A systematic study of the spectra and yields of K+ and K− is reported by experiment E866 as a function of centrality in Au+Au collisions at 11.6A GeV/c. The invariant transverse spectra for both kaon species are well described by exponentials in mt, with inverse slope parameters that are largest at midrapidity and which increase with centrality. The inverse slopes of the K+ spectra are slightly larger than the inverse slopes of the K− spectra. The kaon rapidity density peaks at midrapidity with the K+ distribution wider in rapidity than K−. The integrated total yields of K+ and K− increase nonlinearly and steadily with the number of projectile participants. The yield per participant for kaons is two to three times larger than the yield from N−N collisions. This enhancement suggests that the majority of kaons in central Au+Au reactions are produced in secondary hadronic collisions. There is no evidence for an onset of additional kaon production from a possible small volume of baryon-rich quark-gluon plasma. The differences between K+ and K− rapidity distributions and transverse spectra are consistent with a lower phase space for K− production due to a higher energy threshold. These differences also exclude simple thermal models that assume emission from a common equilibrated system.
The cross section for the reaction p¯N→μ+μ−X with muon pairs in the mass range 4<M<9 GeV/c2 and xF>0 was measured to be σ=0.104±0.005±0.008 nb/nucleon. The distributions dσdxF and M3dσdM were compared to the QCD-improved Drell-Yan model and to calculations including first-order QCD corrections, with use of deep-inelastic structure functions. Excellent agreement with the data was obtained if the calculations were multiplied by factors of 2.45 and 1.41, respectively.
The production of W-pairs is analysed in a data sample collected by ALEPH at a mean centre-of-mass energy of 188.6 GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 174.2 pb^-1. Cross sections are given for different topologies of W decays into leptons or hadrons. Combining all final states and assuming Standard Model branching fractions, the total W-pair cross section is measured to be 15.71 +- 0.34 (stat) +- 0.18 (syst) pb. Using also the W-pair data samples collected by ALEPH at lower centre-of-mass energies, the decay branching fraction of the W boson into hadrons is measured to be BR (W > hadrons) = 66.97 +- 0.65 (stat) +- 0.32 (syst) %, allowing a determination of the CKM matrix element |V(cs)|= 0.951 +- 0.030 (stat) +- 0.015 (syst).
The production of W+W- pairs is analysed in a data sample collected by ALEPH at a mean centre-of-mass energy of 182.7 GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 57 pb-1. Cross sections are given for different topologies of W decays into leptons or hadrons. Under Standard Model assumptions for the W-pair production and decay, the W-pair cross section is measured to be 15.57+-0.62(stat.)+-0.29(syst.) pb. Using also the W-pair data samples collected by ALEPH at lower centre-of-mass energies, the decay branching ratio of the W boson into hadrons is measured to be B(W->hadrons)= 68.93+-1.21(stat.)+-0.51(syst.)%, allowing a determination of the CKM matrix element |Vcs|= 1.043 +- 0.058(stat.) +- 0.026(syst.). The agreement of the cross sections with the Standard Model prediction allows a limit to be set on the W decay rate to undetectable final states.
The NA50 Collaboration has measured heavy-quarkonium production in p-A collisions at 450 GeV incident energy (sqrt(s) = 29.1 GeV). We report here results on the production of the Upsilon states and of high-mass Drell-Yan muon pairs (m > 6 GeV). The cross-section at midrapidity and the A-dependence of the measured yields are determined and compared with the results of other fixed-target experiments and with the available theoretical estimates. Finally, we also address some issues concerning the transverse momentum distributions of the measured dimuons.
Muon pair production in p-A, S-U and Pb-Pb collisions has been studied by the NA38 and NA50 collaborations at the CERN SPS. In this paper we present an analysis of the dimuon invariant mass region bet
Central collisions of 800-GeV protons with the heavy components of nuclear emulsion, Ag107 and Br80, have been investigated to determine the characteristics of small-impact-parameter collisions and, by comparison with the analysis of inclusive proton-emulsion inelastic interactions and inelastic proton-nucleon collisions, to study the dependence of the interaction process on the mean number of intranuclear collisions 〈ν〉. The data are also compared with the results obtained in proton-emulsion collisions, both central and inclusive, at 200 GeV. The variations in the secondary-particle multiplicities and the normalized pseudorapidity density correlate with 〈ν〉 and demonstrate that proton-nucleus interactions, both central and inclusive, can be described adequately by the incoherent superposition of proton-nucleon collisions.
The differential cross sections for lepton pair production in e+e− annihilation at 29 GeV have been measured and found to be in good agreement with the standard model of the electroweak interaction. With the assumption of e−μ−τ universality, the weak neutral-current couplings are determined to be ga2=0.23±0.05 and gv2=0.03±0.04.
Cross sections for J ψ,ψ′ and Drell-Yan production in Pb+Pb collisions at 158×A GeV/c are presented and compared with results obtained by the NA38 and NA51 collaborations. The Pb+Pb data have been collected by the NA50 collaboration using the NA38 dimuon spectrometer. The Drell-Yan mechanism is found to scale as (A projectile · B target ) in p+B target and A projectile + B target collisions including Pb+Pb collisions. Regarding J ψ , an anomalous suppression is observed in Pb+Pb collisions with respect to the suppression observed in p+B target , O+B target and S+U collisions. The cross section ratios ψ′ ( J ψ ) are similar in Pb+Pb and S+U collisions.
In view of the possible production of heavy leptons or charmed states in e+e− collisions, we searched for anomalous muons with momenta pμ≳1 GeV/c. The inclusive cross section for nch>~3 has an upper limit of 96 pb (assuming isotropy). For nch=2 and noncoplanarity > 20°, an excess of muonic events is observed, corresponding to (dσdΩ)|90°=23−9+12 pb/sr; the probability that known processes produce the observed events is 2×10−4.
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