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A<sc>bstract</sc> The pseudorapidity distribution of charged hadrons produced in Au+Au collisions at a center-of-mass energy of$$ \sqrt{{\textrm{s}}_{\textrm{NN}}} $$ $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}$= 200 GeV is measured using data collected by the sPHENIX detector. Charged hadron yields are extracted by counting cluster pairs in the inner and outer layers of the Intermediate Silicon Tracker, with corrections applied for detector acceptance, reconstruction efficiency, combinatorial pairs, and contributions from secondary decays. The measured distributions cover |η|<1.1 across various centralities, and the average pseudorapidity density of charged hadrons at mid-rapidity is compared to predictions from Monte Carlo heavy-ion event generators. This result, featuring full azimuthal coverage at mid-rapidity, is consistent with previous experimental measurements at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, thereby supporting the broader sPHENIX physics program. 

A<sc>bstract</sc> A search is presented for the resonant production of a pair of standard model-like Higgs bosons using data from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC in 2016–2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb⁻¹. The final state consists of two b quark-antiquark pairs. The search is conducted in the region of phase space where at least one of the pairs is highly Lorentz-boosted and is reconstructed as a single large-area jet. The other pair may be either similarly merged or resolved, the latter reconstructed using two b-tagged jets. The data are found to be consistent with standard model processes and are interpreted as 95% confidence level upper limits on the product of the cross sections and the branching fractions of the spin-0 radion and the spin-2 bulk graviton that arise in warped extradimensional models. The limits set are in the range 9.74–0.29 fb and 4.94–0.19 fb for a narrow radion and a graviton, respectively, with masses between 1 and 3 TeV. For a radion and for a bulk graviton with widths 10% of their masses, the limits are in the range 12.5–0.35 fb and 8.23–0.23 fb, respectively, for the same masses. These limits result in the exclusion of a narrow-width graviton with a mass below 1.2 TeV, and of narrow and 10%-width radions with masses below 2.6, and 2.9 TeV, respectively. 

A<sc>bstract</sc> Differential cross sections for top quark pair ($$ \textrm{t}\overline{\textrm{t}} $$ $t\overline{t}$) production are measured in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV using a sample of events containing two oppositely charged leptons. The data were recorded with the CMS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb⁻¹. The differential cross sections are measured as functions of kinematic observables of the$$ \textrm{t}\overline{\textrm{t}} $$ $t\overline{t}$system, the top quark and antiquark and their decay products, as well as of the number of additional jets in the event. The results are presented as functions of up to three variables and are corrected to the parton and particle levels. When compared to standard model predictions based on quantum chromodynamics at different levels of accuracy, it is found that the calculations do not always describe the observed data. The deviations are found to be largest for the multi-differential cross sections. 

Abstract The ATLAS tile calorimeter (TileCal) is the hadronic sampling calorimeter covering the central region of the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). This paper gives an overview of the calorimeter’s operation and performance during the years 2015–2018 (Run 2). In this period, ATLAS collected proton–proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV and the TileCal was 99.65% efficient for data-taking. The signal reconstruction, the calibration procedures, and the detector operational status are presented. The performance of two ATLAS trigger systems making use of TileCal information, the minimum-bias trigger scintillators and the tile muon trigger, is discussed. Studies of radiation effects allow the degradation of the output signals at the end of the LHC and HL-LHC operations to be estimated. Finally, the TileCal response to isolated muons, hadrons and jets from proton–proton collisions is presented. The energy and time calibration methods performed excellently, resulting in good stability and uniformity of the calorimeter response during Run 2. The setting of the energy scale was performed with an uncertainty of 2%. The results demonstrate that the performance is in accordance with specifications defined in the Technical Design Report. 

The associated production of Higgs and $W$bosons via vector-boson fusion is highly sensitive to the relative sign of the Higgs boson couplings to $W$and $Z$bosons. In this Letter, two searches for this process are presented, using $140{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$of proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s}=13\mathrm{TeV}$recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The first search targets scenarios with opposite-sign couplings of the $W$and $Z$bosons to the Higgs boson, while the second targets standard model-like scenarios with same-sign couplings. Both analyses consider Higgs boson decays into a pair of $b$quarks and $W$boson decays with an electron or muon. The data exclude the opposite-sign coupling hypothesis with a significance beyond $5\sigma$, and the observed (expected) upper limit set on the cross section for vector-boson fusion $WH$production is 9.0 (8.7) times the standard model value at 95% confidence level. © 2024 CERN, for the ATLAS Collaboration2024CERN 

Abstract A search for leptoquark pair production decaying into$$te^- \bar{t}e^+$$ $t{e}^{-}\overline{t}{e}^{+}$or$$t\mu ^- \bar{t}\mu ^+$$ $t{\mu }^{-}\overline{t}{\mu }^{+}$in final states with multiple leptons is presented. The search is based on a dataset ofppcollisions at$$\sqrt{s}=13~\text {TeV} $$ $\sqrt{s}=13\text{TeV}$recorded with the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$$^{-1}$$ $_{}^{-1}$. Four signal regions, with the requirement of at least three light leptons (electron or muon) and at least two jets out of which at least one jet is identified as coming from ab-hadron, are considered based on the number of leptons of a given flavour. The main background processes are estimated using dedicated control regions in a simultaneous fit with the signal regions to data. No excess above the Standard Model background prediction is observed and 95% confidence level limits on the production cross section times branching ratio are derived as a function of the leptoquark mass. Under the assumption of exclusive decays into$$te^{-}$$ $t{e}^{-}$($$t\mu ^{-}$$ $t{\mu }^{-}$), the corresponding lower limit on the scalar mixed-generation leptoquark mass$$m_{\textrm{LQ}_{\textrm{mix}}^{\textrm{d}}}$$ $m_{{\text{LQ}}_{\text{mix}}^{\text{d}}}$is at 1.58 (1.59) TeV and on the vector leptoquark mass$$m_{{\tilde{U}}_1}$$ $m_{{\tilde{U}}_1}$at 1.67 (1.67) TeV in the minimal coupling scenario and at 1.95 (1.95) TeV in the Yang–Mills scenario. 

A<sc>bstract</sc> This paper presents a search for top-squark pair production in final states with a top quark, a charm quark and missing transverse momentum. The data were collected with the ATLAS detector during LHC Run 2 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb⁻¹of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of$$ \sqrt{s} $$ $\sqrt{s}$= 13 TeV. The analysis is motivated by an extended Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model featuring a non-minimal flavour violation in the second- and third-generation squark sector. The top squark in this model has two possible decay modes, either$$ {\tilde{t}}_1\to c{\overset{\sim }{\chi}}_1^0 $$ ${\tilde{t}}_1\to c{\tilde{\chi }}_1^0$or$$ {\tilde{t}}_1\to t{\overset{\sim }{\chi}}_1^0 $$ ${\tilde{t}}_1\to t{\tilde{\chi }}_1^0$, where the$$ {\overset{\sim }{\chi}}_1^0 $$ ${\tilde{\chi }}_1^0$is undetected. The analysis is optimised assuming that both of the decay modes are equally probable, leading to the most likely final state of$$ tc+{E}_T^{\textrm{miss}} $$ $\mathrm{tc}+E_T^{\text{miss}}$. Good agreement is found between the Standard Model expectation and the data in the search regions. Exclusion limits at 95% CL are obtained in the$$ m\left({\tilde{t}}_1\right) $$ $m\left({\tilde{t}}_1\right)$vs.$$ m\left({\overset{\sim }{\chi}}_1^0\right) $$ $m\left({\tilde{\chi }}_1^0\right)$plane and, in addition, limits on the branching ratio of the$$ {\tilde{t}}_1\to t{\overset{\sim }{\chi}}_1^0 $$ ${\tilde{t}}_1\to t{\tilde{\chi }}_1^0$decay as a function ofm($$ {\tilde{t}}_1 $$ ${\tilde{t}}_1$) are also produced. Top-squark masses of up to 800 GeV are excluded for scenarios with light neutralinos, and top-squark masses up to 600 GeV are excluded in scenarios where the neutralino and the top squark are almost mass degenerate. 

Abstract A search is reported for long-lived dark photons with masses between 0.1 GeV and 15 GeV, from exotic decays of Higgs bosons produced via vector-boson-fusion. Events that contain displaced collimated Standard Model fermions reconstructed in the calorimeter or muon spectrometer are probed. This search uses the full LHC Run 2 (2015–2018) data sample collected in proton–proton collisions at$$\sqrt{s}=13$$ $\sqrt{s}=13$TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139$$fb^{-1}$$ $f{b}^{-1}$. Dominant backgrounds from Standard Model processes and non-collision sources are estimated using data-driven techniques. The observed event yields in the signal regions are consistent with the expected background. Upper limits on the Higgs boson to dark photon branching fraction are reported as a function of the dark photon mean proper decay length or of the dark photon mass and the coupling between the Standard Model and the potential dark sector. This search is combined with previous ATLAS searches obtained in the gluon–gluon fusion andWHproduction modes. A branching fraction above 10% is excluded at 95% CL for a 125 GeV Higgs boson decaying into two dark photons for dark photon mean proper decay lengths between 173 and 1296 mm and mass of 10 GeV.