Tau-pair production in the process e+e- -> e+e-tau+tau- was studied using data collected by the DELPHI experiment at LEP2 during the years 1997 - 2000. The corresponding integrated luminosity is 650 pb^{-1}. The values of the cross-section obtained are found to be in agreement with QED predictions. Limits on the anomalous magnetic and electric dipole moments of the tau lepton are deduced.
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.
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.
The two-photon collision reaction e + e − → e + e − l + l − has been studied at 2 ≈91 GeV using the L3 detector at LEP for l = e, μ , τ . We have analysed untagged configurations where the two photons are quasi-real. Good agreement is found between our measurements and the O (α 4 ) QED expectation.
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 investigate the four-photon final state produced in γγ colissions. In the π 0 π 0 channel we observe f(1270) production with predominantly helicity 2 and measure a partial width Γ γγ 2.9 +0.6 −0.4 ± keV (independent of assumptions on the helicity). We observe A 2 (1310) production in the π 0 η channel and find a partial width Γ γγ = 0.77 ± 0.18 ± 0.27 KeV (assuming helicity 2). We give an upper limit for f ≈ ηη .
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.
The QED processes e^+ e^- -> e^+ e^- \mu^+ \mu^- and e^+ e^- -> e^+ e^- \tau^+ \tau^- are studied with the L3 detector at LEP using an untagged data sample collected at centre-of-mass energies 161 GeV < sqrt{s} < 209 GeV. The tau-pairs are observed through the associated decay of one tau into e\nu\nu and the other into \pi\pi\nu . The cross sections are measured as a function of sqrt{s}. For muon pairs, the cross section of the \gamma\gamma -> \mu^+\mu^- process is also measured as a function of the two-photon centre-of-mass energy for 3 GeV < W_{\gamma\gamma} < 40 GeV. Good agreement is found between these measurements and the O(\alpha^4) QED expectations. In addition, limits on the anomalous magnetic and electric dipole moments of the tau lepton are extracted.
The inclusive production of D ∗± mesons in photon-photon collisions has been measured by the Aleph experiment at LEP with a beam energy of 45 GeV. The D ∗+ are detected in their decay to D 0 π + with the D 0 observed in three separate decay modes: (1) K − π + , (2) K − π + π 0 and (3) K − π + π − π + , and analagously for the D ∗− modes. A total of 33 events was observed from an integrated luminosity of 73 pb −1 which corresponds to a cross section for Σ( e + e − → e + e − D ∗± X ) of 155 ± 33 ± 21 pb. This result is compatible with both the direct production γγ → c c in the Born approximation and with a more complete calculation which includes both radiative QCD corrections and contributions in which one of the photons is first resolved into its quark and gluon constituents. The shapes of distributions for events containing a D ∗+ are found to be better described by the latter.
For the first time at LEP the production of prompt photons is studied in the collisions of quasi-real photons using the OPAL data taken at e+e- centre-of-mass energies between 183 GeV and 209 GeV. The total inclusive production cross-section for isolated prompt photons in the kinematic range of photon transverse momentum larger than 3.0 GeV and absolute photon pseudorapidity less than 1 is determined to be 0.32 +- 0.04 (stat) +- 0.04 (sys) pb. Differential cross-sections are compared to the predictions of a next-to-leading-order (NLO) calculation.