Measurements of the cross section and forward-backward asymmetry for the reaction e + e − → μ + μ − using the DELPHI detector at LEP are presented. The data come from a scan around the Z 0 peak at seven centre of mass energies, giving a sample of 3858 events in the polar angle region 22° < θ < 158°. From a fit to the cross section for 43° < θ < 137°, a polar angle region for which the absolute efficiency has been determined, the square root of the product of the Z 0 → e + e − and Z 0 → μ + μ − partial widths is determined to be (Γ e Γ μ ) 1 2 = 85.0 ± 0.9( stat. ) ± 0.8( syst. ) MeV . From this measurement of the partial width, the value of the effective weak mixing angle is determined to be sin 2 ( θ w ) = 0.2267 ± 0.0037 . The ratio of the hadronic to muon pair partial widths is found to be Γ h / Γ μ = 19.89 ± 0.40(stat.) ± 0.19(syst.). The forward-backward asymmetry at the resonance peak energy E CMS = 91.22 GeV is found to be A FB = 0.028 ± 0.020(stat.) ± 0.005(syst.). From a combined fit to the cross section and forward-backward asymmetry data, the products of the electron and muon vector and axial-vector coupling constants are determined to be V e V μ = 0.0024 ± 0.0015(stat.) ± 0.0004(syst.) and A e A μ = 0.253 ± 0.003(stat.) ± 0.003 (syst.). The results are in good agreement with the expectations of the minimal standard model.

From the data collected by DELPHI at LEP in autumn 1995, the multiplicity of charged particles at a hadronic energy of 130 GeV has been measured to be 〈 n ch 〉 = 23.84 ± 0.51 (stat) ± 0.52 (syst). When compared to lower energy data, the value measured is consistent with the evolution predicted by QCD with corrections at next-to-leading order, for a value α s (130 GeV) = 0.105 ± 0.003 (stat) ± 0.008 (syst).

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The forward-backward asymmetry of bottom quarks is measured with statistics of approximately 80 000 hadronic Z 0 decays produced in e + e − collisions at a centre of mass energy of √ s ≈ M z . The tagging of b quark events has been performed using the semileptonic decay channel b→X+ μ . Because the asymmetry depends on the weak coupling, this leads to a precise measurement of the electroweak mixing angle sin 2 θ w . The experimental result is A FB b = 0.115±0.043(stat.)±0.013(syst.). After correcting the value for the B 0 B 0 mixing this becomes A FB b =0.161±0.060(stat.)±0.021(syst.) corresponding to sin 2 θ W MS =0.221±0.011( stat. )±0.004( syst. ) .

In four-jet events from e + e − →Z 0 →multihadrons one can separate the three principal contributions from the triple-gluon vertex, double gluon-bremsstrahlung and the secondary quark-antiquark production, using the shape of the two-dimensional angular distributions in the generalized Nachtmann-Reiter angle θ NR ∗ and the opening angle of the secondary jets. Thus one can identify directly the contribution from the triple-gluon vertex without comparison with a specific non-QCD model. Applying this new method to events taken with the DELPHI-detector we get for the ratio of the colour factor N c to the fermionic Casimir operator C F : N c C F = 2.55 ± 0.55 ( stat. ) ± 0.4 ( fragm. + models ) ± 0.2 ( error in bias ) in agreement with the value 2.25 expected in QCD from N c =3 and C F = 4 3 .

The spin density matrix elements for the ϱ 0 , K ∗0 (892) and F produced in hadronic Z 0 decays are measured in the DELPHI detector. There is no evidence for spin alignment of the K ∗0 (892) and F in the region x p ≤ 0.3 ( x p = p p beam ), where ϱ 00 = 0.33 ± 0.05 and ϱ 00 = 0.30 ± 0.04, respectively. In the fragmentation region, x p ≥ 0.4, there is some indication for spin alignment of the ϱ 0 and K ∗0 (892), since ϱ 00 = 0.43 ± 0.05 and ϱ 00 = 0.46 ± 0.08, respectively. These values are compared with those found in meson-induced hadronic reactions. For the F, ϱ 00 = 0.30 ± 0.04 for x p ≥ 0.4 and 0.55 ± 0.10 for x p ≥ 0.7. The off-diagonal spin density matrix element ϱ 1-1 is consistent with zero in all cases.

The multiplicity distributions of charged particles in restricted rapidity intervals inZ0 hadronic decays measured by the DELPHI detector are presented. The data reveal a shoulder structure, best visible for intervals of intermediate size, i.e. for rapidity limits around ±1.5. The whole set of distributions including the shoulder structure is reproduced by the Lund Parton Shower model. The structure is found to be due to important contributions from 3-and 4-jet events with a hard gluon jet. A different model, based on the concept of independently produced groups of particles, “clans”, fluctuating both in number per event and particle content per clan, has also been used to analyse the present data. The results show that for each interval of rapidity the average number of clans per event is approximately the same as at lower energies.

The forward-backward asymmetry of the processe+e−→Z→b

A sample of events enriched in bb̄ quark pairs was selected in the data recorded by the DELPHI experiment at LEP during 1992 and 1993, by the presence of secondary decay vertices from short-lived particles. Using this sample, the average multiplicities of K s 0 , K ± , p(p̄), Λ( Λ ) and of charged particles in bb̄ events have been measured, distinguishing the component from fragmentation and the component coming from the decay of b-hadrons. The measurement of the average charge multiplicity in bb̄ events was used to compute the mean fractional beam energy carried by the primary b-hadron, and the difference in charged particle multiplicity between bb̄ events and light quark (uū, dd̄, ss̄) events.

The data collected by DELPHI in 1996 have been used to measure the average charged particle multiplicities and dispersions in q q ̄ events at centre-of-mass energies of s =161 GeV and s =172 GeV, and the average charge multiplicity in WW events at s =172 GeV. The multiplicities in q q ̄ events are consistent with the evolution predicted by QCD. The dispersions in the multiplicity distributions are consistent with Koba-Nielsen-Olesen (KNO) scaling. The average multiplicity of charged particles in hadronic W decays has been measured for the first time; its value, 19.23±0.74(stat+syst), is consistent with that expected for an e + e − interaction at a centre-of-mass energy equal to the W mass. The charged particle multiplicity in W decays shows no evidence of effects of colour reconnection between partons from different W's at the present level of statistics.