Searches for new physics in final states with multiple top quarks with the ATLAS detector and upgrade of the ATLAS tracking detector

Abstract

The Standard Model's known limitations drive the search for new physics, a major focus of modern experimental particle physics. This thesis presents two searches for Beyond the Standard Model physics in the four-top-quark final state at the ATLAS experiment. The first search focuses on final states with a single lepton. The mass of the resonance is explicitly reconstructed by using the products of its fully-hadronic decay. The presence of the signal is investigated both for a simplified vector top-philic boson model, and without model dependence by identifying localized deviations in data compared to the background. The data was found to be compatible with the background-only hypothesis, and exclusion limits were set. The second search investigates final states with at least two reconstructed leptons with the same-sign electric charge. This thesis presents the algorithm for reconstruction of the resonance in this final state and shows its potential application for obtaining model-independent results for final states with multiple leptons. Before the next LHC phase, the current ATLAS tracking detector will be replaced by a new one, called the ITk. The outer part of the ITk is made using silicon strip sensors, and in the forward regions the tracking is performed in the endcaps. This thesis describes the work on production and quality control of ITk silicon strip endcap modules, the single sensitive units in the ITk strip endcaps. A tool for monitoring module production is presented, which allows to identify deviations in the production process in time and quickly mitigate them in order to ensure excellent quality of the produced modules. The most demanding module quality control step is thermal cycling, requiring a specific setup and dedicated software, both of which are described in this work.