A search for excited states of the standard model fermions was performed using the ZEUS detector at the HERA electron-proton collider, operating at a centre of mass energy of 296 GeV. In a sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.55 pb−1, no evidence was found for any resonant state decaying into final states composed of a fermion and a gauge boson. Limits on the coupling strength times branching ratio of excited fermions are presented for masses between 50 GeV and 250 GeV, extending previous search regions significantly.
Angular and momentum distributions have been measured for positrons from electron-positron pairs created in peripheral collisions of 6.4-TeV sulfur ions with fixed targets of Al, Pd, and Au. The data are compared with results of several theoretical treatments. Measured differential cross sections peak at low momentum (≤1 MeV/c), extend significantly to much higher momenta (>17 MeV/c), and concentrate sharply in the forward direction, along the ion-beam axis. Positron yields scale as the square of the target nuclear charge as predicted by theory.