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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Total Cost of Ownership and Evaluation of Google Cloud Resources for the ATLAS Experiment at the LHC

(2025)

Abstract: The ATLAS Google Project was established as part of an ongoing evaluation of the use of commercial clouds by the ATLAS Collaboration, in anticipation of the potential future adoption of such resources by WLCG grid sites to fulfil or complement their computing pledges. Seamless integration of Google cloud resources into the worldwide ATLAS distributed computing infrastructure was achieved at large scale and for an extended period of time, and hence cloud resources are shown to be an effective mechanism to provide additional, flexible computing capacity to ATLAS. For the first time a total cost of ownership analysis has been performed, to identify the dominant cost drivers and explore effective mechanisms for cost control. Network usage significantly impacts the costs of certain ATLAS workflows, underscoring the importance of implementing such mechanisms. Resource bursting has been successfully demonstrated, whilst exposing the true cost of this type of activity. A follow-up to the project is underway to investigate methods for improving the integration of cloud resources in data-intensive distributed computing environments and reducing costs related to network connectivity, which represents the primary expense when extensively utilising cloud resources.

Configuration, Performance, and Commissioning of the ATLAS b-jet Triggers for the 2022 and 2023 LHC data-taking periods

(2025)

Abstract: In 2022 and 2023, the Large Hadron Collider produced approximately two billion hadronic interactions each second from bunches of protons that collide at a rate of 40 MHz. The ATLAS trigger system is used to reduce this rate to a few kHz for recording. Selections based on hadronic jets, their energy, and event topology reduce the rate to 𝒪(10) kHz while maintaining high efficiencies for important signatures resulting in b-quarks, but to reach the desired recording rate of hundreds of Hz, additional real-time selections based on the identification of jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) are employed to achieve low thresholds on the jet transverse momentum at the High-Level Trigger. The configuration, commissioning, and performance of the real-time ATLAS b-jet identification algorithms for the early LHC Run 3 collision data are presented. These recent developments provide substantial gains in signal efficiency for critical signatures; for the Standard Model production of Higgs boson pairs, a 50% improvement in selection efficiency is observed in final states with four b-quarks or two b-quarks and two hadronically decaying τ-leptons.

Measurement of the associated production of a top-antitop-quark pair and a Higgs boson decaying into a bb¯ pair in pp collisions at s=13 TeV using the ATLAS detector at the LHC

(2025)

Abstract: This paper reports the measurement of Higgs boson production in association with a $$t\bar{t}$$ t t ¯ pair in the $$H\rightarrow b\bar{b}$$ H → b b ¯ decay channel. The analysis uses 140 fb $$^{-1}$$ - 1 of 13 $$\text {TeV}$$ TeV proton–proton collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The final states with one or two electrons or muons are employed. An excess of events over the expected background is found with an observed (expected) significance of 4.6 (5.4) standard deviations. The $$t\bar{t}H$$ t t ¯ H cross-section is $$\sigma _{t\bar{t}H} = 411~^{+101}_{-92}~\text {fb} = 411 \pm 54(\text {stat.})~^{+85}_{-75}(\text {syst.})~\text {fb}$$ σ t t ¯ H = 411 - 92 + 101 fb = 411 ± 54 ( stat. ) - 75 + 85 ( syst. ) fb for a Higgs boson mass of 125.09 $$\text {GeV}$$ GeV , consistent with the prediction of the Standard Model of $$507^{+35}_{-50}$$ 507 - 50 + 35 fb. The cross-section is also measured differentially in bins of the Higgs boson transverse momentum within the simplified template cross-section framework.

Search for Magnetic Monopole Pair Production in Ultraperipheral Pb+Pb Collisions at sNN=5.36 TeV with the ATLAS Detector at the LHC

(2025)

This Letter presents a search for highly ionizing magnetic monopoles in 262  μb−1 of ultraperipheral Pb+Pb collision data at sNN=5.36  TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. A new methodology that exploits the properties of clusters of hits reconstructed in the innermost silicon detector layers is introduced to study highly ionizing particles in heavy-ion data. No significant excess above the background, which is estimated using a data-driven technique, is observed. Using a nonperturbative semiclassical model, upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the cross section for pair production of monopoles with a single Dirac magnetic charge in the mass range of 20–150 GeV. Depending on the model, monopoles with a single Dirac magnetic charge and mass below 80–120 GeV are excluded. © 2025 CERN, for the ATLAS Collaboration 2025 CERN

Search for a light charged Higgs boson in t→H±b decays, with H±→cs, in pp collisions at s=13TeV with the ATLAS detector

(2025)

Abstract: A search for a light charged Higgs boson produced in decays of the top quark, $$t \rightarrow H^{\pm } b$$ t → H ± b with $$H^{\pm } \rightarrow cs$$ H ± → c s , is presented. This search targets the production of top-quark pairs $$t\bar{t} \rightarrow Wb H^{\pm } b$$ t t ¯ → W b H ± b , with $$W \rightarrow \ell u $$ W → ℓ ν ( $$\ell = e, \mu $$ ℓ = e , μ ), resulting in a lepton-plus-jets final state characterised by an isolated electron or muon and at least four jets. The search exploits b-quark and c-quark identification techniques as well as multivariate methods to suppress the dominant $$t\bar{t}$$ t t ¯ background. The data analysed correspond to $$140\hbox { fb}^{-1}$$ 140 fb - 1 of $$pp$$ pp collisions at $$\sqrt{s} = 13\hbox { TeV}$$ s = 13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC between 2015 and 2018. Observed (expected) 95% confidence-level upper limits on the branching fraction $$\mathscr {B}(t\rightarrow H^{\pm } b)$$ B ( t → H ± b ) , assuming $$\mathscr {B}(t\rightarrow Wb) + \mathscr {B}(t \rightarrow H^{\pm } (\rightarrow cs)b)=1.0$$ B ( t → W b ) + B ( t → H ± ( → c s ) b ) = 1.0 , are set between 0.066% (0.077%) and 3.6% (2.3%) for a charged Higgs boson with a mass between 60 and 168 GeV.

Cover page of Constraint on the total width of the Higgs boson from Higgs boson and four-top-quark measurements in pp collisions at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Constraint on the total width of the Higgs boson from Higgs boson and four-top-quark measurements in pp collisions at s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

(2025)

This Letter presents a constraint on the total width of the Higgs boson (ΓH) using a combined measurement of on-shell Higgs boson production and the production of four top quarks, which involves contributions from off-shell Higgs boson-mediated processes. This method relies on the assumption that the tree-level Higgs-top Yukawa coupling strength is the same for on-shell and off-shell Higgs boson production processes, thereby avoiding any assumptions about the relationship between on-shell and off-shell gluon fusion Higgs production rates, which were central to previous measurements. The result is based on up to 140 fb−1 of proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s = 13 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The observed (expected) 95% confidence level upper limit on ΓH is 450 MeV (75 MeV). Additionally, considering the constraint on the Higgs-top Yukawa coupling from loop-induced Higgs boson production and decay processes further yields an observed (expected) upper limit of 160 MeV (55 MeV).

Cover page of RNA-Puzzles Round V: blind predictions of 23 RNA structures

RNA-Puzzles Round V: blind predictions of 23 RNA structures

(2025)

RNA-Puzzles is a collective endeavor dedicated to the advancement and improvement of RNA three-dimensional structure prediction. With agreement from structural biologists, RNA structures are predicted by modeling groups before publication of the experimental structures. We report a large-scale set of predictions by 18 groups for 23 RNA-Puzzles: 4 RNA elements, 2 Aptamers, 4 Viral elements, 5 Ribozymes and 8 Riboswitches. We describe automatic assessment protocols for comparisons between prediction and experiment. Our analyses reveal some critical steps to be overcome to achieve good accuracy in modeling RNA structures: identification of helix-forming pairs and of non-Watson-Crick modules, correct coaxial stacking between helices and avoidance of entanglements. Three of the top four modeling groups in this round also ranked among the top four in the CASP15 contest.

Expected tracking performance of the ATLAS Inner Tracker at the High-Luminosity LHC

(2025)

Abstract: The high-luminosity phase of LHC operations (HL-LHC), will feature a large increase in simultaneous proton-proton interactions per bunch crossing up to 200, compared with a typical leveling target of 64 in Run 3. Such an increase will create a very challenging environment in which to perform charged particle trajectory reconstruction, a task crucial for the success of the ATLAS physics program, and will exceed the capabilities of the current ATLAS Inner Detector (ID). A new all-silicon Inner Tracker (ITk) will replace the current ID in time for the start of the HL-LHC. To ensure successful use of the ITk capabilities in Run 4 and beyond, the ATLAS tracking software has been successfully adapted to achieve state-of-the-art track reconstruction in challenging high-luminosity conditions with the ITk detector. This paper presents the expected tracking performance of the ATLAS ITk based on the latest available developments since the ITk technical design reports.

Search for triple Higgs boson production in the 6b final state using pp collisions at s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

(2025)

A search for the production of three Higgs bosons (HHH) in the bb¯bb¯bb¯ final state is presented. The search uses 126  fb−1 of proton-proton collision data at s=13  TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis targets both nonresonant and resonant production of HHH. The resonant interpretations primarily consider a cascade decay topology of X→SH→HHH with masses of the new scalars X and S up to 1.5 and 1 TeV, respectively. In addition to scenarios where S is off-shell, the nonresonant interpretation includes a search for Standard Model HHH production, with limits on the trilinear and quartic Higgs self-coupling set. No evidence for HHH production is observed. An upper limit of 59 fb is set, at the 95% confidence level, on the cross section for Standard Model HHH production. © 2025 CERN, for the ATLAS Collaboration 2025 CERN

Simulating seismic wavefields using generative artificial intelligence

(2025)

Simulating realistic seismic wavefields is crucial for a range of seismic tasks, including acquisition designing, imaging, and inversion. Conventional numerical seismic wave simulators are computationally expensive for large 3D models, and discrepancies between simulated and observed waveforms arise from wave equation selection and input physical parameters such as the subsurface elastic models and the source parameters. To address these challenges, we adopt a data-driven artificial intelligence approach and propose a conditional generative modeling (CGM) framework for seismic wave simulation. The novel CGM framework learns complex 3D wave physics and subsurface heterogeneities from the observed data without relying on explicit physics constraints. As a result, trained CGM-based models act as stochastic wave-propagation operators encoded with a local subsurface model and a local moment tensor solution defined by training data sets. Given these models, we can simulate multicomponent seismic data for arbitrary acquisition settings within the area of the observation, using source and receiver geometries and source parameters as input conditional variables. In this study, we develop four models within the CGM framework-CGM-GM-1D/3D, CGM-Wave, and CGM-FAS-and demonstrate their performance using two seismic data sets: a small low-density data set of natural earthquake waveforms from the San Francisco Bay Area, a region with high seismic risks, and a large high-density data set from induced seismicity records of the Geysers geothermal field. The CGM framework reproduces the waveforms, the spectra, and the kinematic features of the real observations, demonstrating the ability to generate waveforms for arbitrary source locations, receiver locations, and source parameters. We address key challenges, including data density, acquisition geometry, scaling, and generation variability, and we outline future directions for advancing the CGM framework in seismic applications and beyond.