Search for long-lived particles in 200 GeV/c proton-nucleon collisions

A search for long-lived particles (τ ? 10^?8 sec), with changes $\text{±}\text{2}\text{3}\text{, ± 1, ±}\text{4}\text{3}\text{and}\text{± 2}$, produced in 200 GeV pN collisions was performed at the CERN-SPS in a secondary beam equipped with superconducting r.f. separators. Upper limits were obtained for the production of long-lived hadrons and leptons. For charge - 1 particles the limits are at the level of 10^?7 of the pions at a mass m = 0.2 GeV and reach the 10^?11 level from $\text{3}\text{to}\text{8}\text{GeV}$. The production of light antinuclei was measured. The cross sections for ³He production are (1.3 ± 0.3) and (1.9 ± 0.3) × 10^?34 cm²/sr · GeV/c at 21 and 47.4 GeV/c respectively; for t the cross section is (7.6 ± 0.9) × 10^?34 cm²/sr · GeV/c at 23.7 GeV/c.     

Direct observations of the decay of beauty particles into charm particles

The associated production of a pair of beauty particles B^? and $\text{B}{}^0$ by a 350 GeV π^? interaction has been observed in an emulsion target inserted in an array of silicon microstrip detectors. Both beauty particles decay into charm particles, both of which are also observed to decay in the emulsion. Two negative muons were identified and their momenta measured in a large muon spectrometer. One muon has a p_T of 1.9 GeV/c and is associated with a beauty particle decay. The other, with a p_T of 0.45 GeV/c is associated with a charm particle decay. The flight times of the two beauty particles are respectively (0.8 ± 0.1) × 10^?13 s and (5⁺²_?1) × 10^?13 s. Alternative interpretations of this event have negligible probability.     

Observation of the radiative transition ψ → γE(1420)

We have observed a radiative transition from the ψ to a state decaying into K_SK^±π^?, with mass M = 1.44_?0.015^+0.01 GeV/c² and width Γ = 0.05_?0.02^+0.03 GeV/c². We tentatively identify this state as the E(1420). Assuming that this state is an isospin singlet, we have determined the branching fraction product $\text{B(ψ → γ}\text{E}\text{) × B(}\text{E}\text{×}\text{K}\text{K}\text{π) = (3.6 ± 1.4) × 10}{}^{\mathrm{?3}}$.     

A search for stable particles heavier than the proton and for Q = −23 quarks produced in e+e− annihilation

We have searched 1.4 × 10⁶e⁺e^? annihilation events for particles with 1–3 GeV/c² mass and charge $\text{Q = ?}\text{2}\text{3}$ from the processes e⁺e^?→q$\text{q}$X and e⁺e^? → q$\text{q}$. Upper limits of RQ ～ 10^?4 for each process are presented which improve the previous limits on free quark production in electromagnetic interactions by 2 orders of magnitude.     

Observation of a meson X→2γ, with mass 2.85 GeV/c2, produced in the charge-exchange reaction π−p → Xn at 40 GeV/c

The invariant mass spectrum of neutral final states produced in π^?p charge-exchange scattering at 40 GeV/c has been studied, searching for heavy particles decaying in 2γ. A peak is observed around 2.85 GeV/c². The cross section of the reaction π^?p→X(2.85)+n, times the branching ratio of the X→2γ decay, is measured to be $\text{σ ×}\text{BR}\text{? 2 × 10}{}^{\mathrm{?34}}\text{cm}{}^2$.     

Observation of pairs of charmed particles produced by high-energy photons in nuclear emulsions coupled with a magnetic spectrometer

Preliminary results of an experiment using nuclear emulsions exposed to a tagged photon beam at the CERN SPS (experiment WA58) are presented. Six events showing pairs of charmed particles have been found. One of these has been interpreted as an associated production of Λ_c⁺ and $\text{D}$⁰. The mean lifetime of the neutral D meson based on three events is τ⁰ = (0.58_?0.2^+0.8 × 10^?13 s,, whereas a statistical analysis of eight charged charmed particles, assumed to be D mesons, leads to an estimate of the mean lifetime of τ^± ≈ 4.4 × 10^?13 s.     

Results on the production cross sections π−p → neutrals and π− p→ χ↳2γ0n at 3.8, 6, 8 and 12 GeV/c

The ratio between the cross sections for the reactions $\text{π}{}^{\mathrm{?}}\text{p→}\text{χ}\text{?}{}_{\mathrm{2\gamma }}{}^0\text{n}$ and π^?p → η_→2γ n has been measured to be (2.4 ± 0.9) × 10^?2, (2.1 ± 0.6) × 10^?2 and (2.8 ± 1.3) × 10^?2 at 3.8,6,8 and 12 GeV/c incident momentum respectively.At the same momenta the cross section for π^t- p → neutrals is (1.48 ± 0.09) mb, (0.86 ± 0.05) mb, (0.64 ± 0.04) mb and (0.42±0.03) mb.     

Critical behaviour of a uniaxial ferromagnet,ErCl3·6H2O with predominant dipolar interactions

The parallel magnetic susceptibility χ of a uniaxial ferromagnet ErCl₃·6H₂O has been measured between 0.3 and 4.2K and specially near T_c = 0.353 K. The predominant contribution to the Curie-Weiss temperature is due to the dipolar interactions. χ is proportional to ?^?γ with $\text{? =}\text{T}\text{T}{}_{\mathrm{c}}\text{?1}$ in the range 10^?3 < ? < 5 × 10^?2. The γ value, γ = 1.01 ±0.03 is consistent with the theoretical prediction for a uniaxial dipolar ferromagnet.     

Positron production by muon neutrinos BEBC filled with a neon-hydrogen mixture

For e⁺ energy > 0.3 GeV and 10 GeV < visible energy < 100 GeV we find that: (i) $\text{? = (v}{}_{\mathrm{\mu }}\text{+}\text{Ne}\text{→ μ}{}^{\mathrm{?}}\text{e}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{)/(v}{}_{\mathrm{\mu }}\text{+}\text{Ne}\text{→ μ}{}^{\mathrm{?}}\text{) = (0.41 ± 0.15)\%}$; (ii) 1.2 ± 0.5 neutral strange particles are produced per μ^?e⁺ event; (iii) the lifetime of possible positron-parent particles is < 3 × 10^?10 s (90% C.L.); (iv) the cross section for direct e⁺ production via the neutral current is < 0.2 times that via the charged current (90% C.L.); (v) the cross section for producing heavy leptons, L⁺, decaying into e⁺ … is < 0.7 × 10^?3 times that for μ^?production, implying M(L⁺) > 10 GeV.     

Experimental cross section for dimuon production and the Drell-Yan model

We have measured the absolute cross section for dimuon production in hadron collisions at 200 GeV/c in the continuum region M = 4–8.5 GeV. In all the channels studied (pN, $\text{p}$N, π^±N and π^?H₂) the experimental cross section is significantly larger by a factor of 2.3 ± 0.5 than expected from the Drell-Yan model. Furthermore, our proton-nucleon data allow a determination of the nucleon valence structure function which agrees with the deep inelastic lepton scattering data.     

Measurement of the polarization parameter in π−p elastic scattering at 40 GeV/c

We report our first measurements of the polarization in the elastic scattering of negative pions from polarized protons at an incident pion momentum of 40 GeV/c. The momentum-transfer region covered was 0.08 < |t| < 1.3 (GeV/c)². The angular distribution of the polarization exhibits a first minimum of ～ ? 5% and the well-known zero around t ≈ ? 0.6 (GeV/c)². The energy variation of the first minimum (at around t = ? 0.2) may be expressed in a simple form, $\text{P}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>avr</mtext>}}\text{= ?(0.48±0.06) s}{}^{\mathrm{?0.52\pm 0.05}}$.     

Evidence for a narrow width boson of mass 2.95 GeV

In a search for resonances coupled to the $\text{p}$pπ^? system, we have studied π^?p interactions at 16 GeV/c giving a forward antiproton, using the Omega spectrometer at CERN. In the final states involving a $\text{p}$, p and π^? we observe a 5.6 (6.3) standard deviation enhancement in the $\text{p}$pπ^? mass spectrum at (2.95 ± 0.01) GeV with a width consistent with the resolution (σ = 15 MeV). The production cross section × branching ratio is estimated to be of the order 1 μb. The data are consistent with a resonance decaying partly via intermediate $\text{p}$p final states.     

Inclusive K1±(892) production in pp and π+p interactions

A study is presented of the inclusive production cross sections of K^1±(892) vector mesons in pp interactions at 12 and 24 GeV/c and in π⁺p interactions at 16 GeV/c. The K^1± inclusive cross section is ～0.9 mb for both pp at 24 GeV/c and π⁺p interactions at 16 GeV/c. For pp interactions, $\text{σ(}\text{K}{}^{\mathrm{1+}}\text{)}$ and $\text{σ(}\text{K}{}^{\mathrm{1?}}\text{)}$ are seen to rise with energy, showing a threshold behaviour. In both pp and π⁺p interactions, $\text{σ(}\text{K}{}^{\mathrm{1+}}\text{)}$ largely exceeds $\text{σ(}\text{K}{}^{\mathrm{1?}}\text{)}$ at these energies and this excess is interpreted as K¹⁺ production by beam and target fragmentations. The decays of K^1±0 yield ～30% of the K⁰ observed in the final states. The p_T² dependence of both K¹⁺ and K^1? cross sections is described by an exponential with slope of ～3.3 (GeV/c)^?2. The longitudinal momentum spectra for K¹⁺ in 16 GeV/cπ⁺p and 24 GeV/c pp interactions are similar in shape in the target hemisphere. The K^1? spectra are similar over the whole kinematic region when viewed in the quark c.m.s. and point to a central production mechanism. Comparing K¹⁺ and ρ⁰ production, striking similarities are found.     

Neutral heavy lepton candidate in e+e− interactions

An event of the form e⁺e^? → μ⁺μ^? + (2 jets) recently observed at √s = 43.45 GeV is interpreted as production of a pair of neutral heavy leptons N, each with mass 20.5 ± 1.0 Gev/c². Two possibilities are explored: (i) the lepton is a wak isodoublet neutrino, produced in pairs by virtual Z⁰ decay. In this case, one expects $\text{B(}\text{Z}{}^0\text{→}\text{N}\text{N}\text{) ≈ 5\%}$; (ii) the lepton is a “right-handed neutrino”, produced in pairs via a new vector boson Z_χ. In this case, in one model, the Z_χ must lie between about 50 and 67 GeV/c². More generally, it must be very weakly coupled to ordinary quarks and leptons in order not to conflict with low-q² neutral-current data. Suggestions are made for further observation of N$\text{N}$ pairs and other effects of Z_χ in forthcoming e⁺e^? and p$\text{p}$ collisions.     

Regeneration amplitude of KS0 from KL0 in carbon

We have measured the transmission regeneration amplitude for carbon. The invariant amplitude $\text{[?(0) ?}\text{?}\text{(0)]/P}$ varies from 5.909 ± 0.066 mb at 4.5 GeV/c to 3.933 ± 0.152 mb at 9.5 GeV/c. The results agree with optical model calculations using measured kaon-nucleon total cross sections. The data also provide a value for the ω trajectory intercept α_ω(0) = 0.42 ± 0.04.     

Microwave spectral study of 2-fluorophenol: cis conformer

The microwave spectra of 2-fluorophenol and its deuterated species have been observed and analyzed in the frequency ranges 12.5–18.0 GHz (KU band) and 21.5–26.0 GHz (K band) in the ground vibrational state at room temperature. For the normal species, the radio frequency-microwave double resonance spectrum has been recorded in the frequency range 30.0–38.0 GHz. Three rotational and five quartic centrifugal distortion constants for the normal species, $\text{A}\text{?}\text{= 3337.86 ± 0.02}$, $\text{B}\text{?}\text{= 2231.92 ± 0.01}$, $\text{C}\text{?}\text{= 1337.52 ± 0.01}$, d_J = (3.5 ± 2.9) × 10^?4, d_JK = (?4.9 ± 1.5) × 10^?3, d_K = (?3.2 ± 1.0) × 10^?3, d_WJ = (?2.0 ± 1.0) × 10^?7, d_WK = (2.6 ± 0.8) × 10^?6 (in MHz), and three rotational constants for the deuterated species, $\text{A}\text{?}\text{= 3324.70 ± 0.03}$, $\text{B}\text{?}\text{= 2177.95 ± 0.03}$, $\text{C}\text{?}\text{= 1315.96 ± 0.03}$ (in MHz), have been obtained. Consideration of the r_s coordinate of the hydroxyl hydrogen atom leads to the assignment of the spectra to the cis conformer of the molecule. An r₀ structure for the cis conformer has been proposed. The nonbonded OH ? F distance is lower by about 0.3 Å than the sum of the van der Waals radii.     

Charged pion production in e+e− annihilation at 14, 22 and 34 GeV CM energy

The inclusive production of π^± mesons in e⁺e^? annihilation has been measured at c.m. energies of 14, 22 and 34 GeV for pion momenta between 0.3 ans 10 GeV/c. The fraction of pions among the charged hadrons is above 90% at 0.4 GeV/c and decreases to about 50% at high momenta. The scaled cross sections ($\text{s}\text{β}$) $\text{d}\text{σ}\text{d}\text{x}$ at 14, 22 and 34 GeV as well as the 5.2 GeV data from DASP have a rather similar x dependence. After integration over the x range from 0.2 to 0.6 the cross sections indicate a monotonic decrease with increasing centre-of-mass energy.     

On the lifetime of charged charmed particles first direct observation of a charmed baryon decay

Two new examples of production by neutrinos and subsequent decay of charged charmed hadrons are reported. Together with two similar events reported previously they show that the lifetime of charged charmed particles is in the neighbourhood of 5 × 10^?13 s, as expected from current theoretical models. One of the new events is identified as a baryon λ_c⁺ of mass 2.295 ± 0.015 GeV/c² which undergoes the decay process λ_c⁺ → pπ⁺K^? with a proper decay time (7.3 ± 0.1) × 10^?13 s.     

Λ and Λ production in K+p interactions at 32 GeV/c

A study of the inclusive and semi-inclusive Λ and $\text{Λ}$ production in K⁺p interactions at 32 GeV/c is presented. The inclusive cross sections for Λ and $\text{Λ}$ amount to 0.78 ± 0.05 and 0.42 ± 0.04 mb thus showing a remarkable growth between 16 and 32 GeV/c with a factor of 1.7 for Λ and 2.8 for $\text{Λ}$. Target and beam fragmentation processes are found to be dominant for Λ and $\text{Λ}$ production respectively with the following lower limits for the corresponding cross sections: $\text{σ(p}\text{→}\text{K}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{?) > 0.5}\text{mb}$ and $\text{σ(K}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{→}\text{p}\text{?}\text{) > 0.3}\text{mb}$. Although the early scaling conditions are fulfilled for the Λ production in the target fragmentation region, and $\text{Λ}$ production in the beam fragmentation region, scaling is not observed between 16 and 32 GeV/c in the x and p_T² Feynman variables. The Λ production is found to be very similar in the K⁺p inclusive reaction at 32 GeV/c and in the semi-inclusive reaction $\text{K}{}^{\mathrm{?}}\text{p}\text{→ Λ}\text{K}\text{K}\text{X}$ at the same energy. The $\text{Λ}\text{Λ}$ pair production cross section increases significantly in K⁺p interactions from 16 to 32 GeV/c where it reaches the value $\text{σ}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>\Lambda </mtext><mtext>\Lambda </mtext>}}\text{= 47 ± 11 μ}\text{b}$. The cross sections for Λ or $\text{Λ}$ produced in association with an identified proton are also given and discussed.