Flavour-independent h<Superscript>0</Superscript>A<Superscript>0</Superscript> search and two Higgs doublet model interpretation of neutral Higgs boson searches at LEP

Upper limits on the cross-section of the pair-production process , assuming 100 branching fraction to hadrons, are derived from a new search for the hadrons final state, independently of the hadronic flavour of the decay products. This study, combined with previously published searches for the neutral Higgs bosons h⁰ and A⁰, is used to constrain the Type II Two Higgs Doublet Model (2HDM(II)) with no CP violation in the Higgs sector and no additional non-Standard Model particles besides the five Higgs bosons. The analysis combines LEP1 and LEP2 data collected with the OPAL detector up to the highest available centre-of-mass energies. The searches are sensitive to the and decay modes of the Higgs bosons. A benchmark scan of the 2HDM(II) parameter space is performed. Large regions of the 2HDM(II) parameter space explored are excluded at the 95% CL in the ( and planes, using both direct neutral Higgs boson searches and indirect limits derived from Standard Model high precision measurements. The region GeV and GeV is excluded at 95 % CL, independently of and for selected values of which are representative of a complete -scan.Received: 28 July 2004, Revised: 4 January 2005, Published online: 3 March 2005     

Jet production in charged current deep inelastic <Emphasis Type="Italic">e</Emphasis><Superscript> + </Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis> scatteringat HERA

The production rates and substructure of jets have been studied in charged current deep inelastic e ⁺ p scattering for Q ² > 200 GeV² with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 110.5 pb^-1. Inclusive jet cross sections are presented for jets with transverse energies GeV and pseudorapidities in the range . Dijet cross sections are presented for events with a jet having GeV and a second jet having GeV. Measurements of the mean subjet multiplicity, , of the inclusive jet sample are presented. Predictions based on parton-shower Monte Carlo models and next-to-leading-order QCD calculations are compared to the measurements. The value of , determined from at for jets with GeV, is . The mean subjet multiplicity as a function of Q ² is found to be consistent with that measured in NC DIS.Received: 5 June 2003, Published online: 10 October 2003     

Multiphoton radiation in leptonic <Emphasis Type="Italic">W</Emphasis>-boson decays

We explore CP violation in decay processes in the presence of the anomalous right-handed and couplings. The complex anomalous top coupling can be a source of new CP violation and may lead to a deviation of the observed weak phase in decays, which accounts for the present disagreement of the observed between and decays. Direct CP violation is also predicted. Received: 27 November 2002, Revised: 28 March 2003, Published online: 2 June 2003     

Measurement of W-pair production in e<Superscript> + </Superscript>e<Superscript>-</Superscript> collisions at centre-of-mass energies from 183 to 209 GeV

The W ⁺ W^- production cross section is measured from a data sample corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 683 pb^-1, collected by the ALEPH experiment at LEP at centre-of-mass energies from 183 to 209 GeV. Individual cross sections for the different topologies arising from W decays into leptons or hadrons, as well as the total W-pair cross section are given at eight centre-of-mass energies. The results are found to be in agreement with recently developed Standard Model calculations at the one percent level. The hadronic branching fraction of the W boson is measured to be = 67.13 0.37(stat.) 0.15(syst.)%, from which the CKM matrix element is determined to be 0.958 0.017(stat.) 0.008(syst.)Received: 1 October 2004, Published online: 15 November 2004     

The $\beta$-function in duality-covariant non-commutative $\phi^4$-theory

We compute the one-loop -functions describing the renormalisation of the coupling constant and the frequency parameter for the real four-dimensional duality-covariant non-commutative -model, which is renormalisable to all orders. The contribution from the one-loop four-point function is reduced by the one-loop wavefunction renormalisation, but the -function remains non-negative. Both and vanish at the one-loop level for the duality-invariant model characterised by . Moreover, also vanishes in the limit , which defines the standard non-commutative -quantum field theory. Thus, the limit exists at least at the one-loop level.Received: 19 March 2004, Published online: 5 May 2004     

An analysis of the time-dependent CP asymmetryin $B \to \pi \pi$ decays in the standard model

Measurements of the time-dependent CP-asymmetry in the decay and its charge conjugate by the BELLE and BABAR collaborations currently yield and , characterizing the direct and mixing-induced CP-asymmetries, respectively. We study the implication of these measurements on the CKM phenomenology taking into account the available information in the quark mixing sector. Our analysis leads to the results that the ratio |P _c /T _c | involving the QCD-penguin and tree amplitudes and the related strong phase difference in the decays are quite substantial. Using the isospin symmetry to constrain |P _c /T _c | and , where parameterizes the penguin-induced contribution, we present a fit of the current data including the measurements of and . Our best-fits yield , , , , and . At 68% C.L., the ranges are , , , and . Currently en vogue dynamical approaches to estimate the hadronic matrix elements in decays do not provide a good fit of the current data.Received: 5 April 2004, Published online: 14 July 2004A.Ya. Parkhomenko: On leave of absence from Department of Theoretical Physics, Yaroslavl State University, Sovietskaya 14, 150000 Yaroslavl, Russia.     

Cluster structure of <Superscript>16</Superscript>O

A folding potential describing the -scattering on ¹⁶O over a broad energy range 25.8-146.0 MeV is constructed on the basis of -like cluster and unclustered-nucleon configurations of ¹⁶O. The resulting potential does not need any renormalization to fit the angular distribution of elastic cross-sections. The effects of the repulsive part of - and -nucleon interactions are investigated. The analysis suggests that both the - repulsive potential and the unclustered nucleonic configuration in the target are important to describe the scattering data over a broad range of incident energies. The root-mean-square radius for the ¹⁶O nucleus is deduced.Received: 5 December 2002, Published online: 9 October 2003PACS: 25.55.Ci Elastic and inelastic scattering - 24.10.Ht Optical and diffraction models - 21.60.Gx Cluster models     

Probing the light neutral Higgs boson scenario of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">CP</Emphasis>-violating MSSM Higgs sector at the LHC

In the CP-violating minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), for certain values of the CP-violating phases associated to the universal trilinear couplings (A_t, A_b) and the gluino mass , e.g., or , for GeV and -5, the lightest Higgs boson mass ( ) is GeV. This mass interval is still allowed by results of standard LEP Higgs searches because of a strongly suppressed H₁ZZ coupling. However, in the same region of parameter space in which these two conditions occur, the coupling is enhanced because the two mentioned sets of couplings satisfy a sum rule. In this paper we probe such a light Higgs scenario at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) by studying associate production, leading to a signal. We show that the latter is readily accessible at the CERN hadron collider, upon the application of suitable selection cuts against the standard model (SM) backgrounds. Our parton level Monte Carlo (MC) analysis yields -45 signal events, completely free of SM background, for - 30 fb^-1 of accumulated luminosity, after taking into account the overall efficiency for tagging four b-jets.Received: 21 February 2005, Published online: 6 July 2005     

CP asymmetry in $B \rightarrow \phi K_{S}$ in a general two-Higgs-doublet model with fourth-generation quarks

We discuss the time-dependent CP asymmetry of the decay in an extension of the standard model with both a two Higgs doublet and additional fourth-generation quarks. We show that, although the standard model with a two Higgs doublet and the standard model with fourth-generation quarks alone are not likely to largely change the effective from the decay , the model with both an additional Higgs doublet and fourth-generation quarks can easily account for the possible large negative value of without conflicting with other experimental constraints. In this model, additional large CP violating effects may arise from the flavor-changing Yukawa interactions between neutral Higgs bosons and the heavy fourth-generation down type quark, which can modify the QCD penguin contributions. With the constraints obtained from processes such as and , this model can lead to an effective as large as - 0.4 in the CP asymmetry of .Received: 25 March 2004, Revised: 20 April 2004, Published online: 18 June 2004     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">B</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">K</Emphasis></Subscript> from the lattice with Wilson quarks

We report our results for the bag parameter B _K obtained from the quenched simulations on the lattice with Wilson fermions for three values of the lattice spacing. We implemented the method by which no subtraction of the mixing with other four-fermion operators is needed. Our final result, in terms of the renormalization group invariant bag parameter, is .Received: 9 July 2004, Revised: 27 July 2004, Published online: 21 September 2004     

A precise measurement of the B<Superscript> + </Superscript>, B<Superscript>0</Superscript> and mean b-hadron lifetime with the DELPHI detector at LEP I

Final results from the DELPHI Collaboration on the lifetime of B ⁺ and B⁰ mesons and the mean b-hadron lifetime, are presented using the data collected at the Z⁰ peak in 1994 and 1995. Elaborate, inclusive, secondary vertexing methods have been employed to ensure a b-hadron reconstruction with good efficiency. To separate samples of B ⁺ and B⁰ mesons, high performance neural network techniques are used that achieve very high purity signals. The results obtained are: and for the average b-hadron lifetime: Received: 6 October 2003, Revised: 12 December 2003, Published online: 25 February 2004     

Alpha-gamma decay studies of <Superscript>251, 253</Superscript>No and their daughter products <Superscript>247, 249</Superscript>Fm

The isotopes ²⁵¹No and ²⁵³No were produced in nuclear reactions ²⁰⁶Pb(⁴⁸Ca,3n)²⁵¹No and ²⁰⁷Pb (⁴⁸Ca,2n)²⁵³No. Radioactive decay of these isotopes and their daughter products has been investigated by means of - and - - spectroscopy. An isomeric state ^251m No, having a half-life of s and decaying by emission of particles of keV was identified. The measured decay data allowed for the construction of partial level schemes for ²⁵¹No, ^247,249Fm and ^243,245Cf and an extrapolation of energy systematics of single particle levels of N = 145, 147 and 149 isotones with even Z towards higher atomic numbers up to Z = 102.PACS: 23.60. + e decay - 27.90. + b - 21.10.-k Properties of nuclei; nuclear energy levels     

Jet production in <Emphasis Type="Italic">pA</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">AA</Emphasis> collisions in the perturbative QCD pomeron model

Inclusive cross-sections for gluon jet production are studied numerically in the perturbative QCD pomeron model for pA and central AA collisions at high energies. Two forms for the inclusive cross-sections, with and without emission from the triple pomeron vertex, are compared. The difference was found to reduce to a numerical factor for momenta below the saturation momentum Q _s. Above Q _s no difference was found at all. For pA collisions the gluon spectrum was found to be at momenta k below Q _s and above it. For central AA collisions it was found to be at momenta k below Q _s and above it. At large k the spectrum goes like , flattening with energy. The multiplicities turned out to be proportional to A ^0.7 for pA collisions and A for central AA collisions with a good precision. In the latter case they are becoming more peaked at the center with the growth of energy. Their absolute values are high and grow rapidly with energy in accordance with the high value of the BFKL intercept.Received: 12 October 2004, Revised: 22 November 2004, Published online: 21 January 2005     

Measurement of the strange spectral function in hadronic \tau decays

Tau lepton decays with open strangeness in the final state are measured with the OPAL detector at LEP to determine the strange hadronic spectral function of the lepton. The decays , and with final states consisting of neutral and charged kaons and pions have been studied. The invariant mass distributions of of these final states have been experimentally determined. Monte Carlo simulations have been used for the remaining and for the strange final states including mesons. The reconstructed strange final states, corrected for resolution effects and detection efficiencies, yield the strange spectral function of the lepton. The moments of the spectral function and the ratio of strange to non-strange moments, which are important input parameters for theoretical analyses, are determined. Furthermore, the branching fractions and have been measured.Received: 18 February 2004, Revised: 30 April 2004, Published online: 15 June 2004     

Twist-3 distribution amplitudes of the pion and kaon from the QCD sum rules

Twist-3 distribution amplitudes of the pion and kaon are studied in this paper. We calculate the first several moments for the twist-3 distribution amplitudes ( and ) of the pion and kaon by applying the QCD sum rules. Our results show that (i) the first three moments of and the first two moments of and of the pion and kaon can be obtained with 30 uncertainty; (ii) the fourth moment of the and the second moment of the can be obtained when the uncertainty are relaxed to 35 ; (iii) the fourth moment of the can be obtained only when the uncertainty are relaxed to 40 ; (iv) we have and after including the -corrections to the perturbative part. These moments will be helpful for constructing the twist-3 wave functions of the pion and kaon.Received: 6 January 2005, Revised: 29 March 2005, Published online: 22 June 2005PACS: 13.20.He, 11.55.Hx     

e<Superscript> + </Superscript>e<Superscript>-</Superscript>-pair production in Pb-Au collisions at 158 GeV per nucleon

We present the combined results on electron-pair production in 158 GeV/n Pb-Au ( = 17.2 GeV) collisions taken at the CERN SPS in 1995 and 1996, and give a detailed account of the data analysis. The enhancement over the reference of neutral meson decays amounts to a factor of 2.31 for semi-central collisions (28 ) when yields are integrated over m > 200 MeV/c² in invariant mass. The measured yield, its stronger-than-linear scaling with , and the dominance of low pair p_t strongly suggest an interpretation as thermal radiation from pion annihilation in the hadronic fireball. The shape of the excess centring at 500 MeV/c², however, cannot be described without strong medium modifications of the meson. The results are put into perspective by comparison to predictions from Brown-Rho scaling governed by chiral symmetry restoration, and from the spectral-function many-body treatment in which the approach to the phase boundary is less explicit.Received: 2 March 2005, Published online: 8 June 2005     

First observation of excited states in the <Superscript>110</Superscript>Mo nucleus

The ground-state band in ¹¹⁰Mo has been observed for the first time. The band, comprising six levels, has been populated in the spontaneous fission of ²⁴⁸Cm and studied by means of prompt -ray spectroscopy using the EUROGAM2 array. The ratio suggests that the deformation of ¹¹⁰Mo is smaller than that in ¹⁰⁸Mo but may stabilize at higher neutron number, where an oblate shape is expected. The new data suggests that the deformation of Sr and Zr isotopes decreases above neutron number N = 64.Received: 23 February 2004, Published online: 2 June 2004PACS: 23.20.Lv transitions and level energies - 21.60.Cs Shell model - 25.85.Ca Spontaneous fission - 27.60. + j      

Measurement of the energy dependence of hadronic jet rates and the strong coupling $\alpha_s$ from the four-jet rate with the DELPHI detector at LEP

Hadronic events from the data collected with the DELPHI detector at LEP within the energy range from 89 Gev to 209 Gev are selected, their jet rates are determined and compared to predictions of four different event generators. One of them is the recently developed APACIC + + generator which performs a massive matrix element calculation matched to a parton shower followed by string fragmentation. The four-jet rate is used to measure in the next-to-leading-order approximation yielding The running of determined by using four-jet events has been tested. The logarithmic energy slope is measured to be Since the analysis is based on four-jet final states it represents an alternative approach to previous DELPHI measurements using event shape distributions.Received: 4 August 2004, Revised: 1 October 2004, Published online: 7 December 2004     

Dilaton field induces a commutative D<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-brane coordinate

It is well known that the space-time coordinates and the corresponding Dp-brane world-volume become non-commutative when the ends of the open string are attached to a Dp-brane with the Neveu-Schwarz background field . In this paper, we extend these considerations by including an additional dilaton field , linear in . In that case, the conformal part of the world-sheet metric becomes a new non-commutative variable, while the coordinate in the direction orthogonal to the hyper plane becomes commutative. Received: 15 November 2004, Revised: 11 May 2005, Published online: 6 October 2005 PACS: . Work supported in part by the Serbian Ministry of Science and Environmental Protection, under contract No. 1486.     

The width of the $\Theta^{ + }$ exotic baryon in the chiral soliton model

In 1997 Diakonov, Petrov, and Polyakov, calculated the width of the exotic baryon that they called . The prediction, MeV, has received considerable attention, especially in light of the narrowness of the experimentally reported resonance. However, there is an arithmetic error in their work: when corrected, the width estimate quoted in that paper should have been MeV.Received: 29 January 2004, Published online: 5 May 2004