Search for gravitons using merged jets from Z~boson decays with the ATLAS experiment

A search is presented for anomalous production of a pair of gauge bosons (ZZ or WZ) from the decay of a narrow massive resonance. Data corresponding to 2.0 fb-1 of integrated luminosity collected by the ATLAS experiment from proton-proton collisions at sqrt s = 7 TeV. Events with two charged leptons and either two resolved jets or one merged jet are analyzed and found to be consistent with the Standard Model background expectation. In the absence of an excess, lower limits on the mass of a resonance are set using the original Randall-Sundrum (RS1) model as a benchmark. The observed (expected) lower limit on the mass of an excited graviton decaying to ZZ is 870 (950) GeV at 95% confidence level. Limits are also set on a more recent version of the Randall-Sundrum model where Standard Model particles are allowed to propagate in the five dimensional bulk. An excited graviton in this model is excluded for masses between 500 and 630 GeV.