Four-fermion events have been selected in a data sample of 5.8 pb −1 collected with the aleph detector at centre-of-mass energies of 130 and 136 GeV. The final states ℓ + ℓ − q q , ℓ + ℓ − ℓ + ℓ − , ν ν q q , and ν ν ℓ + ℓ − have been examined. Five events are observed in the data, in agreement with the Standard Model predictions of 6.67±0.38 events from four-fermion processes and 0.14 −0.05 +0.19 from background processes.
We report measurements of single- and double- spin asymmetries for $W^{\pm}$ and $Z/\gamma^*$ boson production in longitudinally polarized $p+p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 510$ GeV by the STAR experiment at RHIC. The asymmetries for $W^{\pm}$ were measured as a function of the decay lepton pseudorapidity, which provides a theoretically clean probe of the proton's polarized quark distributions at the scale of the $W$ mass. The results are compared to theoretical predictions, constrained by recent polarized deep inelastic scattering measurements, and show a preference for a sizable, positive up antiquark polarization in the range $0.05<x<0.2$.
Event-by-event fluctuations of the ratio of inclusive charged to photon multiplicities at forward rapidity in Au+Au collision at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=200 GeV have been studied. Dominant contribution to such fluctuations is expected to come from correlated production of charged and neutral pions. We search for evidences of dynamical fluctuations of different physical origins. Observables constructed out of moments of multiplicities are used as measures of fluctuations. Mixed events and model calculations are used as baselines. Results are compared to the dynamical net-charge fluctuations measured in the same acceptance. A non-zero statistically significant signal of dynamical fluctuations is observed in excess to the model prediction when charged particles and photons are measured in the same acceptance. We find that, unlike dynamical net-charge fluctuation, charge-neutral fluctuation is not dominated by correlation due to particle decay. Results are compared to the expectations based on the generic production mechanism of pions due to isospin symmetry, for which no significant (<1%) deviation is observed.
We report on measurements of dielectron ($e^+e^-$) production in Au$+$Au collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 200 GeV per nucleon-nucleon pair using the STAR detector at RHIC. Systematic measurements of the dielectron yield as a function of transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) and collision centrality show an enhancement compared to a cocktail simulation of hadronic sources in the low invariant-mass region ($M_{ee}<$ 1 GeV/$c^2$). This enhancement cannot be reproduced by the $\rho$-meson vacuum spectral function. In minimum-bias collisions, in the invariant-mass range of 0.30 $-$ 0.76 GeV/$c^2$, integrated over the full $p_{\rm T}$ acceptance, the enhancement factor is 1.76 $\pm$ 0.06 (stat.) $\pm$ 0.26 (sys.) $\pm$ 0.29 (cocktail). The enhancement factor exhibits weak centrality and $p_{\rm T}$ dependence in STAR's accessible kinematic regions, while the excess yield in this invariant-mass region as a function of the number of participating nucleons follows a power-law shape with a power of 1.44 $\pm$ 0.10. Models that assume an in-medium broadening of the $\rho$ meson spectral function consistently describe the observed excess in these measurements. Additionally, we report on measurements of $\omega$ and $\phi$-meson production through their $e^+e^-$ decay channel. These measurements show good agreement with Tsallis Blast-Wave model predictions as well as, in the case of the $\phi$-meson, results through its $K^+K^-$ decay channel. In the intermediate invariant-mass region (1.1$<M_{ee}<$ 3 GeV/$c^2$), we investigate the spectral shapes from different collision centralities. Physics implications for possible in-medium modification of charmed hadron production and other physics sources are discussed.
The production of two high-p_T jets in the interactions of quasi-real photons in e+e- collisions at sqrt{s_ee} from 189 GeV to 209 GeV is studied with data corresponding to an integrated e+e- luminosity of 550 pb^{-1}. The jets reconstructed by the k_T cluster algorithm are defined within the pseudo-rapidity range -1 < eta < 1 and with jet transverse momentum, p_T, above 3 GeV/c. The differential di-jet cross-section is measured as a function of the mean transverse momentum ptmean of the jets and is compared to perturbative QCD calculations.
We report a new high-precision measurement of the mid-rapidity inclusive jet longitudinal double-spin asymmetry, $A_{LL}$, in polarized $pp$ collisions at center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV. The STAR data place stringent constraints on polarized parton distribution functions extracted at next-to-leading order from global analyses of inclusive deep inelastic scattering (DIS), semi-inclusive DIS, and RHIC $pp$ data. The measured asymmetries provide evidence for positive gluon polarization in the Bjorken-$x$ region $x>0.05$.
Dijet angular distributions from the first LHC pp collisions at center-of-mass energy sqrt(s) = 7 TeV have been measured with the ATLAS detector. The dataset used for this analysis represents an integrated luminosity of 3.1 pb-1. Dijet $\chi$ distributions and centrality ratios have been measured up to dijet masses of 2.8 TeV, and found to be in good agreement with Standard Model predictions. Analysis of the $\chi$ distributions excludes quark contact interactions with a compositeness scale $\Lambda$ below 3.4 TeV, at 95% confidence level, significantly exceeding previous limits.
A search for new heavy particles manifested as resonances in two-jet final states is presented. The data were produced in 7 TeV proton-proton collisions by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 315 nb^-1 collected by the ATLAS detector. No resonances were observed. Upper limits were set on the product of cross section and signal acceptance for excited-quark (q*) production as a function of q* mass. These exclude at the 95% CL the q* mass interval 0.30 < mq* < 1.26 TeV, extending the reach of previous experiments.
A search for physics beyond the standard model (SM) in the final state with a hadronically decaying tau lepton and a neutrino is presented. This analysis is based on data recorded by the CMS experiment from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV at the LHC, corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{=1}$. The transverse mass spectrum is analyzed for the presence of new physics. No significant deviation from the SM prediction is observed. Limits are set on the production cross section of a W' boson decaying into a tau lepton and a neutrino. Lower limits are set on the mass of the sequential SM-like heavy charged vector boson and the mass of a quantum black hole. Upper limits are placed on the couplings of a new boson to the SM fermions. Constraints are put on a nonuniversal gauge interaction model and an effective field theory model. For the first time, upper limits on the cross section of $t$-channel leptoquark (LQ) exchange are presented. These limits are translated into exclusion limits on the LQ mass and on its coupling in the $t$-channel. The sensitivity of this analysis extends into the parameter space of LQ models that attempt to explain the anomalies observed in B meson decays. The limits presented for the various interpretations are the most stringent to date. Additionally, a model-independent limit is provided.
A search for new phenomena in final states with hadronically decaying tau leptons, $b$-jets, and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analyzed dataset comprises $pp$~collision data at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt s = 13$ TeV with an integrated luminosity of 139/fb, delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector from 2015 to 2018. The observed data are compatible with the expected Standard Model background. The results are interpreted in simplified models for two different scenarios. The first model is based on supersymmetry and considers pair production of top squarks, each of which decays into a $b$-quark, a neutrino and a tau slepton. Each tau slepton in turn decays into a tau lepton and a nearly massless gravitino. Within this model, top-squark masses up to 1.4 TeV can be excluded at the 95% confidence level over a wide range of tau-slepton masses. The second model considers pair production of leptoquarks with decays into third-generation leptons and quarks. Depending on the branching fraction into charged leptons, leptoquarks with masses up to around 1.25 TeV can be excluded at the 95% confidence level for the case of scalar leptoquarks and up to 1.8 TeV (1.5 TeV) for vector leptoquarks in a Yang--Mills (minimal-coupling) scenario. In addition, model-independent upper limits are set on the cross section of processes beyond the Standard Model.
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