Search for contact interactions in dilepton events from pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A wide range of new physics phenomena can produce modifications to the dilepton mass spectra predicted by the standard model (SM) such as quark/lepton compositeness, extra dimensions, and new gauge bosons. The predicted form of these deviations is often either a resonance or an excess in the number of events in the spectra at high mass. This work presents a search for contact interactions in the dielectron and dimuon channels using data from proton-proton collisions produced by the LHC at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector. The data sample, collected in 2011, corresponds to an integrated luminosity of about 1 fb^-1. No significant deviations from the standard model are observed. Using a Bayesian approach, we set 95% CL lower limits on the energy scale of llqq contact interactions.