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$K^{+}{K}^{-}$pairs may be produced in photonuclear collisions, either from the decays of photoproduced$\varphi (1020)$mesons or directly as nonresonant$K^{+}{K}^{-}$pairs. Measurements of$K^{+}{K}^{-}$photoproduction probe the couplings between the$\varphi (1020)$and charged kaons with photons and nuclear targets. The kaon-proton scattering occurs at energies far above those available elsewhere. We present the first measurement of coherent photoproduction of$K^{+}{K}^{-}$pairs on lead ions in ultraperipheral collisions using the ALICE detector, including the first investigation of direct$K^{+}{K}^{-}$production. There is significant$K^{+}{K}^{-}$production at low transverse momentum, consistent with coherent photoproduction on lead targets. In the mass range$1.1<M_{KK}<1.4\mathrm{GeV}/c^2$above the$\varphi (1020)$resonance, for rapidity$|y_{KK}|<0.8$and$p_{T,KK}<0.1\mathrm{GeV}/c$, the measured coherent photoproduction cross section is$\mathrm{d}\sigma /\mathrm{d}y=3.37\pm 0.61(\text{stat})\pm 0.15(\mathrm{syst})\mathrm{mb}$. The center-of-mass energy per nucleon of the photon-nucleus (Pb) system$W_{\gamma \mathrm{Pb},n}$ranges from 33 to 188 GeV, far higher than previous measurements on heavy-nucleus targets. The cross section is larger than expected for$\varphi (1020)$photoproduction alone. The mass spectrum is fit to a cocktail consisting of$\varphi (1020)$decays, direct$K^{+}{K}^{-}$photoproduction, and interference between the two. The confidence regions for the amplitude and relative phase angle for direct$K^{+}{K}^{-}$photoproduction are presented.

This paper presents a search for pair production of higgsinos, the supersymmetric partners of the Higgs bosons, in scenarios with gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking. Each higgsino is assumed to decay into a Higgs boson and a nearly massless gravitino. The search targets events where each Higgs boson decays into$b\overline{b}$, leading to a reconstructed final state with at least three energetic$b$-jets and missing transverse momentum. Two complementary analysis channels are used, with each channel specifically targeting either low or high values of the higgsino mass. The low-mass (high-mass) channel exploits$126(139){\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$of$\sqrt{s}=13\mathrm{TeV}$data collected by the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider. No significant excess above the Standard Model prediction is found. At 95% confidence level, masses between 130 GeV and 940 GeV are excluded for higgsinos decaying exclusively into Higgs bosons and gravitinos. Exclusion limits as a function of the higgsino decay branching ratio to a Higgs boson are also reported.

A summary of the constraints from searches performed by the ATLAS collaboration for the electroweak production of charginos and neutralinos is presented. Results from eight separate ATLAS searches are considered, each using 140 fb⁻¹of proton-proton data at a centre-of-mass energy of$$ \sqrt{s} $$$\sqrt{s}$= 13 TeV collected at the Large Hadron Collider during its second data-taking run. The results are interpreted in the context of the 19-parameter phenomenological minimal supersymmetric standard model, whereR-parity conservation is assumed and the lightest supersymmetric particle is assumed to be the lightest neutralino. Constraints from previous electroweak, flavour and dark matter related measurements are also considered. The results are presented in terms of constraints on supersymmetric particle masses and are compared with limits from simplified models. Also shown is the impact of ATLAS searches on parameters such as the dark matter relic density and the spin-dependent and spin-independent scattering cross-sections targeted by direct dark matter detection experiments. The Higgs boson andZboson ‘funnel regions’, where a low-mass neutralino would not oversaturate the dark matter relic abundance, are almost completely excluded by the considered constraints. Example spectra for non-excluded supersymmetric models with light charginos and neutralinos are also presented.

A search for pair production of squarks or gluinos decaying via sleptons or weak bosons is reported. The search targets a final state with exactly two leptons with same-sign electric charge or at least three leptons without any charge requirement. The analysed data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb⁻¹of proton-proton collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Multiple signal regions are defined, targeting several SUSY simplified models yielding the desired final states. A single control region is used to constrain the normalisation of theWZ+ jets background. No significant excess of events over the Standard Model expectation is observed. The results are interpreted in the context of several supersymmetric models featuring R-parity conservation or R-parity violation, yielding exclusion limits surpassing those from previous searches. In models considering gluino (squark) pair production, gluino (squark) masses up to 2.2 (1.7) TeV are excluded at 95% confidence level.

A search for a new massive charged gauge boson,W′, is performed with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The dataset used in this analysis was collected from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of$$ \sqrt{s} $$$\sqrt{s}$= 13 TeV, and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb⁻¹. The reconstructedtbinvariant mass is used to search for aW′ boson decaying into a top quark and a bottom quark. The result is interpreted in terms of aW′ boson with purely right-handed or left-handed chirality in a mass range of 0.5–6 TeV. Different values for the coupling of theW′ boson to the top and bottom quarks are considered, taking into account interference with single-top-quark production in thes-channel. No significant deviation from the background prediction is observed. The results are expressed as upper limits on theW′ →tbproduction cross-section times branching ratio as a function of theW′-boson mass and in the plane of the coupling vs theW′-boson mass.

A search for new heavy scalars with flavour-violating decays in final states with multiple leptons andb-tagged jets is presented. The results are interpreted in terms of a general two-Higgs-doublet model involving an additional scalar with couplings to the top-quark and the three up-type quarks (ρ_tt,ρ_tc, andρ_tu). The targeted signals lead to final states with either a same-sign top-quark pair, three top-quarks, or four top-quarks. The search is based on a data sample of proton-proton collisions at$$ \sqrt{s} $$$\sqrt{s}$= 13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb⁻¹. Events are categorised depending on the multiplicity of light charged leptons (electrons or muons), total lepton charge, and a deep-neural-network output to enhance the purity of each of the signals. Masses of an additional scalar bosonm_Hbetween 200 − 630 GeV with couplingsρ_tt= 0.4,ρ_tc= 0.2, andρ_tu= 0.2 are excluded at 95% confidence level. Additional interpretations are provided in models ofR-parity violating supersymmetry, motivated by the recent flavour and (g −2)_μanomalies.