Abstract
A
bstract
The production cross-section of high-mass
τ
-lepton pairs is measured as a function of the dilepton visible invariant mass, using 140 fb
−
1
of
s
=
13
TeV proton-proton collision data recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The measurement agrees with the predictions of the Standard Model. A fit to the invariant mass distribution is performed as a function of
b
-jet multiplicity, to constrain the non-resonant production of new particles described by an effective field theory or in models containing leptoquarks or
Z′
bosons that couple preferentially to third-generation fermions. The constraints on new particles improve on previous results, and the constraints on effective operators include those affecting the anomalous magnetic moment of the
τ
-lepton.