Measurements of the tau lepton polarization and forward-backward polarization asymmetry near the Z resonance using the OPAL detector are described. The measurements are based on analyses of tau -> e nu_e nu_tau, tau -> mu nu_mu nu_tau, tau -> pi nu_tau, tau -> rho nu_tau and tau -> a1 nu_tau decays from a sample of 144810 e+e- -> tau+ tau- candidates corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 151 pb-1. Assuming that the tau lepton decays according to V-A theory, we measure the average tau polarization near Ecm = MZ to be <Ptau> = (-14.10 +/- 0.73 +/- 0.55)% and the tau polarization forward-backward asymmetry to be Afb = (-10.55 +/- 0.76 +/- 0.25)%, where the first error is statistical and the second systematic. Taking into account the small effects of the photon propagator, photon-Z interference and photonic radiative corrections, these results can be expressed in terms of the lepton neutral current asymmetry parameters: Atau = 0.1456 +/- 0.0076 +/- 0.0057, Ae = 0.1454 +/- 0.0108 +/- 0.0036. These measurements are consistent with the hypothesis of lepton universality and combine to give Al = 0.1455 +/- 0.0073. Within the context of the Standard Model this combined result corresponds to sin^2(theta)(lept,effective) = 0.23172 +/- 0.00092. Combing these results with those from the other OPAL neutral current measurements yields a value of sin^2(theta)(lept,effective) = 0.23211 +/- 0.00068.
No description provided.
In the Standard Model, b quarks produced in e^+e^- annihilation at the Z^0 peak have a large average longitudinal polarization of -0.94. Some fraction of this polarization is expected to be transferred to b-flavored baryons during hadronization. The average longitudinal polarization of weakly decaying b baryons, <P_L^{\Lambda_b}>, is measured in approximately 4.3 million hadronic Z^0 decays collected with the OPAL detector between 1990 and 1995 at LEP. Those b baryons that decay semileptonically and produce a \Lambda baryon are identified through the correlation of the baryon number of the \Lambda and the electric charge of the lepton. In this semileptonic decay, the ratio of the neutrino energy to the lepton energy is a sensitive polarization observable. The neutrino energy is estimated using missing energy measurements. From a fit to the distribution of this ratio, the value <P_L^{\Lambda_b}> = -0.56^{+0.20}_{-0.13} +/- 0.09 is obtained, where the first error is statistical and the second systematic.
Charge conjugate states are included.
A measurement of theτ lepton polarization and its forward-backward asymmetry at the Z0 resonance using the OPAL detector is described. The measurement is based on analyses of τ→ρντ, ττπ(K)ντ,\(\tau\to e\bar \nu _e \nu _\tau\),\(\tau\to \mu \bar \nu _\mu\nu _\tau\) andτ→a1ντ decays from a sample of 89075 e+e−→τ+τ− candidates corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 117 pb−1. Assuming that theτ lepton decays according to V-A theory, we measure the averageτ polarization at √s=MZ to be 〈P〉=(−13.0±0.9±0.9)% and theτ polarization forward-backward asymmetry to be ApolFB=(−9.4±1.0±0.4)%, where the first error is statistical and the second systematic. These results are consistent with the hypothesis of lepton universality and, when combined, can be expressed as a measurement of sin2θefflept=0.2334±0.0012 within the context of the Standard Model.
No description provided.