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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 

A search for the nonresonant production of Higgs boson pairs in the $HH\to b\overline{b}{\tau }^{+}{\tau }^{-}$channel is performed using $140{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The analysis strategy is optimized to probe anomalous values of the Higgs boson self-coupling modifier ${\kappa }_{\lambda }$and of the quartic $HHVV$( $V=W,Z$) coupling modifier ${\kappa }_{2V}$. No significant excess above the expected background from Standard Model processes is observed. An observed (expected) upper limit ${\mu }_{HH}<5.9\left(3.3\right)$is set at 95% confidence-level on the Higgs boson pair production cross section normalized to its Standard Model prediction. The coupling modifiers are constrained to an observed (expected) 95% confidence interval of $-3.1<{\kappa }_{\lambda }<9.0$( $-2.5<{\kappa }_{\lambda }<9.3$) and $-0.5<{\kappa }_{2V}<2.7$( $-0.2<{\kappa }_{2V}<2.4$), assuming all other Higgs boson couplings are fixed to the Standard Model prediction. The results are also interpreted in the context of effective field theories via constraints on anomalous Higgs boson couplings and Higgs boson pair production cross sections assuming different kinematic benchmark scenarios. © 2024 CERN, for the ATLAS Collaboration2024CERN 

A<sc>bstract</sc> Measurements of inclusive, differential cross-sections for the production of events with missing transverse momentum in association with jets in proton-proton collisions at$$ \sqrt{s} $$ $\sqrt{s}$= 13 TeV are presented. The measurements are made with the ATLAS detector using an integrated luminosity of 140 fb⁻¹and include measurements of dijet distributions in a region in which vector-boson fusion processes are enhanced. They are unfolded to correct for detector resolution and efficiency within the fiducial acceptance, and are designed to allow robust comparisons with a wide range of theoretical predictions. A measurement of differential cross sections for theZ→ννprocess is made. The measurements are generally well-described by Standard Model predictions except for the dijet invariant mass distribution. Auxiliary measurements of the hadronic system recoiling against isolated leptons, and photons, are also made in the same phase space. Ratios between the measured distributions are then derived, to take advantage of cancellations in modelling effects and some of the major systematic uncertainties. These measurements are sensitive to new phenomena, and provide a mechanism to easily set constraints on phenomenological models. To illustrate the robustness of the approach, these ratios are compared with two common Dark Matter models, where the constraints derived from the measurement are comparable to those set by dedicated detector-level searches. 

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. 

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. 

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 The ATLAS trigger system is a crucial component of the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. It is responsible for selecting events in line with the ATLAS physics programme. This paper presents an overview of the changes to the trigger and data acquisition system during the second long shutdown of the LHC, and shows the performance of the trigger system and its components in the proton-proton collisions during the 2022 commissioning period as well as its expected performance in proton-proton and heavy-ion collisions for the remainder of the third LHC data-taking period (2022–2025).