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.
A measurement of the ratio R_chic = (chic -> Jpsi + gam)/ Jpsi in pC, pTi and pW interactions at 920 GeV/c (sqrt{s}=41.6 GeV) in the Feynman-x range -0.35 < x_F(Jpsi) < 0.15 is presented. Both mu+mu- and e+e- Jpsi decay channels are observed with an overall statistics of about 15000 chic events, which is by far the largest available sample in pA collisions. The result is R_chic = 0.188+-0.013(st)(+0.024)(-0.022)(sys) averaged over the different materials, when no Jpsi and chic polarisations are considered. The chic_1 to chic_2 production ratio R_12 = R_chic1/R_chic2 is measured to be 1.02+-0.40, leading to a cross section ratio sigma(chic_1)/sigma(chic_2)=0.57+-0.23. The dependence of R_chic on the Feynman-x of the Jpsi, x_F(Jpsi), and its transverse momentum, p_T(Jpsi), is studied, as well as its dependence on the atomic number, A, of the target. For the first time, an extensive study of possible biases on R_chic and R_12 due to the dependence of acceptance on the polarization states of Jpsi and chic is performed. By varying the polarisation parameter, lambda(obs), of all produced Jpsi's by two sigma around the value measured by HERA-B, and considering the maximum variation due to the possible chic_1 and chic_2 polarisations, it is shown that R_chic could change by a factor between 1.02 and 1.21 and R_12 by a factor between 0.89 and 1.16.
We present data on proton-proton collisions, obtained at the CERN Intersecting Storage Rings, in which two roughly back-to-back π 0 's of high transverse momentum ( p T ) were produced. The angular distribution of the dipion axis relative to the collision axis is found to be independent of both the effective mass m of the dipion system and the centre-of-mass energy √ s of the proton-proton collision. The cross-sections d σ d m at the values of √ s satisfy a scaling law of the form d σ d m = G(x) m n , where x = m(π 0 , π 0 )//trs and n = 6.5 ± 0.5 . We show from our data that the leading π 0 carries most of the momentum of the scattered parton. Given this fact, the axis of the dipion system follows closely the direction of the scattered constituents, and we exploit this to determine the angular dependence of the hard-scattering subprocess. We also compare our data with the lowest order QCD predictions using structure functions as determined in deep-inelastic scattering and fragmentation functions from electron-positron annihilation.
The exclusive photoproduction of J/psi mesons, gamma p->J/psi p, has been studied in ep collisions with the ZEUS detector at HERA, in the kinematic range 20<W<290 GeV, where W is the photon-proton centre-of-mass energy. The J/psi mesons were reconstructed in the muon and the electron decay channels using integrated luminosities of 38 pb^-1 and 55 pb^-1, respectively. The helicity structure of J/psi production shows that the hypothesis of s-channel helicity conservation is satisfied at the two standard-deviation level. The total cross section and the differential cross-section dsigma/dt, where t is the squared four-momentum transfer at the proton vertex, are presented as a function of W, for |t|<1.8 GeV^2. The t distribution exhibits an exponential shape with a slope parameter increasing logarithmically with W with a value b=4.15 \pm 0.05 (stat.)^{+0.30}_{-0.18} (syst.) GeV^-2 at W=90 GeV. The effective parameters of the Pomeron trajectory are alphapom(0) = 1.200 \pm 0.009(stat.)^{+0.004}_{-0.010}(syst.) and alphappom= 0.115 \pm 0.018(stat.)^{+0.008}_{-0.015}(syst.) GeV^-2.
The inclusive production of ρ0 mesons was measured in γp andh±p collisions at beam energies of 65 GeV≦Eγ≦175 GeV andEh=80, 140 GeV, respectively, whereh is π orK. Cross sections were determined for all beams and energies as functions ofxF (−0.1≦xF≦1.0),pT (0≦pT≦3.5 GeV/c) and the polar decay angle of the ρ0 by fitting the ρ0 signal in π+π- mass distributions. The ρ0 line shape is found to be distorted from a pure Breit-Wigner distribution throughout most of thexF−pT plane for both photon and hadron beams and a simple explanation is suggested. Throughout the paper emphasis is put on the comparison of photon and hadron beam data. The comparison of cross sections of γp andhp data provides a measure of the Vector Meson Dominance factor throughout thexF−pT range of the ρ0. The ρ0 production at lowpT can be described for both photon and hadron beams by a triple regge model at largexF. Similarly central production is well described by the quark-antiquark fusion model. At largepT there is an excess of ρ0 photoproduction which is consistent with the expected onset of pointlike photon interactions.
Measurements of multiplicity and transverse momentum fluctuations of charged particles were performed in inelastic p+p interactions at 20, 31, 40, 80 and 158 GeV/c beam momentum. Results for the scaled variance of the multiplicity distribution and for three strongly intensive measures of multiplicity and transverse momentum fluctuations \$\Delta[P_{T},N]\$, \$\Sigma[P_{T},N]\$ and \$\Phi_{p_T}\$ are presented. For the first time the results on fluctuations are fully corrected for experimental biases. The results on multiplicity and transverse momentum fluctuations significantly deviate from expectations for the independent particle production. They also depend on charges of selected hadrons. The string-resonance Monte Carlo models EPOS and UrQMD do not describe the data. The scaled variance of multiplicity fluctuations is significantly higher in inelastic p+p interactions than in central Pb+Pb collisions measured by NA49 at the same energy per nucleon. This is in qualitative disagreement with the predictions of the Wounded Nucleon Model. Within the statistical framework the enhanced multiplicity fluctuations in inelastic p+p interactions can be interpreted as due to event-by-event fluctuations of the fireball energy and/or volume.
Measurements of inclusive differential cross sections for charged pion and kaon production in electron-positron annihilation have been carried out at a center-of-mass energy of Q = 10.52 GeV. The measurements were performed with the Belle detector at the KEKB electron-positron collider using a data sample containing 113 million e+e- -> qqbar events, where q={u,d,s,c}. We present charge-integrated differential cross sections d\sigma_h+-/dz for h+- = pi+-, K+- as a function of the relative hadron energy z = 2*E_h / sqrt{s} from 0.2 to 0.98. The combined statistical and systematic uncertainties for pi+- (K+-) are 4% (4%) at z ~ 0.6 and 15% (24%) at z ~ 0.9. The cross sections are the first measurements of the z-dependence of pion and kaon production for z > 0.7 as well as the first precision cross section measurements at a center-of-mass energy far below the Z^0 resonance used by the experiments at LEP and SLC.
The π0 inclusive and semi-inclusive, single-spin asymmetries have been measured using transversely polarized, 200-GeV/c proton and antiproton beams colliding with an unpolarized hydrogen target. The measured asymmetries are consistent with zero within the experimental uncertainties for the kinematic region -0.15<xF<+0.15 and 1<pT<4.5 GeV/c. Improvements in the data analysis showed that our earlier large asymmetries at pT≳3 GeV/c were not correct. These data indicate that PQCD expectations seem confirmed and the higher-twist contribution to the single-spin asymmetry in π0 production at xF=0 is not large. Additional evidence for such a conclusion comes from the measurement of a semi-inclusive π0 asymmetry, where associated charged particles are detected opposite to the π0 azimuthal direction. This experiment also provides high-statistics data on the inclusive π0 cross sections for pp and p¯p collisions at √s≊19.4 GeV. © 1996 The American Physical Society.
We present a study of the transverse momentum spectrum of π 0 's produced at c.m. angles θ = 90° and 53° in pp collisions at √ s = 23.6, 30.8, 45.1, 53.2, and 62.9 GeV. The experiment was performed with a lead-glass detector. The data can be described with the usual parametrization p T −n ƒ;(x T , θ) , with n = 7.2 ± 0.2. Comparison between the 90° and 53° data further indicates no appreciable dependence on θ , at least for x T < 0.3. Two-particle inclusive cross sections for π 0 's produced alongside are also presented. They are observed to have a dependence upon the transverse momentum of the dipion similar to that of single-particle cross sections and with the same value of n . Two-photon decays of η mesons are observed between 3 and 4 GeV/ c transverse momentum with a production cross section half of that of π 0 .
In the first holographic bubble chamber experiment — the HOBC experiment — we have accumulated a total of 40000 holograms with particle interactions. We have determined the total charm pair cross section inpN collisions to be 23.3−7.7+10 μb and 3.6−1.7+2.3 μb for 360 and 200 GeV/c incident protons respectively. We have assumed a linear dependence of the cross section on the atomic number of the target. This experiment has demonstrated the feasibility of holographic recording in small bubble chambers. Assuming that the charm cross section can be described by the standard QCD factorized expression with gluon fusion and quark-antiquark annihilation, we have used our measured charm cross sections with other measurements to determine the effective charmed quark mass to be 1.8−0.35+0.25 GeV/c2. TheK factor, which describes the importance of the higher order corrections, is calculated to be 9.8−6.9+12.5 (See noted added in proof.)
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