signal strength to its expected value under the Standard Model hypothesis, the mixing angle $$\phi _{\tau }$$ ϕ τ is measured to be $$9^{\circ } \pm 16^{\circ }$$ 9 ∘ ± 16 ∘ , with an expected value of $$0^{\circ } \pm 28^{\circ }$$ 0 ∘ ± 28 ∘ at the 68% confidence level. The pure $$\textit{CP}$$ CP -odd hypothesis is disfavoured at a level of 3.4 standard deviations. The results are compatible with the predictions for the Higgs boson in the Standard Model. 
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  9. A bstract A search for Higgs boson pair production in events with two b -jets and two τ -leptons is presented, using a proton–proton collision dataset with an integrated luminosity of 139 fb − 1 collected at $$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 13 TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Higgs boson pairs produced non-resonantly or in the decay of a narrow scalar resonance in the mass range from 251 to 1600 GeV are targeted. Events in which at least one τ -lepton decays hadronically are considered, and multivariate discriminants are used to reject the backgrounds. No significant excess of events above the expected background is observed in the non-resonant search. The largest excess in the resonant search is observed at a resonance mass of 1 TeV, with a local (global) significance of 3 . 1 σ (2 . 0 σ ). Observed (expected) 95% confidence-level upper limits are set on the non-resonant Higgs boson pair-production cross-section at 4.7 (3.9) times the Standard Model prediction, assuming Standard Model kinematics, and on the resonant Higgs boson pair-production cross-section at between 21 and 900 fb (12 and 840 fb), depending on the mass of the narrow scalar resonance. 
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  10. Abstract This paper presents a search for dark matter,$$\chi $$ χ , using events with a single top quark and an energeticWboson. The analysis is based on proton–proton collision data collected with the ATLAS experiment at$$\sqrt{s}=$$ s = 13 TeV during LHC Run 2 (2015–2018), corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$$^{-1}$$ - 1 . The search considers final states with zero or one charged lepton (electron or muon), at least oneb-jet and large missing transverse momentum. In addition, a result from a previous search considering two-charged-lepton final states is included in the interpretation of the results. The data are found to be in good agreement with the Standard Model predictions and the results are interpreted in terms of 95% confidence-level exclusion limits in the context of a class of dark matter models involving an extended two-Higgs-doublet sector together with a pseudoscalar mediator particle. The search is particularly sensitive to on-shell production of the charged Higgs boson state,$$H^{\pm }$$ H ± , arising from the two-Higgs-doublet mixing, and its semi-invisible decays via the mediator particle,a:$$H^{\pm } \rightarrow W^\pm a (\rightarrow \chi \chi )$$ H ± W ± a ( χ χ ) . Signal models with$$H^{\pm }$$ H ± masses up to 1.5 TeV andamasses up to 350 GeV are excluded assuming a$$\tan \beta $$ tan β value of 1. For masses ofaof 150 (250) GeV,$$\tan \beta $$ tan β values up to 2 are excluded for$$H^{\pm }$$ H ± masses between 200 (400) GeV and 1.5 TeV. Signals with$$\tan \beta $$ tan β values between 20 and 30 are excluded for$$H^{\pm }$$ H ± masses between 500 and 800 GeV. 
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