This thesis describes a search for new, heavy fermions using LHC data collected in 2015-2018 with the ATLAS detector. A search for single production of a vector-like top quark (VLT) decaying to a Z boson and a top quark in the dilepton final state is presented. This high statistics decay channel has high discovery potential thanks to the possibility of VLT mass reconstruction using the Z boson and top quark masses. The top quark decaying from a VLT is typically found in highly boosted, large-radius hadronic jets, which makes the identification challenging. To overcome this, novel top quark candidate identification techniques have been developed using the substructure information of variable-radius re-clustered jets. Variable-radius re-clustering uses large jets within a cone of momentum-dependent radius. The substructure information most sensitive to the top quark identification includes the mass, transverse momentum, and number of jet constituents. In this thesis, a detailed statistical analysis of the results of the search for VLT is presented. No deviation from the Standard Model is observed. The strongest to date observed and expected limits on the vector-like top mass as a function of coupling constant are set. In the case of VLT singlets with a coupling of kappa = 0.5, masses below 1810 GeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level

The discovery in 2012 of the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) represents a milestone for the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics. Most of the SM Higgs production and decay rates have been measured at the LHC with increased precision. However, despite its experimental success, the SM is known to be only an effective manifestation of a more fundamental description of nature. The scientific research at the LHC is strongly focused on extending the SM by searching, directly or indirectly, for indications of New Physics. The extensive physics program requires increasingly advanced computational and algorithmic techniques. In the last decades, Machine Learning (ML) methods have made a prominent appearance in the field of particle physics, and promise to address many challenges faced by the LHC. This thesis presents the analysis that led to the observation of the SM Higgs boson decay into pairs of bottom quarks. The analysis exploits the production of a Higgs boson associated with a vector boson whose signatures enable efficient triggering and powerful background reduction. The main strategy to maximise the signal sensitivity is based on a multivariate approach. The analysis is performed on a dataset corresponding to a luminosity of 79.8/fb collected by the ATLAS experiment during Run-2 at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. An excess of events over the expected background is found with an observed (expected) significance of 4.9 (4.3) standard deviation. A combination with results from other \Hbb searches provides an observed (expected) significance of 5.4 (5.5). The corresponding ratio between the signal yield and the SM expectation is 1.01 +- 0.12 (stat.)+ 0.16-0.15(syst.). The 'observation' analysis was further extended to provide a finer interpretation of the V H(H → bb) signal measurement. The cross sections for the VH production times the H → bb branching ratio have been measured in exclusive regions of phase space. These measurements are used to search for possible deviations from the SM with an effective field theory approach, based on anomalous couplings of the Higgs boson. The results of the cross-section measurements, as well as the constraining of the operators that affect the couplings of the Higgs boson to the vector boson and the bottom quarks, have been documented and discussed in this thesis. This thesis also describes a novel technique for the fast simulation of the forward calorimeter response, based on similarity search methods. Such techniques constitute a branch of ML and include clustering and indexing methods that enable quick and efficient searches for vectors similar to each other. The new simulation approach provides optimal results in terms of detector resolution response and reduces the computational requirements of a standard particles simulation.

This thesis provides a detailed and comprehensive description of the search for New Physics at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the mono-jet final state, using the first 3.2 fb-1 of data collected at the centre of mass energy of colliding protons of 13~TeV recorded in the ATLAS experiment at LHC. The results are interpreted as limits in different theoretical contexts such as compressed supersymmetric models, theories that foresee extra-spatial dimensions and in the dark matter scenario. In the latter the limits are then compared with those obtained by other ATLAS analyses and by experiments based on completely different experimental techniques, highlighting the role of the mono-jet results in the context of dark matter searches.Lastly, a set of possible analysis improvements are proposed to reduce the main uncertainties that affect the signal region and to increase the discovery potential by further exploiting the information on the final state.

During 2012, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has delivered proton-proton collisions at 8 TeV center of mass energy to the ATLAS and CMS experiments. These two experiments have been designed to discover the Higgs boson and to search for new particles predicted by several theoretical models, as supersymmetry. The Higgs boson has been discovered by ATLAS and CMS experiments on July, 4th of 2012, starting a new era of discoveries in particle physics domain. With the confirmation of the existence of the Higgs boson, searches for new physics involving this boson are of major interest. In particular, data can be used to look for new massive particles that decay into the Higgs boson accompanied with other particles of the standard model. One expected signature is a Higgs boson produced with a top quark, the two heaviest particles in the standard model. The standard model predicts a cross section of top-Higgs production, then any enhancement of their associated production will be a clear signature of physics beyond the standard model. In addition, the existence of physics beyond the standard model can also be reflected by resonances that decay into a top-quark and a Higgs boson. In the first part of my work I describe the theoretical and experimental foundations of the standard model, as well as the experimental device. In the same theoretical chapter, I also discuss the formulation of an extension of the standard model. In addition, I describe a feasibility study of a search of one of the particles predicted by such model. The second part contains the realization of the search for a top partner, T_, within the CMS experiment. This top partner is a new particle very similar to the standard model top quark, but much heavier, that can decay into a top quark and a Higgs boson. The analysis looks for this particle in the full hadronic final state, where the Higgs boson decays into two b-quarks and the top quark decays into three standard model quarks, a b and two light quarks. In this channel, I reconstruct its mass from the identification of all its decay products. As a result of the analysis, I show the limits on the T_ production cross section from the number of observed events in the specific signature.

A search is performed for a massive new vector-like quark T, with charge 2/3, that is pair produced together with its antiparticle in proton-proton collisions. The data were collected by the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider in 2012 at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 inverse femtobarns. The T quark is assumed to decay into three different final states, bW, tZ, and tH. The search is carried out using events with at least one isolated lepton. No deviations from standard model expectations are observed, and lower limits are set on the T quark mass at 95% confidence level. The lower limit lies between 687 and 782 GeV for all possible values of the branching fractions into the three different final states assuming strong production. These limits are the most stringent constraints to date on the existence of such a quark.

A search is performed for heavy vector-like top quark partner (T) with electric charge +2/3 by using proton-proton collision events from Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at a centre- of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The data corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9fb−1 collected by the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment during 2016. The production of this new hypothetical particle is assumed to be in pairs and strong interaction is responsible for such production mechanism. T quarks can decay to various combinations of third generation quarks and standard model bosons: T → bW, tZ, or tH, and hence the final states consist of pair of opposite-sign leptons consistent with coming from a Z boson and jets. No significant excess has been observed and hence 95% CL upper limits are obtained on TT production cross section by assuming different branching ratios. T quark mass values below 1280 GeV are excluded in case of 100% branching fraction for T → tZ.