We search for lepton flavour violating events (e mu, e tau and mu tau) that could be directly produced in e+e- annihilations, using the full available data sample collected with the OPAL detector at centre-of-mass energies between 189 GeV and 209 GeV. In general, the Standard Model expectations describe the data well for all the channels and at each sqrt(s). A single e mu event is observed where according to our Monte Carlo simulations only 0.019 events are expected from Standard Model processes. We obtain the first limits on the cross-sections sigma(e+e- -> e mu, e tau and mu tau) as a function of sqrt(s) at LEP2 energies.

The magnitude of the CKM matrix element Vub is determined by measuring the inclusive charmless semileptonic branching fraction of beauty hadrons at OPAL based on b -> Xu l nu event topology and kinematics. This analysis uses OPAL data collected between 1991 and 1995, which correspond to about four million hadronic Z decays. We measure Br(b -> Xu l) to be (1.63 +/- 0.53 +0.55/-0.62) x 10^(-3). The first uncertainty is the statistical error and the second is the systematic error. From this analysis, Vub is determined to be: |Vub| = (4.00 +/- 0.65(stat) +0.67/-0.76(sys) +/- 0.19(HQE)) x 10^(-3). The last error represents the theoretical uncertainties related to the extraction of |Vub| from Br(b -> Xu l) using the Heavy Quark Expansion.

A search was made among ν μ charged current events collected in the NOMAD experiment for the reaction: ν μ +N→μ − +D ★+ + hadrons ↪ D 0 +π + ↪ K − +π + . A high purity D ★+ sample composed of 35 events was extracted. The D ★+ yield in ν μ charged current interactions was measured to be T =(0.79±0.17(stat.)±0.10(syst.))%. The mean fraction of the hadronic jet energy taken by the D ★+ is 0.67±0.02(stat.)±0.02(syst.). The distributions of the fragmentation variables z, P T 2 and x F for D ★+ are also presented.

This final analysis of hadronic and leptonic cross-sections and of leptonic forward-backward asymmetries in e+e- collisions with the OPAL detector makes use of the full LEP1 data sample comprising 161 pb^-1 of integrated luminosity and 4.5 x 10^6 selected Z decays. An interpretation of the data in terms of contributions from pure Z exchange and from Z-gamma interference allows the parameters of the Z resonance to be determined in a model-independent way. Our results are in good agreement with lepton universality and consistent with the vector and axial-vector couplings predicted in the Standard Model. A fit to the complete dataset yields the fundamental Z resonance parameters: mZ = 91.1852 +- 0.0030 GeV, GZ = 2.4948 +- 0.0041 GeV, s0h = 41.501 +- 0.055 nb, Rl = 20.823 +- 0.044, and Afb0l = 0.0145 +- 0.0017. Transforming these parameters gives a measurement of the ratio between the decay width into invisible particles and the width to a single species of charged lepton, Ginv/Gl = 5.942 +- 0.027. Attributing the entire invisible width to neutrino decays and assuming the Standard Model couplings for neutrinos, this translates into a measurement of the effective number of light neutrino species, N_nu = 2.984 +- 0.013. Interpreting the data within the context of the Standard Model allows the mass of the top quark, mt = 162 +29-16 GeV, to be determined through its influence on radiative corrections. Alternatively, utilising the direct external measurement of mt as an additional constraint leads to a measurement of the strong coupling constant and the mass of the Higgs boson: alfa_s(mZ) = 0.127 +- 0.005 and mH = 390 +750-280 GeV.

Measurements are presented of the polarisation of W+W- boson pairs produced in e+e- collisions, and of CP-violating WWZ and WWGamma trilinear gauge couplings. The data were recorded by the OPAL experiment at LEP during 1998, where a total integrated luminosity of 183 pb^-1 was obtained at a centre-of-mass energy of 189 GeV. The measurements are performed through a spin density matrix analysis of the W boson decay products. The fraction of W bosons produced with longitudinal polarisation was found to be sigma_L/sigma_total = (21.0 +- 3.3 +- 1.6)% where the first error is statistical and the second systematic. The joint W boson pair production fractions were found to be sigma_TT/sigma_total = (78.1 +- 9.0 +- 3.2) %, sigma_LL/sigma_total = (20.1 +- 7.2 +- 1.8) % and sigma_TL/sigma_total = (1.8 +- 14.7 +- 3.8) %. In the CP-violating trilinear gauge coupling sector we find kappa_z = -0.20 +0.10 -0.07, g^z_4 = -0.02 +0.32 -0.33 and lambda_z = -0.18 +0.24 -0.16, where errors include both statistical and systematic uncertainties. In each case the coupling is determined with all other couplings set to their Standard Model values except those related to the measured coupling via SU(2)_LxU(1)_Y symmetry. These results are consistent with Standard Model expectations.

Measurements of the differential cross sections for e + e − →μ + μ − and e + e − →τ + τ − at values of s from 52 to 57 GeV are reported. The forward-backward asymmetries and the total cross sections for these reactions are found to be in agreement with predictions of the standard model of the electro-weak interactions. These measurements are used to extract values of the weak coupling constant g v e g v l and g A e g A l , where l = μ or τ .

We report results of a study of four-lepton final states produced in e + e − collisions at center-of-mass energies from 50 to 61.4 GeV using the AMY detector at the TRISTAN collider. For the cases where two or three charged tracks are produced at large angles relative to the beam direction, the cross sections agree with QED. However, we observe an excess of e + e − → e + e − μ + μ − events with four tracks at wide angles and with dimuon mass less than 1.0 GeV / c 2 .

We present data on the reaction ν p → μ + pπ − from an exposure of the Fermilab 15 ft hydrogen bubble chamber. The channel cross section for 5 GeV < E ν < 70 GeV and M( p π − ) < 1.9 GeV is σ = (27 ± 5) × 10 −40 cm 2 . This cross section is dominated by the I = 1 2 production amplitude.

We have studied inclusive KS0, Λ, and Λ¯ production and strange-resonance production in the reactions pp→(KS0, Λ, or Λ¯)+π±+anything at 405 GeV/c. The observed cross sections are 7.43 ± 0.45 mb for KS0, 4.01 ± 0.35 mb for Λ, and 0.63 ± 0.12 mb for Λ¯. From the analyses of the effective-mass distributions for the (KS0π±), (Λπ±), and (Λ¯π±) systems, the resonance production cross sections are determined as 4.1 ± 1.0 mb for K*+(890), 3.6 ± 1.0 mb for K*−(890), 3.4 ± 1.7 mb for K*±(1420), 0.67 ± 0.12 mb for Σ+(1385), 0.45 ± 0.09 mb for Σ−(1385), and 0.25 ± 0.08 mb for Σ¯±(1385). The inclusive total and differential cross sections are discussed in comparison with data at lower energies. The direct production cross sections for pseudoscalar, vector, and tensor K mesons are estimated to be 2.3 ± 1.2, 3.4 ± 1.0, and 1.7 ± 0.8 mb, respectively. Direct pseudoscalar-K-meson production accounts for less than one-third of the total inclusive kaon production. Evidence of vector-meson dominance in inclusive meson production at high energy is indicated.

High energy v -nucleus cross sections have been compared for Pb, Fe, Al and C as target nuclei, exposed to the CERN v -beam. The events with θ vμ < 29 0 and p μ ⪆ 1 GeV /c have rates in the ratio of the mass number of the nuclei. Also a restricted sample with q 2 ⪅ 0.1 (GeV/ c ) 2 and θ vμ < 5 0 does not reveal a theoretically predicted deviation from A -proportionality, although due to the limited statistical accuracy in this restricted sample an “ A 2 3 - contribution ” of several tenths cannot be excluded either.

Measurements of flux-normalized neutrino and antineutrino total charged-current cross sections (σ) in the energy range 45<E<205 GeV are presented. We see no evidence for the anomalous sharp rise in σν¯σν reported by earlier authors. The neutrino cross section rises linearly with energy and with σE about 18% smaller than other measurements below 10 GeV. The average antineutrino slope at 55 GeV is consistent with measurements at low energy; however, a (20 ± 10)% increase is indicated over our energy range.

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).

We present results on flux-normalized neutrino and antineutrino cross sections near y=0 from data obtained in the Fermilab narrow-band beam. We conclude that values of σ0=dσdy|y=0 are consistent with rising linearly with energy over the range 45<~Eν<~20.5 GeV. The separate averages of ν and ν¯, each measured to 4%, are equal to well within the errors. The best fit for the combined data gives σ0E=(0.719±0.035)×10−38 cm2/GeV at an average Eν of 100 GeV.

The Beijing Spectrometer (BES) experiment has observed purely leptonic decays of the Ds meson in the reaction e+e−→Ds+Ds− at a c.m. energy of 4.03 GeV. Three events are observed in which one Ds decays hadronically to φπ, K¯*0K, or K¯0K, and the other decays leptonically to μνμ or τντ. With the assumption of μ−τ universality, values of the branching fraction, B(Ds→μνμ)=(1.5−0.6−0.2+1.3+0.3)%, and the Ds pseudoscalar decay constant, fDs=(4.3−1.3−0.4+1.5+0.4)×102 MeV, are obtained.

A sample of 3120 $K^\pm\to\pi^\pm\mu^+\mu^-$ decay candidates with $(3.3\pm0.7)%$ background contamination has been collected by the NA48/2 experiment at the CERN SPS, allowing a detailed study of the decay properties. The branching ratio was measured to be ${\rm BR}=(9.62\pm0.25)\times 10^{-8}$. The form factor $W(z)$, where $z=(M_{\mu\mu}/M_K)^2$, was parameterized according to several models. In particular, the slope of the linear form factor $W(z)=W_0(1+\delta z)$ was measured to be $\delta=3.11\pm0.57$. Upper limits of $2.9\times 10^{-2}$ and $2.3\times 10^{-2}$ on possible charge asymmetry and forward-backward asymmetry were established at 90% CL. An upper limit ${\rm BR}(K^\pm\to\pi^\mp\mu^\pm\mu^\pm)<1.1\times 10^{-9}$ was established at 90% CL for the rate of the lepton number violating decay.

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.

Hadroproduction of the Jψ and ψ′ states has been studied in 300-GeV/c proton, antiproton, and π±Li interactions. Both total and differential cross sections in xF and pT have been measured for the Jψ for the π±, proton, and antiproton interactions. The ratio of ψ′ to Jψ production has been determined for the four types of beam particles.

The inelastic scattering of muons has been measured using positive muons of momentum 10 GeV/c incident upon a liquid-hydrogen target. We present values of the differential cross section and of the virtual photon-photon absorption cross section for |q| in the range 0.05 to 1.2 (GeV/c)2 and for equivalent photon laboratory energies of 0.6 to 6.5 GeV.

Relative rates for deep inelastic neutrino and antineutrino scattering without a finalstate muon have been measured. For neutrinos the result is Rν=σ(νμ+nucleon→νμ+hadrons)σ(νμ+nucleon→μ−+hadrons)=0.11±0.05. The corresponding ratio for antineutrinos is Rν¯=0.32±0.09.

Analysis of 5180 ν¯ interactions shows a variation with energy of the inelasticity (y) distributions over the range 10 to 220 GeV and a dependence on the scaling variable x. From these data are obtained the approximate x dependence of the sea quarks and a limit on the strength of right-handed coupling between the u quark and a massive b quark.

We report here additional positive results of a search for muonless neutrino- and anti-neutrino-induced events using an enriched antineutrino beam and a muon identifier of relatively high geometric detection efficiency. The ratio of muonless to muon event rates is observed to be R=0.20±0.05. We observe no background derived from ordinary neutrino or antineutrino interactions that is capable of explaining the muonless signal.

The inclusive cross section for J/ψ production times the branching ratio B(J/ψ→μ+μ−) has been measured in the forward pseudorapidity region: B×dσ[p¯+p→J/ψ(pT>10GeV/c,2.1<|η|<2.6)+X]/dη=192±9(stat)±29(syst)pb. The results are based on 74.1±5.2pb−1 of data collected by the CDF Collaboration at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The measurements extend earlier measurements of the D0 Collaboration to higher pTJ/ψ. In the kinematic range where the experiments partially overlap, these data are in good agreement with previous measurements.

Measurements of the differential cross section for the inelastic scattering of 12-GeV/c muons on protons are reported. These measurements cover a kinematic range of |q2| (the square of the four-momentum transferred from the lepton) up to 4.0 (GeV/c)2 and of muon energy losses (ν) up to 9.0 GeV. Only the scattered muon is observed in an optical spark-chamber apparatus. The data are compared with electron-proton inelastic scattering, and analyzed in terms of possible lepton form factors and anomalous interactions. μ−p inelastic scattering is found to exhibit the same mild |q2| behavior as does e−p inelastic scattering. No experimentally significant deviation from the predictions of muon-electron universality has been found. If the ratio of muon to electron inelastic cross sections is parametrized by the form (1.0+|q2|ΛD2)−2, we find with 97.7% confidence that ΛD>4.1 GeV/c. The muon-proton cross sections on the average are slightly smaller than the electron-proton cross sections. This observation is not experimentally significant because such a difference might be caused by systematic errors, but this observation is used to speculate as to the most fruitful direction for future experiments.

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 ArgoNeuT collaboration presents measurements of inclusive muon neutrino and antineutrino charged current differential cross sections on argon in the Fermilab NuMI beam operating in the low energy antineutrino mode. The results are reported in terms of outgoing muon angle and momentum at a mean neutrino energy of 9.6 GeV (neutrinos) and 3.6 GeV (antineutrinos), in the range $0^\circ < \theta_\mu < 36^\circ$ and $0 < p_\mu < 25$ GeV/$c$, for both neutrinos and antineutrinos.