Results of a search for new phenomena in events with at least three photons are reported. Data from proton– proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1, were collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The observed data are well described by the Standard Model. Limits at the 95 % confidence level on new phenomena are presented based on the rate of events in an inclusive signal region and a restricted signal region targeting the rare decay Z → 3γ, as well as di-photon and tri-photon resonance searches. For a Standard Model Higgs boson decaying to four photons via a pair of intermediate pseudoscalar particles (a), limits are found to be σ ×BR(h → aa)×BR(a → γ γ)2< 10−3σSM for 10 GeV < ma < 62 GeV. Limits are also presented for Higgs boson-like scalars (H) for mH > 125 GeV, and for a Z' decaying to three photons via Z' → a + γ → 3γ. Additionally, the observed limit on the branching ratio of the Z boson decay to three photons is found to be BR(Z → 3γ) < 2.2 × 10−6, a result five times stronger than the previous result from LEP.

Aad, G., Abbott, B., Abdallah, J., Abdinov, O., Aben, R., Abolins, M., et al. (2016). Search for new phenomena in events with at least three photons collected in pp collisions at √s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector. THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL. C, PARTICLES AND FIELDS, 76(4), 210 [10.1140/epjc/s10052-016-4034-8].

Search for new phenomena in events with at least three photons collected in pp collisions at √s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

F. Ceradini;B. Di Micco;R. Di Nardo;D. Orestano;F. Petrucci;