A search for Higgs-portal dark matter and new phenomena with monojet signatures in pp collisions at √s = 8 TeV
Date
2015-12-21
Authors
Pearce, James D.
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Abstract
A search for new phenomena in final states with one or more energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum, ETmissT, is presented. An integrated luminosity of 20 fb-1 is collected from √s = 8 TeV pp collisions at the LHC with the ATLAS detector during 2012 operations. A selection criteria is imposed requiring events to have monojet signatures, with ETmissT > 350 GeV and no identified leptons. Standard Model backgrounds and systematics uncertainties are estimated using a maximum likelihood procedure. The number of events passing this selection criteria is in good agreement with Standard Model expectations. These events are then divided up into three orthogonal signal regions based on the outputs of two Random Forest classifiers trained to classify invisible decays of the Higgs boson produced through the vector boson fusion and Higgs-strahlung production modes. These results are then interpreted in terms of three different Higgs-portal models and translated into upper limits on WIMP-nucleon cross-sections for comparison with direct detection experiments.
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Keywords
Dark matter, ATLAS, monojet, LHC