Recherche d'une nouvelle résonance Z' dans le canal diélectron avec le détecteur ATLAS

This thesis covers the search and identification of new neutrals gauge bosons decaying into an electron pair with the ATLAS detector. The Large Hadron Collider at Cern will produce partons collisions with very high center of mass energy and may produce Z' predicted by many theories beyond the standard model. Such a resonance should be detected by the ATLAS experiment. Z' studies will be done in two part: searching for a new resonance and identifying the new particle properties ant the underlying theory. If the discovery part will consist in looking for a deviation between standard model prediction end experimental data, the underlying theory can only be probed by studying the Z' phenomenology. Thus, in order to estimate the ATLAS discovery potential, the dielectron invariant mass spectrum was studied for several models with extra-dimensions or coming from grand unified theories. To perform these studies, a model independent parametrization of the dielectron invariant mass shape has been developed. The discovery potentials computed with this method have been officially approved by the ATLAS collaboration and published. In addition to the estimation of the discovery potential, a study based on the Z' rapidity spectrum has been conducted in order to demonstrate the interest of this observable in the discrimination of the different theoretical models predicting new spin 1 resonances.