We report a measurement of the differential cross section of $\pi^0$ pair production in single-tag two-photon collisions, $\gamma^* \gamma \to \pi^0 \pi^0$, in $e^+ e^-$ scattering. The cross section is measured for $Q^2$ up to 30 GeV$^2$, where $Q^2$ is the negative of the invariant mass squared of the tagged photon, in the kinematic range 0.5 GeV < W < 2.1 GeV and $|\cos \theta^*|$ < 1.0 for the total energy and pion scattering angle, respectively, in the $\gamma^* \gamma$ center-of-mass system. The results are based on a data sample of 759 fb$^{-1}$ collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+ e^-$ collider. The transition form factor of the $f_0(980)$ and that of the $f_2(1270)$ with the helicity-0, -1, and -2 components separately are measured for the first time and are compared with theoretical calculations.

ω photoproduction off hydrogen and deuterium has been studied with the tagged photon beam of the ELSA accelerator in Bonn for photon energies up to 2.0 GeV. The ω meson has been identified via the ω → π$^{0}$ γ → γγγ decay mode, using the combined setup of the Crystal Barrel/TAPS detector systems. Both inclusive and exclusive analyses have been carried out. Differential and total cross-sections have been derived for ω mesons produced off free protons and off protons and neutrons bound in deuterium. The cross-section for the production off the bound neutron is found to be a factor of ≈ 1.3 larger than the one off the bound proton in the incident beam energy region 1.2 GeV < E$_{γ}$ < 1.6 GeV. For higher incident beam energies this factor goes down to ≈ 1.1 at 2.0 GeV. The cross-sections of this work have been used as normalization for transparency ratio measurements.

We report a high-statistics measurement of the differential cross section of the process gamma gamma --> K^0_S K^0_S in the range 1.05 GeV <= W <= 4.00 GeV, where W is the center-of-mass energy of the colliding photons, using 972 fb^{-1} of data collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e^+ e^- collider operated at and near the Upsilon-resonance region. The differential cross section is fitted by parameterized S-, D_0-, D_2-, G_0- and G_2-wave amplitudes. In the D_2 wave, the f_2(1270), a_2(1320) and f_2'(1525) are dominant and a resonance, the f_2(2200), is also present. The f_0(1710) and possibly the f_0(2500) are seen in the S wave. The mass, total width and product of the two-photon partial decay width and decay branching fraction to the K bar{K} state Gamma_{gamma gamma}B(K bar{K}) are extracted for the f_2'(1525), f_0(1710), f_2(2200) and f_0(2500). The destructive interference between the f_2(1270) and a_2(1320) is confirmed by measuring their relative phase. The parameters of the charmonium states chi_{c0} and chi_{c2} are updated. Possible contributions from the chi_{c0}(2P) and chi_{c2}(2P) states are discussed. A new upper limit for the branching fraction of the P- and CP-violating decay channel eta_c --> K^0_S K^0_S is reported. The detailed behavior of the cross section is updated and compared with QCD-based calculations.

Three- and four-jet production is measured in deep-inelastic $ep$ scattering at low $x$ and $Q^2$ with the H1 detector using an integrated luminosity of $44{.}2 {\rm pb}^{-1}$. Several phase space regions are selected for the three-jet analysis in order to study the underlying parton dynamics from global topologies to the more restrictive regions of forward jets close to the proton direction. The measurements of cross sections for events with at least three jets are compared to fixed order QCD predictions of ${\mathcal{O}}(\alpha_{\rm s}^2)$ and ${\mathcal{O}}(\alpha_{\rm s}^3) $ and with Monte Carlo simulation programs where higher order effects are approximated by parton showers. A good overall description is provided by the ${\mathcal{O}}(\alpha_{\rm s}^3) $ calculation. Too few events are predicted at the lowest $x \sim 10^{-4}$, especially for topologies with two forward jets. This hints to large contributions at low $x$ from initial state radiation of gluons close to the proton direction and unordered in transverse momentum. The Monte Carlo program in which gluon radiation is generated by the colour dipole model gives a good description of both the three- and the four-jet data in absolute normalisation and shape.

Hadron production and lepton-pair production in e+e- collisions are studied with data collected with the L3 detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies sqrt{s}=192-208GeV. Using a total integrated luminosity of 453/pb, 36057 hadronic events and 12863 lepton-pair events are selected. The cross sections for hadron production and lepton-pair production are measured for the full sample and for events where no high-energy initial-state-radiation photon is emitted prior to the collisions. Lepton-pair events are further investigated and forward-backward asymmetries are measured. Finally, the differential cross sections for electron-positron pair-production is determined as a function of the scattering angle. An overall good agreement is found with Standard Model predictions.

First measurements of charge-independent correlations on angular difference variables $\eta_1 - \eta_2$ (pseudorapidity) and $\phi_1 - \phi_2$ (azimuth) are presented for primary charged hadrons with transverse momentum $0.15 \leq p_t \leq 2$ GeV/$c$ and $|\eta| \leq 1.3$ from Au-Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 130$ GeV. Strong charge-independent angular correlations are observed associated with jet-like structures and elliptic flow. The width of the jet-like peak on $\eta_1 - \eta_2$ increases by a factor 2.3 from peripheral to central collisions, suggesting strong coupling of semi-hard scattered partons to a longitudinally-expanding medium. New methods of jet analysis introduced here provide evidence for nonperturbative QCD medium effects in heavy ion collisions.

The cross section of W-boson pair-production is measured with the L3 detector at LEP. In a data sample corresponding to a total luminosity of 629.4/pb, collected at centre-of-mass energies ranging from 189 to 209 GeV, 9834 four-fermion events with W bosons decaying into hadrons or leptons are selected. The total cross section is measured with a precision of 1.4 % and agrees with the Standard Model expectation. Assuming charged-lepton universality, the branching fraction for hadronic W-boson decays is measured to be: Br(W-->hadrons) = 67.50 +- 0.42 (stat.) +- 0.30(syst.) %, in agreement with the Standard Model. Differential cross sections as a function of the W- production angle are also measured for the semi-leptonic channels qqev and qqmv.

Elements of the spin density matrix for W bosons in e+e- -> W+W- -> qqln events are measured from data recorded by the OPAL detector at LEP. This information is used calculate polarised differential cross-sections and to search for CP-violating effects. Results are presented for W bosons produced in e+e- collisions with centre-of-mass energies between 183 GeV and 209 GeV. The average fraction of W bosons that are longitudinally polarised is found to be (23.9 +- 2.1 +- 1.1)% compared to a Standard Model prediction of (23.9 +- 0.1)%. All results are consistent with CP conservation.

Cross-section and angular distributions for hadronic and lepton-pair final states in e+e- collisions at centre-of-mass energies between 189 GeV and 209 GeV, measured with the OPAL detector at LEP, are presented and compared with the predictions of the Standard Model. The measurements are used to determine the electromagnetic coupling constant alphaem at LEP2 energies. In addition, the results are used together with OPAL measurements at 91-183 GeV within the S-matrix formalism to determine the gamma-Z interference term and to make an almost model-independent measurement of the Z mass. Limits on extensions to the Standard Model described by effective four-fermion contact interactions or the addition of a heavy Z boson are also presented.

Exclusive production of π and K meson pairs in two photon collisions is measured with ALEPH data collected between 1992 and 2000. Cross-sections are presented as a function of cos θ ∗ and invariant mass, for | cos θ ∗ |<0.6 and invariant masses between 2.0 and 6.0 GeV/ c 2 (2.25 and 4.0 GeV/ c 2 ) for pions (kaons). The shape of the distributions are found to be well described by QCD predictions but the data have a significantly higher normalization.

The reaction e^+e^- -> e^+e^- proton antiproton is studied with the L3 detector at LEP. The analysis is based on data collected at e^+e^- center-of-mass energies from 183 GeV to 209 GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 667 pb^-1. The gamma gamma -> proton antiproton differential cross section is measured in the range of the two-photon center-of-mass energy from 2.1 GeV to 4.5 GeV. The results are compared to the predictions of the three-quark and quark-diquark models.

Di-jet producion is studied in collisions of quasi-real photons at e+e- centre- of-mass energies sqrt(s)ee from 189 to 209 GeV at LEP. The data were collected with the OPAL detector. Jets are reconstructed using an inclusive k_t clustering algorithm for all cross-section measurements presented. A cone jet algorithm is used in addition to study the different structure of the jets resulting from either of the algorithms. The inclusive di-jet cross-section is measured as a function of the mean transverse energy Etm(jet) of the two leading jets, and as a functiuon of the estimated fraction of the photon momentum carried by the parton entering the hard sub-process, xg, for different regions of Etm (jet). Angular distribution in di-jet events are measured and used to demonstrate the dominance of quark and gluon initiated processes in different regions of phase space. Furthermore the inclusive di-jet cross-section as a function of |eta(jet)| and |delta eta (jet)| is presented where eta(jet) is the jet pseudo-rapidity. Different regions of the xg+ -xg- -space are explored to study and control the influence of an underlying event. The results are compared to next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations and to the predictions of the leading order Monte Carlo generator PYTHIA.

The exclusive production of proton-antiproton pairs in the collisions of two quasi-real photons had been studied using data taken at sqrt(s)_ee=183 GeV and 189 GeV with the OPAL detector at LEP. Results are presented for Ppbar invariant masses, W, in the range 2.15 W< <3.95 GeV. The cross-section measurements are compared with previous data and with recent analytic calculations based on the quark-diquark model.

The leptoproduction of J/psi mesons is studied in inelastic reactions for four momentum transfers 2<Q^2<100GeV^2. The data were taken with the H1 detector at the electron proton collider HERA and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 77 pb-1. Single differential and double differential cross sections are measured with increased precision compared with previous analyses. New leading order calculations within the non-relativistic QCD factorisation approach including colour octet and colour singlet contributions are compared with the data and are found to give a reasonable description of most distributions. An exception is the shape of the distribution in the J/psi fractional energy, z, which deviates significantly from that of the data. Comparisons with photoproduction are made and the polarisation of the produced J/psi meson is analysed.

Cross-sections and angular distributions for hadronic and lepton pair final states in e+e- collisions at a centre-of-mass energy near 189 GeV, measured with the OPAL detector at LEP, are presented and compared with the predictions of the Standard Model. The results are used to measure the energy dependence of the electromagnetic coupling constant alpha_em, and to place limits on new physics as described by four-fermion contact interactions or by the exchange of a new heavy particle such as a sneutrino in supersymmetric theories with R-parity violation. A search for the indirect effects of the gravitational interaction in extra dimensions on the mu+mu- and tau+tau- final states is also presented.

Cross-sections for hadronic, b-bbar and lepton pair final states in e+e- collisions at sqrt(s) = 183 GeV, measured with the OPAL detector at LEP, are presented and compared with the predictions of the Standard Model. Forward-backward asymmetries for the leptonic final states have also been measured. Cross-sections and asymmetries are also presented for data recorded in 1997 at sqrt(s) = 130 and 136 GeV. The results are used to measure the energy dependence of the electromagnetic coupling constant alpha_em, and to place limits on new physics as described by four-fermion contact interactions or by the exchange of a new heavy particle such as a leptoquark, or of a squark or sneutrino in supersymmetric theories with R-parity violation.

Di-jet production is studied in collisions of quasi-real photons radiated by the LEP beams at e+e- centre-of-mass energies 161 and 172 GeV. The jets are reconstructed using a cone jet finding algorithm. The angular distributions of direct and double-resolved processes are measured and compared to the predictions of leading order and next-to-leading order perturbative QCD. The jet energy profiles are also studied. The inclusive two-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse energy and rapidity and compared to next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations. The inclusive two-jet cross-section as a function of rapidity is compared to the prediction of the leading order Monte Carlo generators PYTHIA and PHOJET. The Monte Carlo predictions are calculated with different parametrisations of the parton distributions of the photon. The influence of the `underlying event' has been studied to reduce the model dependence of the predicted jet cross-sections from the Monte Carlo generators.

Production of events with hadronic and leptonic final states has been measured in e^+e^- collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 130-172 GeV, using the OPAL detector at LEP. Cross-sections and leptonic forward-backward asymmetries are presented, both including and excluding the dominant production of radiative Z \gamma events, and compared to Standard Model expectations. The ratio R_b of the cross-section for bb(bar) production to the hadronic cross-section has been measured. In a model-independent fit to the Z lineshape, the data have been used to obtain an improved precision on the measurement of \gamma-Z interference. The energy dependence of \alpha_em has been investigated. The measurements have also been used to obtain limits on extensions of the Standard Model described by effective four-fermion contact interactions, to search for t-channel contributions from new massive particles and to place limits on chargino pair production with subsequent decay of the chargino into a light gluino and a quark pair.

The electroproduction of rho mesons with proton diffractive dissociation for Q^2 > 7 GeV^2 and the elastic electroproduction of Phi mesons for Q^2 > 6 Gev^2 are studied in e^+ p collisions at HERA with the H1 detector, for an integrated luminosity of 2.8 pb-1. The dependence of the cross sections on P_t^2 and Q^2 is measured, and the vector meson polarisation obtained. The cross section ratio between proton dissociative and elastic production of rho mesons is measured and discussed in the framework of the factorisation hypothesis of diffractive vertices. The ratio of the elastic cross section for Phi and rho meson production is investigated as a function of Q^2.

The differential cross-sections for e + e − → e + e − , e + e − → μ + μ − and e + e − → τ + τ − , and the total cross-section for e + e − → qq̄ at centre-of-mass energies of 130–140 GeV were studied using about 5 pb −1 of data collected with the OPAL detector at LEP in October and November 1995. The results are in agreement with the Standard Model predictions. Four-fermion contact interaction models were fitted to the data and lower limits were obtained on the energy scale Λ at the 95% confidence level.

Deep inelastic scattering (DIS) events, selected from 1993 data taken by the H1 experiment at HERA, are studied in the Breit frame of reference. The fragmentation function of the quark is compared with those of \ee data. It is shown that certain aspects of the quarks emerging from within the proton in \ep interactions are essentially the same as those of quarks pair-created from the vacuum in \ee annihilation. The measured area, peak position and widthof the fragmentation function show that the kinematic evolution variable, equivalent to the \ee squared centre of mass energy, is in the Breit frame the invariant square of the four-momentum transfer. We comment on the extent to which we have evidence for coherence effects in parton showers.

Results are presented on the exclusive production of four-prong final states in photon-photon collisions from the TPC/Two-Gamma detector at the SLAC e+e− storage ring PEP. Measurement of dE/dx and momentum in the time-projection chamber (TPC) provides identification of the final states 2π+2π−, K+K−π+π−, and 2K+2K−. For two quasireal incident photons, both the 2π+2π− and K+K−π+π− cross sections show a steep rise from threshold to a peak value, followed by a decrease at higher mass. Cross sections for the production of the final states ρ0ρ0, ρ0π+π−, and φπ+π− are presented, together with upper limits for φρ0, φφ, and K*0K¯ *0. The ρ0ρ0 contribution dominates the four-pion cross section at low masses, but falls to nearly zero above 2 GeV. Such behavior is inconsistent with expectations from vector dominance but can be accommodated by four-quark resonance models or by t-channel factorization. Angular distributions for the part of the data dominated by ρ0ρ0 final states are consistent with the production of JP=2+ or 0+ resonances but also with isotropic (nonresonant) production. When one of the virtual photons has mass (mγ2=-Q2≠0), the four-pion cross section is still dominated by ρ0ρ0 at low final-state masses Wγγ and by 2π+2π− at higher mass. Further, the dependence of the cross section on Q2 becomes increasingly flat as Wγγ increases.

We report cross sections for the process γγ→pp¯ at center-of-mass energies W from 2.0 to 2.8 GeV. These results have been extracted from measurements of e+e−→e+e−pp¯ at an overall center-of-mass energy of 29 GeV, using the TPC/Two-Gamma facility at the SLAC storage ring PEP. Cross sections for the untagged mode [both photons nearly real] are shown to lie well above QCD predictions. Results are also presented for the single-tagged mode [one photon in the range 0.16<Q2<1.6 (GeV/c)2].

We report measurements of the two-photon processes e+e−→e+e−π+π− and e+e−→e+e−K+K−, at an e+e− center-of-mass energy of 29 GeV. In the π+π− data a high-statistics analysis of the f(1270) results in a γγ width Γ(γγ→f)=3.2±0.4 keV. The π+π− continuum below the f mass is well described by a QED Born approximation, whereas above the f mass it is consistent with a QCD-model calculation if a large contribution from the f is assumed. For the K+K− data we find agreement of the high-mass continuum with the QCD prediction; limits on f′(1520) and θ(1720) formation are presented.

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