Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

TL;DR

This paper reports a search for new physics phenomena in proton-proton collisions at 8 TeV, focusing on events with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum, and sets exclusion limits on various theoretical models.

Contribution

It presents the first ATLAS search for new phenomena with a jet and missing energy at 8 TeV, providing new exclusion limits on extra dimensions, dark matter, and light gravitinos.

Findings

No significant excess over Standard Model expectations.

Set exclusion limits on models with extra dimensions and dark matter.

Constraints on invisibly decaying Higgs-like bosons.

Abstract

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ of $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with $p_T > 120$ GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between $E_T^{miss} > 150$ GeV and $E_T^{miss} > 700$ GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, and production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presented.