Search for bottom-squark pair production in <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mi>p</mml:mi><mml:mi>p</mml:mi></mml:math> collision events at <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:msqrt><mml:mi>s</mml:mi></mml:msqrt><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>13</mml:mn><mml:mtext> </mml:mtext><mml:mtext> </mml:mtext><mml:mi>TeV</mml:mi></mml:math> with hadronically decaying <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mi>τ</mml:mi></mml:math>-leptons, <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mi>b</mml:mi></mml:math>-jets, and missing transverse momentum using the ATLAS detector
G. Aad, B. Abbott, D. C. Abbott, A. Abed Abud, K. Li, D. K. Abhayasinghe, S. H. Abidi, O. S. AbouZeid, N. L. Abraham, H. Abramowicz, H. Abreu, Y. Abulaiti, B. S. Acharya, B. Achkar, L. Adámek, C. Adam Bourdarios, L. Adamczyk, L. Adámek, J. Adelman, A. Adiguzel, S. Adorni, T. Adye, A. A. Affolder, Y. Afik, C. Agapopoulou, M. N. Agaras, A. Aggarwal, C. Agheorghiesei, J. A. Aguilar–Saavedra, A. Ahmad, F. Ahmadov, W. S. Ahmed, X. Ai, G. Aielli, S. Akatsuka, M. Akbiyik, T. P. A. Åkesson, E. Akilli, A. V. Akimov, K. Al Khoury, G. L. Alberghi, J. Albert, M. J. Alconada Verzini, S. Alderweireldt, M. Aleksa, I. N. Aleksandrov, C. Alexa, T. Alexopoulos, A. Alfonsi, F. Alfonsi, M. Alhroob, B. Ali, S. Ali, M. Aliev, G. Alimonti, C. Allaire, B. M. M. Allbrooke, B. Allen, P. P. Allport, A. Aloisio, F. Alonso, C. Alpigiani, Elio Alunno Camelia, M. Alvarez Estevez, M. G. Alviggi, Y. Amaral Coutinho, A. Ambler, L. Ambroz, C. Amelung, D. Amidei, S. P. Amor Dos Santos, S. Amoroso, C. S. Amrouche, F. F. An, C. Anastopoulos, N. Andari, T. Andeen, J. K. Anders, S. Y. Andrean, A. Andreazza, V. Andrei, C. R. Anelli, S. Angelidakis, A. Angerami, A. V. Anisenkov, A. Annovi, C. Antel, M. T. Anthony, E. Antipov, M. Antonelli, D. J. A. Antrim, F. Anulli, M. Aoki, J. A. Aparisi Pozo, M. A. Aparo, L. Aperio Bella, N. Aranzabal, V. Araujo Ferraz, R. Araujo Pereira, C. Arcangeletti
Abstract
A search for pair production of bottom squarks in events with hadronically decaying $\ensuremath{\tau}$-leptons, $b$-tagged jets, and large missing transverse momentum is presented. The analyzed dataset is based on proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{TeV}$ delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded by the ATLAS detector from 2015 to 2018, and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of $139\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{fb}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. The observed data are compatible with the expected Standard Model background. Results are interpreted in a simplified model where each bottom squark is assumed to decay into the second-lightest neutralino ${\stackrel{\texttildelow{}}{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{2}^{0}$ and a bottom quark, with ${\stackrel{\texttildelow{}}{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{2}^{0}$ decaying into a Higgs boson and the lightest neutralino ${\stackrel{\texttildelow{}}{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{1}^{0}$. The search focuses on final states where at least one Higgs boson decays into a pair of hadronically decaying $\ensuremath{\tau}$-leptons. This allows the acceptance and thus the sensitivity to be significantly improved relative to the previous results at low masses of the ${\stackrel{\texttildelow{}}{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{2}^{0}$, where bottom-squark masses up to 850 GeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level, assuming a mass difference of 130 GeV between ${\stackrel{\texttildelow{}}{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{2}^{0}$ and ${\stackrel{\texttildelow{}}{\ensuremath{\chi}}}_{1}^{0}$. Model-independent upper limits are also set on the cross section of processes beyond the Standard Model.