Using the ARGUS detector at DORIS we have obtained evidence for a resonance which decays into an F meson and a photon. The observed mass is 2109 ± 9 ± 7 MeV, which is 144 ± 9 ± 7 MeV greater than the F meson mass. Its properties are consistent with those of the F ∗ meson with J P = 1 − .

Using the ARGUS detector at DORIS, we have observed the production of F ± mesons in e + e − annihilation at a centre of mass energy of 10 GeV through their subsequent decays into φπ ± and φπ + π − π ± . The values obtained for [ R (e + e − →FX). Branching Ratio] are (1.47 ± 0.32 ± 0.20)% and (1.63 ± 0.42 ± 0.41)% respectively. The observed mass is (1973.6 ± 2.6 ± 3.0) MeV c 2 . The F momentum spectrum is as expected for the fragmentation of c quarks into charmed mesons, but is somewhat softer than for fragmentation into D ∗ mesons. The relevant angular distributions are consistent with a spin-zero assignment of the F meson.

Using the ARGUS detector at DORIS we have observed the prediction of the charged D ∗ meson in e + e − annihilation at a center of mass energy of 10 GeV. The D ∗ fragmentation function has been measured using the decay channels D ∗+ → D 0 π + and D 0 → K − π + and K − π + π + π − .

The production of antideuterons has been observed in electron-positron annihilations at center-of-mass energies around 10 GeV. Antideuterons have been identified unambiguously by their energy loss in the drift chamber, their time-of-flight and the pattern of their energy deposition in the shower counters of the ARGUS detector. The production rate in the momentum range (0.6−1.8) GeV/ c is (1.6 −0.7 +1.0 ) × 10 −5 per hadronic event.

Using the ARGUS detector at the DORIS II e+e− storage ring at DESY, we have obtained evidence for a new charmed resonance which decays into D*±(2010)π∓. The observed mass and width are 2420±6 MeV/c2 and 70±21 MeV/c2, respectively. The fragmentation function is found to be hard, as expected for a state containing a leading charm quark produced by nonresonant e+e− annihilation.

A search has been made for particles with charge Q = 1 3 , Q = 2 3 and Q = 4 3 produced in e + e − annihilation using the ARGUS detector at the e + e − storage ring DORIS, operating at a centre of mass energy around 10 GeV. No candidate events were found in 84.5 pb −1 of collected data. Upper limits are established for the cross section for the production of fractionally charged particles with masses up to 4 GeV c 2 , improving on previously obtained limits.

A study of scaling violations in fragmentation functions performed by the ALEPH collaboration at LEP is presented. Data samples enriched in uds, c, b and gluon jets, respectively, together with measurements of the longitudinal and transverse inclusive cross sections are used to extract the fragmentation function for the gluon and for each flavour. The measurements are compared to data from experiments at energies between 22 GeV and 91 GeV and scaling violations consistent with QCD predictions are observed. From this, a measurement of the strong coupling constant α s ( Mz ) = 0.126 ±0.009 is obtained.

Data on the inclusive production of the neutral vector mesonsρ 0(770),ω(782), K*0(892), andφ(1020) in hadronic Z decays recorded with the ALEPH detector at LEP are presented and compared to Monte Carlo model predictions. Bose-Einstein effects are found to be important in extracting a reliable value for theρ 0 production rate. An averageρ 0 multiplicity of 1.45±0.21 per event is obtained. Theω is detected via its three pion decay modeω→π + π − π 0 and has a total rate of 1.07±0.14 per event. The multiplicity of the K*0 is 0.83±0.09, whilst that of theφ is 0.122±0.009, both measured using their charged decay modes. The measurements provide information on the relative production rates of vector and pseudoscalar mesons, as well as on the relative probabilities for the production of hadrons containing u, d, and s quarks.

In June 1996, the LEP centre-of-mass energy was raised to 161 GeV. Pair production of W bosons in e + e − collisions was observed for the first time by the LEP experiments. An integrated luminosity of 11 pb −1 was recorded in the ALEPH detector, in which WW candidate events were observed. In 6 events both Ws decay leptonically. In 16 events, one W decays leptonically, the other into hadrons. In the channel where both Ws decay into hadrons, a signal was separated from the large background by means of several multi-variate analyses. The W pair cross-section is measured to be σ WW = 4.23 ± 0.73 (stat.) ± 0.19 (syst.) pb. From this cross-section, the W mass is derived within the framework of the Standard Model: m W = 80.14 ± 0.34 (stat.) ± 0.09 (syst.) ± 0.03 (LEP energy) GeV/ c 2

The Λ b polarization in hadronic Z decays is measured in semileptonic decays from the average energies of the charged lepton and the neutrino. In a data sample of approximately 3 million hadronic Z decays collected by the ALEPH detector at LEP between 1991 and 1994, 462 ± 31 Λ b candidates are selected using ( Λπ + )-lepton correlations. From this event sample, the Λ b polarization is measured to be P Λ b = −0.23 −0.20 +0.24 (stat.) −0.07 +0.08 (syst.).

Using about 950000 hadronic events collected during 1991 and 1992 with the ALEPH detector, the ratios r b = α s b α s udsc and r uds = α s uds α s cb have been measured in order to test the flavour independence of the strong coupling constant α s . The analysis is based on event-shape variables using the full hadronic sample, two b -quark samples enriched by lepton tagging and lifetime tagging, and a light-quark sample enriched by lifetime antitagging. The combined results are r b = 1.002±0.023 and r uds = 0.971 ± 0.023.

Hadronic and leptonic cross-sections and forward-backward asymmetries are measured using 5.7 pb −1 of data taken with the ALEPH detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies of 130 and 136 GeV. The results agree with Standard Model expectations. The measurement of hadronic cross-sections far away from the Z resonance improves the determination of the interference between photon and Z exchange. Constraints on models with extra Z bosons are presented.

Earlier measurements at LEP of isolated hard photons in hadronic Z decays, attributed to radiation from primary quark pairs, have been extended in the ALEPH experiment to include hard photon productioninside hadron jets. Events are selected where all particles combine democratically to form hadron jets, one of which contains a photon with a fractional energyz≥0.7. After statistical subtraction of non-prompt photons, the quark-to-photon fragmentation function,D(z), is extracted directly from the measured 2-jet rate. By taking into account the perturbative contributions toD(z) obtained from anO(ααs) QCD calculation, the unknown non-perturbative component ofD(z) is then determined at highz. Provided due account is taken of hadronization effects nearz=1, a good description of the other event topologies is then found.

The inclusive production of D ∗± mesons in photon-photon collisions has been measured by the Aleph experiment at LEP with a beam energy of 45 GeV. The D ∗+ are detected in their decay to D 0 π + with the D 0 observed in three separate decay modes: (1) K − π + , (2) K − π + π 0 and (3) K − π + π − π + , and analagously for the D ∗− modes. A total of 33 events was observed from an integrated luminosity of 73 pb −1 which corresponds to a cross section for Σ( e + e − → e + e − D ∗± X ) of 155 ± 33 ± 21 pb. This result is compatible with both the direct production γγ → c c in the Born approximation and with a more complete calculation which includes both radiative QCD corrections and contributions in which one of the photons is first resolved into its quark and gluon constituents. The shapes of distributions for events containing a D ∗+ are found to be better described by the latter.

Quark and gluon jets with the same energy, 24 GeV, are compared in symmetric three-jet configurations from hadronic Z decays observed by the ALEPH detector. Jets are defined using the Durham algorithm. Gluon jets are identified using an anti-tag on b jets, based on a track impact parameter method. The comparison of gluon and mixed flavour quark jets shows that gluon jets have a softer fragmentation function, a larger angular width and a higher particle multiplicity, Evidence is presented which shows that the corresponding differences between gluon and b jets are significantly smaller. In a statistically limited comparison the multiplicity in c jets was found to be comparable with that observed for the jets of mixed quark flavour.

Using data collected from 1992 to 1995 with the ALEPH detector at LEP, a measurement of the colour factor ratios CA/CF and TF /CF and the strong coupling constant αs = CFαs(MZ)/(2π) has been performed by fitting theoretical predictions simultaneously to the measured differential two-jet rate and angular distributions in four-jet events. The result is found to be in excellent agreement with QCD, {fx4-1} Fixing CA/CF and TF/CF to the QCD values permits a determination of αs(MZ) and ηf, the number of active flavours. With this measurement the existence of a gluino with mass below 6.3 GeV/c2 is excluded at 95% confidence level.

A measurement of the inclusive production of π0 mesons in hadronic Z decays is presented and compared to Monte Carlo model predictions. The analysis is based on approximately 2 million hadronic events recorded with the ALEPH detector at LEP at a centre-of-mass energy of ⊡s = 91.2 GeV. Neutral pions are reconstructed using photons measured in the electromagnetic calorimeter and photons from conversion pairs. The inclusive π0 momentum spectrum is measured in the range 0.025 < xp = p/pbeam < 1. In this range the number of π0 per hadronic Z is found to be 4.80 ± 0.07(stat) ± 0.31(sys). The differential inclusive π0 cross section is also measured as a function of transverse momentum with respect to the event plane (pTin and pTout).

The total cross section and the forward-backward asymmetry for the process e + e − → μ + μ − ( nγ ) are measured in the energy range 20–136 GeV by reconstructing the effective centre-of-mass energy after initial state radiation. The analysis is based on the data recorded with the ALEPH detector at LEP between 1990 and 1995, corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 143.5 pb −1 . Two different approaches are used: in the first one an exclusive selection of events with hard initial state radiation in the energy range 20–88 GeV is directly compared with the Standard Model predictions showing good agreement. In the second one, all events are used to obtain a precise measurement of the energy dependence of σ 0 and A FB 0 from a model independent fit, enabling constraints to be placed on models with extra Z bosons.

A lower limit on the oscillation frequency of the B s 0 B s 0 system is obtained from approximately four million hadronic Z decays accumulated using the ALEPH detector at LEP from 1991 to 1995. Leptons are combined with opposite sign D s − candidates reconstructed in seven different decay modes as evidence of semileptonic B s 0 decays. Criteria designed to ensure precise proper time reconstruction select 277D s − ℓ + combinations. The initial state of these B s 0 candidates is determined using an algorithm optimized to efficiently utilise the tagging information available for each event. The limit at 95% confidence level on the B s 0 B s 0 oscillation frequency is Δm s > 6.6 ps −1 . The same data is used to update the measurement of the B s 0 lifetime, τ s = 1.54 −0.13 +0.14 (stat) ± 0.04 (syst) ps.

Previously published and as yet unpublished QCD results obtained with the ALEPH detector at LEP1 are presented. The unprecedented statistics allows detailed studies of both perturbative and non-perturbative aspects of strong interactions to be carried out using hadronic Z and tau decays. The studies presented include precise determinations of the strong coupling constant, tests of its flavour independence, tests of the SU(3) gauge structure of QCD, study of coherence effects, and measurements of single-particle inclusive distributions and two-particle correlations for many identified baryons and mesons.

Inclusive π±, K± and\((p,\bar p)\) differential cross-sections in hadronic decays of the Z have been measured as a function ofz=Phadron/Pbeam, the scaled momentum. The results are based on approximately 520 000 events measured by the ALEPH detector at LEP during 1992. Charged particles are identified by their rate of ionization energy loss in the ALEPH Time Projection Chamber. The position, ξ*, of the peak in the ln(1/z) distribution is determined, and the evolution of the peak position with centre-of-mass energy is compared with the prediction of QCD.

The polarization of Λ baryons from Z decays is studied with the Aleph apparatus. Evidence of longitudinal polarization of s quarks from Z decay is observed for the first time. The measured longitudinal Λ polarization is P L Λ = −0.32 ± 0.07 for z = p p beam > 0.3 . This agrees with the prediction of −0.39 ± 0.08 from the standard model and the constituent quark model, where the error is due to uncertainties in the mechanism for Λ production. The observed Λ polarization is diluted with respect to the primary s quark polarization by Λ baryons without a primary s quark. Measurements of the Λ forward-backward asymmetry and of the correlation between back-to-back Λ Λ pairs are used to check this dilution. In addition the transverse Λ polarization is measured. An indication of transverse polarization, more than two standard deviations away from zero, is found along the normal to the plane defined by the thrust axis and the Λ direction.

From 1.4 million hadronic Z decays collected by the ALEPH detector at LEP, an enriched sample of Z → cc̄ events is extracted by requiring the presence of a high momentum D ∗± . The charm quark forward-backward charge asymmetry at the Z pole is measured to be A FB 0. c = (8.0 ± 2.4) % corresponding to an effective electroweak mixing angle of sin 2 θ W eff = 0.2302 ± 0.0054.

The e + e − → W + W − cross section is measured in a data sample collected by ALEPH at a mean centre-of-mass energy of 172.09 GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 10.65 pb −1 . Cross sections are given for the three topologies, fully leptonic, semi-leptonic and hadronic of a W-pair decay. Under the assumption that no other decay modes are present, the W-pair cross section is measured to be 11.7±1.2 (stat.) ±0.3 (syst.) pb . The existence of the triple gauge boson vertex of the Standard Model is clearly preferred by the data. The decay branching ratio of the W boson into hadrons is measured to be B(W→hadrons) =67.7±3.1 (stat.) ±0.7 (syst.) % , allowing a determination of the CKM matrix element | V cs |=0.98±0.14(stat.)±0.03(syst.).

Charged hadron production ine+e− annihilation is studied in the 7 to 10 GeV CM energy region and at the Υ (9.46) and Υ′ (10.01) resonances with the LENA detector at DORIS. The statistical moments of the charged multiplicities are studied. The data show KNO scaling behaviour and suggest the presence of long range correlations. An average charged multiplicityrise of Δn(Υ)=0.55±0.19 and Δn(Υ′)=1.26±0.29 over the continuum is observed for the Υ and Υ′ direct decays. The jet structure of the Υ and Υ′ direct decays is investigated using the charged particles. The polar angular distributions of the jet axis behave like 1+α(T) cos2θ with 〈α(T)〉Υ=0.7±0.3 and 〈α(T)〉Υ′=0.6±0.4. The 〈α(T)〉Υ value is in agreement with the QCD vector gluon assignment and excludes scalar gluons by more than four standard deviations.