Using data collected with the L3 detector near the Z resonance, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 150pb-1, the branching fractions of the tau lepton into electron and muon are measured to be B(tau->e nu nu) = (17.806 +- 0.104 (stat.) +- 0.076 (syst.)) %, B(tau->mu nu nu) = (17.342 +- 0.110 (stat.) +- 0.067 (syst.)) %. From these results the ratio of the charged current coupling constants of the muon and the electron is determined to be g_mu/g_e = 1.0007 +- 0.0051. Assuming electron-muon universality, the Fermi constant is measured in tau lepton decays as G_F = (1.1616 +- 0.0058) 10^{-5} GeV^{-2}. Furthermore, the coupling constant of the strong interaction at the tau mass scale is obtained as alpha_s(m_tau^2) = 0.322 +- 0.009 (exp.) +- 0.015 (theory).

The structure functions of real and virtual photons are derived from cross section measurements of the reaction e^+e^ -> e^+e^- + hadrons at LEP. The reaction is studied at \sqrt{s} ~ 91 GeV with the L3 detector. One of the final state electrons is detected at a large angle relative to the beam direction, leading to Q^2 values between 40 GeV^2 and 500 GeV^2. The other final state electron is either undetected or it is detected at a four-momentum transfer squared P^2 between 1 GeV^2 and 8 GeV^2. These measurements are compared with predictions of the Quark Parton Model and other QCD based models.

We report on measurements of hadronic and leptonic cross sections and leptonic forward-backward asymmetries performed with the L3 detector in the years 1993-95. A total luminosity of 103 pb^-1 was collected at centre-of-mass energies \sqrt{s} ~ m_Z and \sqrt{s} ~ m_Z +/- 1.8 GeV which corresponds to 2.5 million hadronic and 245 thousand leptonic events selected. These data lead to a significantly improved determination of Z parameters. From the total cross sections, combined with our measurements in 1990-92, we obtain the final results: m_Z = 91189.8 +/- 3.1 MeV, Gamma_Z = 2502.4 +/- 4.2 MeV, Gamma_had = 1741.1 +/- 3.8 MeV, Gamma_l = 84.14 +/- 0.17 MeV. An invisible width of Gamma_inv = 499.1 +/- 2.9 MeV is derived which in the Standard Model yields for the number of light neutrino species N_nu = 2.978 +/- 0.014. Adding our results on the leptonic forward-backward asymmetries and the tau polarisation, the effective vector and axial-vector coupling constants of the neutral weak current to charged leptons are determined to be \bar{g}_V^l = -0.0397 +/- 0.0017 and \bar{g}_A^l = -0.50153 +/- 0.00053.Including our measurements of the Z -> b \bar{b} forward-backward and quark charge asymmetries a value for the effective electroweak mixing angle of sin^2\bar{\theta}_W = 0.23093 +/- 0.00066 is derived. All these measurements are in good agreement with the Standard Model of electroweak interactions. Using all our measurements of electroweak observables an upper limit on the mass of the Standard Model Higgs boson of m_H < 133 GeV is set at 95% confidence level.

We report on measurements of the inclusive production rate of Sigma+ and Sigma0 baryons in hadronic Z decays collected with the L3 detector at LEP. The Sigma+ baryons are detected through the decay Sigma+ -> p pi0, while the Sigma0 baryons are detected via the decay mode Sigma0 -> Lambda gamma. The average numbers of Sigma+ and Sigma0 per hadronic Z decay are measured to be: < N_Sigma+ > + < N_Sigma+~ > = 0.114 +/- 0.011 (stat) +/- 0.009 (syst), < N_Sigma0 > + < N_Sigma0~ > = 0.095 +/- 0.015 (stat) +/- 0.013 (syst). These rates are found to be higher than the predictions from Monte Carlo hadronization models and analytical parameterizations of strange baryon production.

A first measurement of the cross section of the process e+e- -> Z gamma gamma is reported using a total integrated luminosity of 231 pb^-1 collected with the L3 detector at centre-of-mass energies of 182.7 GeV and 188.7 GeV. By selecting hadronic events with two isolated photons the e+e- -> Z gamma gamma cross section is measured to be 0.49 +0.20 -0.17 +/- 0.04 pb at 182.7 GeV and 0.47 +/- 0.10 +/- 0.04 pb at 188.7 GeV. The measurements are consistent with Standard Model expectations. Limits on Quartic Gauge Boson Couplings a_0/Lambda^2 and a_c/Lambda^2 of -0.009 GeV^-2 < a_0/Lambda^2 < 0.008 GeV^-2 and -0.007 GeV^-2 < a_c/Lambda^2 < 0.013 GeV^-2 are derived at 95% confidence level.

Bhabha scattering data recorded at \sqrt{s}=189 GeV by the L3 detector at LEP are used to measure the running of the effective fine-structure constant for spacelike momentum transfers. The results are alpha^-1(-2.1 GeV^2) - alpha^-1(-6.25 GeV^2) = 0.78 +/- 0.26 alpha^-1(-12.25 GeV^2) - alpha^-1(-3434 GeV^2) = 3.80 +/- 1.29, in agreement with theoretical predictions.

We report on measurements of e+e- annihilation into hadrons and lepton pairs. The data have been collected with the L3 detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies between 130 and 189 GeV. Using a total integrated luminosity of 243.7 pb^-1, 25864 hadronic and 8573 lepton-pair events are selected for the measurement of cross sections and leptonic forward-backward asymmetries. The results are in good agreement with Standard Model predictions.

The total and differential cross sections of the process e+e- -> n gamma with n >= 2 are measured using data collected by the L3 experiment at centre-of-mass energies of \sqrt{s}=183 and 189 GeV. The results are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations. Limits are set on deviations from QED, contact interaction cut-off parameters and masses of excited electrons.

The three different helicity states of W bosons, produced in the reaction e+e- -> W+W- -> l nu q q~ are studied using leptonic and hadronic W decays at sqrt{s}=183GeV and 189GeV. The W polarisation is also measured as a function of the scattering angle between the W- and the direction of the e- beam. The analysis demonstrates that W bosons are produced with all three helicities, the longitudinal and the two transverse states. Combining the results from the two center-of-mass energies and with leptonic and hadronic W decays, the fraction of longitudinally polarised W bosons is measured to be 0.261 +/- 0.051(stat.) +/- 0.016(syst.) in agreement with the expectation from the Standard Model.

We have measured the probability, n(g->cc~), of a gluon splitting into a charm-quark pair using 1.7 million hadronic Z decays collected by the L3 detector. Two independent methods have been applied to events with a three-jet topology. One method relies on tagging charmed hadrons by identifying a lepton in the lowest energy jet. The other method uses a neural network based on global event shape parameters. Combining both methods, we measure n(g->cc~)= [2.45 +/- 0.29 +/- 0.53]%.

We report on measurements of the triple-gauge-boson couplings of the W boson in e+e- collisions with the L3 detector at LEP. W-pair, single-W and single-photon events are analysed in a data sample corresponding to a total luminosity of 76.7 pb^{-1} collected at centre-of-mass energies between 161 GeV and 183 GeV. CP-conserving as well as both C- and P-conserving triple-gauge-boson couplings are determined. The results, in good agreement with the Standard-Model expectations, confirm the existence of the self coupling among the electroweak gauge bosons and constrain its structure.

Single and multi-photon events with missing energy are analysed using data collected with the L3 detector at LEP at a centre-of-mass energy of 189 GeV, for a total of 176 pb^{-1} of integrated luminosity. The cross section of the process e+e- -> nu nu gamma (gamma) is measured and the number of light neutrino flavours is determined to be N_\nu = 3.011 +/- 0.077 including lower energy data. Upper limits on cross sections of supersymmetric processes are set and interpretations in supersymmetric models provide improved limits on the masses of the lightest neutralino and the gravitino. Graviton-photon production in low scale gravity models with extra dimensions is searched for and limits on the energy scale of the model are set exceeding 1 TeV for two extra dimensions.

The pair production of Z bosons is studied using the data collected by the L3 detector at LEP in 1998 in e+e- collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 189 GeV. All the visible final states are considered and the cross section of this process is measured to be 0.74 +0.15 -0.14 (stat.) +/- 0.04 (syst.) pb. Final states containing b quarks are enhanced by a dedicated selection and their production cross section is found to be 0.18 +0.09 -0.07 (stat.) +/- 0.02 (syst.) pb. Both results are in agreement with the Standard Model predictions. Limits on anomalous couplings between neutral gauge bosons are derived from these measurements.

Inclusive production of $\mathrm{D^{*\pm}}$ mesons in two-photon collisions was measured by the L3 experiment at LEP. The data were collected at a centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s} = 189$ GeV with an integrated luminosity of $176.4 \mathrm{pb^{-1}}$. Differential cross sections of the process $\mathrm{e^+e^- \to D^{*\pm} X}$ are determined as functions of the transverse momentum and pseudorapidity of the $\mathrm{D^{*\pm}}$ mesons in the kinematic region 1 GeV $< p_{T}^{\mathrm{D^*}} < 5 $ GeV and $\mathrm{|\eta^{D^*}|} < 1.4$. The cross section integrated over this phase space domain is measured to be $132 \pm 22(stat.) \pm 26(syst.)$ pb. The differential cross sections are compared with next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations.

Measurements of the two-photon interaction e + e − → e + e − + hadrons at s ≃ 91 GeV and s ≃ 183 GeV are presented. The double-tag events, collected with the L3 detector, correspond to interated luminosities of 140 pb −1 at 91 GeV and 52 pb −1 at 183 GeV. The cross-section of γ ∗ γ ∗ collisions has been measured at 〈 Q 2 〉 = 3.5 GeV 2 and 〈 Q 2 〉 = 14 GeV 2 . The data agree well with predictions based on perturbative QCD, while the Quark Parton Model alone is insufficient to describe the data.

A study of neutral-current four-fermion processes is performed using a data sample corresponding to 55.3 pb −1 of integrated luminosity collected by the L3 detector at LEP at an average centre-of-mass energy of 183 GeV. The neutral-current four-fermion cross sections for final states with a pair of charged leptons plus jets and with four charged leptons are measured to be consistent with the Standard Model predictions. Events with fermion pair masses close to the Z boson mass are selected in all observable final states and the ZZ production cross section is measured to be σ ZZ =0.30 +0.22 +0.07 −0.16 −0.03 pb, in agreement with the Standard Model expectation. No evidence for the existence of anomalous triple gauge boson ZZZ and ZZ γ couplings is found and limits on these couplings are set.

The cross section of charm production in γγ collisions σ(e + e − →e + e − c c ̄ X) is measured at LEP with the L3 detector at centre-of-mass energies from 91 GeV to 183 GeV. Charmed hadrons are identified by electrons and muons from semileptonic decays. The direct process γγ→c c ̄ is found to be insufficient to describe the data. The measured cross section values and event distributions require contributions from resolved processes, which are sensitive to the gluon density in the photon.

New measurements at a centre-of-mass energy s ≃183 GeV of the hadronic photon structure function F γ 2 ( x ) in the Q 2 interval, 9 GeV 2 ≤ Q 2 ≤30 GeV 2 , are presented. The data, collected in 1997 with the L3 detector, correspond to an integrated luminosity of 51.9 pb −1 . Combining with the data taken at a centre-of-mass energy of 91 GeV, the evolution of F γ 2 with Q 2 is measured in the Q 2 range from 1.2 GeV 2 to 30 GeV 2 . F γ 2 shows a linear growth with ln Q 2 ; the value of the slope α −1 d F γ 2 ( Q 2 )/dln Q 2 is measured in two x bins from 0.01 to 0.2 and is somewhat higher than predicted.

We present results obtained from a study of the structure of hadronic events recorded by the L3 detector at a centre-of-mass energy of 183 GeV. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 55.3 pb −1 . The distributions of event shape variables and the energy dependence of their mean values are measured. From a comparison with resummed O ( α s 2 ) QCD calculations, we determine the strong coupling constant α s (183 GeV )=0.1086 ± 0.0026 (exp) ± 0.0054 (th) . The charged particle multiplicity distribution and momentum spectrum are studied and the energy dependence of the peak position of the ξ (=−ln x p ) distribution is compared with lower energy measurements and QCD expectations.

We report on the measurement of W-boson pair-production with the L3 detector at LEP. In a data sample corresponding to a total luminosity of 55.47 pb −1 collected at an average centre-of-mass energy of 182.68 GeV , we select 824 four-fermion events with pairs of hadronic jets or pairs of leptons with high invariant masses. Branching fractions of W decays into different fermion-antifermion pairs are determined. Assuming charged-current lepton universality, the branching fraction for hadronic W decays is measured to be: B( W→hadrons )=70.1±1.3 (stat.)±0.4 (syst.) % . Combining all final states the total cross section for W-pair production is measured to be: σ WW =16.53±0.67 (stat.)±0.26 (syst.) pb.

We report on a study of radiative Bhabha and quasi-real Compton scattering at centre-of-mass energies between 50 GeV and 170 GeV, and 20 GeV and 140 GeV, respectively, using the L3 detector at LEP. The analysis is based on data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 232.2 pb −1 . A total of 2856 radiative Bhabha and 4641 Compton scattering events are collected. Total and differential cross sections for both reactions are presented and found to be in good agreement with QED expectations. Our measurement of Compton scattering at the highest energies obtained so far is used to derive exclusion limits on the coupling λ for the on-shell production of an excited electron e ★ decaying into a γ e pair in the mass range 20 GeV

We report on a study of single W boson production in a data sample collected by the L3 detector at centre-of-mass energies from 130 to 183 GeV. The signal consists of large missing energy final states with a single energetic lepton or two hadronic jets. The measured cross sections at five different centre-of-mass energies are consistent with the Standard Model expectations. The following limits on the anomalous WW γ gauge couplings are derived at 95% CL: −0.46< Δκ γ <0.57 and −0.86< λ γ <0.75.

The hadronic photon structure function F γ 2 is studied in the reaction e + e − →e + e − hadrons at LEP with the L3 detector. The data, collected from 1991 to 1995 at a centre-of-mass energy s ≃91 GeV, correspond to an integrated luminosity of 140 pb −1 . The photon structure function F γ 2 is measured in the Q 2 interval 1.2 GeV 2 ≤ Q 2 ≤9.0 GeV 2 and the x interval 0.002< x <0.2. F γ 2 shows a linear growth with ln Q 2 . The value of the slope α −1 d F γ 2 ( Q 2 )/dln Q 2 is measured to be 0.079±0.011±0.009.

The reactions e + e − → e + e − e + e − and e + e − → e + e − μ + μ − , in a single tag configuration, are studied at LEP with the L3 detector. The data set corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 93.7 pb −1 at s =91 GeV. Differential cross sections are measured for 1.4 GeV 2 ≤Q 2 ≤7.6 GeV 2 . The leptonic photon structure function F γ 2 and azimuthal correlations are measured for e + e − → e + e − μ + μ − . The related structure functions F γ A and F γ B , which originate from interference terms of the scattering amplitudes, are determined for the first time.

A determination of the number of light neutrino families performed by measuring the cross section of single photon production in e + e − collision near the Z resonance is reported. From an integrated luminosity of 100 pb −1 , collected during the years 1991–94, we have observed 2091 single photon candidates with an energy above 1 GeV in the polar angular region 45°< θ γ <135°. From a maximum likelihood fit to the single photon cross section, the Z decay width into invisible particles is measured to be Γ inv =498±12 (stat) ±12 (sys) MeV . Using the Standard Model couplings of neutrinos to the Z, the number of light neutrino species is determined to be N ν =2.98±0.07(stat)±0.07(sys).