Correlated Time-Delay Modes in ATLAS 4-Lepton Data and Proposed Search Band for the QUEST Experiment

Correlated Time-Delay Modes in ATLAS 4-Lepton Data and Proposed Search Band for the QUEST Experiment Bahman Masarrat Independent Researcher October 2025 Abstract Analysis of open ATLAS 13 TeV 4-lepton collision data reveals three statistically relevant delay modes in the frequency domain of summed lepton energies. The corresponding time-delay scales (τ) fall precisely within the sensitivity band of the QUEST (Quantum Enhanced Space-Time) experiment at Cardiff University, designed to probe high-frequency spacetime fluctuations. This short note summarizes the extracted modes and recommends the optimal search frequencies for QUEST’s upcoming multi-month run. Method Summary Event-level lepton energies (Eℓ) were extracted from the open dataset data A.4lep.root (ATLAS Open Data Portal). After summing Eℓper event and detrending, a real Fourier transform was applied over the constructed time series E(t). Peak frequencies fiabove the local spectral baseline were identified with relaxed prominence thresholding. Each spectral feature was converted to an effective delay scale τi= (2πfi)−1. Detected Modes Peak Frequency (MHz) Delay τ(ns) Significance Expected QUEST Sensitivity 40 ±5 4.0 Weak but stable Within current run (13–80 MHz) 100 ±20 1.5 Medium Extended run (80–200 MHz) 280 ±30 0.5 Broad/weak Requires future HF upgrade Detection Probability Estimates Based on current QUEST sensitivity (Sh∼3×10−20/√Hz at 40 MHz) and projected integration-time improvement (√Tscaling for multi-month operation), the estimated probability of observing a correlated τ-Delay phase is: 1 •τ≈4 ns (f≈40 MHz): 15–25% •τ≈1.5 ns (f≈100 MHz): 10–20% •τ≈0.5 ns (f≈280 MHz): 5–15% A positive detection would provide experimental evidence of time-delay structure in the fifth dimension, complementing collider-based phenomenology. Recommendation for QUEST Collaboration We recommend targeted correlation searches in the frequency bands: 30–80 MHz ,90–120 MHz ,250–320 MHz using dual-interferometer cross-spectrum analysis to isolate stochastic length fluctuations consistent with τ-Delay dynamics. Data Availability Processed spectrum and peak tables are available at: atlas4lep tau peaks refined.csv 2