Software and computing for Run 3 of the ATLAS experiment at the LHC
Pith reviewed 2026-05-22 22:50 UTC · model grok-4.3
The pith
ATLAS has developed software and computing systems for LHC Run 3 data handling.
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
Core claim
The ATLAS experiment has developed extensive software and distributed computing systems for Run 3 of the LHC. These systems include software infrastructure and workflows, distributed data and workload management, database infrastructure, and validation. The use of these systems to prepare the data for physics analysis and assess its quality are described, along with the software tools used for data analysis itself. An outlook for the development of these projects towards Run 4 is also provided.
What carries the argument
The integrated software infrastructure, workflows, data and workload management systems, databases, and validation procedures that manage the full data lifecycle from acquisition through quality assessment to analysis readiness.
Load-bearing premise
The systems described are the primary and effective means by which ATLAS handles Run 3 data preparation and quality assessment.
What would settle it
Observation during Run 3 of major unmitigated failures in data processing, quality assessment, or readiness for physics analysis that the described systems do not address.
read the original abstract
The ATLAS experiment has developed extensive software and distributed computing systems for Run 3 of the LHC. These systems are described in detail, including software infrastructure and workflows, distributed data and workload management, database infrastructure, and validation. The use of these systems to prepare the data for physics analysis and assess its quality are described, along with the software tools used for data analysis itself. An outlook for the development of these projects towards Run 4 is also provided.
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. The manuscript is a descriptive technical report from the ATLAS collaboration detailing the software infrastructure and workflows, distributed data and workload management, database systems, validation procedures, data preparation and quality assessment tools, analysis software, and future outlook for Run 4, all developed to support Run 3 data taking at the LHC.
Significance. As an archival record of the computing systems that enabled ATLAS physics output during Run 3, the report provides a comprehensive reference for the high-energy physics community on large-scale distributed computing practices, data management at scale, and validation pipelines. Its value lies in documenting operational solutions rather than novel derivations or quantitative results.
minor comments (2)
- [Introduction] The abstract states that the systems 'are described in detail' but the manuscript structure would benefit from an explicit table of contents or section roadmap early in the introduction to guide readers through the many subsystems.
- Figure captions and axis labels in sections describing workflow diagrams should consistently include units or scale indicators where quantitative performance metrics are shown.
Simulated Author's Rebuttal
We thank the referee for their positive review of the manuscript and for recommending acceptance. The report accurately captures the scope and purpose of this technical description of the ATLAS Run 3 software and computing infrastructure.
Circularity Check
No significant circularity
full rationale
The manuscript is an archival technical report that describes existing ATLAS software infrastructure, workflows, data management systems, databases, and validation tools for Run 3. It contains no derivations, equations, quantitative predictions, or falsifiable claims whose correctness depends on internal assumptions or self-citations. The patterns of self-definitional claims, fitted inputs called predictions, or load-bearing self-citations do not apply because no derivation chain exists. The paper is self-contained as documentation of deployed systems.
Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger
Forward citations
Cited by 24 Pith papers
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Electroweak diboson plus high-mass dijet production observed at 7.4 sigma with signal strength 1.28, plus first semileptonic-channel limits on S02, T0 and M0 Wilson coefficients.
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Search for a resonance decaying into a scalar particle and a Higgs boson in the final state with two bottom quarks and two photons with 199 fb$^{-1}$ of data collected at $\sqrt{s}$=13 TeV and $\sqrt{s}$=13.6 TeV with the ATLAS detector
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Search for H->aa->4tau (4<m_a<15 GeV) with boosted di-tau reconstruction finds no excess and sets 95% CL upper limits of 0.03-0.10 on (sigma_H/sigma_SM)*BR(H->aa->4tau).
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No significant excess observed; gauginos excluded up to 1.2 TeV in specific supersymmetric decay scenarios.
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The environmental impact, carbon emissions and sustainability of computing in the ATLAS experiment
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