A precise measurement of the atomic-mass dependence of dimuon production induced by 800-GeV protons is reported. Over 450 000 muon pairs with dimuon mass M≥4 GeV were recorded from targets of H2, C, Ca, Fe, and W. The ratio of dimuon yield per nucleon for nuclei versus H2, R=YA/Y2H, is sensitive to modifications of the antiquark sea in nuclei. No nuclear dependence of this ratio is observed over the range of target-quark momentum fraction 0.1<xt<0.3. For xt<0.1 the ratio is slightly less than unity for the heavy nuclei. These results are compared with predictions of models of the European Muon Collaboration effect.
The yields of the 1S and the sum of the 2S and 3S Υ resonances have been measured for 800-GeV protons incident on targets of H2, C, Ca, Fe, and W. A significant nuclear dependence is seen in the yield per nucleon which, within errors, is the same for the Υ(1S) and Υ(2S+3D) states. A large decrease in the relative yield from heavy nuclei is found for the range xF<0. Significant nuclear dependence is also observed in the pt distribution. Differential cross sections for the Υ(1S) for H2 are presented over the ranges 0.24≤pt≤3.4 GeV/c and -0.15≤xF≤0.5.
The yield of J/ψ and ψ’ vector-meson states has been measured for 800-GeV protons incident on deuterium, carbon, calcium, iron, and tungsten targets. A depletion of the yield per nucleon from heavy nuclei is observed for both J/ψ and ψ’ production. This depletion exhibits a strong dependence on xF and pt. Within experimental errors the depletion is the same for the J/ψ and the ψ’.
The nuclear dependence for 800 GeV/c proton production of neutron D mesons has been measured near xF=0 in Experiment 789 at Fermilab. D mesons from beryllium and gold targets were detected with a pair spectrometer and a silicon vertex detector via their decay D→Kπ. No nuclear dependence is found, with a measured α=1.02±0.03±0.02. The measured differential cross section, dσ/dxF, for neutral-D-meson production at 〈xF〉=0.031 is 58±3±7 μb/nucleon. The integrated cross section obtained by extrapolation of the measured cross section to all xF is 17.7±0.9±3.4 μb/nucleon and is consistent with previous measurements.
Fermilab experiment 711 has investigated proton-nucleus collisions in which two high-transverse-momentum hadrons are produced forming high-mass ++, +-, and -- charged states, using an 800-GeV/c proton beam on targets of beryllium, aluminum, iron, and tungsten. Our data cover the range in dihadron mass from 6 to 15 GeV/c2. We show here that the dependence of the cross section on atomic weight A can be parametrized as Aα where α=1.043±0.011(stat)±0.025 (syst), and is independent of the charge state of the dihadron system.
Inelastic scattering of 490 GeV μ + from deuterium and xenon nuclei has been studied for x Bj > s .001. The ratio of the xenon/deuterium cross section per nucleon is observed to vary with x Bj , with a depletion in the kinematic range 0.001 < x Bj < 0.025 which exhibits no significant Q 2 dependence. An electromagnetic calorimeter was used to verify the radiative corrections.
Evidence for the light-by-light scattering process, $\gamma\gamma$ $\to$ $\gamma\gamma$, in ultraperipheral PbPb collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 5.02 TeV is reported. The analysis is conducted using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 390 $\mu$b$^{-1}$ recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC. Light-by-light scattering processes are selected in events with two photons exclusively produced, each with transverse energy E$_\mathrm{T}^{\gamma}$ $>$ 2 GeV, pseudorapidity $|\eta^{\gamma}|$ $\lt$ 2.4, diphoton invariant mass $m^{\gamma\gamma}$ $\gt$ 5 GeV, diphoton transverse momentum $p_\mathrm{T}^{\gamma\gamma}$ $\lt$ 1 GeV, and diphoton acoplanarity below 0.01. After all selection criteria are applied, 14 events are observed, compared to expectations of 9.0 $\pm$ 0.9 (theo) events for the signal and 4.0 $\pm$ 1.2 (stat) for the background processes. The excess observed in data relative to the background-only expectation corresponds to a significance of 3.7 standard deviations, and has properties consistent with those expected for the light-by-light scattering signal. The measured fiducial light-by-light scattering cross section, $\sigma_\mathrm{fid} (\gamma\gamma$ $\to$ $\gamma\gamma) =$ 120 $\pm$ 46 (stat) $\pm$ 28 (syst) $\pm$ 12 (theo) nb, is consistent with the standard model prediction. The $m^{\gamma\gamma}$ distribution is used to set new exclusion limits on the production of pseudoscalar axion-like particles, via the $\gamma\gamma$ $\to$ a $\to$ $\gamma\gamma$ process, in the mass range $m_{\mathrm{a}} =$ 5-90 GeV.
Ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions recreate in the laboratory the thermodynamical conditions prevailing in the early universe up to 10$^{-6}$ seconds, thereby allowing the study of the quark-gluon plasma (QGP), a state of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) matter with deconfined partons. The top quark, the heaviest elementary particle known, is accessible in nucleus-nucleus collisions at the CERN LHC, and constitutes a novel probe of the QGP. Here, we report the first-ever evidence for the production of top quarks in nucleus-nucleus collisions, using lead-lead collision data at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of 5.02 TeV recorded by the CMS experiment. Two methods are used to measure the cross section for top quark pair production ($\sigma_\mathrm{t\bar{t}}$) via the decay into charged leptons (electrons or muons) and bottom quarks. One method relies on the leptonic information alone, and the second one exploits, in addition, the presence of bottom quarks. The measured cross sections, $\sigma_\mathrm{t\bar{t}} = $ 2.54 $^{+0.84}_{-0.74}$ and 2.03 $^{+0.71}_{-0.64}$ $\mu$b, respectively, are compatible with expectations from scaled proton-proton data and QCD predictions.
Differential cross sections for the Drell-Yan process, including Z boson production, using the dimuon decay channel are measured in proton-lead (pPb) collisions at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of 8.16 TeV. A data sample recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC is used, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 173 nb$^{-1}$. The differential cross section as a function of the dimuon mass is measured in the range 15-600 GeV, for the first time in proton-nucleus collisions. It is also reported as a function of dimuon rapidity over the mass ranges 15-60 GeV and 60-120 GeV, and ratios for the p-going over the Pb-going beam directions are built. In both mass ranges, the differential cross sections as functions of the dimuon transverse momentum $p_\mathrm{T}$ and of a geometric variable $\phi^*$ are measured, where $\phi^*$ highly correlates with $p_\mathrm{T}$ but is determined with higher precision. In the Z mass region, the rapidity dependence of the data indicate a modification of the distribution of partons within a lead nucleus as compared to the proton case. The data are more precise than predictions based upon current models of parton distributions.
We report on the production characteristics and total cross section for 9 beauty hadron pairs produced by a 600 GeV/ c π − beam, the first such information in this energy region. The events were detected in the hybrid emulsion spectrometer of Fermilab Experiment E653. The measured pair cross section for all χ F , assuming linear A dependence, is 33±11 (stat.)±6(syst.) nb/nucleon. Fits of the inclusive single-hadron production distribution to the forms d σ d χ F ∝ (1−|χ F −χ 0 |) n and d σ d p T 2 ∝ exp (−bp t 2 ) give n=5.0 −2.1−1.7 +2.7+1.7 , χ 0 =0.06 −0.07−0.03 +0.06+0.02 , and b=0.13 −0.04−0.02 +0.05+0.02 ( GeV /c −2 . .The pairs tend to be produced back-to-back.
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