The inclusive one- and two-jet production cross-sections are measured in collisions of quasi-real photons radiated from the LEP beams at e+e− centre-of-mass energies \(\sqrt{s}_{\rm ee}=130\) and 136 GeV using the OPAL detector at LEP. Hard jets are reconstructed using a cone jet finding algorithm. The differential jet cross-sections \({\rm d}\sigma /{\rm d}E_{T}^{\rm jet}\) are compared to next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations. Transverse energy flows in jets are studied separately for direct and resolved two-photon events.
Inclusive one-jet cross section.
One-jet rapidity distribution.
Inclusive two-jet cross section.
Production of events with hadronic and leptonic final states has been measured in e^+e^- collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 130-172 GeV, using the OPAL detector at LEP. Cross-sections and leptonic forward-backward asymmetries are presented, both including and excluding the dominant production of radiative Z \gamma events, and compared to Standard Model expectations. The ratio R_b of the cross-section for bb(bar) production to the hadronic cross-section has been measured. In a model-independent fit to the Z lineshape, the data have been used to obtain an improved precision on the measurement of \gamma-Z interference. The energy dependence of \alpha_em has been investigated. The measurements have also been used to obtain limits on extensions of the Standard Model described by effective four-fermion contact interactions, to search for t-channel contributions from new massive particles and to place limits on chargino pair production with subsequent decay of the chargino into a light gluino and a quark pair.
SIG(C=MEAS) and SIG(C=CORR) stand for measured values without (C=MEAS) and with (C=CORR) correction for interference between initial- and final-state radiation.
The angular distribution of the thrust axis. Errors include statistical and systematic effects combined, with the former dominant.
The measured values include the effect of interference between initial- andfinal-state radiation.
We have studied hadronic events produced at LEP at a centre-of-mass energy of 161 GeV. We present distributions of event shape variables, jet rates, charged particle momentum spectra and multiplicities. We determine the strong coupling strength to be αs(161 GeV) = 0.101±0.005(stat.)±0.007(syst.), the mean charged particle multiplicity to be 〈nch〉(161 GeV) = 24.46 ± 0.45(stat.) ± 0.44(syst.) and the position of the peak in the ξp = ln(1/xp) distribution to be ξ0(161 GeV) = 4.00 ±0.03(stat.)±0.04(syst.). These results are compared to data taken at lower centre-of-mass energies and to analytic QCD or Monte Carlo predictions. Our measured value of αs(161 GeV) is consistent with other measurements of αs. Within the current statistical and systematic uncertainties, the PYTHIA, HERWIG and ARIADNE QCD Monte Carlo models and analytic calculations are in overall agreement with our measurements. The COJETS QCD Monte Carlo is in general agreement with the data for momentum weighted distributions like Thrust, but predicts a significantly larger charged particle multiplicity than is observed experimentally.
Determination of alpha_s.
Multiplicity and higher moments.
Thrust distribution.
The production of charged hadrons and K_s mesons in the collisions of quasi-real photons has been measured using the OPAL detector at LEP. The data were taken at e+e- centre-of-mass energies of 161 and 172 GeV. The differential cross-sections as a function of the transverse momentum and the pseudorapidity of the charged hadrons and K_s mesons have been compared to the leading order Monte Carlo simulations of PHOJET and PYTHIA and to perturbative next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD calculations. The distributions have been measured in the range 10-125 GeV of the hadronic invariant mass W. By comparing the transverse momentum distribution of charged hadrons measured in gamma-gamma interactions with gamma-proton and meson-proton data we find evidence for hard photon interactions in addition to the purely hadronic photon interactions.
No description provided.
No description provided.
No description provided.
Cross-sections for hadronic, b-bbar and lepton pair final states in e+e- collisions at sqrt(s) = 183 GeV, measured with the OPAL detector at LEP, are presented and compared with the predictions of the Standard Model. Forward-backward asymmetries for the leptonic final states have also been measured. Cross-sections and asymmetries are also presented for data recorded in 1997 at sqrt(s) = 130 and 136 GeV. The results are used to measure the energy dependence of the electromagnetic coupling constant alpha_em, and to place limits on new physics as described by four-fermion contact interactions or by the exchange of a new heavy particle such as a leptoquark, or of a squark or sneutrino in supersymmetric theories with R-parity violation.
No description provided.
The contribution of interference between initial- and final-state radiationhas been removed.
The contribution of interference between initial- and final-state radiationhas been removed.
In the process e+e- to hadrons, one of the effects of gluon emission is to modify the 1+cos(theta)**2 form of the angular distribution of the thrust axis, an effect which may be quantified by the longitudinal cross-section. Using the OPAL detector at LEP, we have determined the longitudinal to total cross-section ratio to be 0.0127+-0.0016+-0.0013 at the parton level, in good agreement with the expectation of QCD computed to Order(alpha_s**2) Comparisions at the hadron level with Monte Carlo models are presented. The dependence of the longitudinal cross-section on the value of thrust has also been studied, and provides a new test of QCD.
Values of SIG(C=L) integrated over all Thrust.
Measured values of the differential cross section, and the corresponding ratio of longitudinal to total cross sections, corrected to the hadron level.
Di-jet production is studied in collisions of quasi-real photons radiated by the LEP beams at e+e- centre-of-mass energies 161 and 172 GeV. The jets are reconstructed using a cone jet finding algorithm. The angular distributions of direct and double-resolved processes are measured and compared to the predictions of leading order and next-to-leading order perturbative QCD. The jet energy profiles are also studied. The inclusive two-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse energy and rapidity and compared to next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations. The inclusive two-jet cross-section as a function of rapidity is compared to the prediction of the leading order Monte Carlo generators PYTHIA and PHOJET. The Monte Carlo predictions are calculated with different parametrisations of the parton distributions of the photon. The influence of the `underlying event' has been studied to reduce the model dependence of the predicted jet cross-sections from the Monte Carlo generators.
Differential 2-jet cross section as a function of cos(theta*) for 'double-resolved' and 'direct' events.
No description provided.
No description provided.
The inclusive production of D*+- mesons in photon-photon collisions has been measured using the OPAL detector at LEP at e+e- centre-of-mass energies of 183 and 189GeV. The D* mesons are reconstructed in their decay to D0pi+ with the D0 observed in the two decay modes Kpi+ and Kpi+pi-pi+. After background subtraction, 100.4+-12.6(stat) D*+- mesons have been selected in events without observed scattered beam electron ("anti-tagged") and 29.8+-5.9 (stat) D*+- mesons in events where one beam electron is scattered into the detector ("single-tagged"). Direct and single-resolved events are studied separately. Differential cross-sections as functions of the D* transverse momentum p_t and pseudorapidity \eta are presented in the kinematic region 2<p_t<12GeV and \eta<1.5. They are compared to next-to-leading order (NLO) perturbative QCD calculations. The total cross-section for the process (e+e- to e+e-ccbar), where the charm quarks are produced in the collision of two quasi-real photons, is measured to be 842+-97(stat)+-75(syst)+-196(extrapolation)pb. A first measurement of the charm structure function F2 of the photon is performed in the kinematic range 0.0014<x<0.87 and 5<Q^2<100 GeV^2, and the result is compared to a NLO perturbative QCD calculation.
Differential PT distribution for anti-tagged events for both D* decay modesand combined.
Differential ETARAP distribution for anti-tagged events for both D* decay modes and combined.
Integrated cross section using the anti-tagged events for D* production in the kinematic range of the experiment.
The total hadronic cross-section sigma_gg(W) for the interaction of real photons, gg->hadrons, is measured for gg centre-of-mass energies 10<W<110 GeV. The cross-section is extracted from a measurement of the process e+e- -> e+e-g*g* -> e+e- hardrons, using a luminosity function for the photon flux together with form factors for extrapolating to real photons (Q^2=0 GeV^2). The data were taken with the OPAL detector at LEP at e+e- centre-of-mass energies 161, 172 and 183 GeV. The cross-section sigma_gg(W) is compared with Regge factorisation and with the energy dependence observed in gp and pp interactions. The data are also compared to models which predict a faster rise of sigma_gg(W) compared to gp and pp interactions due to additional hard gg interactions not present in hadronic collisions.
No description provided.
No description provided.
The structure of both quasi-real and highly virtual photons is investigated using the reaction e+e- -> e+e-mu+mu-, proceeding via the exchange of two photons. The results are based on the complete OPAL dataset taken at e+e- centre-of-mass energies close to the mass of the Z boson. The QED structure function F_2^gamma and the differential cross-section dsigdx for quasi-real photons are obtained as functions of the fractional momentum x from the muon momentum which is carried by the struck muon in the quasi-real photon for values of Q**2 ranging from 1.5 to 400 GeV**2. The differential cross-section dsigdx for highly virtual photons is measured for 1.5< Q**2 < 30 GeV**2 and 1.5< P**2 < 20 GeV**2, where Q**2 and P**2 are the negative values of the four-momentum squared of the two photons such that Q**2 > P**2. Based on azimuthal correlations the QED structure functions F_A^gamma and F_B^gamma for quasi-real photons are determined for an average Q**2 of 5.4 GeV**2.
No description provided.
No description provided.
No description provided.