Electron and photon reconstruction and performance in ATLAS using a dynamical, topological cell clustering-based approach

The electron and photon reconstruction in ATLAS has moved towards the use of a dynamical, topo- logical cell-based approach for cluster building, owing to advancements in the calibration procedure which allow for such a method to be applied. The move to this new technique allows for improved measurements of electron and photon energies, particularly in situations where an electron radiates a bremsstrahlung photon, or a photon converts to an electron-poistron pair. This note details the changes to the ATLAS electron and photon reconstruction software, and assesses its performance under current LHC luminosity conditions using simulated data. Changes to the converted photon reconstruction are also detailed, which improve the reconstruction efficiency of double-track converted photons, as well as reducing the reconstruction of spurious one-track converted photons. The performance of the new reconstruction algorithm is also presented in a number of important topologies relevant to precision Standard Model physics, as well as Higgs boson physics.