Ecological succession of the microbial communities of an air-conditioning cooling coil in the tropics.

Air-conditioning systems harbor microorganisms, potentially spreading them to indoor environments. While air and surfaces in air-conditioning systems are periodically sampled as potential sources of indoor microbes, little is known about the dynamics of cooling coil-associated communities and their effect on the downstream airflow. Here, we conducted a 4-week time series sampling to characterize the succession of an air-conditioning duct and cooling coil after cleaning. Using an universal primer pair targeting hypervariable regions of the 16S/18S ribosomal RNA, we observed a community succession for the condensed water, with the most abundant airborne taxon Agaricomycetes fungi dominating the initial phase and Sphingomonas bacteria becoming the most prevalent taxa toward the end of the experiment. Duplicate air samples collected upstream and downstream of the coil suggest that the system does not act as ecological filter or source/sink for specific microbial taxa during the duration of the experiment.

Jet energy resolution in proton-proton collisions at [Formula: see text] recorded in 2010 with the ATLAS detector.

The measurement of the jet energy resolution is presented using data recorded with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at [Formula: see text]. The sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35 pb-1. Jets are reconstructed from energy deposits measured by the calorimeters and calibrated using different jet calibration schemes. The jet energy resolution is measured with two different in situ methods which are found to be in agreement within uncertainties. The total uncertainties on these measurements range from 20 % to 10 % for jets within |y|<2.8 and with transverse momenta increasing from 30 GeV to 500 GeV. Overall, the Monte Carlo simulation of the jet energy resolution agrees with the data within 10 %.

Improved luminosity determination in pp collisions at [Formula: see text] using the ATLAS detector at the LHC.

The luminosity calibration for the ATLAS detector at the LHC during pp collisions at [Formula: see text] in 2010 and 2011 is presented. Evaluation of the luminosity scale is performed using several luminosity-sensitive detectors, and comparisons are made of the long-term stability and accuracy of this calibration applied to the pp collisions at [Formula: see text]. A luminosity uncertainty of [Formula: see text] is obtained for the 47 pb-1 of data delivered to ATLAS in 2010, and an uncertainty of [Formula: see text] is obtained for the 5.5 fb-1 delivered in 2011.

Determination of the strange-quark density of the proton from ATLAS measurements of the W→ℓν and Z→ℓℓ cross sections.

A QCD analysis is reported of ATLAS data on inclusive W(±) and Z boson production in pp collisions at the LHC, jointly with ep deep-inelastic scattering data from HERA. The ATLAS data exhibit sensitivity to the light quark sea composition and magnitude at Bjorken x∼0.01. Specifically, the data support the hypothesis of a symmetric composition of the light quark sea at low x. The ratio of the strange-to-down sea quark distributions is determined to be 1.00(-0.28)(+0.25) at absolute four-momentum transfer squared Q(2)=1.9 GeV(2) and x=0.023.

Search for tb resonances in proton-proton collisions at √s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector.

This Letter presents a search for tb resonances in 1.04 fb(-1) of LHC proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. Events with a lepton, missing transverse momentum, and two jets are selected and the invariant mass of the corresponding final state is reconstructed. The search exploits the shape of the tb invariant mass distribution compared to the expected standard model backgrounds. The model of a right-handed W(R)' with standard model-like couplings is chosen as the benchmark model for this search. No statistically significant excess of events is observed in the data, and upper limits on the cross section times the branching ratio of W(R)' resonances at 95% C.L. lie in the range of 6.1-1.0 pb for W(R)' masses ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 TeV. These limits are translated into a lower bound on the allowed right-handed W(R)' mass, giving m(W(R)'))>1.13 TeV at 95% C.L.

Search for production of resonant states in the photon-jet mass distribution using pp collisions at √s=7 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector.

This Letter describes a model-independent search for the production of new resonant states in photon+jet events in 2.11 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at √s=7 TeV. We compare the photon+jet mass distribution to a background model derived from data and find consistency with the background-only hypothesis. Given the lack of evidence for a signal, we set 95% credibility level limits on generic Gaussian-shaped signals and on a benchmark excited-quark (q*) model, excluding 2 TeV Gaussian resonances with cross section times branching fraction times acceptance times efficiency near 5 fb and excluding q* masses below 2.46 TeV, respectively.

Observation of spin correlation in tt¯ events from pp collisions at √s=7 TeV using the ATLAS detector.

A measurement of spin correlation in tt[over ¯] production is reported using data collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.1 fb(-1). Candidate events are selected in the dilepton topology with large missing transverse energy and at least two jets. The difference in azimuthal angle between the two charged leptons in the laboratory frame is used to extract the correlation between the top and antitop quark spins. In the helicity basis the measured degree of correlation corresponds to A(helicity)=0.40(-0.08)(+0.09), in agreement with the next-to-leading-order standard model prediction. The hypothesis of zero spin correlation is excluded at 5.1 standard deviations.

Search for gluinos in events with two same-sign leptons, jets, and missing transverse momentum with the ATLAS detector in pp collisions at sqrt[s]=7 TeV.

A search is presented for gluinos decaying via the supersymmetric partner of the top quark using events with two same-sign leptons, jets, and missing transverse momentum. The analysis is performed with 2.05 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity from pp collisions at sqrt[s]=7 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. No excess beyond the standard model expectation is observed, and exclusion limits are derived for simplified models where the gluino decays via the supersymmetric partner of the top quark and in the minimal supergravity and constrained minimal supersymmetric standard model framework. In those scenarios, gluino masses below 550 GeV are excluded at 95% C.L. within the parameter space considered, significantly extending the coverage with respect to existing limits. Depending on the model parameters, gluino masses up to 750 GeV can also be excluded at 95% C.L.

Search for a light Higgs boson decaying to long-lived weakly interacting particles in proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector.

A search for the decay of a light Higgs boson (120-140 GeV) to a pair of weakly interacting, long-lived particles in 1.94 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV recorded in 2011 by the ATLAS detector is presented. The search strategy requires that both long-lived particles decay inside the muon spectrometer. No excess of events is observed above the expected background and limits on the Higgs boson production times branching ratio to weakly interacting, long-lived particles are derived as a function of the particle proper decay length.

Search for pair production of a heavy up-type quark decaying to a W boson and a b quark in the lepton + jets channel with the ATLAS detector.

A search is presented for production of a heavy up-type quark (t') together with its antiparticle, assuming subsequent decay to a W boson and a b quark, t't[over ¯]'→W(+)bW(-)b[over ¯]. The search is based on 1.04 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at √[s]=7 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Data are analyzed in the lepton+jets final state, characterized by a high transverse momentum isolated electron or muon, high missing transverse momentum, and at least three jets. No significant excess of events above the background expectation is observed. A 95% C.L. lower limit of 404 GeV is set for the mass of the t' quark.

Search for supersymmetry in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in √[s]=7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector.

A search for the weak production of charginos and neutralinos decaying to a final state with three leptons (electrons or muons) and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis uses 2.06 fb(-1) of √[s]=7 TeV proton-proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with standard model expectations in two signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric and simplified models. For the simplified models, degenerate lightest chargino and next-to-lightest neutralino masses up to 300 GeV are excluded for mass differences from the lightest neutralino up to 300 GeV.

Search for pair production of a new b' quark that decays into a Z boson and a bottom quark with the ATLAS detector.

A search is reported for the pair production of a new quark b' with at least one b' decaying to a Z boson and a bottom quark. The data, corresponding to 2.0 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity, were collected from pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Using events with a b-tagged jet and a Z boson reconstructed from opposite-charge electrons, the mass distribution of large transverse momentum b' candidates is tested for an enhancement. No evidence for a b' signal is detected in the observed mass distribution, resulting in the exclusion at a 95% confidence level of b' quarks with masses m (b') < 400 GeV that decay entirely via b' → Z+b. In the case of a vectorlike singlet b' mixing solely with the third standard model generation, masses m(b') < 358 GeV are excluded.

Search for down-type fourth generation quarks with the ATLAS detector in events with one lepton and hadronically decaying W bosons.

This Letter presents a search for pair production of heavy down-type quarks decaying via b' → Wt in the lepton + jets channel, as b'b' → W- tW+ t → bbW+ W- W+ W- → l± νbbqqqqqq. In addition to requiring exactly one lepton, large missing transverse momentum, and at least six jets, the invariant mass of nearby jet pairs is used to identify high transverse momentum W bosons. In data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.04 fb(-1) from pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector, a heavy down-type quark with mass less than 480 GeV can be excluded at the 95% confidence level.

Search for scalar bottom quark pair production with the ATLAS detector in pp collisions at sqrt[s]=7 TeV.

The results of a search for pair production of the scalar partners of bottom quarks in 2.05 fb(-1) of pp collisions at sqrt[s]=7 TeV using the ATLAS experiment are reported. Scalar bottom quarks are searched for in events with large missing transverse momentum and two jets in the final state, where both jets are identified as originating from a bottom quark. In an R-parity conserving minimal supersymmetric scenario, assuming that the scalar bottom quark decays exclusively into a bottom quark and a neutralino, 95% confidence-level upper limits are obtained in the b(1) - χ(1)(0) mass plane such that for neutralino masses below 60 GeV scalar bottom masses up to 390 GeV are excluded.

Observation of a new χ(b) state in radiative transitions to Υ(1S) and Υ(2S) at ATLAS.

The χ(b)(nP) quarkonium states are produced in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector. Using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.4 fb(-1), these states are reconstructed through their radiative decays to Υ(1S,2S) with Υ â†’ µ+ µ-. In addition to the mass peaks corresponding to the decay modes χ(b)(1P,2P) → Υ(1S)γ, a new structure centered at a mass of 10.530 ± 0.005(stat) ± 0.009(syst) GeV is also observed, in both the Υ(1S)γ and Υ(2S)γ decay modes. This structure is interpreted as the χ(b)(3P) system.

Search for the Higgs boson in the H→WW(*)→ℓ(+)νℓ(-)ν decay channel in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector.

A search for the Higgs boson has been performed in the H→WW(*)→ℓ(+)νℓ(-)ν[over ¯] channel (ℓ=e/µ) with an integrated luminosity of 2.05 fb(-1) of pp collisions at √s=7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No significant excess of events over the expected background is observed and limits on the Higgs boson production cross section are derived for a Higgs boson mass in the range 110 GeV

Search for the standard model Higgs boson in the diphoton decay channel with 4.9 fb(-1) of pp collision data at √s=7 TeV with ATLAS.

A search for the standard model Higgs boson is performed in the diphoton decay channel. The data used correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.9 fb(-1) collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of √s=7 TeV. In the diphoton mass range 110-150 GeV, the largest excess with respect to the background-only hypothesis is observed at 126.5 GeV, with a local significance of 2.8 standard deviations. Taking the look-elsewhere effect into account in the range 110-150 GeV, this significance becomes 1.5 standard deviations. The standard model Higgs boson is excluded at 95% confidence level in the mass ranges of 113-115 GeV and 134.5-136 GeV.

Measurement of the ZZ production cross section and limits on anomalous neutral triple gauge couplings in proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector.

A measurement of the ZZ production cross section in proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.02 fb(-1) recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC is presented. Twelve events containing two Z boson candidates decaying to electrons and/or muons are observed, with an expected background of 0.3 ± 0.3(stat)(-0.3)(+0.4)(syst) events. The cross section measured in a phase-space region with good detector acceptance and for dilepton masses within the range 66 to 116 GeV is σ(ZZ → ℓ+ ℓ- ℓ+ ℓ-)(fid) = 19.4(-5.2)(+6.3)(stat)(-0.7)(+0.9)(syst) ± 0.7(lumi) fb. The resulting total cross section for on-shell ZZ production, σ(ZZ)(tot) = 8.5(-2.3)(+2.7)(stat)(-0.3)(+0.4)(syst) ± 0.3(lumi) pb, is consistent with the standard model expectation of 6.5(-0.2)(+0.3) pb calculated at the next-to-leading order in QCD. Limits on anomalous neutral triple gauge boson couplings are derived.

Search for new phenomena in tt events with large missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector.

A search for new phenomena in tt events with large missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented. The measurement is based on 1.04 fb(-1) of data collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Contributions to this final state may arise from a number of standard model extensions. The results are interpreted in terms of a model where new top-quark partners are pair produced and each decay to an on-shell top (or antitop) quark and a long-lived undetected neutral particle. The data are found to be consistent with standard model expectations. A limit at 95% confidence level is set excluding a cross section times branching ratio of 1.1 pb for a top-partner mass of 420 GeV and a neutral particle mass less than 10 GeV. In a model of exotic fourth generation quarks, top-partner masses are excluded up to 420 GeV and neutral particle masses up to 140 GeV.

Search for lepton flavour violation in the eµ continuum with the ATLAS detector in [Formula: see text]pp collisions at the LHC.

This paper presents a search for the t-channel exchange of an R-parity violating scalar top quark ([Formula: see text]) in the e±µ∓ continuum using 2.1 fb-1 of data collected by the ATLAS detector in [Formula: see text]pp collisions at the Large Hadron Collider. Data are found to be consistent with the expectation from the Standard Model backgrounds. Limits on R-parity-violating couplings at 95 % C.L. are calculated as a function of the scalar top mass ([Formula: see text]). The upper limits on the production cross section for pp→eµX, through the t-channel exchange of a scalar top quark, ranges from 170 fb for [Formula: see text] to 30 fb for [Formula: see text].