Jet cross sections were measured in charged current deep inelastic e+-p scattering at high boson virtualities Q^2 with the ZEUS detector at HERA II using an integrated luminosity of 0.36 fb^-1. Differential cross sections are presented for inclusive-jet production as functions of Q^2, Bjorken x and the jet transverse energy and pseudorapidity. The dijet invariant mass cross section is also presented. Observation of three- and four-jet events in charged-current e+-p processes is reported for the first time. The predictions of next-to-leading-order (NLO) QCD calculations are compared to the measurements. The measured inclusive-jet cross sections are well described in shape and normalization by the NLO predictions. The data have the potential to constrain the u and d valence quark distributions in the proton if included as input to global fits.

Inclusive D* production is measured in deep-inelastic ep scattering at HERA with the H1 detector. In addition, the production of dijets in events with a D* meson is investigated. The analysis covers values of photon virtuality 2< Q^2 <=100 GeV^2 and of inelasticity 0.05<= y <= 0.7. Differential cross sections are measured as a function of Q^2 and x and of various D* meson and jet observables. Within the experimental and theoretical uncertainties all measured cross sections are found to be adequately described by next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD calculations, based on the photon-gluon fusion process and DGLAP evolution, without the need for an additional resolved component of the photon beyond what is included at NLO. A reasonable description of the data is also achieved by a prediction based on the CCFM evolution of partons involving the k_T-unintegrated gluon distribution of the proton.

Exclusive photoproduction of $\rho^0(770)$ mesons is studied using the H1 detector at the $ep$ collider HERA. A sample of about 900000 events is used to measure single- and double-differential cross sections for the reaction $\gamma p \to \pi^{+}\pi^{-}Y$. Reactions where the proton stays intact (${m_Y{=}m_p}$) are statistically separated from those where the proton dissociates to a low-mass hadronic system ($m_p{<}m_Y{<}10$ GeV). The double-differential cross sections are measured as a function of the invariant mass $m_{\pi\pi}$ of the decay pions and the squared $4$-momentum transfer $t$ at the proton vertex. The measurements are presented in various bins of the photon-proton collision energy $W_{\gamma p}$. The phase space restrictions are $0.5 < m_{\pi\pi} < 2.2$ GeV, ${\vert t\vert < 1.5}$ GeV${}^2$, and ${20 < W_{\gamma p} < 80}$ GeV. Cross section measurements are presented for both elastic and proton-dissociative scattering. The observed cross section dependencies are described by analytic functions. Parametrising the $m_{\pi\pi}$ dependence with resonant and non-resonant contributions added at the amplitude level leads to a measurement of the $\rho^{0}(770)$ meson mass and width at $m_\rho = 770.8\ {}^{+2.6}_{-2.7}$ (tot) MeV and $\Gamma_\rho = 151.3\ {}^{+2.7}_{-3.6}$ (tot) MeV, respectively. The model is used to extract the $\rho^0(770)$ contribution to the $\pi^{+}\pi^{-}$ cross sections and measure it as a function of $t$ and $W_{\gamma p}$. In a Regge asymptotic limit in which one Regge trajectory $\alpha(t)$ dominates, the intercept $\alpha(t{=}0) = 1.0654\ {}^{+0.0098}_{-0.0067}$ (tot) and the slope $\alpha^\prime(t{=}0) = 0.233\ {}^{+0.067 }_{-0.074 }$ (tot) GeV${}^{-2}$ of the $t$ dependence are extracted for the case $m_Y{=}m_p$.

We present the midrapidity charged pion invariant cross sections and the ratio of $\pi^-$-to-$\pi^+$ production ($5<p_T<13$ GeV/$c$), together with the double-helicity asymmetries ($5<p_T<12$ GeV/$c$) in polarized $p$$+$$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 200$ GeV. The cross section measurements are consistent with perturbative calculations in quantum chromodynamics within large uncertainties in the calculation due to the choice of factorization, renormalization, and fragmentation scales. However, the theoretical calculation of the ratio of $\pi^-$-to-$\pi^+$ production when considering these scale uncertainties overestimates the measured value, suggesting further investigation of the uncertainties on the charge-separated pion fragmentation functions is needed. Due to cancellations of uncertainties in the charge ratio, direct inclusion of these ratio data in future parameterizations should improve constraints on the flavor dependence of quark fragmentation functions to pions. By measuring charge-separated pion asymmetries, one can gain sensitivity to the sign of $\Delta G$ through the opposite sign of the up and down quark helicity distributions in conjunction with preferential fragmentation of positive pions from up quarks and negative pions from down quarks. The double-helicity asymmetries presented are sensitive to the gluon helicity distribution over an $x$ range of $\sim$0.03--0.16.

The production of jets is studied in deep-inelastic e+p scattering at low negative four momentum transfer squared 5<Q^2<100 GeV^2 and at inelasticity 0.2<y<0.7 using data recorded by the H1 detector at HERA in the years 1999 and 2000, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 43.5 pb^-1. Inclusive jet, 2-jet and 3-jet cross sections as well as the ratio of 3-jet to 2-jet cross sections are measured as a function of Q^2 and jet transverse momentum. The 2-jet cross section is also measured as a function of the proton momentum fraction xi. The measurements are well described by perturbative quantum chromodynamics at next-to-leading order corrected for hadronisation effects and are subsequently used to extract the strong coupling alpha_s.

The production of jets is studied in deep-inelastic ep scattering at large negative four momentum transfer squared 150&lt;Q^2&lt;15000 GeV^2 using HERA data taken in 1999-2007, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 395 pb^-1. Inclusive jet, 2-jet and 3-jet cross sections, normalised to the neutral current deep-inelastic scattering cross sections, are measured as functions of Q^2, jet transverse momentum and proton momentum fraction. The measurements are well described by perturbative QCD calculations at next-to-leading order corrected for hadronisation effects. The strong coupling as determined from these measurements is alpha_s(M_Z) = 0.1168 +/-0.0007 (exp.) +0.0046/-0.0030 (th.) +/-0.0016(pdf).

The production of beauty and charm quarks in ep interactions has been studied with the ZEUS detector at HERA for exchanged four-momentum squared 5 < Q^2 < 1000 GeV^2 using an integrated luminosity of 354 pb^{-1}. The beauty and charm content in events with at least one jet have been extracted using the invariant mass of charged tracks associated with secondary vertices and the decay-length significance of these vertices. Differential cross sections as a function of Q^2, Bjorken x, jet transverse energy and pseudorapidity were measured and compared with next-to-leading-order QCD calculations. The beauty and charm contributions to the proton structure functions were extracted from the double-differential cross section as a function of x and Q^2. The running beauty-quark mass, m_b at the scale m_b, was determined from a QCD fit at next-to-leading order to HERA data for the first time and found to be 4.07 \pm 0.14 (fit} ^{+0.01}_{-0.07} (mod.) ^{+0.05}_{-0.00} (param.) ^{+0.08}_{-0.05} (theo) GeV.

Cross sections for elastic and proton-dissociative photoproduction of J/psi mesons are measured with the H1 detector in positron-proton collisions at HERA. The data were collected at $ep$ centre-of-mass energies sqrt{s} approx 318 GeV and sqrt{s} approx 225 GeV, corresponding to integrated luminosities of L = 130 pb^{-1} and L = 10.8 pb^{-1}, respectively. The cross sections are measured as a function of the photon-proton centre-of-mass energy in the range 25< Wgp < 110 GeV. Differential cross sections $\mathrm{d}\sigma / \mathrm{d}t$, where $t$ is the squared four-momentum transfer at the proton vertex, are measured in the range $|t| < 1.2 \, \gevsq$ for the elastic process and $|t| < 8 \, \gevsq$ for proton dissociation. The results are compared to other measurements. The $\Wgp$ and $t$-dependences are parametrised using phenomenological fits.

The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has measured low mass vector meson, $\omega$, $\rho$, and $\phi$, production through the dimuon decay channel at forward rapidity ($1.2<|y|<2.2$) in $p$$+$$p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV. The differential cross sections for these mesons are measured as a function of both $p_T$ and rapidity. We also report the integrated differential cross sections over $1<p_T<7$ GeV/$c$ and $1.2<|y|<2.2$: $d\sigma/dy(\omega+\rho\rightarrow\mu\mu) = 80 \pm 6 \mbox{(stat)} \pm 12 \mbox{(syst)}$ nb and $d\sigma/dy(\phi\rightarrow\mu\mu) = 27 \pm 3 \mbox{(stat)} \pm 4 \mbox{(syst)}$ nb. These results are compared with midrapidity measurements and calculations.

Measurements of neutral current cross sections for deep inelastic scattering in e+p collisions at HERA with a longitudinally polarised positron beam are presented. The single-differential cross-sections d(sigma)/dQ2, d(sigma)/dx and d(sigma)/dy and the reduced cross-section were measured in the kinematic region Q2 > 185 GeV2 and y < 0.9, where Q2 is the four-momentum transfer squared, x the Bjorken scaling variable, and y the inelasticity of the interaction. The measurements were performed separately for positively and negatively polarised positron beams. The measurements are based on an integrated luminosity of 135.5 pb-1 collected with the ZEUS detector in 2006 and 2007 at a centre-of-mass energy of 318 GeV. The structure functions F3 and F3(gamma)Z were determined by combining the e+p results presented in this paper with previously published e-p neutral current results. The asymmetry parameter A+ is used to demonstrate the parity violation predicted in electroweak interactions. The measurements are well described by the predictions of the Standard Model.