Production of Sigma- and Lambda(1520) in hadronic Z decays has been measured using the DELPHI detector at LEP. The Sigma- is directly reconstructed as a charged track in the DELPHI microvertex detector and is identified by its Sigma -> n pi decay leading to a kink between the Sigma- and pi-track. The reconstruction of the Lambda(1520) resonance relies strongly on the particle identification capabilities of the barrel Ring Imaging Cherenkov detector and on the ionisation loss measurement of the TPC. Inclusive production spectra are measured for both particles. The production rates are measured to be <N_{Sigma-}/N_{Z}^{had}> = 0.081 +/- 0.002 +/- 0.010, <N_{Lambda(1520)}/N_{Z}^{had}> = 0.029 +/- 0.005 +/- 0.005. The production rate of the Lambda(1520) suggests that a large fraction of the stable baryons descend from orbitally excited baryonic states. It is shown that the baryon production rates in Z decays follow a universal phenomenological law related to isospin, strangeness and mass of the particles.

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The inclusive production of the neutral vector mesons K*0(892) and ϕ(1020), and of the tensor meson ${⤪ K}_{2}^{⇒t 0}(1430)$, in hadronic decays of the Z has been measured by the DELPHI detector at LEP. The average production rates per hadronic Z decay have been determined to be 0.77 ± 0.08 K*0(892), 0.104 ± 0.008 ϕ(1020) and ${⤪ K}_{2}^{⇒t 0}(1430)$. The ratio of the tensor-to-vector meson production yields, $«ngle {⤪ K}_{2}^{⇒t 0}(1430)»ngle$, is smaller than the 〈f2(1270)〉/〈ρ0(770)〉 and $«ngle f_{2}^{⌕ime}(1525)»ngle$ ratios measured by DELPHI. The production rates and differential cross sections are compared with the predictions of JETSET 7.4 tuned to the DELPHI data and of HERWIG 5.8. The K*0(892) and ϕ(1020) data are compatible with model predictions, but a large disagreement is observed for the ${⤪ K}_{2}^{⇒t 0}(1430)$.

An analysis of the production of strange particles from the decays of the Z 0 boson into multihadronic final states is presented. The analysis is based on about 90 000 selected hadronic Z 0 decays collected by the DELPHI detector at LEP in 1990. K s 0 , K ∗± , Λ( Λ ) and Ξ − ( Ξ + ) have been identified by their characteristic decays. The measured production cross sections are compared with predictions of the Lund Monte Carlo tuned to data at PEP/PETRA energies.

Measurements of the cross section and forward-backward asymmetry for the reaction e + e − → μ + μ − using the DELPHI detector at LEP are presented. The data come from a scan around the Z 0 peak at seven centre of mass energies, giving a sample of 3858 events in the polar angle region 22° < θ < 158°. From a fit to the cross section for 43° < θ < 137°, a polar angle region for which the absolute efficiency has been determined, the square root of the product of the Z 0 → e + e − and Z 0 → μ + μ − partial widths is determined to be (Γ e Γ μ ) 1 2 = 85.0 ± 0.9( stat. ) ± 0.8( syst. ) MeV . From this measurement of the partial width, the value of the effective weak mixing angle is determined to be sin 2 ( θ w ) = 0.2267 ± 0.0037 . The ratio of the hadronic to muon pair partial widths is found to be Γ h / Γ μ = 19.89 ± 0.40(stat.) ± 0.19(syst.). The forward-backward asymmetry at the resonance peak energy E CMS = 91.22 GeV is found to be A FB = 0.028 ± 0.020(stat.) ± 0.005(syst.). From a combined fit to the cross section and forward-backward asymmetry data, the products of the electron and muon vector and axial-vector coupling constants are determined to be V e V μ = 0.0024 ± 0.0015(stat.) ± 0.0004(syst.) and A e A μ = 0.253 ± 0.003(stat.) ± 0.003 (syst.). The results are in good agreement with the expectations of the minimal standard model.

Measurements of the Xi- and anti-Xi+ masses, mass differences, lifetimes and lifetime differences are presented. The anti-Xi+ sample used is much larger than those used previously for such measurements. In addition, the Xi production rates in Z -> b anti-b and Z -> q anti-q events are compared and the position xi* of the maximum of the xi distribution in Z -> q anti-q events is measured.

The production rates for 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-jet hadronic final states have been measured with the DELPHI detector at the e + e − storage ring LEP at centre of mass energies around 91.5 GeV. Fully corrected data are compared to O(α 2 s ) QCD matrix element calculations and the QCD scale parameter Λ MS is determined for different parametrizations of the renormalization scale ω 2 . Including all uncertainties our result is α s ( M 2 Z )=0.114±0.003[stat.]±0.004[syst.]±0.012[theor.].

An inclusive measurement of the average multiplicity of b b pairs from gluons, g b b , in hadronic Z 0 events collected by the DELPHI experiment at LEP, is presented. A counting technique, based on jet b -tagging in 4-jet events, has been used. Looking for secondary bottom production in events with production of any primary flavour, by requiring two b -tagged jets in well defined topological configurations, gave g b b = (0.21 ± 0.11 ( stat ) ± 0.09 ( syst ))% . This result was checked with a different method designed to select events with four b quarks in the final state. Agreement within the errors was found.

A study of inclusive production of the meson resonances ρ 0 , K ∗0 (892), ƒ 0 (975) and ƒ 2 (1270) in hadronic decays of the Z 0 is presented. The measured mean meson multiplicity per hadronic event is 0.83 ± 0.14 for the ρ 0 0.64 ± 0.24 for the K ∗0 (892), 0.10 ± 0.04 for the ƒ 0 (975) in the momentum range p > 0.05 p beam ( x p > 0.05) and 0.11 ± 0.05 for the ƒ 2 (1270) for x p > 0.1 . These values and the corresponding differential cross sections ( 1 σ hadr ) d σ d x p for the vector mesons are in good agreement with the predictions of the JETSET 7.3 PS and HERWIG 5.4 models. The ƒ 2 (1270) production is overestimated by HERWIG but its x p -shape is correctly reproduced. The measured ratios of the production cross sections σ(ƒ 2 (1270)) σ(ρ 0 ) = 0.22 ± 0.08 and σ(ƒ 2 (1270)) σ(ƒ 0 (975)) = 3 −1 +7 for x p > 0.1 are consistent with the results obtained in hadronic reactions.

An analysis of inclusive production of K0 and the meson resonances K*±(892), ρ0(770),f0(975) andf2(1270) in hadronic decays of the Z0 is presented, based on about 973,000 multihadronic events collected by the DELPHI detector at LEP during 1991 and 1992. Overall multiplicities have been determined as 1.962±0.060 K0 mesons, 0.712±0.067 K*±(892) and 1.21±0.15ρ0(770) per hadronic Z0 decay. The average multiplicities off0(975) for scaled momentum,xp, in the range 0.05≤xp≤0.6 and off2(1270) for 0.05≤xp≤1.0 are 0.098±0.016 and 0.170±0.043 respectively. Thef0(975) and ρ0(770)xp-spectra have similar shapes. Thef2(1270)/ρ0(770) ratio increases withxp. The average multiplicities and the differential cross sections are compared with the JETSET Parton Shower model. The model with default parameters fails to reproduce the experimental K0 momentum spectrum at low momentum, describes the K*±(892) and ρ0(770)xp-spectrum shapes, but significantly overestimates their production rates.