Using a silicon-microstrip detector array to identify secondary vertices occurring downstream of a short platinum target, we have searched for the decay D0→μ+μ−. Normalized relative to the J/ψ→μ+μ− signal observed in the same data sample, for a 3.25-mm minimum decay distance our branching-ratio sensitivity is (4.8±1.4)×10−6 per event, and after background subtraction we observe -4.1±4.8 events. Using the statistical approach advocated by the Particle Data Group, we obtain a limit B(D0→μ+μ−)<3.1×10−5 at 90% confidence, confirming with a different technique the limit previously obtained by Louis et al. The interpretation of the upper limit involves complex statistical issues; we present another approach which is more suitable for combining the results of different experiments.
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.
The upgraded Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF II) has a high bandwidth available for track based triggers. This capability in conjunction with the unprecedented integrated luminosity in excess of 1 fb −1 enables detailed studies of charm hadron production. CDF is now releasing first measurements of the prompt charm meson pair cross sections, which give access to QCD mechanisms by which charm quarks are produced in proton anti-proton collisions. Recent results on the spin alignment of J/ψ and ψ(2S) as well as on the relative production of the χc1(P1) and χc2(1P) challenge our understanding of the fragmentation of charm quarks into charmonium states.
We have studied D* production mechanisms using data from a photoproduction experiment at the Fermilab Tagged Photon Spectrometer. A large sample of charged D*’s was selected via the clean signature of the cascade decay D*→D0π+ and subsequently D0→K−π+ or D0→K−π+π0. The cross section for the process γp→(D*++anything)p at an average energy of 105 GeV was measured to be 88±32 nb. Only (11±7)% of D*’s were found to be consistent with being accompanied solely by a D¯* or a D¯; the remaining events contain additional particles. The distribution of the production angle of the D* in the photon-fragmentation-system center of mass is strongly anisotropic and consistent with the form f(θ*)=cos4θ*. We set a limit on the associated-production-process cross section σ(γp→(D¯*−+anything)Λc) x)<60 nb (90% C.L.).
We have measured the cross section of γ+D*± production in p¯p collisions at s=1.8TeV using the Collider Detector at Fermilab. In this kinematic region, the Compton scattering process (gc→γc) is expected to dominate and thus provide a direct link to the charm quark density in the proton. From the 45±18 γ+D*± candidates in a 16.4pb−1 data sample, we have determined the production cross section to be 0.38±0.15(stat)±0.11(syst) nb for the rapidity range |y(D*±)|<1.2 and |y(γ)|<0.9, and for the transverse momentum range pT(D*±)>6GeV/c and 16<pT(γ)<40GeV/c. The measured cross section is compared to a theoretical prediction.
We present evidence for the diffractive processes nu_mu Fe -> mu^- D_s^+ (D_s^*+) Fe and nubar_mu Fe -> mu^+ D_s^- (D_s^*-) Fe using the Fermilab SSQT neutrino beam and the Lab E neutrino detector. We observe the neutrino trident reactions nu_mu Fe -> nu_mu mu^- mu^+ Fe and nubar_mu Fe -> nubar_mu mu^+ mu^- Fe at rates consistent with Standard Model expectations. We see no evidence for neutral-current production of J/psi via either diffractive or deep inelastic scattering mechanisms.
We report on measurements of differential cross sections d sigma/d p_t for prompt charm meson production in p anti-p collisions at s**(1/2) = 1.96 TeV using 5.8 +/- 0.3 pb-1 of data from the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. The data are collected with a new trigger that is sensitive to the long lifetime of hadrons containing heavy flavor. The charm meson cross sections are measured in the central rapidity region |y| \leq 1 in four fully reconstructed decay modes: D0 --> K- pi+, D*+ -> D0 pi+, D+ --> K- pi+ pi+, D+_s--> phi pi+, and their charge conjugates. The measured cross sections are compared to theoretical calculations.
In a beam-dump experiment at Fermilab the cross section for charm-particle production has been deduced from a measurement of the prompt neutrino flux. The reaction cross section, if we assume only DD¯ and the dependence on atomic weight A0.75, is 57.2 ± 2.9 ± 8.5 μb/nucleon and the dependence on Feynman x and transverse momentum is EDd3σdpD3∝(1−x)3.2e−1.5p⊥ (p⊥ in GeV/c). The data are consistent with as much as 40% diffractive production of ΛcD¯.
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