The Mark J Collaboration at the DESY e+e− collider PETRA presents results on the electroweak reactions e+e−→μ+μ−τ+τ−,μ+μ−γ, and e+e−μ+μ−. The c.m. energy range is 12 to 46.78 GeV. In the μ+μ− and τ+τ− channels the total cross sections and the forward-backward asymmetries are reported and compared with other experiments. The results are in excellent agreement with the standard model. The weak-neutral-current vector and axial-vector coupling constants are determined. The values for muons and τ’s are compatible with universality and with the predictions of the standard model. In the μ+μ−γ channel, all measured distributions, including the forward-backward muon asymmetry, are in excellent agreement with the electroweak theory. Our data on the two-photon process, e+e−μ+μ−, agrees with QED to order α4 over the entire energy range and the Q2 range from 0.7 to 166 GeV2.
The Drell-Yan differential cross section is measured in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, from a data sample collected with the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 inverse picobarns. The cross section measurement, normalized to the measured cross section in the Z region, is reported for both the dimuon and dielectron channels in the dilepton invariant mass range 15-600 GeV. The normalized cross section values are quoted both in the full phase space and within the detector acceptance. The effect of final state radiation is also identified. The results are found to agree with theoretical predictions.
Cross sections for the production of two isolated muons up to high di-muon masses are measured in ep collisions at HERA with the H1 detector in a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 71 pb^-1 at a centre of mass energy of sqrt{s} = 319 GeV. The results are in good agreement with Standard Model predictions, the dominant process being photon-photon interactions. Additional muons or electrons are searched for in events with two high transverse momentum muons using the full data sample corresponding to 114 pb^-1, where data at sqrt{s} = 301 GeV and sqrt{s} = 319 GeV are combined. Both the di-lepton sample and the tri-lepton sample agree well with the predictions.
We report on a sample of Jψ mesons coming from secondary vertices, a characteristic of heavyquark decay, detected in the Fermilab Meson West spectrometer. Based on eight signal events in which a Jψ emerges from a secondary vertex occurring in an air-gap region, we obtain an inclusive bb¯ cross section of 75 ± 31 ± 26 nb/nucleon. This result is compared to recent QCD predictions. We have also observed several events in the exclusive decay modes B±→Jψ+K± and B0→Jψ+K0* in which the B mass is fully reconstructed.
Data on multiplicities of charged particles produced in proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions at 200 GeV per nucleon are presented. It is shown that the mean multiplicity of negative particles is proportional to the mean number of nucleons participating in the collision both for nucleus-nucleus and proton-nucleus collisions. The apparent consistency of pion multiplicity data with the assumption of an incoherent superposition of nucleon-nucleon collisions is critically discussed.
psi' production is studied in Pb-Pb collisions at 158 GeV/c per nucleon incident momentum. Absolute cross-sections are measured and production rates are investigated as a function of the centrality of the collision. The results are compared with those obtained for lighter colliding systems and also for the J/psi meson produced under identical conditions.
The first observation of $Z$ boson production in proton-lead collisions at a centre-of-mass energy per proton-nucleon pair of $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=5~\text{TeV}$ is presented. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of $1.6~\text{nb}^{-1}$ collected with the LHCb detector. The $Z$ candidates are reconstructed from pairs of oppositely charged muons with pseudorapidities between 2.0 and 4.5 and transverse momenta above $20~\text{GeV}/c$. The invariant dimuon mass is restricted to the range $60-120~\text{GeV}/c^2$. The $Z$ production cross-section is measured to be \begin{eqnarray*} \sigma_{Z\to\mu^+\mu^-}(\text{fwd})&=&13.5^{+5.4}_{-4.0}\text{(stat.)}\pm1.2\text{(syst.)}~\text{nb} \end{eqnarray*} in the direction of the proton beam and \begin{eqnarray*} \sigma_{Z\to\mu^+\mu^-}(\text{bwd}) & =&10.7^{+8.4}_{-5.1}\text{(stat.)}\pm1.0\text{(syst.)}~\text{nb} \end{eqnarray*} in the direction of the lead beam, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic.
We have studied J/psi production in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV at the LHC through its muon pair decay. The polar and azimuthal angle distributions of the decay muons were measured, and results on the J/$\psi$ polarization parameters $\lambda_{\theta}$ and $\lambda_\phi$ were obtained. The study was performed in the kinematic region 2.5<y<4, 2<$p_{\rm T}$<8 GeV/$c$, in the helicity and Collins-Soper reference frames. In both frames, the polarization parameters are compatible with zero, within uncertainties.
The cross section for the reaction p¯N→μ+μ−X with muon pairs in the mass range 4<M<9 GeV/c2 and xF>0 was measured to be σ=0.104±0.005±0.008 nb/nucleon. The distributions dσdxF and M3dσdM were compared to the QCD-improved Drell-Yan model and to calculations including first-order QCD corrections, with use of deep-inelastic structure functions. Excellent agreement with the data was obtained if the calculations were multiplied by factors of 2.45 and 1.41, respectively.
The production of W+W- pairs is analysed in a data sample collected by ALEPH at a mean centre-of-mass energy of 182.7 GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 57 pb-1. Cross sections are given for different topologies of W decays into leptons or hadrons. Under Standard Model assumptions for the W-pair production and decay, the W-pair cross section is measured to be 15.57+-0.62(stat.)+-0.29(syst.) pb. Using also the W-pair data samples collected by ALEPH at lower centre-of-mass energies, the decay branching ratio of the W boson into hadrons is measured to be B(W->hadrons)= 68.93+-1.21(stat.)+-0.51(syst.)%, allowing a determination of the CKM matrix element |Vcs|= 1.043 +- 0.058(stat.) +- 0.026(syst.). The agreement of the cross sections with the Standard Model prediction allows a limit to be set on the W decay rate to undetectable final states.
Forum