Using the KEDR detector at the VEPP-4M $e^+e^-$ collider, we have measured the values of $R_{\text{uds}}$ and $R$ at seven points of the center-of-mass energy between 3.12 and 3.72 GeV. The total achieved accuracy is about or better than $3.3\%$ at most of energy points with a systematic uncertainty of about $2.1\%$. At the moment it is the most accurate measurement of $R(s)$ in this energy range.

The measurements of Rb = sigma(e+e- -> bb~)/sigma(e+e- -> qq~) and of the b quark forward-backward charge asymmetry, A^b_fb, at centre-of-mass energies above the Z pole are described. The measurement of Rb is performed at \root{s} between 130 and 189 GeV using a b-tagging method that exploits the relatively large decay length of b-hadrons. The measurement of A^b_fb is performed using the large statistics event sample collected at \root{s}=189 GeV with a lepton-tag analysis based on the selection of prompt muons and electrons. The results at \root{s}=189 GeV are: Rb = 0.163 +/- 0.013 (stat.) +/- 0.005 (syst.), A^b_fb = 0.61 +/- 0.18 (stat.) +/- 0.09 (syst.).

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.

The cross sections and forward-backward asymmetries of hadronic and leptonic events produced in e+e- collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 130-183 GeV are presented. Results for ee, mumu, tautau, qq, bb and cc production show no significant deviation from the Standard Model predictions. This enable constraints to be set upon physics beyond the Standard Model such as four-fermion contact interactions, leptoquarks, Z' bosons and R-parity violating squarks and sneutrinos. Limits on the energy scale Lambda of eeff contact interactions are typically in the range from 2-10 TeV. Limits on R-parity violating sneutrinos reach masses of a few hundred GeV for large values of their Yukawa couplings.

Measurements of helicity density matrix elements have been made for the φ(1020), D*± and B* vector mesons in multihadronic Z0 decays in the OPAL experiment at LEP. Results for inclusive φ produced with high energy show evidence for production preferentially in the helicity zero state, with ρ00 = 0.54 ± 0.08, compared to the value of 1/3 expected for no spin alignment. The corresponding element for the D*± has a value of 0.40 ± 0.02, also suggesting a deviation from 1/3. The B* result, with ρ00 = 0.36 ± 0.09, is consistent with no spin alignment. Off-diagonal elements have been measured for the f and D* mesons; for the D* the element Re ρ1−1 is non-zero, indicating non-independent fragmentation of the primary quarks.

In a sample of 3.02 million hadronic Z 0 decays collected by the DELPHI detector, 270 J ψ → ℓ + ℓ − candidates have been selected. A search for fully reconstructed B c ± mesons has yielded one B c ± → J ψ π ± candidate, no B c ± → J ψ ℓ ± ν ℓ candidates, and one B c ± → J ψ , π + π − π ± candidate, consistent with expected background in each channel. The following 90% confidence level upper limits are determined: Br(Z 0 → B c ± X) × Br(B c ± → J ψ π ± ) < (1.05 to 0.84) × 10 −4 and Br(Z 0 → B c ± X) × Br(B c ± → J ψ ℓ ± ν ℓ ) < (5.8 to 5.0) × 10 −5 , where the ranges quoted correspond to the range of predicted B c ± lifetimes from 0.4 to 1.4 ps, and Br(Z 0 → B c ± X) × Br(B c ± → J ψ π + π − π ± ) < 1.75 × 10 −4 , constant over the range of predicted B c ± lifetimes.

This paper describes an update of the double tagging measurement of the fraction, Rb, of Z0 → bb̅ events in hadronic Z0 decays, with statistics improved by including the data collected in 1994. The presence of electrons or muons from semileptonic decays of bottom hadrons and the detection of bottom hadron decay vertices were used together to obtain an event sample enriched in Z0 → bb̅ decays. The efficiency of the bb̅ event tagging was obtained from the data by comparing the numbers of events having a bottom signature in either one or both thrust hemispheres. Efficiency correlations between opposite event hemispheres are small (< 0.5%) and well understood through comparisons between the real and simulated data samples. A value of Rb= 0.2175 ± 0.0014 ± 0.0017 was obtained, where the first error is statistical and the second systematic. The uncertainty on the decay width Γ(Z0 → cc̅) is not included in these errors. The result depends on Rc as follows: $${⩼ Delta R_{⤪ b}⩈er R_{⤪ b}}=-0.084{⩼ Delta R_{⤪ c}⩈er R_{⤪ c}},$$ where ΔRc is the deviation of Rc from the value 0.172 predicted by the Standard Model.

The production rates of the $J_{P}={1⩈er 2}^{+}$ octet Σ baryons in hadronic Z0 decays have been measured using the OPAL detector at LEP. The inclusive production rates per hadronic Z0 decay of the three isospin states (including the respective antiparticle) have been separately measured for the first time: $άtrix {n_{Sigma^{+}}=0.099pm 0.008pm 0.013ŗ n_{Sigma^{0}}=0.071pm 0.012pm 0.013ŗ n_{Sigma^{-}}=0.083pm 0.006pm 0.009ŗ}$ where the first error is statistical and the second is systematic. Differential cross-sections are also presented for the Σ+ and Σ− and compared with JETSET and HERWIG predictions. Assuming full isospin symmetry, the average inclusive rate is: ${1⩈er 3}[n_{Sigma^{+}+Sigma^{0}+Sigma^{-}}]=0.084pm 0.005 ({⤪ stat.}) pm 0.008 ({⤪ syst.})$.

A search has been made for direct production of heavy quarkonium states in more than 3 million hadronic Z0 decays in the 1991–1994 DELPHI data. Prompt J/ψ, ψ(2S) and Υ candidates have been searched for through their leptonic decay modes using criteria based on the kinematics and decay vertex positions. New upperlimits are set at the 90% confidence level for Br(Z0 → (QQ) X)/Br (Z0 → hadrons) for various strong production mechanisms of J/ψ and Υ these range down to 0.9 × 10−4. The limits are set in the presence of a small excess (∼ 1% statistical probability of a background fluctuation) in the sum of candidates from prompt J/ψ, ψ(2S), Υ(1S),Υ(2S) and Υ(3S) relative to the estimated background.

Using a sample of about 1.46 million hadronic Z decays collected between 1991 and 1993 with the ALEPH detector at LEP, the energy distribution of the B 0 and B ± mesons produced at the Z resonance is measured by reconstructing semileptonic decays B → ℓ ν ℓ D(X) or B → ℓν ℓ D ∗+ (X) . The charmed mesons are reconstructed through the decay modes D 0 → K − π + , D 0 → K − π + π − π + , D + → K − π + π + and D ∗+ → D 0 π + . The neutrino energy is estimated from the missing energy in the lepton hemisphere. Accounting for B ∗ and B ∗∗ production, the shape of the scaled energy distribution x E (b) for mesons containing a b quark is compared to the predictions of different fragmentation models. The mean value of x E (b) is found to be 〈 x E (b) 〉 = 0.715 ± 0.007(stat) ± 0.013(syst).

A sample of 25000 Z 0 → τ + τ − events collected by the DELPHI experiment at LEP in 1991 and 1992 is used to measure the leptonic branching fractions of the τ lepton. The results are B(τ → eν ν ) = (17.51 ± 0.39) % and B(τ → μν ν ) = (17.02 ± 0.31) %. The ratio of the muon and electron couplings to the weak charged current is measured to be g μ g e = 1.000 ± 0.013 , satisfying e-μ universality. The leptonic branching fraction corrected to the value for a massless lepton, assuming e-μ universality, is found to be B(τ → lν ν ) = (17.50 ± 0.25) %.

Earlier measurements at LEP of isolated hard photons in hadronic Z decays, attributed to radiation from primary quark pairs, have been extended in the ALEPH experiment to include hard photon productioninside hadron jets. Events are selected where all particles combine democratically to form hadron jets, one of which contains a photon with a fractional energyz≥0.7. After statistical subtraction of non-prompt photons, the quark-to-photon fragmentation function,D(z), is extracted directly from the measured 2-jet rate. By taking into account the perturbative contributions toD(z) obtained from anO(ααs) QCD calculation, the unknown non-perturbative component ofD(z) is then determined at highz. Provided due account is taken of hadronization effects nearz=1, a good description of the other event topologies is then found.

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Charmless hadronic decays of beauty mesons have been searched for using the data collected with the DELPHI detector at the LEP collider. Several two, three and four-body decay modes have been investigated. Particle identification was used to distinguish the final states with protons, kaons and pions. Three candidate events selected in two-body decay modes are interpreted as evidence for charmless B decays. No excess has been found in higher multiplicity modes and improved upper limits for some of the branching ratios are given.

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Experimental evidence for the existence of orbitally excited B meson states is presented in an analysis of the Bπ and B ∗ π distribution of Q = m(B ∗∗ ) − m(B (∗) ) − m(π) using Z 0 decay data taken with the DELPHI detector at LEP. The mean Q-value of the decays B ∗∗ → B (∗) π is measured to be 284 ± 5 (stat.) ± 15 (syst.) MeV/c 2 , and the Gaussian width of the signal is 79 ± 5 (stat.) ± 8 (syst.) MeV/c 2 . This signal can be described as a single resonance of mass m = 5732 ± 5 (stat.) ± 20 (syst.) MeV/c 2 and full width Γ = 145 ± 28 MeV/c 2 . The observed shape is also consistent with the production of several broad and narrow states as predicted by the quark model and partly observed in the D-meson sector. The production rate of B ∗∗ per b-jet is found to be 0.27 ± 0.02 (stat.) ± 0.06 (syst.).