Measurement of Spin Correlation in Top-Antitop Quark Events and Search for Top Squark Pair Production in pp Collisions at $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV Using the ATLAS Detector

TL;DR

This paper measures the spin correlation in top-antitop quark pairs at 8 TeV using ATLAS data and searches for top squark pair production, setting exclusion limits up to 191 GeV.

Contribution

It provides the first measurement of spin correlation in $t\bar{t}$ production at 8 TeV and searches for top squarks near the top mass range.

Findings

Measured spin correlation $A_{helicity} = 0.38 \pm 0.04$, consistent with the Standard Model.

Excluded top squarks with masses between the top quark mass and 191 GeV at 95% CL.

Abstract

A measurement of spin correlation in $t\bar{t}$ production is presented using data collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb$^{-1}$. The correlation between the top and antitop quark spins is extracted from dilepton $t\bar{t}$ events by using the difference in azimuthal angle between the two charged leptons in the laboratory frame. In the helicity basis the measured degree of correlation corresponds to $A_{helicity} = 0.38 \pm 0.04$, in agreement with the Standard Model prediction. A search is performed for pair production of top squarks with masses close to the top quark mass decaying to predominantly right-handed top quarks and a light neutralino, the lightest supersymmetric particle. Top squarks with masses between the top quark mass and 191 GeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level.