Combination of searches for $WW$, $WZ$, and $ZZ$ resonances in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV with the ATLAS detector

Abstract

The ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider has performed searches for new, heavy bosons decaying to $WW$, $WZ$ and $ZZ$ final states in multiple decay channels using 20.3 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data at $\sqrt{s} = 8$ TeV. In the current study, the results of these searches are combined to provide a more stringent test of models predicting heavy resonances with couplings to vector bosons. Direct searches for a charged diboson resonance decaying to WZ in the $\ell\nu\ell'\ell'$ ($\ell = \mu, e$) , $\ell\ell q \bar{q}$, $\ell \nu q \bar{q}$ and fully hadronic final states are combined and upper limits on the rate of production times branching ratio to the $WZ$ bosons are compared with predictions of an extended gauge model with a heavy $W'$ boson. In addition, direct searches for a neutral diboson resonance decaying to $WW$ and $ZZ$ in the $\ell \ell q \bar{q}$, $\ell \nu q \bar{q}$, and fully hadronic final states are combined and upper limits on the rate of production times branching ratio to the $WW$ and $ZZ$ bosons are compared with predictions for a heavy, spin-2 graviton in an extended Randall--Sundrum model where the Standard Model fields are allowed to propagate in the bulk of the extra dimension.