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This paper presents a search for massive, charged, long-lived particles with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider using an integrated luminosity of $$140~fb^{−1}$$ of proton-proton collisions at $$\sqrt{s}=13$$~TeV. These particles are expected to move significantly slower than the speed of light. In this paper, two signal regions provide complementary sensitivity. In one region, events are selected with at least one charged-particle track with high transverse momentum, large specific ionisation measured in the pixel detector, and time of flight to the hadronic calorimeter inconsistent with the speed of light. In the other region, events are selected with at least two tracks of opposite charge which both have a high transverse momentum and an anomalously large specific ionisation. The search is sensitive to particles with lifetimes greater than about 3 ns with masses ranging from 200 GeV to 3 TeV. The results are interpreted to set constraints on the supersymmetric pair production of long-lived R-hadrons, charginos and staus, with mass limits extending beyond those from previous searches in broad ranges of lifetime 

Abstract We present the results of a search for gravitational-wave transients associated with core-collapse supernova SN 2023ixf, which was observed in the galaxy Messier 101 via optical emission on 2023 May 19, during the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA 15th Engineering Run. We define a five-day on-source window during which an accompanying gravitational-wave signal may have occurred. No gravitational waves have been identified in data when at least two gravitational-wave observatories were operating, which covered ∼14% of this five-day window. We report the search detection efficiency for various possible gravitational-wave emission models. Considering the distance to M101 (6.7 Mpc), we derive constraints on the gravitational-wave emission mechanism of core-collapse supernovae across a broad frequency spectrum, ranging from 50 Hz to 2 kHz, where we assume the gravitational-wave emission occurred when coincident data are available in the on-source window. Considering an ellipsoid model for a rotating proto-neutron star, our search is sensitive to gravitational-wave energy 1 × 10⁻⁴M_⊙c²and luminosity 2.6 × 10⁻⁴M_⊙c²s⁻¹for a source emitting at 82 Hz. These constraints are around an order of magnitude more stringent than those obtained so far with gravitational-wave data. The constraint on the ellipticity of the proto-neutron star that is formed is as low as 1.08, at frequencies above 1200 Hz, surpassing past results. 

Abstract Continuous gravitational waves (CWs) emission from neutron stars carries information about their internal structure and equation of state, and it can provide tests of general relativity. We present a search for CWs from a set of 45 known pulsars in the first part of the fourth LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA observing run, known as O4a. We conducted a targeted search for each pulsar using three independent analysis methods considering single-harmonic and dual-harmonic emission models. We find no evidence of a CW signal in O4a data for both models and set upper limits on the signal amplitude and on the ellipticity, which quantifies the asymmetry in the neutron star mass distribution. For the single-harmonic emission model, 29 targets have the upper limit on the amplitude below the theoretical spin-down limit. The lowest upper limit on the amplitude is 6.4 × 10⁻²⁷for the young energetic pulsar J0537−6910, while the lowest constraint on the ellipticity is 8.8 × 10⁻⁹for the bright nearby millisecond pulsar J0437−4715. Additionally, for a subset of 16 targets, we performed a narrowband search that is more robust regarding the emission model, with no evidence of a signal. We also found no evidence of nonstandard polarizations as predicted by the Brans–Dicke theory. 

This report presents a comprehensive collection of searches for new physics performed by the ATLAS Collaboration during the Run~2 period of data taking at the Large Hadron Collider, from 2015 to 2018, corresponding to about 140~$$^{-1}$$ of $$\sqrt{s}=13$$~TeV proton--proton collision data. These searches cover a variety of beyond-the-standard model topics such as dark matter candidates, new vector bosons, hidden-sector particles, leptoquarks, or vector-like quarks, among others. Searches for supersymmetric particles or extended Higgs sectors are explicitly excluded as these are the subject of separate reports by the Collaboration. For each topic, the most relevant searches are described, focusing on their importance and sensitivity and, when appropriate, highlighting the experimental techniques employed. In addition to the description of each analysis, complementary searches are compared, and the overall sensitivity of the ATLAS experiment to each type of new physics is discussed. Summary plots and statistical combinations of multiple searches are included whenever possible. 

Top-quark pair production is observed in lead–lead ( $\mathrm{Pb}+\mathrm{Pb}$) collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=5.02\mathrm{TeV}$at the Large Hadron Collider with the ATLAS detector. The data sample was recorded in 2015 and 2018, amounting to an integrated luminosity of $1.9{\mathrm{nb}}^{-1}$. Events with exactly one electron and one muon and at least two jets are selected. Top-quark pair production is measured with an observed (expected) significance of 5.0 (4.1) standard deviations. The measured top-quark pair production cross section is ${\sigma }_{t\overline{t}}=3.6{}_{-0.9}^{+1.0}\left(\mathrm{stat}\right){}_{-0.5}^{+0.8}\left(\mathrm{syst}\right)\mathrm{\mu }\mathrm{b}$, with a total relative uncertainty of 31%, and is consistent with theoretical predictions using a range of different nuclear parton distribution functions. The observation of this process consolidates the evidence of the existence of all quark flavors in the preequilibrium stage of the quark-gluon plasma at very high energy densities, similar to the conditions present in the early Universe. © 2025 CERN, for the ATLAS Collaboration2025CERN 

A<sc>bstract</sc> A study of the Higgs boson decaying into bottom quarks (H→$$ b\overline{b} $$ $b\overline{b}$) and charm quarks (H→$$ c\overline{c} $$ $c\overline{c}$) is performed, in the associated production channel of the Higgs boson with aWorZboson, using 140 fb⁻¹of proton-proton collision data at$$ \sqrt{s} $$ $\sqrt{s}$= 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector. The individual production ofWHandZHwithH→$$ b\overline{b} $$ $b\overline{b}$is established with observed (expected) significances of 5.3 (5.5) and 4.9 (5.6) standard deviations, respectively. Differential cross-section measurements of the gauge boson transverse momentum within the simplified template cross-section framework are performed in a total of 13 kinematical fiducial regions. The search for theH→$$ c\overline{c} $$ $c\overline{c}$decay yields an observed (expected) upper limit at 95% confidence level of 11.5 (10.6) times the Standard Model prediction. The results are also used to set constraints on the charm coupling modifier, resulting in|κ_c| <4.2 at 95% confidence level. Combining theH→$$ b\overline{b} $$ $b\overline{b}$andH→$$ c\overline{c} $$ $c\overline{c}$measurements constrains the absolute value of the ratio of Higgs-charm and Higgs-bottom coupling modifiers (|κ_c/κ_b|) to be less than 3.6 at 95% confidence level. 

Abstract We present results from a search for X-ray/gamma-ray counterparts of gravitational-wave (GW) candidates from the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA network using the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (Swift-BAT). The search includes 636 GW candidates received with low latency, 86 of which have been confirmed by the offline analysis and included in the third cumulative Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalogs (GWTC-3). Targeted searches were carried out on the entire GW sample using the maximum-likelihood Non-imaging Transient Reconstruction and Temporal Search pipeline on the BAT data made available via the GUANO infrastructure. We do not detect any significant electromagnetic emission that is temporally and spatially coincident with any of the GW candidates. We report flux upper limits in the 15–350 keV band as a function of sky position for all the catalog candidates. For GW candidates where the Swift-BAT false alarm rate is less than 10⁻³Hz, we compute the GW–BAT joint false alarm rate. Finally, the derived Swift-BAT upper limits are used to infer constraints on the putative electromagnetic emission associated with binary black hole mergers. 

The ATLAS experiment has developed extensive software and distributed computing systems for Run 3 of the LHC. These systems are described in detail, including software infrastructure and workflows, distributed data and workload management, database infrastructure, and validation. The use of these systems to prepare the data for physics analysis and assess its quality are described, along with the software tools used for data analysis itself. An outlook for the development of these projects towards Run 4 is also provided. 

A<sc>bstract</sc> Differential measurements of Higgs boson production in theτ-lepton-pair decay channel are presented in the gluon fusion, vector-boson fusion (VBF),VHand$$ t\overline{t}H $$ $t\overline{t}H$associated production modes, with particular focus on the VBF production mode. The data used to perform the measurements correspond to 140 fb⁻¹of proton-proton collisions collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Two methods are used to perform the measurements: theSimplified Template Cross-Section(STXS) approach and anUnfolded Fiducial Differentialmeasurement considering only the VBF phase space. For the STXS measurement, events are categorized by their production mode and kinematic properties such as the Higgs boson’s transverse momentum ($$ {p}_{\textrm{T}}^{\textrm{H}} $$ $p_T^H$), the number of jets produced in association with the Higgs boson, or the invariant mass of the two leading jets (m_jj). For the VBF production mode, the ratio of the measured cross-section to the Standard Model prediction form_jj> 1.5 TeV and$$ {p}_{\textrm{T}}^{\textrm{H}} $$ $p_T^H$> 200 GeV ($$ {p}_{\textrm{T}}^{\textrm{H}} $$ $p_T^H$< 200 GeV) is$$ {1.29}_{-0.34}^{+0.39} $$ ${1.29}_{-0.34}^{+0.39}$($$ {0.12}_{-0.33}^{+0.34} $$ ${0.12}_{-0.33}^{+0.34}$). This is the first VBF measurement for the higher-$$ {p}_{\textrm{T}}^{\textrm{H}} $$ $p_T^H$criteria, and the most precise for the lower-$$ {p}_{\textrm{T}}^{\textrm{H}} $$ $p_T^H$criteria. Thefiducialcross-section measurements, which only consider the kinematic properties of the event, are performed as functions of variables characterizing the VBF topology, such as the signed ∆ϕ_jjbetween the two leading jets. The measurements have a precision of 30%–50% and agree well with the Standard Model predictions. These results are interpreted in the SMEFT framework, and place the strongest constraints to date on the CP-odd Wilson coefficient$$ {c}_{H\overset{\sim }{W}} $$ $c_{H\tilde{W}}$.