A search for resonances in the dilepton channel in 1.04 fb⁻¹ of pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Triumf, BC, V6T 2A3, Canada
University of British Columbia, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

^a e-mail: swedish@cern.ch

Abstract

The first ATLAS result on a search for a high mass top pair resonance at the LHC in the subset of events where both W bosons from the top decays decay to either a final state electron or muon is presented. The analysis is performed on 1.04 fb⁻¹ of pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV. Numerous models predict the production of new massive particles that decay preferentially to a top-anti-top pair, including Randall-Sundrum models where the observation of a Kaluza-Klein excitation of the gluon may be the first indication of the existence of an extra spatial dimension. In the analysis presented, a simple observable, sensitive to resonance mass, is formed by summing the missing transverse energy, and the transverse momenta of the selected jets and the two candidate leptons. A deviation from the Standard Model prediction for this observable is searched for using Bayesian statistical methods that compare the yields, and shapes, of the Standard Model background and signal predictions for KK-gluons with masses between 500 and 1600 GeV. No excess over the Standard Model is observed and 95% C.L. upper limits are set on the production cross-section times branching ratio to top quarks for KK-gluon-like resonances. The results of the analysis exclude Randall-Sundrum KK-gluons with masses less than 840 GeV.