A search for the Higgs boson produced with large transverse momentum and decaying as H -> bb is presented, using the 80 fb^{-1} from the dataset collected by the ATLAS detector at sqrt{s}=13 TeV. The Higgs boson is reconstructed as a large-R jet with two b-tagged variable radius track-jets. The work focuses on a peculiar event topology in which the Higgs is produced in association with another Large-R jet. Considering events with reconstructed pT above 480 GeV and with a reconstructed mass from 70-230 GeV, a signal significance of 1.6 sigma for the Higgs and of 5 sigma for the V (Z boson + W boson) is observed. Furthermore, the new Full Run2 analysis is presented, using 136 fb^{-1} from the dataset collected by the ATLAS detector at sqrt{s}=13 TeV. The strategy up to the computation of the expected sensitivity for the Higgs boson is presented in this thesis. The validation of the background modeling is described in details, including tests on data. A preliminary extraction of the Z boson signal is performed and the measured signal strength corresponds to muZ = 0.82 +/- 0.09.

Yes / In order to promote the utilization of high strength materials and application of prefabricated structures, flexural behaviour of section steel-precast UHPC (Ultra-High performance concrete) slab composite beams prefabricated with bolt shear connectors are numerically simulated by the finite element (FE) software ABAQUS. The model is verified by three prefabricated steel-concrete composite beams tested. Numerical analysis results are in good accordance with experimental results. Furthermore, parametric studies are conducted to investigate the effects of strength of section steel and concrete of precast slab, thickness of section steel, width and height of precast concrete slab, diameters of steel bars and bolt shear connectors. The flexural behaviour of composite beams, in terms of bearing capacity, deflection, ductility and energy dissipation, are compared. The numerical results indicate that the improvement of strength of section steel results in a decrease of ductility, but a significant increase of the ultimate load and energy dissipation. Compared with composite beam made of section steel with thickness of 10 mm, the ultimate load of beams made of section steel with thickness of 14 and 18 mm improve by 29.0% and 58.8%, respectively, the ductility enhance by 2.8% and 8.3%, respectively, and the energy dissipation improve by 8.0% and 12.3%, respectively. With the increase of concrete strength, the ultimate load, deflection and energy dissipation gradually increase. The ductility of steel-UHPC composite beam is the highest, that of steel-HSC composite beam is the lowest. The effect of reinforcement ratio of concrete slab and diameter of shear bolts on the ultimate load of composite beam is limited. Simplified formulae for two different sectional types of proper-reinforced section steel-precast UHPC slab composite beams occurred bending failure are proposed, and the predicted results fit well with the simulated results. The results can be taken as a reference for the design and construction of section steel-precast UHPC slab composite beams.

The transversity distribution function, $h_1^{q}(x)$, where $x$ is the longitudinal momentum fraction of the proton carried by quark $q$, encodes the proton's transverse spin structure at leading twist. Difficulties arise when extracting $h_1^q(x)$ due to its chiral-odd nature. However, it can be coupled with a spin-dependent interference fragmentation function (FF), $H_1^{\sphericalangle, h_1h_2}$, in a dihadron ($h_1h_2$) production channel in polarized proton-proton ($p^\uparrow p$) collisions. The coupling of $h_1^{q}(x)$ and $H_1^{\sphericalangle, h_1h_2}$ produces an experimentally measurable azimuthal correlation asymmetry, $A_{UT}$, between the spin of the fragmenting quark and the final state dihadron. A model-independent extraction of transversity from these measurements relies on the knowledge of dihadron FFs, namely the unpolarized dihadron FFs, $D_1^{h_1h_2/q(g)}$ for quarks, \emph{q} (gluons, \emph{g}). Extraction of these FFs requires measurements of the unpolarized dihadron cross-section in $pp$ collisions, which are urgently needed. In $pp$ collisions, the unpolarized cross-section measurement provides access to the $D_1^{h_1h_2}$ for both quarks and gluons. This thesis outlines the measurements of the \dipion azimuthal correlation asymmetry in the forward ($\eta > 0$) and backward ($\eta < 0$) pseudorapidity regions with respect to the polarized beam using the RHIC Run 2015 polarized $pp$ data and the measurement of the unpolarized \dipion cross-section in the invariant mass bins in the mid-pseudorapidity ($|\eta|<1$) region using the RHIC Run 2012 $pp$ data at $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV. These data sets were collected at the STAR experiment. The STAR Time Projection Chamber (TPC), Barrel Electromagnetic Calorimeter (BEMC), and Time-of-Flight Detector (TOF) were used in conjunction to measure outgoing particle energy, tracking, and identification. / Physics

In the United States, there are two schemes of operating traffic signal controls for permitted protected left turns (PPLT) namely the traditional five-section head system (known as Dog-House) and the flashing yellow arrow system (FYA). Past studies have agreed that these controls lead to decrease the average delay per left turn vehicle, decrease the protected green time, increase the left turn capacity, and enhance the intersection overall operation. The flashing yellow arrow (FYA) has been approved by the Federal Highway Administration as the national standard for the PPLT operations at signalized intersections. So, the Florida Department of Transportation also approved this new system and they are extensively replacing the traditional system with the new system on the area of Central Florida (Lin, et al, 2010). Both these systems have been used for a long time and there are some studies that evaluated these systems but there are limited number of projects that evaluated and/or compared between the two PPLT systems from the operational perspective. The main goal of this research is to study the characteristics of traffic operations and evaluate the effectiveness of the conversion from five-section head signal to the FYA treatments at 13 intersections located in Orlando, Florida. To reach this goal, detailed data collection efforts were conducted at 13 selected intersections in the central Florida area and appropriate statistical tests were conducted using the Minitab 17 Software. Statistical tests were attempted to fit different new regression models that correlate delay and left turn volumes as response variables against a set of independent variables that included permitted green time, opposing volume, percent of trucks, time gaps, speed, and land use type. In addition to fitting the data to regression models, these models were also analyzed for the purpose of detecting any significant differences between the five-section head treatment and FYA treatment. The statistical differences of converting the five-section head system to FYA system were discussed. The results in this thesis agreed with some of the previous studies and did not agree with others. In general, the flashing yellow arrow system was found to enhance the intersection operation, increase the number of left turn vehicles, and reduce the delay. Also, some suggestions and recommendations were made based on this study results.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.