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.
Results are presented from data recorded in 2009 by the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider for the double-longitudinal spin asymmetry, $A_{LL}$, for $\pi^0$ and $\eta$ production in $\sqrt{s} = 200$ GeV polarized $p$$+$$p$ collisions. Comparison of the $\pi^0$ results with different theory expectations based on fits of other published data showed a preference for small positive values of gluon polarization, $\Delta G$, in the proton in the probed Bjorken $x$ range. The effect of adding the new 2009 \pz data to a recent global analysis of polarized scattering data is also shown, resulting in a best fit value $\Delta G^{[0.05,0.2]}_{\mbox{DSSV}} = 0.06^{+0.11}_{-0.15}$ in the range $0.05<x<0.2$, with the uncertainty at $\Delta \chi^2 = 9$ when considering only statistical experimental uncertainties. Shifting the PHENIX data points by their systematic uncertainty leads to a variation of the best-fit value of $\Delta G^{[0.05,0.2]}_{\mbox{DSSV}}$ between $0.02$ and $0.12$, demonstrating the need for full treatment of the experimental systematic uncertainties in future global analyses.
Drell-Yan lepton pairs are produced in the process $p\bar{p} \rightarrow \mu^+\mu^- + X$ through an intermediate $\gamma^*/Z$ boson. The forward-backward asymmetry in the polar-angle distribution of the $\mu^-$ as a function of the invariant mass of the $\mu^+\mu^-$ pair is used to obtain the effective leptonic determination $\sin^2 \theta^{lept}_{eff}$ of the electroweak-mixing parameter $\sin^2 \theta_W$, from which the value of $\sin^2 \theta_W$ is derived assuming the standard model. The measurement sample, recorded by the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF), corresponds to 9.2 fb-1 of integrated luminosity from $p\bar{p}$ collisions at a center-of-momentum energy of 1.96 TeV, and is the full CDF Run II data set. The value of $\sin^2 \theta^{lept}_{eff}$ is found to be 0.2315 +- 0.0010, where statistical and systematic uncertainties are combined in quadrature. When interpreted within the context of the standard model using the on-shell renormalization scheme, where $\sin^2 \theta_W = 1 - M_W^2/M_Z^2$, the measurement yields $\sin^2 \theta_W$ = 0.2233 +- 0.0009, or equivalently a W-boson mass of 80.365 +- 0.047 GeV/c^2. The value of the W-boson mass is in agreement with previous determinations in electron-positron collisions and at the Tevatron collider.
The charge asymmetry of leptons from W-boson decay has been measured using p¯p data from the Collider Detector at Fermilab at √s =1.8 TeV. The observed asymmetry is well described by most of the available parton distributions.
We report on a measurement of the mass dependence of the forward-backward charge asymmetry, A_FB, and production cross section dsigma/dM for e+e- pairs with mass M_ee>40 GeV/c2. The data sample consists of 108 pb-1 of p-pbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.8 TeV taken by the Collider Detector at Fermilab during 1992-1995. The measured asymmetry and dsigma/dM are compared with the predictions of the Standard Model and a model with an extra Z' gauge boson.
A measurement is presented of differential cross sections for $t$-channel single top quark and antiquark production in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV by the CMS experiment at the LHC. From a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$^{-1}$, events containing one muon or electron and two or three jets are analysed. The cross section is measured as a function of the top quark transverse momentum ($p_\mathrm{T}$), rapidity, and polarisation angle, the charged lepton $p_\mathrm{T}$ and rapidity, and the $p_\mathrm{T}$ of the W boson from the top quark decay. In addition, the charge ratio is measured differentially as a function of the top quark, charged lepton, and W boson kinematic observables. The results are found to be in agreement with standard model predictions using various next-to-leading-order event generators and sets of parton distribution functions. Additionally, the spin asymmetry, sensitive to the top quark polarisation, is determined from the differential distribution of the polarisation angle at parton level to be 0.440 $\pm$ 0.070, in agreement with the standard model prediction.
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.
We report measurements of single- and double- spin asymmetries for $W^{\pm}$ and $Z/\gamma^*$ boson production in longitudinally polarized $p+p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 510$ GeV by the STAR experiment at RHIC. The asymmetries for $W^{\pm}$ were measured as a function of the decay lepton pseudorapidity, which provides a theoretically clean probe of the proton's polarized quark distributions at the scale of the $W$ mass. The results are compared to theoretical predictions, constrained by recent polarized deep inelastic scattering measurements, and show a preference for a sizable, positive up antiquark polarization in the range $0.05<x<0.2$.
We present measurements from the PHENIX experiment of large parity-violating single spin asymmetries of high transverse momentum electrons and positrons from $W^\pm/Z$ decays, produced in longitudinally polarized $p$$+$$p$ collisions at center of mass energies of $\sqrt{s}$=500 and 510~GeV. These asymmetries allow direct access to the anti-quark polarized parton distribution functions due to the parity-violating nature of the $W$-boson coupling to quarks and anti-quarks. The results presented are based on data collected in 2011, 2012, and 2013 with an integrated luminosity of 240 pb$^{-1}$, which exceeds previous PHENIX published results by a factor of more than 27. These high $Q^2$ data provide an important addition to our understanding of anti-quark parton helicity distribution functions.
An analysis of the decay $\Lambda_b \to J/\psi(\to\mu^+\mu^-)\Lambda(\to p \pi^-)$ decay is performed to measure the $\Lambda_b$ polarization and three angular parameters in data from pp collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 7 and 8 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The $\Lambda_b$ polarization is measured to be 0.00 $\pm$ 0.06 (stat) $\pm$ 0.06 (syst) and the parity-violating asymmetry parameter is determined to be 0.14 $\pm$ 0.14 (stat) $\pm$ 0.10 (syst). The measurements are compared to various theoretical predictions, including those from perturbative quantum chromodynamics.
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