Observation of $t\bar{t}$ production in the lepton+jets and dilepton channels in $p$+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}=8.16$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

TL;DR

This paper reports the first observation of top-quark pair production in proton-lead collisions at the LHC, measuring the cross-section and nuclear modification factor with high significance, confirming theoretical predictions.

Contribution

It provides the first measurement of top-quark pair production in p+Pb collisions at 8.16 TeV, including cross-section and nuclear modification factor, with results consistent with theoretical models.

Findings

Top-quark pairs observed with over five sigma significance in p+Pb collisions.

Measured cross-section of top-quark pair production: 58.1 nb with 9% total uncertainty.

Nuclear modification factor R_pA measured as 1.090, consistent with unity.

Abstract

This paper reports the observation of top-quark pair production in proton-lead collisions in the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurement is performed using 165 nb$^{-1}$ of $p$+Pb data collected at $\sqrt{s_\mathrm{NN}}=8.16$ TeV in 2016. Events are categorised in two analysis channels, consisting of either events with exactly one lepton (electron or muon) and at least four jets, or events with two opposite-charge leptons and at least two jets. In both channels at least one $b$-tagged jet is also required. Top-quark pair production is observed with a significance over five standard deviations in each channel. The top-quark pair production cross-section is measured to be $\sigma_{t\bar{t}}= 58.1\pm 2.0\;\mathrm{(stat.)\;^{+4.8}_{-4.4} \;\mathrm{(syst.)}}\;\mathrm{nb}$, with a total uncertainty of 9%. In addition, the nuclear modification factor is measured to be $R_{p\mathrm{A}} = 1.090\pm0.039\;(\mathrm{stat.})\;^{+0.094}_{-0.087}\;(\mathrm{syst.})$. The measurements are found to be in good agreement with theory predictions involving nuclear parton distribution functions.