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Abstract Experimental studies of ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) depend crucially on Zero Degree Calorimeters (ZDCs) that measure neutrons produced at near-beam rapidity in nucleus-nucleus collisions. In hadronic nuclear collisions these neutrons are mainly spectator neutrons, those that do not scatter from opposing nucleons during the collision. As a result, the ZDCs provide a vital probe of heavy ion collision geometry. The ZDCs are also essential in the study of ultra-peripheral collisions that are initiated by photons associated with the electric fields of one or both nuclei. Coherent photon emission typically leaves the photon emitter intact, making the observation of no ZDC signal, on one or both sides, a tag of such processes. The ATLAS ZDCs, built prior to Run 1, were substantially upgraded for LHC Run 3. The primary upgrades included replacement of the quartz Cherenkov radiator with H_2-doped fused silica rods; installation of fast air-core signal cables between the ZDC and the ATLAS USA15 cavern; a new LED-based calibration system; and new electronics implemented for readout and fully-digital triggering. The ZDCs were also augmented with new “Reaction Plane Detectors” (RPDs) designed to measure the transverse centroid of multi-neutron showers to allow event-by-event reconstruction of the directed-flow plane in nuclear collisions. The Run 3 ZDC detectors, including the RPDs, are described in detail with emphasis on aspects that are new for Run 3. 

Abstract A search for heavy resonances decaying into a pair of Z bosons leading to $$\ell ^+\ell ^-\ell '^+\ell '^-$$ ℓ + ℓ - ℓ ′ + ℓ ′ - and $$\ell ^+\ell ^-\nu {{\bar{\nu }}}$$ ℓ + ℓ - ν ν ¯ final states, where $$\ell $$ ℓ stands for either an electron or a muon, is presented. The search uses proton–proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV collected from 2015 to 2018 that corresponds to the integrated luminosity of 139 $$\mathrm {fb}^{-1}$$ fb - 1 recorded by the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider. Different mass ranges spanning 200 GeV to 2000 GeV for the hypothetical resonances are considered, depending on the final state and model. In the absence of a significant observed excess, the results are interpreted as upper limits on the production cross section of a spin-0 or spin-2 resonance. The upper limits for the spin-0 resonance are translated to exclusion contours in the context of Type-I and Type-II two-Higgs-doublet models, and the limits for the spin-2 resonance are used to constrain the Randall–Sundrum model with an extra dimension giving rise to spin-2 graviton excitations. 

Abstract Jet substructure has provided new opportunities for searches and measurements at the LHC, and has seen continuous development since the optimization of the large-radius jet definition used by ATLAS was performed during Run 1. A range of new inputs to jet reconstruction, pile-up mitigation techniques and jet grooming algorithms motivate an optimisation of large-radius jet reconstruction for ATLAS. In this paper, this optimisation procedure is presented, and the performance of a wide range of large-radius jet definitions is compared. The relative performance of these jet definitions is assessed using metrics such as their pileup stability, ability to identify hadronically decaying W bosons and top quarks with large transverse momenta. A new type of jet input object, called a ‘unified flow object’ is introduced which combines calorimeter- and inner-detector-based signals in order to achieve optimal performance across a wide kinematic range. Large-radius jet definitions are identified which significantly improve on the current ATLAS baseline definition, and their modelling is studied using pp collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at $$\sqrt{s}=13~\text {TeV}$$ s = 13 TeV during 2017. 

Abstract A search for pair production of scalar leptoquarks, each decaying into either an electron or a muon and a top quark, is presented. This is the first leptoquark search using ATLAS data to investigate top-philic cross-generational couplings that could provide explanations for recently observed anomalies in B meson decays. This analysis targets high leptoquark masses which cause the decay products of each resultant top quark to be contained within a single high- $$p_{\mathrm {T}}$$ p T large-radius jet. The full Run 2 dataset is exploited, consisting of $$139~\hbox {fb}^{-1}$$ 139 fb - 1 of data collected from proton–proton collisions at $$\sqrt{s}=13~\mathrm {TeV}$$ s = 13 TeV from 2015 to 2018 with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. In the absence of any significant deviation from the background expectation, lower limits on the leptoquark masses are set at $$1480~\mathrm {GeV}$$ 1480 GeV and $$1470~\mathrm {GeV}$$ 1470 GeV for the electron and muon channel, respectively. 

A Correction to this paper has been published: 10.1140/epjc/s10052-020-08730-0 

A bstract A search is presented for the production of the Standard Model Higgs boson in association with a high-energy photon. With a focus on the vector-boson fusion process and the dominant Higgs boson decay into b -quark pairs, the search benefits from a large reduction of multijet background compared to more inclusive searches. Results are reported from the analysis of 132 fb − 1 of pp collision data at $$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 13 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measured Higgs boson signal yield in this final-state signature is 1 . 3 ± 1 . 0 times the Standard Model prediction. The observed significance of the Higgs boson signal above the background is 1 . 3 standard deviations, compared to an expected significance of 1 . 0 standard deviations.