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The total e + e − annihilation onto hadron has been measured at CM energies between 33.00 and 36.72 GeV and between 38.66 and 46.78 GeV in steps of 20 and 30 MeV respectively. The average of the ratio R = σ ( e + e − → hadrons )/ σ is 〈 R 〉=3.85±0.12 and 〈 R 〉=4.04±0.10 for the two energy ranges. The systematic error on 〈 R 〉 is 0.31. Both values are consistent with the expectation for the known coloured quarks u, d, s, c and b. No evidence was found for the production of new quarks. If the largest fluctuation in R is interpreted as a narrow resonance, it corresponds to a product of the electronic width and the hadronic branching ratio Γ ee B had >2.9 keV at the 95% confidence level, well below the value expected for the toponium vector ground state with charge 2 3 e . The observed number of aplanar final states rules out the continuum production of a a new heavy flavour with pointlike cross section up to a CM energy of 45.4 GeV for a quarck charge of 1 3 e . and up to 46.6 GeV for 2 3 e at the 95% confidence level.

Inclusive production of ifπ ± , K ± and p has been studied near charm threshold for c.m. energies between 3.6 and 5.2 GeV. Differential and scaling cross sections together with particle multiplicities have been determinated. By comparing data below and above charm threshold the charm contribution to if π ± and K ± production has been extracted. A comparison has been made between inclusice p production and inelastic electron-proton scattering. To study differences between three-gluon annihilation and two-quark production of the spectra from J/ decay and from non-resonant production at 3.6 GeV has been compared.

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.

Charged particle production in deep-inelastic ep scattering is measured with the H1 detector at HERA. The kinematic range of the analysis covers low photon virtualities, 5<Q (2)<100 GeV(2), and small values of Bjorken-x, 10(−4)<x<10(−2). The analysis is performed in the hadronic centre-of-mass system. The charged particle densities are measured as a function of pseudorapidity (η (∗)) and transverse momentum ( ) in the range 0<η (∗)<5 and in bins of x and Q (2). The data are compared to predictions from different Monte Carlo generators implementing various options for hadronisation and parton evolutions.

Inclusive-jet cross sections have been measured in the reaction ep->e+jet+X for photon virtuality Q2 < 1 GeV2 and gamma-p centre-of-mass energies in the region 142 < W(gamma-p) < 293 GeV with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 300 pb-1. Jets were identified using the kT, anti-kT or SIScone jet algorithms in the laboratory frame. Single-differential cross sections are presented as functions of the jet transverse energy, ETjet, and pseudorapidity, etajet, for jets with ETjet > 17 GeV and -1 < etajet < 2.5. In addition, measurements of double-differential inclusive-jet cross sections are presented as functions of ETjet in different regions of etajet. Next-to-leading-order QCD calculations give a good description of the measurements, except for jets with low ETjet and high etajet. The influence of non-perturbative effects not related to hadronisation was studied. Measurements of the ratios of cross sections using different jet algorithms are also presented; the measured ratios are well described by calculations including up to O(alphas2) terms. Values of alphas(Mz) were extracted from the measurements and the energy-scale dependence of the coupling was determined. The value of alphas(Mz) extracted from the measurements based on the kT jet algorithm is alphas(Mz) = 0.1206 +0.0023 -0.0022 (exp.) +0.0042 -0.0035 (th.); the results from the anti-kT and SIScone algorithms are compatible with this value and have a similar precision.

H1 and ZEUS have published single-differential cross sections for inclusive D^{*\pm}-meson production in deep-inelastic ep scattering at HERA from their respective final data sets. These cross sections are combined in the common visible phase-space region of photon virtuality Q2 > 5 GeV2, electron inelasticity 0.02 < y < 0.7 and the D^{*\pm} meson's transverse momentum pT (D^*) > 1.5 GeV and pseudorapidity |eta(D^*)| < 1.5. The combination procedure takes into account all correlations, yielding significantly reduced experimental uncertainties. Double-differential cross sections d2s /dQ2dy are combined with earlier D^{*\pm} data, extending the kinematic range down to Q2 > 1.5 GeV2. Perturbative next-to-leadingorder QCD predictions are compared to the results.

Single- and double-differential inclusive dijet cross sections in neutral current deep inelastic ep scattering have been measured with the ZEUS detector using an integrated luminosity of 374 pb^-1. The measurement was performed at large values of the photon virtuality, Q^2, between 125 and 20000 GeV^2. The jets were reconstructed with the k_T cluster algorithm in the Breit reference frame and selected by requiring their transverse energies in the Breit frame, E_T,B^jet, to be larger than 8 GeV. In addition, the invariant mass of the dijet system, M_jj, was required to be greater than 20 GeV. The cross sections are described by the predictions of next-to-leading-order QCD.

The cross section of the diffractive process e^+p -> e^+Xp is measured at a centre-of-mass energy of 318 GeV, where the system X contains at least two jets and the leading final state proton p is detected in the H1 Very Forward Proton Spectrometer. The measurement is performed in photoproduction with photon virtualities Q^2 <2 GeV^2 and in deep-inelastic scattering with 4 GeV^2<Q^2<80 GeV^2. The results are compared to next-to-leading order QCD calculations based on diffractive parton distribution functions as extracted from measurements of inclusive cross sections in diffractive deep-inelastic scattering.

The Large Hadron Collider forward (LHCf) experiment is designed to use the LHC to verify the hadronic-interaction models used in cosmic-ray physics. Forward baryon production is one of the crucial points to understand the development of cosmic-ray showers. We report the neutron-energy spectra for LHC $\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV proton--proton collisions with the pseudo-rapidity $\eta$ ranging from 8.81 to 8.99, from 8.99 to 9.22, and from 10.76 to infinity. The measured energy spectra obtained from the two independent calorimeters of Arm1 and Arm2 show the same characteristic feature before unfolding the difference in the detector responses. We unfolded the measured spectra by using the multidimensional unfolding method based on Bayesian theory, and the unfolded spectra were compared with current hadronic-interaction models. The QGSJET II-03 model predicts a high neutron production rate at the highest pseudo-rapidity range similar to our results and the DPMJET 3.04 model describes our results well at the lower pseudo-rapidity ranges. However no model perfectly explains the experimental results in the whole pseudo-rapidity range. The experimental data indicate the most abundant neutron production rate relative to the photon production, which does not agree with predictions of the models.

The the pseudorapidity density of charged particles dN$_{ch}$/d$\eta$ is measured by the TOTEM experiment in pp collisions at √s = 8 TeV within the range 3.9 < $\eta$ < 4.7 and −6.95 < $\eta$ < −6.9. Data were collected in a low intensity LHC run with collisions occurring at a distance of 11.25 m from the nominal interaction point. The data sample is expected to include 96-97% of the inelastic proton-proton interactions. The measurement reported here considers charged particles with $P_T$ > 0 MeV/c, produced in inelastic interactions with at least one charged particle in −7 < $\eta$ < −6 or 3.7< $\eta$ < 4.8. The dN$_{ch}$/d$\eta$ has been found to decrease with |$\eta$|, from 5.11 ± 0.73 at $\eta$ =3.95 to 1.81 ± 0.56 at $\eta$ = −6.925. Several MC generators are compared to the data and are found to be within the systematic uncertainty of the measurement.

Using data samples collected at center-of-mass energies of $\sqrt{s}$ = 4.009, 4.230, 4.260, and 4.360 GeV with the BESIII detector operating at the BEPCII collider, we perform a search for the process $e^+e^-\to\gamma\chi_{cJ}$ $(J = 0, 1, 2)$ and find evidence for $e^+e^-\to\gamma\chi_{c1}$ and $e^+e^-\to\gamma\chi_{c2}$ with statistical significances of 3.0$\sigma$ and 3.4$\sigma$, respectively. The Born cross sections $\sigma^{B}(e^+e^-\to\gamma\chi_{cJ})$, as well as their upper limits at the 90% confidence level are determined at each center-of-mass energy.

Flavour inclusive, udsc and b fragmentation functions in unbiased jets, and flavour inclusive, udsc, b and gluon fragmentation functions in biased jets are measured in e+e- annihilations from data collected at centre-of-mass energies of 91.2, and 183-209 GeV with the OPAL detector at LEP. The unbiased jets are defined by hemispheres of inclusive hadronic events, while the biased jet measurements are based on three-jet events selected with jet algorithms. Several methods are employed to extract the fragmentation functions over a wide range of scales. Possible biases are studied in the results are obtained. The fragmentation functions are compared to results from lower energy e+e- experiments and with earlier LEP measurements and are found to be consistent. Scaling violations are observed and are found to be stronger for the fragmentation functions of gluon jets than for those of quarks. The measured fragmentation functions are compared to three recent theoretical next-to-leading order calculations and to the predictions of three Monte Carlo event generators. While the Monte Carlo models are in good agreement with the data, the theoretical predictions fail to describe the full set of results, in particular the b and gluon jet measurements.

The differential cross sections for inclusive neutral pions as a function of transverse and longitudinal momentum in the very forward rapidity region have been measured at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) with the Large Hadron Collider forward detector (LHCf) in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=$ 2.76 and 7 TeV and in proton-lead collisions at nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energies of $\sqrt{s_\text{NN}}=$ 5.02 TeV. Such differential cross sections in proton-proton collisions are compatible with the hypotheses of limiting fragmentation and Feynman scaling. Comparing proton-proton with proton-lead collisions, we find a sizable suppression of the production of neutral pions in the differential cross sections after subtraction of ultra-peripheral proton-lead collisions. This suppression corresponds to the nuclear modification factor value of about 0.1-0.3. The experimental measurements presented in this paper provide a benchmark for the hadronic interaction Monte Carlo simulation codes that are used for the simulation of cosmic ray air showers.

In an analysis of a 2.92~fb$^{-1}$ data sample taken at 3.773~GeV with the BESIII detector operated at the BEPCII collider, we measure the absolute decay branching fractions to be $\mathcal B(D^0 \to K^-e^+\nu_e)=(3.505\pm 0.014 \pm 0.033)\%$ and $\mathcal B(D^0 \to \pi^-e^+\nu_e)=(0.295\pm 0.004\pm 0.003)\%$. From a study of the differential decay rates we obtain the products of hadronic form factor and the magnitude of the CKM matrix element $f_{+}^K(0)|V_{cs}|=0.7172\pm0.0025\pm 0.0035$ and $f_{+}^{\pi}(0)|V_{cd}|=0.1435\pm0.0018\pm 0.0009$. Combining these products with the values of $|V_{cs(d)}|$ from the SM constraint fit, we extract the hadronic form factors $f^K_+(0) = 0.7368\pm0.0026\pm 0.0036$ and $f^\pi_+(0) = 0.6372\pm0.0080\pm 0.0044$, and their ratio $f_+^{\pi}(0)/f_+^{K}(0)=0.8649\pm 0.0112\pm 0.0073$. These form factors and their ratio are used to test unquenched Lattice QCD calculations of the form factors and a light cone sum rule (LCSR) calculation of their ratio. The measured value of $f_+^{K(\pi)}(0) |V_{cs(d)}|$ and the lattice QCD value for $f^{K(\pi)}_+(0)$ are used to extract values of the CKM matrix elements of $|V_{cs}|=0.9601 \pm 0.0033 \pm 0.0047 \pm 0.0239$ and $|V_{cd}|=0.2155 \pm 0.0027 \pm 0.0014 \pm 0.0094$, where the third errors are due to the uncertainties in lattice QCD calculations of the form factors. Using the LCSR value for $f_+^\pi(0)/f_+^K(0)$, we determine the ratio $|V_{cd}|/|V_{cs}|=0.238\pm 0.004\pm 0.002\pm 0.011$, where the third error is from the uncertainty in the LCSR normalization. In addition, we measure form factor parameters for three different theoretical models that describe the weak hadronic charged currents for these two semileptonic decays. All of these measurements are the most precise to date.

A combination is presented of all inclusive deep inelastic cross sections previously published by the H1 and ZEUS collaborations at HERA for neutral and charged current $e^{\pm}p$ scattering for zero beam polarisation. The data were taken at proton beam energies of 920, 820, 575 and 460 GeV and an electron beam energy of 27.5 GeV. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of about 1 fb$^{-1}$ and span six orders of magnitude in negative four-momentum-transfer squared, $Q^2$, and Bjorken $x$. The correlations of the systematic uncertainties were evaluated and taken into account for the combination. The combined cross sections were input to QCD analyses at leading order, next-to-leading order and at next-to-next-to-leading order, providing a new set of parton distribution functions, called HERAPDF2.0. In addition to the experimental uncertainties, model and parameterisation uncertainties were assessed for these parton distribution functions. Variants of HERAPDF2.0 with an alternative gluon parameterisation, HERAPDF2.0AG, and using fixed-flavour-number schemes, HERAPDF2.0FF, are presented. The analysis was extended by including HERA data on charm and jet production, resulting in the variant HERAPDF2.0Jets. The inclusion of jet-production cross sections made a simultaneous determination of these parton distributions and the strong coupling constant possible, resulting in $\alpha_s(M_Z)=0.1183 \pm 0.0009 {\rm(exp)} \pm 0.0005{\rm (model/parameterisation)} \pm 0.0012{\rm (hadronisation)} ^{+0.0037}_{-0.0030}{\rm (scale)}$. An extraction of $xF_3^{\gamma Z}$ and results on electroweak unification and scaling violations are also presented.

We report the first observation of the Dalitz decay $\eta' \to \gamma e^+e^-$, based on a data sample of 1.31 billion $J/\psi$ events collected with the BESIII detector. The $\eta'$ mesons are produced via the $J/\psi \to \gamma \eta'$ decay process. The ratio $\Gamma(\eta' \to \gamma e^+ e^-)/\Gamma(\eta'\to\gamma\gamma)$ is measured to be $(2.13\pm0.09(\text{stat.})\pm0.07(\text{sys.}))\times10^{-2}$. This corresponds to a branching fraction ${\cal B}(\eta' \to \gamma e^+e^-)= (4.69 \pm0.20(\text{stat.})\pm0.23(\text{sys.}))\times10^{-4}$. The transition form factor is extracted and different expressions are compared to the measured dependence on the $e^+e^-$ invariant mass. The results are consistent with the prediction of the Vector Meson Dominance model.

Using a data sample collected with the BESIII detector operating at the BEPCII storage ring, we observe a new neutral state $Z_c(3900)^{0}$ with a significance of $10.4\sigma$. The mass and width are measured to be $3894.8\pm2.3\pm3.2$ MeV/$c^2$ and $29.6\pm8.2\pm8.2$~MeV, respectively, where the first error is statistical and the second systematic. The Born cross section for $e^+e^-\to\pi^0\pi^0 J/\psi$ and the fraction of it attributable to $\pi^0 Z_c(3900)^{0}\to\pi^0\pi^0 J/\psi$ in the range $E_{cm}=4.19-4.42$ GeV are also determined. We interpret this state as the neutral partner of the four-quark candidate $Z_c(3900)^\pm$.

We present a measurement of the azimuthal asymmetries of two charged pions in the inclusive process $e^+e^-\rightarrow \pi\pi X$ based on a data set of 62 $\rm{pb}^{-1}$ at the center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}=3.65$ GeV collected with the BESIII detector. These asymmetries can be attributed to the Collins fragmentation function. We observe a nonzero asymmetry, which increases with increasing pion momentum. As our energy scale is close to that of the existing semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering experimental data, the measured asymmetries are important inputs for the global analysis of extracting the quark transversity distribution inside the nucleon and are valuable to explore the energy evolution of the spin-dependent fragmentation function.

Using data samples collected with the BESIII detector operating at the BEPCII collider at center-of-mass energies from 3.810 to 4.600 GeV, we perform a study of $e^{+}e^{-} \to \eta J/\psi$ and $\pi^0 J/\psi$. Statistically significant signals of $e^{+}e^{-} \to \eta J/\psi$ are observed at $\sqrt{s}$ = 4.190, 4.210, 4.220, 4.230, 4.245, 4.260, 4.360 and 4.420 GeV, while no signals of $e^{+}e^{-} \to \pi^{0} J/\psi$ are observed. The measured energy-dependent Born cross section for $e^{+}e^{-} \to \eta J/\psi$ shows an enhancement around 4.2~GeV. The measurement is compatible with an earlier measurement by Belle, but with a significantly improved precision.

Using data samples collected with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider, we measure the Born cross section of $e^{+}e^{-}\rightarrow p\bar{p}$ at 12 center-of-mass energies from 2232.4 to 3671.0 MeV. The corresponding effective electromagnetic form factor of the proton is deduced under the assumption that the electric and magnetic form factors are equal $(|G_{E}|= |G_{M}|)$. In addition, the ratio of electric to magnetic form factors, $|G_{E}/G_{M}|$, and $|G_{M}|$ are extracted by fitting the polar angle distribution of the proton for the data samples with larger statistics, namely at $\sqrt{s}=$ 2232.4 and 2400.0 MeV and a combined sample at $\sqrt{s}$ = 3050.0, 3060.0 and 3080.0 MeV, respectively. The measured cross sections are in agreement with recent results from BaBar, improving the overall uncertainty by about 30\%. The $|G_{E}/G_{M}|$ ratios are close to unity and consistent with BaBar results in the same $q^{2}$ region, which indicates the data are consistent with the assumption that $|G_{E}|=|G_{M}|$ within uncertainties.

Inclusive K 0 -production has been measured in e + e - annihilation at a center of mass energy of about W = 30 GeV. The ratio of K 0 + K 0 production to μ + μ - production is R K 0 = 5.6 ± 1.1 (statist. error) ± 0.8 (system.error) This value is about a factor of three higher than R K 0 at W = 7 GeV. The cross sections ( s / β ) d σ /d x is consistent with a scaling behaviour.

By analyzing the data sets of 17.3 pb$^{-1}$ taken at $\sqrt{s}=3.773$ GeV and 6.5 pb$^{-1}$ taken at $\sqrt{s}=3.650$ GeV with the BESII detector at the BEPC collider, we have measured the observed cross sections for 12 exclusive light hadron final states produced in $e^+e^-$ annihilation at the two energy points. We have also set the upper limits on the observed cross sections and the branching fractions for $\psi(3770)$ decay to these final states at 90% C.L.

Measurements of the charged multiplicities for hadron production in e + e − annihilation in the center of mass energy range 9–32 GeV have been made. The average charged multiplicity has an energy dependence much stronger than ln s and similar to that reported for pp collisions. Quantitative differences are observed in the magnitude of both the average multiplicity 〈 n ch 〉 and the dispersion D ch for e + e − and pp interactions at the same center of mass energy. 〈 n ch 〉 and the ratio 〈 n ch / D ch in e + e − annihilations are significantly larger than in pp collisions and are found to be in overall agreement with QCD predictions. KNO scaling is seen to be satisfied.

Using the data sets of 17.3 pb$^{-1}$ collected at $\sqrt{s}=$ 3.773 GeV and 6.5 pb$^{-1}$ collected at $\sqrt{s}=$ 3.650 GeV with the BESII detector at the BEPC collider, we have measured the observed cross sections for 18 exclusive light hadron final states produced in $e^+e^-$ annihilation at the two energy points.

Production of pions, kaons, protons and antiprotons has been studied in e + e − annihilations at 12 and 30 GeV centre of mass energy using time of flight techniques. The fractional yield of charged kaons and baryons appears to rise with outgoing particle momentum. At our highest energy at least 40% of e + e − annihilations into hadrons are estimated to contain baryons.

The total cross section for e + e − annihilation into hadronic final states between 3.6 and 5.2 GeV was measured by the nonmagnetic inner detector of DASP, which has similar trigger and detection efficiencies for photons and charged particles. The measured difference in R = σ had / σμμ between 3.6 GeV and 5.2 GeV is ΔR = 2.1 ± 0.3. We observe three peaks at cm energies of 4.04, 4.16 and 4.417 GeV, the parameters of which, when interpreted as resonances, are given.

The pion form factor is measured in the reaction e + e − → π + π − for center of mass energies in the range 480–1100 MeV. Our results are first analysed in terms of the conventional Vector Meson Dominance formalism, and then taking into account the ωπ inelastic channel. The result of this later formalism is a pion form factor ( F π ) which fits quite well all the existing data on F π both in the timelike and spacelike regions, and pion mean square radius of 〈 r π 2 〉 = 0.460 ± 0.011 fm 2 or 〈r π 2 〉 1 2 = 0.678 ± 0.008 fm .

The cross section for the process e + e − → multihadrons has been measured at the highest PETRA energies. We measure R (the total cross section in units of the point-like e + e - → μ + μ - cross section) to be 2.9 ± 0.7, 4.0 ± 0.5, 4.6 ± 0.4 and 4.2 ± 0.6 at s of 22, 27.7, 30 and 31.6 GeV, respectively. The observed average multiplicity, together with existing low energy data, indicate a rapid increase in multiplicity with increasing energy.

The total cross section for electron-positron annihilation into three or more hadrons has been measured for centre of mass energies between 1.4 and 2.0 GeV. The data were obtained at ADONE by the BB̄ experiment.

We report on the results of the study of e + e − collisions at the highest PETRA energy of √ s = 31.57 GeV, using the 4π sr, electromagnetic and calorimetric detector Mark J. Based on 88 hadron events, and an integrated luminosity of 243 nb −1 we obtain R = σ (e + e − → hadrons)/ σ (e + e − → μ + μ − ) = 4.0 ± 0.5 (statistical) ± 6 (systematic). The R value, the measured thrust distribution and average spherocity show no evidence for the production of new quark flavors.

Inclusive cross sections of η production by e + e - annihilation for c.m. energies between 4.0 and 5.0 GeV are presented. The η production is shown to be correlated with the production of a weakly decaying particle, indicating that its main source is F production. At the 4.42 GeV resonance it is correlated with a low energy photon, suggesting F F ∗ or F ∗ F ∗ production. A mass determination of the F is made at 4.42 GeV using the F → ηπ decay channel.

We have performed a search for narrow resonances in the center of mass energy range from 29.90 to 31.46 GeV using the e + e − storage ring PETRA at DESY. We present the total cross section for hadron production and an upper limit for resonance production, indicating that no bound state of charge- 2 3 quarks exists in this energy range.

Hadron production by e + e − annihilation has been studied for c.m. energies W between 13 and 31.6 GeV. As a function of 1n W the charged particle multiplicity grows faster at high energy than at lower energies. This is correlated with a rise in the plateau of the rapidity distribution. The cross section s d σ /d x is found to scale within ±30% for x > 0.2 and 5 ⩽ W ⩽ 31.6 GeV.

We have observed e + e − hadrons at C.M. energies of 13 GeV and 17 GeV at PETRA using the TASSO detector. We find R (13 GeV) = 5.6 ± 0.7 and R (17 GeV) = 4.0 ± 0.7. The additional systematic uncertainty is 20%. Comparing inclusive charged hadron spectra we observe scaling between 5 GeV and 17 GeV for x = p / p beam > 0.2; however the 13 GeV cross section is above the 17 GeV cross section for smaller x . This may be due to copious bb̄ production. The events become increasingly jet like at high energies as evidenced by a shrinking sphericity distribution with increasing energy.

Results on e + e − annihilation into hadrons at c.m. energies between 22 and 31.6 GeV are presented. The data were accumulated with the PLUTO detector at PETRA. The events are dominantly of the two-jet type. The value of the relative hadronic cross section R =3.88 ± 0.22 along with the details of the sphericity and thrust distribution rule out an open (tt̄) channel (Q t = 2 3 ) below 30 GeV. The inclusive muon results support the above conclusion.

We present the results of a measurement of the cross section oof the reaction e + e − → π + π − π + π − from 890 to 1100 MeV in the center of mass, obtained with a magnetic detector at the Orsay Storage Ring ACO. With respect to previous experiments, the present one offers the possibility of reconstructing events with at least one constraint and his improved statistics. We find that our measurement of the cross section for e + e − → π + π − π + π − is compatible with quasi two-body production of π A 1 ( m A1 = 1.1 GeV, Γ A1 ∼ 0.2−0.3 GeV), through the ϱ and ϱ′(1600) intermediate states. We were able to states. We were able to determine the cross section of this reaction at the energy of the φ meson and consequently an upper limit on the branching ratio of φ → π + π − π + π − .

We have measured the production cross section for K s 0 in e + e − annihilation from 3.6 to 5.0 GeV center of mass energy. A substantial increase of the K s 0 yield is observed around 4 GeV in qualitative agreement with the charm hypothesis.

This report reviews the experimental investigation of high energy e + e − interactions by the MARK J collaboration at PETRA, the electron-positron colliding beam accelerator at DESY in Hamburg, Germany. The physics objectives include studies of several purely electromagnetic processes and hadronic final states, which further our knowledge of the nature of the fundamental constituents and of their strong, electromagnetic and weak interactions. Before discussing the physics results, the main features and the principal components of the MARK J detector are discussed in terms of design, function, and performance. Several aspects of the on-line data collection and the off-line analysis are also outlined. Results are presented on tests of quantum electrodynamics using e + e − → e + e − , μ + μ − and τ + τ − , on the measurement of R , the ratio of the hadronic to the point-like muon pair cross section, on the search for new quark flavors, on the discovery of three jet events arising from the radiation of hard noncollinear gluons as predicted by quantum chromodynamics, and on the determination of the strong coupling constant α s .

Using the solenoidal magnetic detector PLUTO, we have measured the total cross section for e + e − annihilation into hadrons. Results are presented for center of mass energies between 3.6 and 4.8 GeV, and in the regions of the J ψ (3.1) and ψ(3.7) resonances. We also present results for the 2 prong cross section in the energy range 3.6 to 4.8 GeV.

We have searched for possible narrow resonances produced in e + e − annihilation at Adone, in the mass regions 1910–2545 MeV and 2970–3090 MeV. No evidence has been found for narrow resonances, within the sensitivity of the present work: we deduce an upper limit on the energy integrated resonant cross section of about 10% of the J/ψ(3100) corresponding value.

The ration R = σ (e + e − → hadrons) σ μμ was measured between 12.0 and 36.7 GeV c.m. energy W with a precision of typically ± 5.2%. R is found to be constant with an average R = 4.01 ± 0.03 (stat) ± (syst.) for W ⩾ 14 GeV. Quarks are found to be point-like, the mass parameter describing a possible quark form-factor being larger than 186 GeV. Fits including QCD corrections and a weak neutral-current contribution are presented.

We have observed ϱ 0 production in e + e − annihilation to hadrons at high energies. The differential cross section at a centre of mass energy W , of 34 GeV, is presented. In the range 0.2< x < 0.7, we measure 0.33 ± 0.06 (stat.) ± 0.07 (syst.), 0.22 ± 0.06 ± 0.05 and 0.22 ± 0.02 ± 0.05 ϱ 0 /event at W = 14, 22 and 34 GeV respectively.

Measurements of energy-energy correlations in hadronic final states produced in e + e − annihilation at c.m. energies between 7.7 and 31.6 GeV are presented. The data are compared to perturbative QCD predictions. Good qualitative agreement above 20 GeV c.m. energy is found. The importance of non-perturbative effects is discussed, as well as the detailed behaviour of the correlation near 180°.

We have analyzed 1113 events of the reaction e + e − → hadrons at CM energies of 12 and 30 GeV in order to make a detailed comparison with QCD. Perturbative effects can be well separated from effects depending on the quark and gluon fragmentation parameters to yield a reliable measurement of the coupling constant α S . At 30 GeV, the result is α S = 0.17 ± 0.02 (statistical) ± 0.03 (systematic). QCD model predictions, using the fragmentation parameters determined along with α S , agree with both gross properties of the final states and with detailed features of the three-jet states.

Cross sections and charged multiplicity distributions for π+p,K+p andpp interactions at 250 GeV/c are presented and compared to each other as well as to earlier (for π+p andK+p lower energy) data. Consistently, the meson-proton (M+p) data have narrower multiplicity distributions and higher average multiplicity thanpp data. Up to our energy, generalized KNO functions describe the energy dependence of the shape of the multiplity distribution with one parameter forM+p and one forpp collisions. If interpreted in terms of negative binomials, the parameter 1/k tends to be slightly lower forM+p than forpp data. For both types of hadron-hadron collision, 1/k is larger than fore+e− andlp collisions.

The processγγπ+π− has been measured with complete particle identification. Cross-sections are presented from near threshold up to the region of thef(1270). In the mass range 0.5–0.7 GeV, crosssections are lower than the Born term predictions and show no evidence for an ε(600). The two-photon width of thef(1270) is found to be in agreement with previous results.

Inclusive production cross sections for photons and π0's ine+e− annihilation at a center of mass energy of 29 GeV have been measured. The π0 production spectrum agrees with a corresponding measurement for π±. The ratio of the π0 inclusive rate to the average for π± is 0.92±0.14. The fractions of the total energy carried by photons and π0's are 0.244±0.016 and 0.217±0.033, respectively. The fraction of total energy carried by all stable hadrons, prompt leptons and photons is determined to be 0.938±0.045, leaving 0.062±0.045 for neutrinos.

Transverse particle momenta have been measured ine+e− annihilation into hadrons at c.m. energies between 9.4 and 31.6 GeV. The data are fully corrected for detector effects and radiation in the initial state. A comparison is made with recent QCD calculations.

We present high statistics measurements of the energy-energy correlation (EEC) and its related asymmetry (AEEC) ine+e− annihilation at a c.m. energy of 34.6 GeV. We find that the energy dependence as well as the large angle behaviour of the latter are well described by perturbative QCD calculations toOα(s2). Non-perturbative effects are estimated with the help of fragmentation models in which different jet topologies are separated using (ɛ, δ) cuts, and found to be small. The extracted values of\(\Lambda _{\overline {MS} }\) lie between 100 and 300 MeV.