eprintid: 24174 rev_number: 13 eprint_status: archive userid: 3642 dir: disk0/00/02/41/74 datestamp: 2018-03-07 10:01:17 lastmod: 2018-03-26 10:30:24 status_changed: 2018-03-07 10:01:17 type: doctoralThesis metadata_visibility: show creators_name: Geisler, Manuel Patrice title: Improving Searches for Dark Matter Using Missing Transverse Momentum and Jets: An Analysis with the ATLAS Detector at √s = 13 TeV subjects: 530 divisions: 130700 adv_faculty: af-13 abstract: This thesis presents a novel strategy for searches for Dark Matter at particle colliders using variables that are corrected for detector effects. Dark Matter is experimentally motivated by cosmological evidence and is one of the great contemporary puzzles of physics. This thesis describes the conventional approach of searches for Dark Matter using final states with missing transverse momentum, \ptm, and hadronic jets and discusses its shortcomings. Several techniques for improvements are put forward. An analysis is presented that implements these improvements. It is performed on 3.2 fb⁻¹ of data collected by the ATLAS experiment in 2015 at √s = 13 TeV and measures an unfolded fiducial cross-section ratio in two kinematic regions and in total four differential distributions. The numerator of the ratio is defined as σ(\ptm + jets) and the denominator as σ(Z →l^+l^- + jets). The ratio leads to the cancellation of many systematic uncertainties and detector-induced effects. Limits on three Dark Matter scenarios are set using the distributions. An improved performance with respect to the conventional \ptm + jets Dark Matter search is observed. These distributions can be used to set limits on models containing new physics without using an ATLAS detector simulation. Additional studies are presented investigating further performance enhancements for a future iteration of this analysis. date: 2018 id_scheme: DOI id_number: 10.11588/heidok.00024174 ppn_swb: 1654754501 own_urn: urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-heidok-241745 date_accepted: 2018-02-07 advisor: HASH(0x564e1c4020c8) language: eng bibsort: GEISLERMANIMPROVINGS2018 full_text_status: public citation: Geisler, Manuel Patrice (2018) Improving Searches for Dark Matter Using Missing Transverse Momentum and Jets: An Analysis with the ATLAS Detector at √s = 13 TeV. [Dissertation] document_url: https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/24174/1/Thesis_Geisler.pdf