A search for flavor-changing neutral-current couplings between a top quark, an up or charm quark and a $Z$ boson is presented, using proton-proton collision data at $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The analyzed dataset corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$. The search targets both single-top-quark events produced as $gq\rightarrow tZ$ (with $q = u, c$) and top-quark-pair events, with one top quark decaying through the $t \rightarrow Zq$ channel. The analysis considers events with three leptons (electrons or muons), a $b$-tagged jet, possible additional jets, and missing transverse momentum. The data are found to be consistent with the background-only hypothesis and 95% confidence-level limits on the $t \rightarrow Zq$ branching ratios are set, assuming only tensor operators of the Standard Model effective field theory framework contribute to the $tZq$ vertices. These are $6.2 \times 10^{-5}$ ($13\times 10^{-5}$) for $t\rightarrow Zu$ ($t\rightarrow Zc$) for a left-handed $tZq$ coupling, and $6.6 \times 10^{-5}$ ($12\times 10^{-5}$) in the case of a right-handed coupling. These results are interpreted as 95% CL upper limits on the strength of corresponding couplings, yielding limits for $|C_{uW}^{(13)*}|$ and $|C_{uB}^{(13)*}|$ ($|C_{uW}^{(31)}|$ and $|C_{uB}^{(31)}|$) of 0.15 (0.16), and limits for $|C_{uW}^{(23)*}|$ and $|C_{uB}^{(23)*}|$ ($|C_{uW}^{(32)}|$ and $|C_{uB}^{(32)}|$) of 0.22 (0.21), assuming a new-physics energy scale $\Lambda_\text{NP}$ of 1 TeV.
The inclusive production of D*+- mesons in photon-photon collisions has been measured using the OPAL detector at LEP at e+e- centre-of-mass energies of 183 and 189GeV. The D* mesons are reconstructed in their decay to D0pi+ with the D0 observed in the two decay modes Kpi+ and Kpi+pi-pi+. After background subtraction, 100.4+-12.6(stat) D*+- mesons have been selected in events without observed scattered beam electron ("anti-tagged") and 29.8+-5.9 (stat) D*+- mesons in events where one beam electron is scattered into the detector ("single-tagged"). Direct and single-resolved events are studied separately. Differential cross-sections as functions of the D* transverse momentum p_t and pseudorapidity \eta are presented in the kinematic region 2<p_t<12GeV and \eta<1.5. They are compared to next-to-leading order (NLO) perturbative QCD calculations. The total cross-section for the process (e+e- to e+e-ccbar), where the charm quarks are produced in the collision of two quasi-real photons, is measured to be 842+-97(stat)+-75(syst)+-196(extrapolation)pb. A first measurement of the charm structure function F2 of the photon is performed in the kinematic range 0.0014<x<0.87 and 5<Q^2<100 GeV^2, and the result is compared to a NLO perturbative QCD calculation.
The photoproduction of beauty quarks in events with two jets and a muon has been measured with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 110 pb$^{- 1}$. The fraction of jets containing b quarks was extracted from the transverse momentum distribution of the muon relative to the closest jet. Differential cross sections for beauty production as a function of the transverse momentum and pseudorapidity of the muon, of the associated jet and of $x_{\gamma}^{jets}$, the fraction of the photon's momentum participating in the hard process, are compared with MC models and QCD predictions made at next-to-leading order. The latter give a good description of the data.
The inclusive production of D$^{*\pm}$ mesons in two-photon collisions is measured with the ALEPH detector at $\epem$ centre-of-mass energies from 183$\unit{GeV}$ to 209$\unit{GeV}$. A total of $360 \pm 27$ D$^{*\pm}$ meson events were observed from an integrated luminosity of 699\unit{pb^{-1}}$. Contributions from direct and single-resolved rocesses are separated using the ratio of the transverse momentum $p_{\rm t}^{\rm D^{*\pm}}$ of the D$^{*\pm}$ to the visible invariant mass $W_{\mathrm{vis}}$ of the event. Differential cross sections of D$^{*\pm}$ production as functions of $p_{\rm t}^{\rm D^{*\pm}}$ and the pseudorapidity $|\eta^{\rm D^{*\pm}}| $ are measured in the range $ 2\unit{GeV}/c < p_{\rm t}^{\rm D^{*\pm}} < 12\unit{GeV}/c $ and $ |\eta^{\rm D^{*\pm}}| < 1.5 $. They are compared to next-to-leading order (NLO)perturbative QCD calculations. The extrapolation of the integrated visible D$^{*\pm}$ cross section to the total charm cross section, based on the Pythia Monte Carlo program, yields $ \sigma (\epem \to \epem \ccbar)_ {=197\unit{GeV}} = 731 \pm 74_{\mathrm{stat}} \pm 47_{\mathrm{syst}} \pm 157_{\mathrm{extr}} \unit{pb} $.
The inclusive single and double differential cross-sections for neutral and charged current processes with four-momentum transfer squared Q^2 between 150 and 30,000 GeV2 and with Bjorken x between 0.0032 and 0.65 are measured in e^+ p collisions. The data were taken with the H1 detector at HERA between 1994 and 1997, and they correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35.6 pb^-1. The Q^2 evolution of the parton densities of the proton is tested, yielding no significant deviation from the prediction of perturbative QCD. The proton structure function F_2(x,Q^2) is determined. An extraction of the u and d quark distributions at high x is presented. At high Q^2 electroweak effects of the heavy bosons Z0 and W are observed and found to be consistent with Standard Model expectation.
Inclusive jet production (e+e- -> e+e- +jet+X) is studied in collisions of quasi-real photons radiated by the LEP beams at e+e- centre-of-mass energies sqrt see from 189 to 209 GeV. Jets are reconstructed using the kp jet algorithm. The inclusive differential cross-section is measured as a function of the jet transverse momentum, ptjet, in the range 5 <ptjet < 40 GeV for pseudo-rapidities, etaj, in the range -1.5 < etaj < 1.5. The results are compared to predictions of perturbative QCD in next-to-leading order in the strong coupling constant.
The inclusive e^-p single and double differential cross sections for neutral and charged current processes are measured with the H1 detector at HERA, in the range of four-momentum transfer squared Q^2 between 150 and 30000 GeV^2, and Bjorken x between 0.002 and 0.65. The data were taken in 1998 and 1999 with a centre-of-mass energy of 320 GeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 16.4 pb^(-1). The data are compared with recent measurements of the inclusive neutral and charged current e^+p cross sections. For Q^2>1000 GeV^2 clear evidence is observed for an asymmetry between e^+p and e^-p neutral current scattering and the generalised structure function xF_3 is extracted for the first time at HERA. A fit to the charged current data is used to extract a value for the W boson propagator mass. The data are found to be in good agreement with Standard Model predictions.
A study of the inclusive charged hadron production in two-photon collisions is described. The data were collected with the DELPHI detector at LEP II. Results on the inclusive single-particle p_T distribution and the differential charged hadrons dsigma/dp_T cross-section are presented and compared to the predictions of perturbative NLO QCD calculations and to published results.
The dependence of dijet production on the virtuality of the exchanged photon, Q^2, has been studied by measuring dijet cross sections in the range 0 < Q^2 < 2000 GeV^2 with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 38.6 pb^-1. Dijet cross sections were measured for jets with transverse energy E_T^jet > 7.5 and 6.5 GeV and pseudorapidities in the photon-proton centre-of-mass frame in the range -3 < eta^jet <0. The variable xg^obs, a measure of the photon momentum entering the hard process, was used to enhance the sensitivity of the measurement to the photon structure. The Q^2 dependence of the ratio of low- to high-xg^obs events was measured. Next-to-leading-order QCD predictions were found to generally underestimate the low-xg^obs contribution relative to that at high xg^obs. Monte Carlo models based on leading-logarithmic parton-showers, using a partonic structure for the photon which falls smoothly with increasing Q^2, provide a qualitative description of the data.
The production of jets is studied in deep-inelastic ep scattering at large negative four momentum transfer squared 150<Q^2<15000 GeV^2 using HERA data taken in 1999-2007, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 395 pb^-1. Inclusive jet, 2-jet and 3-jet cross sections, normalised to the neutral current deep-inelastic scattering cross sections, are measured as functions of Q^2, jet transverse momentum and proton momentum fraction. The measurements are well described by perturbative QCD calculations at next-to-leading order corrected for hadronisation effects. The strong coupling as determined from these measurements is alpha_s(M_Z) = 0.1168 +/-0.0007 (exp.) +0.0046/-0.0030 (th.) +/-0.0016(pdf).
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