A new neutron Electric Dipole Moment (nEDM) experiment was proposed to be commissioned at the Fundamental Neutron Physics Beamline at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The underlying theme of this experiment (first conceived by Golub and Lamoreaux in 1994) is the search for new physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. The discovery of a non-zero nEDM would be of revolutionary importance to physics, with the discovery of such providing for evidence for new-beyond-the-Standard-Model physics required for a resolution to the unresolved puzzle of why the universe is dominated by matter, as opposed to anti-matter. A first demonstration of a new magnetic field monitoring system for a neutron electric dipole moment experiment is presented. The system is designed to reconstruct the vector components of the magnetic field in the interior measurement region solely from exterior measurements. The results highlight the potential for the implementation of an improved system in an upcoming neutron electric dipole moment experiment to be carried out at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

his thesis implements a multivariate analysis in the current cut- based search for the charged Higgs bosons, which are new scalar particles predicted by several extensions to the Standard Model. Heavy charged Higgs bosons (mH± mtop) produced in association with a top quark de- caying via H± → τν are considered. The final state contains a hadronic τ decay, missing transverse energy and a hadronically decaying top quark. This study is based on Monte Carlo samples simulated at CM-energy √ s = 13 TeV for signal and backgrounds. The figure of merit to measure the improvement of the new method with respect to the old analysis is the separation between the signal and background distributions. Four mass points (mH± = 200, 400, 600, 1000 GeV) are considered, and an increase of the separation ranging from 2.6% (1000 GeV) to 29.2% (200 GeV) com- pared to the current cut-based analysis is found. / Denna studie implementerar en flervariabel-analys till den befintliga snitt-baserade analysen av laddade Higgs-bosoner, nya skal ̈arpartiklar fo ̈rutsagda av flertalet fo ̈rl ̈angningar av Standardmodellen. Studien antar tunga lad- dade Higgs-bosoner (mH± mtop) producerade tillsammans med en top- kvark som fo ̈rfaller via H± → τν. Sluttillst ̊andet best ̊ar av ett hadroniskt τ-so ̈nderfall, f ̈orlorad transversell energi och en hadroniskt so ̈nderfallande √ toppkvark. Studien a ̈r baserad p ̊a data f ̈or signal och bakgrund. Fo ̈r att ma ̈ta fo ̈rba ̈ttringen av analysens ka ̈nslighet anva ̈nds avst ̊and mellan bakgrundens och signalens distribu- tioner som godhetstal. Fyra masspunkter (mH± = 200, 400, 600, 1000 GeV) anva ̈nds, och en o ̈kning av avst ̊and fr ̊an 2.6% (1000 GeV) till 29.2% (200 GeV) hittades.

This thesis presents a search for resonant production of top-antitop quark pairs in final states containing at least one electron or muon. A number of beyond the standard model (BSM) theories incorporate a specific role for the top quark, resulting in resonances that preferentially decay to t(bar over t) pairs. The data sample analysed corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 2.05 fb^-1 recorded during 2011 using the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The proton-proton centre-of-mass energy was 7 TeV. The search is tailored towards heavy resonances at the TeV-scale which therefore decay to top quarks with high transverse momentum. Large hadronic jets are used to reconstruct the energy carried by the hadrons and the substructure of these jets is studied in order to identify hadronically decaying top quarks. The reconstruction can therefore proceed even if the decay products of the top quark are highly collimated. This study represents the first use of jet substructure techniques in a search for t(bar over t) resonances using hadron-hadron collision data. The invariant mass of the reconstructed t(bar over t) pair is used to test compatibility of the data with the standard model prediction. No evidence for t(bar over t) resonances is found. Upper limits are derived on the production cross-section times branching ratio for narrow and wide resonant states, at the 95 % credibility level. An upper limit of 0.61 (0.65) pb is set for a narrow (wide) resonance with a mass of 1 TeV. Two specific BSM models are excluded within certain mass ranges: the narrow leptophobic Z' boson with mass 600 - 1150 GeV and the wide Kaluza-Klein gluon with a mass below 1.5 TeV. These results represent a significant improvement on those of previous searches performed at the ATLAS experiment, which did not use jet substructure techniques. In addition, the possibility of using jets which decrease in size as their transverse momentum increases is investigated using simulated data. The yield of events due to resonant t(bar over t) production increases by approximately 20 % compared to when using jets of fixed size. Furthermore, the resolution of the invariant mass of the reconstructed t(bar over t) pair is found to improve by almost one fifth. It is recommended that a calibration scheme be developed for these variable-sized jets, so that their potential to improve the sensitivity to t(bar over t) resonances can be investigated further.

Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Les désintégrations rares B0s → μ + μ-et B0 → μ + μ-sont des canaux de référence pour contraindre les modèles au-delà du Modèle Standard (BSM) avec un plus grand secteur de Higgs. Dans le SM, la fraction de branchement de ces désintégrations est prédite avec une bonne précision: B (B0 (s) → μ + μ-) = (3,2 ± 0,2) × 10-9 et B (B0 → μ + μ-) = (0,10 ± 0,01) × 10-10. Tout écart par rapport à ces valeurs peuvent donner des indications sur la physique BSM. Le cœur de cette thèse comporte deux thèmes principaux: le rejet du bruit de fond et l'extraction du signal. Nous avons optimisé un classificateur multivariée basée sur la décision des arbres technique permettant une réduction drastique du bruit de fond de B → h + h'-(h ≡ π, K) . Après le processus de sélection, environ 76% du fond combinatoire pour B0s → μ + μ-est enlevé, tout en gardant une efficacité de signal d'environ 92%. Une autre discrimination entre le signal et le fond est réalisé avec un autre classificateur multivariée optimisé pour un rejet de grand fond dans la région de l'efficacité de signal faible. Le travail présenté dans cette thèse décrit l'optimisation d'un classificateur d'arbres de décision qui supprime 99,9% du fond renforcé, après le processus de sélection ci-dessus, pour un rendement de signal de 50%. Nous avons proposé une méthode pour estimer les rendements de signaux présents dans notre échantillon de données en utilisant un ajustement extension maximale de vraisemblance. / The rare decays B0s→μ+μ− and B0→μ+μ− are benchmark channels to constrain models beyond the Standard Model (BSM) with a larger Higgs sector. In the SM, the branching fraction of these decays is predicted with a good accuracy: B(B0(s)→μ+μ−)=(3.2±0.2)×10−9 and B(B0→μ+μ−)=(0.10±0.01)×10−10. Any deviation from these values can lead to indications of physics BSM. The core of this thesis comprises two main topics: the background rejection and the signal yields extraction. We have optimized a multivariate classifier based on the boosted decision trees technique allowing for a drastic reduction of the B→h+h′− (h≡π,K) background. After the selection process, about 76% of the combinatorial background for B0s→μ+μ− is removed, while keeping a signal efficiency of about 92%. A further discrimination between signal and background is accomplished with another multivariate classifier optimized to have a large background rejection in the low signal efficiency region. The work presented in this thesis describes the optimization of a boosted decision trees classifier that suppresses 99.9% of the background, after the aforementioned selection process, for a signal efficiency of 50%. We have proposed a method to estimate the signal yields present in our data sample using an extended maximum likelihood fit.

Le boson de Higgs dans le mode de désintégration WW* est observé avec un excès d'événements sur le bruit de fond de 6,1 écarts-types dans l'état final avec dilepton, alors que l’importance du signal attendu pour le boson de Higgs du modèle standard est de 5,8 écarts-types. Une indication pour la production du processus en fusion de bosons vecteurs (VBF) est également obtenue avec une importance de 3,2 écarts-types. Les résultats sont obtenus à partir d'un échantillon de données en collisions proton-proton enregistrées par le détecteur ATLAS au LHC, qui correspond à une luminosité intégrée de 4,5fb-1 à √s = 7 TeV et 20,3fb-1 à √s = 8 TeV. Tous les canaux de saveur leptonique (ee/μμ et eμ/μe)) sont analysés, y compris de différentes catégories en multiplicité de jets (nj = 0, 1,≥ 2). Les canaux ayant différentes saveurs leptoniques eμ/μe ont la meilleure sensibilité au signal. Les catégories à basse multiplicité de jet sont contribuées principalement par la production du processus en fusion de gluon-gluon (ggF), tandis que la catégorie à haute multiplicité est plus sensible à la production VBF. Les bruits de fond dans différents canaux et catégories varient et leurs contributions sont obtenues dans la plupart de cas à partir des données avec des régions de contrôle ou validation. Les bruits de fond dominants sont les productions WW et le quark top. Dans les canaux ayant la même saveur leptonique, la contribution Drell-Yan est aussi une autre source importante. Pour le boson de Higgs à 125,36GeV, le rapport du signal mesuré sur celui du modèle standard est de 1,09+0,16-0,15 (stat.) +0,17-0,14 (syst.). Les rapports correspondants pour les productions ggF et VBF sont de 1,02±0, 19 (stat.) +0,22-0,18 (syst.) et 1,27+0,44-0,40 (stat.) +0,30-0,21 (syst.), respectivement. La section efficace totale mesurée à √s = 8 TeV est de σ(gg → H → WW∗) =8TeV est de σ(gg → H → WW∗) et σ(VBFH → WW∗) = 0,51+0,17−0,15 (stat.)+0,13−0,08 (syst.) pb. La section efficace fiducielle est aussi mesurée pour la production ggF dans l'était final exclusif avec zéro ou un seul jet. En plus des couplages, d'autres propriétés du boson de Higgs, notamment le nombre quantique de spin et la largeur totale de désintégration, sont également étudiées en utilisant les données de 8TeV et les canaux ayant différentes saveurs leptoniques seulement. L'étude du spin est basée sur un échantillon de données dominé par les événements sous le pic de résonance en utilisant les catégories de jet nj ≤ 1. L'hypothèse sur le spin-parité JCP = 0++ du modèle standard est comparée à d'autres hypothèses. Les données sont compatibles avec le modèle standard et les limites sont placées sur des hypothèses alternatives de spin. Les événements dans la queue hors pic de résonance à haute masse dans la catégorie inclusive de jet sont ensuite utilisés pour mesurer les couplages du boson de Higgs hors de sa couche de masse et pour imposer une contrainte sur la limite supérieure de la largeur totale du boson de Higgs, lorsque certaines hypothèses sont faites / The Higgs boson decays to WW* is observed based on an excess of events over background of 6.1 standard deviations in the dilepton final state including all flavour channels (ee/μμ and eμ/μe) and jet multiplicity categories (nj = 0, 1,≥ 2), where theStandard Model expectation is 5.8 standard deviations. Evidence for thevector-boson fusion (VBF) production process is also obtained with a significance of3.2 standard deviations. The different favour channels eμ/μe have the best expected signal sensitivity. The low jet multiplicity categories are dominantly contributed by the gluon-gluon fusion (ggF) production process whereas the large jet multiplicity category has the best sensitivity to the VBF production process. The results are obtained from proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC, corresponding to 4.5fb-1 at √s = 7TeV and 20.3fb-1 at √s = 8TeV. The background contribution in each channel and jet multiplicity category varies and is determined mostly with data-driven techniques with dedicated control or validation regions. The dominant background processes are the continuum WW and top quark productions. In the same flavour channels (ee/μμ), the Drell-Yan process is another important background source. For a Higgs boson mass of 125.36GeV, the ratio of the measured value to the expected value of the total production cross section times branching ratio fraction is 1.09+0.16-0.15 (stat.) +0.17-0.14 (syst.). The corresponding ratios for the gluon fusion and vector-boson fusion production modes are 1.02 ± 0.19 (stat.)+0.22−0.18 (syst.) and 1.27+0.44-0.40 (stat.) +0.30-0.21 (syst.), respectively. At √s = 8TeV, the total production cross section is measured to beσ(gg → H → WW∗) = 4.6±0.9 (stat.)+0.8−0.7 (syst.) pb σ(VBFH → WW∗) = 0.51+0.17−0.15 (stat.)+0.13−0.08 (syst.) pb. The fiducial cross section is determined for the gluon-fusion process in exclusive final states with zero and one associated jet. In addition to the on-shell couplings, other properties of the Higgs boson, namely the spin quantum number and the total decay width, are also studied using the 8TeV data and the different flavour channels only. The spin study is based on the on-shell dominated event sample using the nj ≤ 1 jet categories. The Standard Model spin-parity JCP = 0++ hypothesis is compared with alternative hypotheses. The data are found to be consistent with the Standard Model and limits are placed on alternative spin hypotheses.The off-shell events in the high mass tail from the inclusive jet category are then used to measure the off-shell couplings and impose a constraint on the upper limit of the total width of the Higgs boson indirectly, when certain assumptions are made.

Es werden Messungen der totalen Wirkungsquerschnitte der Prozesse pp → W/Z → ll′ in Endzuständen mit Elektronen und Myonen präsentiert. Für diese Analyse werden Daten, die im Jahr 2013 mit dem ATLAS-Detekor am LHC bei einer Schwerpunktsenergie von √s= 2.76 TeV aufgezeichnet wurden und einer integrierten Luminosität von pb−1 entsprechen, verwendet. In dieser Analyse werden mehrere Quellen systematischer Unsicherheiten berücksichtigt. Die Untergründe werden sowohl mittels Simulationen (für elektroschwache und tt ̄ Un- tergründe) als auch mithilfe datengetriebener Methoden (für den Multi-Jet Untergrund) abgeschätzt. Die Resultate der Elektron- und Myon-Kanäle werden kombiniert und ergeben die folgenden Wirkungsquerschnitte: sigma_fid(W → lν) = 2206.3±20.2(stat.)±10.6(sys.)±68.4(lumi.)[pb], sigma_fid(Z → ll) = 200.4±6.1(stat.)±0.3(sys.)±6.2(lumi.)[pb]. Die kombinierten Wirkungsquerschnitte werden zur Berechnung der Wirkungsquerschnitts- Verhältnisse W/Z und W+/W− benutzt. Die Ergebnisse werden mit QCD-Berechnungen unterschiedlicher Ordnungen verglichen. Der Einfluss dieser Messung auf Partonverteilungsfunktionen (parton distribution func- tions, PDFs) wird abgeschätzt. Die gesamte Unsicherheit dieser Messungen ist vergleich- bar mit den Unsicherheiten aktueller PDFs, weshalb diese Analyse zur Einbeziehung in zukünftige PDF-Bestimmungen geeignet ist. Außerdem wurden Studien zur Frozen Showers Methode zur schnelleren Simulation von Ereignissen im ATLAS-Detektor durchgeführt. Es wurde eine neue Methode zur Gener- ierung einer Frozen Showers Bibliothek entwickelt, die eine Reduzierung der für diesen Abschnitt benötigten Zeit erlaubt. / Measurements of the total pp → W/Z → ll′ cross sections in the electron and muon s = 2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC (in 2013), corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 4 channels are presented. Data collected at a center-of-mass energy pb−1, are used for this analysis. In this measurement, several sources of systematic uncertainties are estimated. The back- ground contribution is estimated using simulation (for electroweak and tt ̄ backgrounds) as well as data-driven methods (for the multijet background). The combined results for electron and muon channels provide the following cross sections: sigma_fid(W → lν) = 2206.3±20.2(stat.)±10.6(sys.)±68.4(lumi.)[pb], sigma_fid(Z → ll) = 200.4±6.1(stat.)±0.3(sys.)±6.2(lumi.)[pb]. The combined cross sections are used for the calculation of the W/Z and W+/W− cross section ratios. These results are compared with different orders of QCD calculations. The effect of the addition of the measured cross sections to the parton density functions (PDF) is estimated. The total uncertainty of the measurements is comparable to the current global PDF uncer- tainties, which makes them applicable for future PDF determination. Additionally, studies of the Frozen Showers method for fast simulation have been per- formed. A new method of Frozen Showers library generation, allowing to reduce time spend on this stage, is developed.

Einer der Hauptzweige innerhalb der String-Theorie, der sich um die Konstruktion phänomenologisch relevanter Modelle bemüht, beschäftigt sich mit sich schneidenden D-Branen. Nach einer allgemeinen Einleitung in die Stringtheorie, werden sowohl Torus- als auch Z_N-Orientifolde detailliert dargestellt. Es wird auf das Bild von D9-Branen mit externen B-Feldern eingegangen, aber das Hauptaugenmerk liegt auf dem T-dualen Bild sich schneidender D6-Branen. Die Forderung nach einer Abwesenheit von R-R und NS-NS Tadpolen wird im Formalismus der konformen Feldtheorie hergeleitet. Verschiedene Aspekte der chiralen und nicht-chiralen masselosen Spektren geschlossener und offener Strings werden behandelt, wie Raumzeit-Anomalien, der generalisierte Green-Schwarz-Mechanismus und verschiedene Mechanismen zur Brechung der Eichgruppen. Anschließend werden sowohl der supersymmetrische wie auch der nicht-supersymmetrische Zugang zur Bildung niederenergetischer Modelle diskutiert. Das Problem komplexer Strukturinstabilitäten auf dem Torus wird erfolgreich in einem Z_3-Orientifold-Modell behoben. Es wird ein dem Standard-Modell ähnliches Drei-Generationen-Modell konstruiert, das neben den üblichen Eichgruppen noch eine zusätzliche globale B-L-Symmetrie besitzt. Somit sind weder der elektroschwache Higgs-Mechanismus noch die üblichen Yukawa-Kopplungen in diesem Modell realisiert. Es wird gezeigt, daß der natürliche Ursprung dieses Modells ein flipped SU(5)-GUT-Modell ist. Die Stringskala muß hierbei wenigstens von der Größenordnung der GUT-Skala angenommen werden. Anschließend werden supersymmetrische Modelle auf dem Z_4-Orbifold besprochen, einem Hintergrund, der auch exzeptionelle 3-Zyklen zuläßt. Es werden fraktionale D-Branen explizit konstruiert. Schließlich wird als Beispiel ein Pati-Salam-Modell dargestellt, welches drei Fermion-Generationen besitzt. Dieses Modell ergibt sich nach der Anwendung verschiedener Branenrekombinations-mechanismen und beinhaltet nicht-flache und nicht-faktorisierbare D-Branen. Es wird ebenfalls gezeigt, wie dieses Modell auf ein MSSM-artiges Modell heruntergebrochen werden kann, welches eine masselose Hyperladung besitzt. Im letzten Teil wird der Frage nachgegangen, ob instabile Modulusfelder des Sektors geschlossener oder offener Strings möglicherweise für die Phase der Inflation innerhalb der kosmischen Entwicklung unseres Universums verantwortlich gewesen sein können. Damit dies der Fall sein kann, müssen potentielle Inflaton-Kandidaten die Slow-Roll-Bedingung erfüllen. Dies ist in der diskutierten Modellklasse für die geschlossenen String-Felder nur für den sehr speziellen Fall möglich, daß einige Felder als eingefroren behandelt werden und zudem ein spezielles Koordinatensystem verwendet wird. Im Sektor der offenen Strings konnte auf One-loop-Niveau kein Modulusfeld die Bedingung erfüllen. / Intersecting branes have been the subject of an elaborate string model building for several years. After a general introduction into string theory, this work introduces in detail the toroidal and Z_N-orientifolds. The picture involving D9-branes with B-fluxes is shortly reviewed, but the main discussion employs the T-dual picture of intersecting D6-branes. The derivation of the R-R and NS-NS tadpole cancellation conditions in the conformal field theory is shown in great detail. Various aspects of the open and closed chiral and non-chiral massless spectrum are discussed, involving spacetime anomalies and the generalized Green-Schwarz mechanism. An introduction into possible gauge breaking mechanisms is given, too. Afterwards, both N=1 supersymmetric and non-supersymmetric approaches to low energy model building are treated. Firstly, the problem of complex structure instabilities in toroidal OmegaR-orientifolds is approached by a Z_3-orbifolded model. In particular, a stable non-supersymmetric standard-like model with three fermion generations is discussed. This model features the standard model gauge groups at the same time as having a massless hypercharge, but possessing an additional global B-L symmetry. The electroweak Higgs mechanism and the Yukawa couplings are not realized in the usual way. It is shown that this model descends naturally from a flipped SU(5) GUT model, where the string scale has to be at least of the order of the GUT scale. Secondly, supersymmetric models on the Z_4-orbifold are discussed, involving exceptional 3-cycles and the explicit construction of fractional D-branes. A three generation Pati-Salam model is constructed as a particular example, where several brane recombination mechanisms are used, yielding non-flat and non-factorizable branes. This model even can be broken down to a MSSM-like model with a massless hypercharge. Finally, the possibility if unstable closed and open string moduli could have played the role of the inflaton in the evolution of the universe is being explored. In the closed string sector, the important slow-rolling requirement can only be fulfilled for very specific cases, where some moduli are frozen and a special choice of coordinates is taken. In the open string sector, inflation does not seem to be possible at all.

For more than 30 years the Standard Model has been the theoretical foundation for particle physics. The theory has been verified successfully by experimental tests. Its biggest shortcoming is the non-discovery of the Higgs boson,responsible for giving the other particles masses. Despite its success there are hints that the Standard Model is not the complete theory and many extensions of it, such as supersymmetry, have been proposed. Extended theories often predict the existence of a charged Higgs boson and its detection will be a clear sign of physics beyond the Standard Model. The main focus in this thesis is on various phenomenological aspects of the charged Higgs boson. For favorable mass and couplings direct detection is shown to be possible at the Large Hadron Collider in production with an associated W boson. It is also shown how a light charged Higgs can have measurable effects on spin correlations in decays of pair-produced top quarks. The charged Higgs boson can also be seen indirectly, in for example B-meson decays, which can be used to put constraints on its mass and fermion couplings. Exclusion limits in two supersymmetric models are given together with a comparison with the discovery potentials for the LHC experiments. A tool for calculating properties, such as masses and decays, of both charged and neutral Higgs bosons in the Two-Higgs-Doublet Model is also presented. B-meson decays can also be used to test aspects of the strong interaction. Part of this thesis deals with improving and applying phenomenological models to B-meson decays. Although these models are not derived from first principles, their success shows that they capture important features of non-perturbative strong interactions.