NIL

Particle physics deals with the elementary constituents of our universe and their interactions. The electroweak symmetry breaking mechanism in the Standard Model of Particle Physics is of paramount importance and it plays a central role in the physics programmes of current high-energy physics experiments at the Large Hadron Collider. The study of scattering processes of massive electroweak gauge bosons provides an approach complementary to the precise measurement of the properties of the recently discovered Higgs boson. Owing to the unprecedented energies achieved in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider and the large amount of data collected, experimental studies of these processes become feasible for the first time. Especially the scattering of two W± bosons of identical electric charge is considered a promising process for an initial study due to its distinct experimental signature. In the course of this work, 20.3 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS detector at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 8 TeV are analysed. An analysis of the production of two W± bosons of identical electric charge in association with two jets, pp → W ± W ± jj, is conducted in the leptonic decay channel of the W± bosons. Thereby, emphasis is put on the development of methods for the estimation of experimental backgrounds as well as on the optimisation of the event selection. As a result of this work, first experimental evidence for the existence of the aforementioned process is established with an observed significance of 4.9. Based on the number of observed events in the selected phase space the extracted fiducial cross section is σ(fid) = (2.3 ± 0.5(stat.) +0.4/−0.3 (sys.)) fb which is in agreement with the prediction of the Standard Model of σ(fid,SM) = (1.6 ± 0.2) fb. Of particular theoretical interest are electroweak contributions to the pp → W ± W ± jj process due to their sensitivity to the nature of the electroweak symmetry breaking mechanism. Criteria for a dedicated event selection are investigated and implemented in the analysis with the goal of enhancing the sensitivity to these contributions. First experimental evidence for the presence of electroweak contributions to the pp → W ± W ± jj process can be claimed with an observed significance of 4.1. The cross section extracted in the selected phase space region is found to be σ(fid) = (1.7 +0.5/−0.4 (stat.) ± 0.3(sys.)) fb which is 1.3 standard deviations above the theoretical prediction of the Standard Model of σ(fid,SM) = (1.0 ± 0.1) fb. A variety of extensions to the Standard Model predict modifications to the electroweak gauge sector. In the context of the electroweak chiral Lagrangian, which serves as an effective approximation of these theories in the energy regime E = 1 − 3 TeV, anomalous contributions to the quartic WWWW gauge coupling can be described by the parameters α4 and α5 . The selection of events is optimised again to enhance the sensitivity to these two parameters. On the basis of the number of events observed in this phase space region, the following one-dimensional confidence intervals at the 95% confidence level are derived: −0.09 ≤ α4 ≤ 0.10 and −0.15 ≤ α5 ≤ 0.15. At present, these limits represent the most stringent constraints on contributions from new physics processes to the quartic WWWW gauge coupling.

This thesis investigates the possibility that the gauge boson in a certain hypothetical SU(2) gauged sector can constitute all the non-baryonic dark matter. The gauge bosons acquire mass from the Higgs mechanism as in the Standard Model and scatter elastically among themselves non-gravitationally. It is expected that this self interaction of the dark gauge bosons would resolve the various discrepancies between the ΛCDM model and astrophysical observations on small (e.g. galactic or galaxy cluster) scales. Parameter space within the domain of validity of perturbation theory satisfying the constraints of dark matter abundance, the elastic self-scattering momentum transfer cross-section suggested by recent astrophysical observations, and consideration of the Big-Bang nucleosynthesis was found to be non-empty in the “forbidden” regime where the mass of the dark Higgs boson is greater than the mass of the dark gauge boson. / Graduate

Cette thèse présente des recherches sur la nouvelle physique produite par le processus de Fusion de Bosons Vecteur (VBF) dans les états finaux avec une grand impulsion transverse manquante (Etmiss) en utilisant 36.1 fb⁻¹ de données de collisions proton-proton avec une énergie dans le centre de masse de 13 TeV, recueillies par l'expérience ATLAS au Large Hadron Collider (LHC) au CERN en 2015 et 2016. En particulier, elle se concentre sur la recherche de la désintégration invisible du boson de Higgs produit via le mode VBF. Comme le modèle standard de la physique des particules (MS) prédit une désintégration invisible de Higgs uniquement à travers le mode H->ZZ*->4v avec un rapport d’embranchement BR ~ 0,1%, si une désintégration en particules invisibles du boson de Higgs était observée avec un BR supérieur, ce serait un signe de nouvelle physique. Plusieurs modèles au-delà du modèle standard (BSM) prédisent des désintégrations du boson de Higgs en particules de matière noire (DM, non détectées) ou en particules massives neutres à vie longue. Parmi les recherches H->particules invisibles, la plus sensible est celle où le Higgs est produit via le mode VBF. Son état final est caractérisé par deux jets énergétiques, avec les caractéristiques typiques du mode VBF (c'est-à-dire une grande séparation angulaire et une grande masse invariante des deux jets) et une grande impulsion transverse manquante (Etmiss>180 GeV). Pour sélectionner un échantillon d'événements candidats de signal, une région de signal (SR) est définie pour maximiser la fraction d'événements de signal attendus par rapport à la prédiction du MS (bruit de fond). Les processus MS qui peuvent peupler la SR proviennent principalement des processus Z->vv+jets et W->lv+jets, où le lepton est perdu ou non reconstruit. Leur contribution est estimée avec une approche semi-data driven : des régions dédiées enrichies en événements W->lv/Z->ll sont utilisées pour normaliser les données des estimations de Monte Carlo (MC) en utilisant une technique de fit simultané (méthode du facteur de transfert) et pour les extrapoler à la SR. L'estimation de fond prédit est comparée aux données SR observées. Comme aucun excès n'est trouvé, une limite supérieure sur le BR (H-> invisible) est calculée. L'analyse est ensuite réinterprétée dans le cadre de modèles inspirés du modèle Minimal Dark Matter. Le cas d'un nouveau triplet fermionique électrofaible, avec une hypercharge nulle et avec interactions respectant le nombre B-L, ajouté au MS fournit un bon candidat Dark Matter (WIMP pure). Si on considère l'abondance thermique, la masse du composant neutre est d’environ 3 TeV. Cependant des masses plus faibles sont également envisageables dans le cas de mécanismes de production non thermiques ou lorsque le triplet ne constitue qu'une fraction de l'abondance de DM. Il peut être produit à des collisionneurs proton-proton tels que le LHC et il peut être sondé de différentes manières. Une fois produites, les composantes chargées du triplet se désintègrent dans le composant neutre le plus léger, χ0 , avec en plus des pions très mous, en raison de la petite différence de masse entre les composants neutres et chargés. Ces pions de très faible impulsion ne peuvent pas être reconstruits et sont donc perdus. Le χ0 est reconstruit comme de l’Etmiss dans le détecteur. Par conséquent, lorsqu'il est produit via VBF, il donne lieu à une signature avec deux jets VBF et de l’Etmiss, le même état final que celui qui a été étudié pour l'analyse de VBF H->invisible. Des points de masse différentes (de 90 GeV à 200 GeV) ont été engendrés avec les programmes Monte Carlo Madgraph+Pythia, dans le cadre du logiciel officiel ATLAS, et les limites supérieures sont définies sur la section efficace fiducielle de production. Des extrapolations à des luminosités plus élevées (Run3 et HL-LHC) en utilisant une approche simplifiée sont également présentées. / This thesis presents searches for new physics produced via Vector Boson Fusion (VBF) in final states with large Missing Transverse Momentum (Etmiss) using 36.1 fb⁻¹ of data from proton-proton collisions at center-of-mass-energy of 13 TeV, collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN during 2015 and 2016. In particular, it focuses on the search for the invisible decay of the Higgs boson produced via the vector boson fusion (VBF) process. As the SM predicts an Higgs invisible decay only through H->ZZ*->4v with Branching Ratio BR~0.1%, if an invisibly decaying Higgs boson would be observed with a higher BR, this would be a sign of new physics. Several Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) models predict invisibly decaying Higgs boson where the Higgs can decay into dark matter particles or neutral long-lived massive particles. Among the H->invisible searches the most sensitive one is the one where the Higgs is produced via the VBF process. Its final state is characterized by two energetic jets, with the typical features of the VBF mode (i.e. large angular separation and large invariant mass) and large missing transverse momentum (Etmiss>180 GeV). To select a sample of signal candidate events, a Signal Region (SR) is designed to maximize the fraction of expected signal events with respect to the SM prediction (backgrounds). The SM processes which can populate the SR comes mainly from Z->vv+jets and W->lv+jets processes, where the lepton is lost or not reconstructed. Their contribution is estimated with a semi data driven approach: dedicated regions enriched in W->lv/Z->ll events are used to normalize to data the Monte Carlo (MC) estimates using a simultaneous fitting technique (transfer factor) and to extrapolate them to the SR. The predicted background estimate is compared to the observed SR data. Since no excess is found, an upper limit on the BR(H->inv) is set. The analysis is then reinterpreted in the context of models inspired by the Minimal Dark Matter model. The case of a new electroweak fermionic triplet, with null hypercharge and with interactions respecting the B-L number, added on top of the SM provides a good Dark Matter candidate. As such, it is an example of pure Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP), meaning that it is a DM particle with SU(2)_L SM interactions which is not mixing with other states (pure).If the thermal abundance is assumed, the mass of the neutral component is around 3 TeV, however smaller masses are also allowed in case of non-thermal production mechanisms or if the triplet constitutes only a fraction of the DM abundance. It can be produced at proton-proton colliders such as the LHC and it can be probed in different ways. Once produced, the charged components of the triplet decays into the lightest neutral component chi0 plus very soft charged pions. chi0 is reconstructed as Etmiss in the detector while the pions, because of the small mass splitting between the neutral and charged components, are so soft that are lost and are not reconstructed. Therefore, when produced via VBF, it gives rise to a signature with two VBF jets and Etmiss, the same final state that has been investigated for the VBF Higgs invisible analysis. Different mass point (from 90 GeV to 200 GeV) have been generated with the Madgraph+Pythia, Monte Carlo programs within the official ATLAS software, and upper limits are set on the fiducial cross section. Extrapolations to higher luminosities using a simplified approach are also presented.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第22999号 / 理博第4676号 / 新制||理||1671(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院理学研究科物理学・宇宙物理学専攻 / (主査) 長野 邦浩, 教授 中家 剛, 准教授 吉岡 興一 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

Particle physics deals with the elementary constituents of our universe and their interactions. The electroweak symmetry breaking mechanism in the Standard Model of Particle Physics is of paramount importance and it plays a central role in the physics programmes of current high-energy physics experiments at the Large Hadron Collider. The study of scattering processes of massive electroweak gauge bosons provides an approach complementary to the precise measurement of the properties of the recently discovered Higgs boson. Owing to the unprecedented energies achieved in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider and the large amount of data collected, experimental studies of these processes become feasible for the first time. Especially the scattering of two W± bosons of identical electric charge is considered a promising process for an initial study due to its distinct experimental signature. In the course of this work, 20.3 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS detector at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 8 TeV are analysed. An analysis of the production of two W± bosons of identical electric charge in association with two jets, pp → W ± W ± jj, is conducted in the leptonic decay channel of the W± bosons. Thereby, emphasis is put on the development of methods for the estimation of experimental backgrounds as well as on the optimisation of the event selection. As a result of this work, first experimental evidence for the existence of the aforementioned process is established with an observed significance of 4.9. Based on the number of observed events in the selected phase space the extracted fiducial cross section is σ(fid) = (2.3 ± 0.5(stat.) +0.4/−0.3 (sys.)) fb which is in agreement with the prediction of the Standard Model of σ(fid,SM) = (1.6 ± 0.2) fb. Of particular theoretical interest are electroweak contributions to the pp → W ± W ± jj process due to their sensitivity to the nature of the electroweak symmetry breaking mechanism. Criteria for a dedicated event selection are investigated and implemented in the analysis with the goal of enhancing the sensitivity to these contributions. First experimental evidence for the presence of electroweak contributions to the pp → W ± W ± jj process can be claimed with an observed significance of 4.1. The cross section extracted in the selected phase space region is found to be σ(fid) = (1.7 +0.5/−0.4 (stat.) ± 0.3(sys.)) fb which is 1.3 standard deviations above the theoretical prediction of the Standard Model of σ(fid,SM) = (1.0 ± 0.1) fb. A variety of extensions to the Standard Model predict modifications to the electroweak gauge sector. In the context of the electroweak chiral Lagrangian, which serves as an effective approximation of these theories in the energy regime E = 1 − 3 TeV, anomalous contributions to the quartic WWWW gauge coupling can be described by the parameters α4 and α5 . The selection of events is optimised again to enhance the sensitivity to these two parameters. On the basis of the number of events observed in this phase space region, the following one-dimensional confidence intervals at the 95% confidence level are derived: −0.09 ≤ α4 ≤ 0.10 and −0.15 ≤ α5 ≤ 0.15. At present, these limits represent the most stringent constraints on contributions from new physics processes to the quartic WWWW gauge coupling.

Diese Arbeit stellt eine Messung des W+W- Produktionswirkungsquerschnitts in pp Kollisionen bei einer Schwerpunktenergie von √s = 13 TeV vor. Der verwendete Datensatz wurde mit dem ATLAS Detektor im Jahr 2015 aufgezeichnet und entspricht einer integrierten Luminosität von 3,16 fb-1. Die W+W- Ereignisse werden über leptonische Zerfälle der W-Bosonen selektiert, wobei jeweils eines der W Bosonen in ein Elektron und ein Elektronneutrino und das andere in ein Myon und ein Myonneutrino zerfällt. Der gemessene Wirkungsquerschnitt in einem Referenzphasenraum, der nahe der Detektorakzeptanz definiert ist, beträgt σ (fiducial, W+W-) = 529 ± 20 (stat.) ± 50 (syst.) ± 11 (lumi.) fb. Das Ergebnis stimmt innerhalb der Fehlergrenzen mit der besten verfügbaren Standardmodell-Vorhersage von 478 ± 17 fb überein. Die kinematischen Verteilungen der im Zerfall der beiden W Bosonen produzierten Leptonen wurden genauer untersucht, um die drei- Eichbosonenkopplung bei den WWγ und WWZ Vertizes zu messen. Abweichungen dieser Kopplungen vom Standardmodell können ein Hinweis auf neue Physik sein. Für die Größen, welche diese anomalen Kopplungen parametrisieren, wurden Konfidenzintervalle berechnet. Die beobachteten Kopplungen stimmen mit dem Standardmodell überein. / This thesis presents a measurement of W+W- production cross section with the pp collision data collected at the ATLAS detector in the year of 2015. The dataset corresponds to a centre-of-mass collision energy of √s = 13 TeV with a total integrated luminosity of 3.16 fb-1. The W+W- signal events are selected using a signature where one of the W bosons decays into an electron and an electron neutrino while the other produces a muon with an associated muon neutrino. The measured cross section in the chosen fiducial phase space close to detector acceptance is σ (fiducial, W+W-) = 529 ± 20 (stat.) ± 50 (syst.) ± 11 (lumi.) fb. The result within the assigned uncertainties is compatible with the best available Standard Model prediction of 478 ± 17 fb. The observed kinematic spectrums of the produced leptons from the decay of the two W bosons are further investigated to study the triple gauge boson couplings at the WWγ und WWZ vertices. The deviation of these couplings from the Standard Model can probe the existence of new physics. The confidence intervals have been calculated for the parameters representing these anomalous couplings. The observations are consistent with the Standard Model expectations.

La recherche du boson de Higgs ainsi que celle de nouvelle physique auprès du LHC requiert une excellente compréhension des processus du Modèle Standard du fait de leurs signatures expérimentales similaires. La capacité de mesurer le plus précisément possible l'énergie des objets reconstruits dans les détecteurs est par ailleurs primordiale à la fois pour effectuer des mesures de précision et pour accroître la sensibilité des analyses à des signaux de physique au-delà du Modèle Standard. Les travaux présentés dans cette thèse s'attachent à ces deux points par l'étude d'événements contenant un ou plusieurs jets associés à un boson Z avec le détecteur ATLAS. D'une part, ces événements sont utilisés pour améliorer la calibration en énergie des jets de faible impulsion transverse, d'une importance capitale pour les analyses utilisant le dénombrement de jets ou leur veto. D'autre part la section efficace différentielle de production de ces événements est mesurée en fonction de nombreuses observables et comparée à diverses prédictions théoriques. Ces mesures pourront être utilisées pour améliorer les prédictions qui servent de modèles de bruit de fond dans des analyses sur le boson de Higgs et de recherche de physique au-delà du Modèle Standard. / The Higgs boson search as well as searches for new physics at the LHC require a very good understanding of Standard Model processes due to their similar experimental signatures. In addition, the ability to precisely measure the energies of reconstructed objects within the detectors is crucial in order to perform precision measurements and to improve the sensitivity to physics signals beyond the Standard Model. The results presented in this thesis address these two points by studying events containing one or several jets associated to a Z boson with the ATLAS detector. These events are used to improve the jet energy calibration in the low transverse momentum regime, which is important for analyses making use of jet counting or jet veto. The differential cross section for the production of such events is also measured as a function of several observables and compared to various theoretical predictions. These measurements will serve to improve the predictions used to model background contamination in Higgs analyses and searches for new phenomena.

Dans cette thèse, je présente ma contribution à l'observation d'un nouveau boson au LHC avec le détecteur ATLAS dans le canal de désintégration en deux photons. Ce boson est compatible avec le boson scalaire du Modèle Standard longtemps recherché et a une masse de 126.0 +/-0.4 (stat) +/-0.4 (sys) GeV obtenue en combinant les canaux gamma gamma et ZZ. Les données utilisées sont celles collectées par l'expérience ATLAS durant l'année 2011 avec une énergie de centre de masse de 7 TeV et durant les trois premiers mois du run en 2012 avec une énergie de centre de masse de 8 TeV. La luminosité totale correspondante est de ~10 fb-1. L'excès observé a une significance locale de 4.5 sigma dans le canal gamma gamma et de 5.9 sigma en combinant tous les canaux analysés. De même, diverses contributions aux analyses des données, dans le canal H en gamma gamma, depuis l'année 2009 jusqu'en 2012 sont aussi montrées. / In this thesis, I show my contribution to the observation of a new boson at the Large Hadron Collider with the ATLAS detector in the diphoton decay channel. This boson is compatible with the long-searched scalar boson of the Standard Model and has a mass of 126.0+/-0.4+/- 0.4 (sys) GeV obtained when combining the decay channels gamma gamma and ZZ. The data used were collected in the ATLAS experiment during 2011 with a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and during the first three months of the 2012 run with a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The total corresponding luminosity is about 10 fb-1. The observed excess has a local significance of 4.5 sigma in the gamma gamma channel and has a significance of 5.9 sigma when combining all the channels used in the analysis. Moreover, diverse contributions to the H into gamma gamma analyses of the data from 2009 to 2012 are also shown.

Foi analisada, através de simulação Monte Carlo, a probabilidade de que um gap de rapidez seja observado na produção do boson de Higgs por fusão de bosons vetoriais com massa (W), no LHC (Large Hadron Collider). Foi analisada, também através do uso de Monte Carlo, a possibilidade de que a existência ou não de um gap de rapidez seja usada na distinção de um Higgs produzido por fusão de bosons vetoriais W de outro produzido por fusão de gluons. Os diferentes modelos para tratamento de processos não perturbativos dos códigos Monte Carlo DTUJET e PYTHIA foram comparados. / The gap survival probability for a higgs boson produced by W fusion at the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) is analyzed through Monte Carlo simulation. The possibility of distinguishing between two higgs production mechanisms, W and gluon fusion is studied using Monte Carlo simulation. The two different models for non pertubative processes, used by DTUJET and PYTHIA are compared.