A search for the decay of neutral, weakly interacting, long-lived particles using data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented. This analysis uses the full data set recorded in 2012: 20.3 fb-1 of proton-proton collision data at [arrow]" = 8 TeV. The search employs techniques for reconstructing decay vertices of long-lived particles decaying to jets in the inner tracking detector and muon spectrometer. Signal events require at least two reconstructed vertices. No significant excess of events over the expected background is found, and limits as a function of proper lifetime are reported for the decay of the Higgs boson and other scalar bosons to long-lived particles and for Hidden Valley Z' and Stealth SUSY benchmark models. The first search results for displaced decays in Z' and Stealth SUSY models are presented. The upper bounds of the excluded proper lifetimes are the most stringent to date.

Many new physics models predict the existence of neutral, weakly interacting, long-lived particles that can decay within the detector volume, producing a distinctive experimental signature. A search is performed for a pair of such particles, using proton-proton collision data at √s = 8 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector in 2012, corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb-1. Novel techniques are developed for the reconstruction of displaced decays to hadronic jets in the inner tracking detector and muon spectrometer. No significant deviation is found from the number of background events expected from Standard Model processes. The data are interpreted in terms of Hidden Valley scenarios with a Z' boson mediator. This dissertation presents the first results for a heavy Z' boson decaying to displaced hadronic jets.

A search for the decay of neutral, weakly interacting, long-lived particles using data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC is presented. This analysis uses the full data set recorded in 2012: 20.3 fb–1 of proton-proton collision data at √s = 8 TeV. The search employs techniques for reconstructing decay vertices of long-lived particles decaying to jets in the inner tracking detector and muon spectrometer. Signal events require at least two reconstructed vertices. No significant excess of events over the expected background is found, and limits as a function of proper lifetime are reported for the decay of the Higgs boson and other scalar bosons to long-lived particles and for Hidden Valley Z' and Stealth SUSY benchmark models. The first search results for displaced decays in Z' and Stealth SUSY models are presented. The upper bounds of the excluded proper lifetimes are the most stringent to date.

A search is presented for the decay of the Standard Model Higgs boson or another scalar boson to a pair of weakly-interacting, long-lived particles in 20.3 fb^{-1} of proton-proton collisions at sqrt{s} = 8 TeV recorded in 2012 by the ATLAS detector. The strategy requires that one of the long-lived particles decay inside the muon spectrometer. The second long-lived particle is required to decay in the inner detector or the muon spectrometer. No excess of events is observed above the expected background. Limits are derived on the scalar boson's production cross section times branching ratio as a function of the long-lived particle's proper decay length.

A search for the decay of a light Higgs boson to a pair of weakly-interacting, long-lived particles in 20.8 fb-1 of proton-proton collisions at [square root of] s = 8 TeV recorded in 2012 by the ATLAS detector is presented. The strategy requires that both of the long-lived particles decay just before or inside the hadronic calorimeter. No statistically significant excess of events is observed above the expected background and limits on the Higgs boson production and branching ratio to weakly-interacting, long-lived particles are derived as a function of the particle's proper decay length.

Abstract: A search for decays of pair-produced neutral long-lived particles (LLPs) is presented using 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2015-2018 at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. Dedicated techniques were developed for the reconstruction of displaced jets produced by LLPs decaying hadronically in the ATLAS hadronic calorimeter. Two search regions are defined for different LLP kinematic regimes. The observed numbers of events are consistent with the expected background, and limits for several benchmark signals are determined. For a SM Higgs boson with a mass of 125 GeV, branching ratios above 10% are excluded at 95% confidence level for values of c times LLP mean proper lifetime in the range between 20 mm and 10 m depending on the model. Upper limits are also set on the cross-section times branching ratio for scalars with a mass of 60 GeV and for masses between 200 GeV and 1 TeV

A search for the decay of a heavy scalar boson into pairs of long-lived neutral particles in \intlumi of proton proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=8$~TeV and $3.2~\rm{fb}^{-1}$ at $\sqrt{s}=13$~TeV in the ATLAS detector is presented. The search focuses on final states where both long lived particles decay within the hadronic calorimeter of the detector, resulting in jets with unusual properties. No excess was observed and limits were set on the lifetime of the long lived particles for various combinations of scalar boson and long lived particle masses.

A search has been performed for long-lived particles that could have come to rest within the CMS detector, using the time intervals between LHC beam crossings. The existence of such particles could be deduced from observation of their decays via energy deposits in the CMS calorimeter appearing at times that are well separated from any proton-proton collisions. Using a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 18.6 fb-1 of 8 TeV proton-proton collisions, and a search interval corresponding to 281 h of trigger livetime, 10 events are observed, with a background prediction of 13.2+3.6 -2.5 events. Limits are presented at 95 % confidence level on gluino and top squark production, for over 13 orders of magnitude in the mean proper lifetime of the stopped particle. Assuming a cloud model of R-hadron interactions, a gluino with mass ≤1000 GeV and a top squark with mass ≤525 GeV are excluded, for lifetimes between 1 μs and 1000 s. Finally, these results are the most stringent constraints on stopped particles to date.

The ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN is used to search for the decay of a scalar boson to a pair of long-lived particles, neutral under the Standard Model gauge group, in 20.3 fb-1 of data collected in proton–proton collisions at √s=8 TeV. This search is sensitive to long-lived particles that decay to Standard Model particles producing jets at the outer edge of the ATLAS electromagnetic calorimeter or inside the hadronic calorimeter. No significant excess of events is observed. Limits are reported on the product of the scalar boson production cross section times branching ratio into long-lived neutral particles as a function of the proper lifetime of the particles. Limits are reported for boson masses from 100 GeV to 900 GeV, and a long-lived neutral particle mass from 10 GeV to 150 GeV.