A measurement of the mass difference between top and anti-top quarks produced in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented. The analysis uses the full 2011 data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.7 fb$ {-1}$. An event-by-event mass difference is calculated for every event consistentwith $\ttbar$ production and decay in the semi-leptonic channel. A likelihood fit to the full double $b$-tagged data set yields a measured valueof $\Delta(m) = m_{t}-m_{\bar{t}} = 0.67 \pm{0.61}~(\mathrm{stat.}) \pm{0.19}~(\mathrm{syst.})~\mathrm{GeV}$, consistent with the Standard Model, and more generally, the CPT Theorem, prediction of no mass difference.

The invariance of the standard model (SM) under the CPT transformation predicts equality of particle and antiparticle masses. This prediction is tested by measuring the mass difference between the top quark and antiquark (Delta m[t] = m[t] - m[t-bar]) that are produced in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, using events with a muon or an electron and at least four jets in the final state. The analysis is based on data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.6 inverse-femtobarns collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, and yields a value of Delta m[t] = -0.15 +/- 0.19 (stat) +/- 0.09 (syst) GeV, which is consistent with the SM expectation. This result is significantly more precise than previously reported measurements.

A novel technique for measuring the mass of the top quark that uses only the kinematic properties of its charged decay products is presented. Top quark pair events with final states with one or two charged leptons and hadronic jets are selected from the data set of 8 TeV proton-proton collisions, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb-1. By reconstructing secondary vertices inside the selected jets and computing the invariant mass of the system formed by the secondary vertex and an isolated lepton, an observable is constructed that is sensitive to the top quark mass that is expected to be robust against the energy scale of hadronic jets. The main theoretical systematic uncertainties, concerning the modeling of the fragmentation and hadronization of b quarks and the reconstruction of secondary vertices from the decays of b hadrons, are studied. A top quark mass of 173.68±0.20(stat)-0.97+1.58(syst) GeV is measured. Furthermore, the overall systematic uncertainty is dominated by the uncertainty in the b quark fragmentation and the modeling of kinematic properties of the top quark.

Before any kind of new physics discovery could be made at the LHC, a precise understanding and measurement of the Standard Model of particle physics' processes was necessary. The book provides an introduction to top quark production in the context of the Standard Model and presents two such precise measurements of the production of top quark pairs in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV that were observed with the ATLAS Experiment at the LHC. The presented measurements focus on events with one charged lepton, missing transverse energy and jets. Using novel and advanced analysis techniques as well as a good understanding of the detector, they constitute the most precise measurements of the quantity at that time.

This thesis presents the first experimental calibration of the top-quark Monte-Carlo mass. It also provides the top-quark mass-independent and most precise top-quark pair production cross-section measurement to date. The most precise measurements of the top-quark mass obtain the top-quark mass parameter (Monte-Carlo mass) used in simulations, which are partially based on heuristic models. Its interpretation in terms of mass parameters used in theoretical calculations, e.g. a running or a pole mass, has been a long-standing open problem with far-reaching implications beyond particle physics, even affecting conclusions on the stability of the vacuum state of our universe. In this thesis, this problem is solved experimentally in three steps using data obtained with the compact muon solenoid (CMS) detector. The most precise top-quark pair production cross-section measurements to date are performed. The Monte-Carlo mass is determined and a new method for extracting the top-quark mass from theoretical calculations is presented. Lastly, the top-quark production cross-sections are obtained – for the first time – without residual dependence on the top-quark mass, are interpreted using theoretical calculations to determine the top-quark running- and pole mass with unprecedented precision, and are fully consistently compared with the simultaneously obtained top-quark Monte-Carlo mass.

This dissertation describes the measurement of the top quark mass using events recorded during a {approx} 230 pb{sup -1} exposure of the D0 detector to proton-anti-proton (p{bar p}) collisions at a center of mass energy of 1.96 TeV. The Standard Model of particle physics predicts that the top quark will decay into a bottom quark and a W boson close to 100% of the time. The bottom quark will hadronize (bind with another quark) and produce a jet of hadronic particles. The W bosons can decay either into a charged lepton and a neutrino or a pair of quarks. this dissertation focuses on the top quark (t{bar t}) events in which one W decays hadronically and the other decays leptonically. Two methods of identifying t{bar t} events from the large number of events produced are used. The first is based on the unique topology of the final state particles of a heavy particle. By using the topological information of the event, the t{bar t} events can be efficiently extracted from the background. The second method relies on the identification of the remnants of the long lived bottom quarks that are expected to be produced in the decay of almost every top quark. Because the largest background processes do not contain bottom quarks, this is an extremely efficient way to select the events retaining about 60% of the t{bar t} events and removing almost 90% of the background. A kinematic fit to the top quark mass is performed on the t{bar t} candidate events using the final state particles that are seen in the detector. A likelihood technique is then used to extract the most likely value of the top quark mass, m{sub t}, and signal fraction. The result for the topological selection is m{sub t} = 169.9 {+-} 5.8(statistical){sub -7.8}{sup +8.0}(systematic) GeV while the results on the sample selected from identification of a b quark in the event is m{sub t} = 170.6 {+-} 4.2(statistical){sub -6.8}{sup +6.3}(systematic) GeV.

A measurement of the mass difference between the top and the antitop quark (Delta m(t) = m(t) - m(anti-t)) is performed using events with a muon or an electron and at least four jets in the final state. The analysis is based on data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.96 +/- 0.11 inverse femtobarns, and yields the value of Delta m(t) = -0.44 +/- 0.46 (stat) +/- 0.27 (syst) GeV. This result is consistent with equality of particle and antiparticle masses required by CPT invariance, and provides a significantly improved precision relative to existing measurements.

The mass of the top quark is measured using a sample of $t\bar{t}$ candidate events with at least six jets in the final state. The sample is selected from data collected with the CMS detector in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV in 2011 and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 3.54 inverse femtobarns. The mass is reconstructed for each event employing a kinematic fit of the jets to a $t\bar{t}$ hypothesis. The top-quark mass is measured to be 173.49 $\pm$ 0.69 (stat.) $\pm$ 1.21 (syst.) GeV. A combination with previously published measurements in other decay modes by CMS yields a mass of 173.54 $\pm$ 0.33 (stat.) $\pm$ 0.96 (syst.) GeV.

The subject of this thesis is the measurement of the rate at which a top-antitop quark pair is produced in pp collisions at a center of mass energy of ps = 1:96 TeV. The data are collected with the D detector, a multi-purpose detector operating at the Fermilab Tevatron collider during Run II. A measurement of the top quark pair (t$\bar{t}$) production cross section ( [sigma]t$\bar{t}$) in p$\bar{p}$ collisions at a center of mass energy of 1.96 TeV is presented. The measurement is based on data recorded by the D0 Detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider, and preselected in the e+jets (366 pb-1) and [mu]+jets (363 pb-1) channels. The cross section is extracted by applying a lifetime-tagging technique to the data, and yields [sigma]t$\bar{t}$ = 6.96$+1.07\atop{-0.98}$(stat + syst) ± 0.45(lumi) pb; for a top quark mass mt =175 GeV, in good agreement with the Standard Model prediction.

This thesis introduces readers to the Standard Model, the top quark and its properties, before explaining the concept of spin correlation measurement. The first measurement of top quark spin correlations at the LHC in the lepton+jets decay channel is presented. As the heaviest elementary particle, the top quark plays an essential role in the Standard Model of elementary particle physics. In the case of top quarks being produced in pairs at hadron colliders, the Standard Model predicts their spins to be correlated. The degree of correlation depends on both the production mechanism and properties of the top quark. Any deviation from the Standard Model prediction can be an indicator for new physics phenomena. The thesis employs an advanced top quark reconstruction algorithm including dedicated identification of the up- and down-type quarks from the W boson decay.