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.
We report a measurement of the p p ̄ total cross section at s =1.8 TeV at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider, using the luminosity independent method. Our result is σ T =71.71±2.02 mb. We also obtained values of the total elastic and total inelastic cross sections.
The MINERvA collaboration reports a novel study of neutrino-nucleus charged-current deep inelastic scattering (DIS) using the same neutrino beam incident on targets of polystyrene, graphite, iron, and lead. Results are presented as ratios of C, Fe, and Pb to CH. The ratios of total DIS cross sections as a function of neutrino energy and flux-integrated differential cross sections as a function of the Bjorken scaling variable x are presented in the neutrino-energy range of 5 - 50 GeV. Good agreement is found between the data and predicted ratios, based on charged-lepton nucleus scattering, at medium x and low neutrino energies. However, the data rate appears depleted in the vicinity of the nuclear shadowing region, x < 0.1. This apparent deficit, reflected in the DIS cross-section ratio at high neutrino energy , is consistent with previous MINERvA observations and with the predicted onset of nuclear shadowing with the the axial-vector current in neutrino scattering.
The first direct measurement of electron-neutrino quasielastic and quasielastic-like scattering on hydrocarbon in the few-GeV region of incident neutrino energy has been carried out using the MINERvA detector in the NuMI beam at Fermilab. The flux-integrated differential cross sections in electron production angle, electron energy and $Q^{2}$ are presented. The ratio of the quasielastic, flux-integrated differential cross section in $Q^{2}$ for $\nu_{e}$ with that of similarly-selected $\nu_{\mu}$-induced events from the same exposure is used to probe assumptions that underpin conventional treatments of charged-current $\nu_{e}$ interactions used by long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments. The data are found to be consistent with lepton universality and are well-described by the predictions of the neutrino event generator GENIE.
The NuTeV experiment at Fermilab has used a sign-selected neutrino beam to perform a search for the lepton number violating process $\bar{\nu}_mu e^- \to \mu^- \bar{\nu}_e$, and to measure the cross-section of the Standard Model inverse muon decay process $\nu_{\mu} e^- \to \mu^- \nu_e$. NuTeV measures the inverse muon decay asymptotic cross-section $\sigma/E$ to be 13.8 $\pm$ 1.2 $\pm$ 1.4 x $10^{-42} cm^2$/GeV. The experiment also observes no evidence for lepton number violation and places one of the most restrictive limits on the LNV/IMD cross-section ratio at $\sigma (\bar{\nu}_{\mu} e^- \to \mu^- \bar{\nu}_e) /\sigma (\nu_{\mu}e^- \to \mu^- \nu_e$) $\le$ 1.7% at 90% C.L. for V-A couplings and $\le$ 0.6% for scalar couplings.
The inclusive ϱ ° production cross section has been measured in the reaction π − p → π + π − X at 205 GeV/ c . We find σ ( ϱ ° ) = 13.5 ± 3.4 mb, with most of the production occuring in the central region. Assuming σ ( ϱ + ) ≈ σ ( ϱ − ) ≈ σ ( ϱ ° ), it is concluded that approximately one-third of the pions at this energy come from ϱ -decay.
Inclusive and semi-inclusive ρ 0 production are studied in 205 GeV/ c pp interactions. The number of ρ 0 per inelastic event is 0.33 ± 0.06, so that (13 ± 2)% of the π − are products of ϱ 0 decay. The ρ 0 are found to be produced mainly near y = 0 and tend to have larger average transverse momentum than do pions.
Dimuon production is studied in 217-GeV/c π−-hydrogen and π−-beryllium collisions with a lead-glass array to detect photons associated with the ψ. The ψ−γ mass spectrum shows a 2.6-standard-deviation excess of events above background at ∼3.5 GeV. This excess, if attributed to the decay χ(∼3.5)→ψγ, implies that 0.70±0.28 of the ψ's are produced via radiative decay of one of the χ states.
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