ATLAS Collab
Search for pair production of third-generation leptoquarks decaying into a bottom quark and a τ-lepton with the ATLAS detector
A search for pair-produced scalar or vector leptoquarks decaying into a b-quark and a τ-lepton is presented using the full LHC Run 2 (2015-2018) data sample of 139 fb−1 collected with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of √s=13 TeV. Events in which at least one τ-lepton decays hadronically are considered, and multivariate discriminants are used to extract the signals. No significant deviations from the Standard Model expectation are observed and 95% confidence-level upper limits on the production cross-section are derived as a function of leptoquark mass and branching ratio into the τ-lepton. For scalar leptoquarks, masses below 1490 GeV are excluded assuming a 100% branching ratio, while for vector leptoquarks the corresponding limit is 1690 GeV (1960 GeV) in the minimal-coupling (Yang-Mills) scenario.