The charged particle multiplicity distribution of hadronic Z decays was measured on the peak of the Z resonance using the ALEPH detector at LEP. Using a model independent unfolding procedure the distribution was found to have a mean 〈 n 〉=20.85±0.24 and a dispersion D =6.34±0.12. Comparison with lower energy data supports the KNO scaling hypothesis in the energy range s =29−91.25 GeV. At s =91.25 GeV the shape of the multiplicity distribution is well described by a log-normal distribution, as predicted from a cascading model for multi-particle production. The same model also successfully describes the energy dependence of the mean and width of the multiplicity distribution. A next-to-leading order QCD prediction in the framework of the modified leading-log approximation and local parton-hadron duality is found to fit the energy dependence of the mean but not the width of the charged multiplicity distribution, indicating that the width of the multiplicity distribution is a sensitive probe for higher order QCD or non-perturbative effects.
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.).
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