A comparison of b and uds quark jets to gluon jets

Symmetric three-jet events are selected from hadronic Z⁰ decays such that the two lower energy jets are each produced at an angle of about 150° with respect to the highest energy jet. In some cases, a displaced secondary vertex is reconstructed in one of the two lower energy jets, which permits the other lower energy jet to be identified as a gluon jet through anti-tagging. In other cases, the highest energy jet is tagged as a b jet or as a light quark (uds) jet using secondary vertex or track impact parameter and momentum information. Comparing the two lower energy jets of the events with a tag in the highest energy jet to the anti-tagged gluon jets yields a direct comparison of b, uds and gluon jets, which are produced with the same energy of about 24 GeV and under the same conditions. We observe b jets and gluon jets to have similar properties as measured by the angular distribution of particle energy around the jet directions and by the fragmentation functions. In contrast, gluon jets are found to be significantly broader and to have a markedly softer fragmentation function than uds jets. For thek _⊥ jet finder withy _cut=0.02, we find as the ratios of the mean charged particle multiplicity in the gluon jets compared to the b and uds jets. Results are also reported using the cone jet finder.     

Measurement of the hadronic decay current in τ?→π??+vτ

The properties of hadronic Z⁰ decays with final state photons, measured with OPAL at LEP, have been compared with predictions from two different matrix element calculations ofO( _s ). Two calculations, GNJETS and EEPRAD, have been investigated which use different schemes to restrict the phase space around the poles of the cross section. Assuming the E0-JADE jet definition, both calculations describe the data well in large regions of phase space fory _cut values around 0.06. For very large and very small jet-photon masses some deviations from the predictions have been found, indicating the importance of higher order corrections. Significant differences between the calculations are only apparent in the predicted rate of 1-jet plus photon events. The rate is higher in GNJETS which reproduces the data better than EEPRAD.     

Extraction of ergosterol from peaty soils and determination by high performance liquid chromatography

The ergosterol content of soil can be used as an indicator of fungal activity. A method has been developed for the extraction and determination of ergosterol in organic soils, as part of a study to assess the correlation between fungal activity and the sequestration of metal pollutants. The moisture content of the soil affected the extraction process. Four consecutive extractions with methanol removed >95% of the ergosterol that can be obtained from the fresh sample (63% moisture) by exhaustive extraction. By freeze drying the soils prior to extraction (a) up to 35% more ergosterol was extracted after a single extraction, (b) >90% of the recoverable ergosterol was collected in two extractions and (c) the repeatability of the extraction was improved. Storage of soil extracts in the absence of light prevents degradation of ergosterol. A previously reported method for determination of ergosterol by HPLC has been improved by modification of the eluant composition. With 46% methanol/46% acetonitrile/8% dichloromethane, ergosterol was eluted with good resolution approximately 8 min after injection of 20 mul of the extract. The detection limit of the HPLC method was 0.5 mug/ml ergosterol, equivalent to 0.06 mug/g in 25 g fresh soil. Changes in ergosterol contents of peaty soil treated with fungicide, and in samples of the peaty podzol and a humus iron podzol in the vicinity of fungal fruiting bodies, have been determined.