Search for scalar leptoquarks using the ATLAS detector

Similarities between the leptons and quarks in the SM suggest the existence of symmetries beyond the EW symmetry breaking scale. Leptoquarks (LQ) are hypothetical charged particles which carry both quark and lepton flavour quantum numbers. They appear naturally in many BSM theories and there has already been searches at previous collider experiments. A model independent search of pair-produced LQ, based on a effective theory, is presented. The most recent results obtained with the ATLAS detector are reported. Limits on the LQ mass, as a function of the branching ration into a jet and a charged lepton, are derived.