Exclusive leptoproduction of \rho^0 mesons from hydrogen at intermediate virtual photon energies

Measurements of the cross section for exclusive virtual-photoproduction of mesons from hydrogen are reported. The data were collected by the HERMES experiment using 27.5 GeV positrons incident on a hydrogen gas target in the HERA storage ring. The invariant mass W of the photon-nucleon system ranges from 4.0 to 6.0 GeV, while the negative squared four-momentum of the virtual photon varies from 0.7 to 5.0 GeV. The present data together with most of the previous data in the intermediate W-domain are well described by a model that infers the W-dependence of the cross section from the dependence on the Bjorken scaling variable x of the unpolarized structure function for deep-inelastic scattering. In addition, a model calculation based on Off-Forward Parton Distributions gives a fairly good account of the longitudinal component of the production cross section for GeV. Received: 25 April 2000 / Revised version: 3 July 2000 / Published online: 25 September 2000     

Kaon electro-production on protons at JLab in Hall A

The elementary reaction of kaon exclusive electro-production on protons has been studied in a broad kinematical range at Jefferson Lab in Hall A. Data have been taken at different values of the invariant center-of-mass energy W in the range W=1.8-2.2 GeV, for two values of the transferred 4-momentum Q² =1.9 and 2.4 (GeV/c)². Each kinematics was measured at different electron beam energies so as to separate the longitudinal (L) and transverse (T) contributions to the cross-section. The LT interference term has also been measured for a limited number of kinematics. The preliminary data are compared to results of different models developed in the framework of hadronic field and Regge theories.     

Exclusive meson production at HERMES

Hard exclusive production of mesons in deep-inelastic scattering allows one to probe the so-far unknown Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs) of the nucleon. The HERMES experiment has measured several different observables in exclusive meson production by scattering the 27.6GeV HERA lepton beam off an internal fixed gaseous target. Recent results on exclusive π ⁺, ρ ⁰ and pion pair production will be presented.     

Transverse momenta of secondaries from 200 GeV/c proton-nucleus interactions

A study of 100 interactions, produced by secondary particles from 200 GeV/c proton interactions in nuclear emulsions, has been made to estimate the transverse momenta of the secondary particles. The data have been analysed by different methods of energy estimation and the weighted average values ofp _t have been compared as estimated from various methods. An average value ofp _t equal to 0.38 ± 0.03 GeV/c, in proton-nucleus interactions at 200 GeV/c, has been obtained from the production mechanism method.     

Interactions between 4He nuclei and protons at intermediate energies

Since the early 1970s, experiments have been performed to investigate the fragmentation of the lightest nuclei (d, ³H, ³He, and ⁴He) on protons at intermediate energies (～0.2–2 GeV per nucleon). These experiments were set up in ITEP and LHE JINR and realized in an exclusive approach with the help of liquid hydrogen bubble chambers. This investigation is of great interest from two points of view: first, the possibility of detailed theoretical analysis of the data obtained in 4π geometry on the basis of a good understanding of the structure of the wavefunctions of these nuclei and, second, the search for exotic interaction mechanisms. This overview presents the latest, most interesting results of the ITEP experiment on the study of ⁴Hep interactions at ⁴He momenta of 2.7 and 5 GeV/c, on cross sections, elastic scattering, pair correlations of secondary nucleons, cumulative production of nucleons and the lightest nuclei (d, ³H, and ³He), the main features of exclusive reactions, and the search for possible multiquark bag production (dibaryons and tribaryons). The essential results of the independent JINR experiment at 8.6 and 13.6 GeV/c also come under discussion.     

Inclusive production of charged hadrons and {\rm K}^0_{\rm S} mesons in photon–photon collisions

The production of charged hadrons and mesons in the collisions of quasi-real photons has been measured using the OPAL detector at LEP. The data were taken at centre-of-mass energies of 161 and 172 GeV. The differential cross-sections as a function of the transverse momentum and the pseudorapidity of the charged hadrons and mesons have been compared to the leading order Monte Carlo simulations of PHOJET and PYTHIA and to perturbative next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD calculations. The distributions have been measured in the range GeV of the hadronic invariant mass W. By comparing the transverse momentum distribution of charged hadrons measured in interactions with -proton and meson-proton data we find evidence for hard photon interactions in addition to the purely hadronic photon interactions. Received: 4 June 1998 / Published online: 6 November 1998     

Statistical hadronization with exclusive channels in e<Superscript>+</Superscript>e<Superscript>−</Superscript> annihilation

We perform a systematic analysis of exclusive hadronic channels in e⁺e⁻ collisions at center-of-mass energies between 2.1 and 2.6 GeV within the statistical hadronization model. Because of the low multiplicities involved, calculations have been carried out in the full microcanonical ensemble, including conservation of energy-momentum, angular momentum, parity, isospin, and all relevant charges. We show that the data are in an overall good agreement with the model for an energy density of about 0.5 GeV/fm³ and an extra-strangeness suppression parameter γ _S ∼0.7, essentially the same values found with fits to inclusive multiplicities at higher energy.     

Measurement of the spin-density matrix elements in exclusive electroproduction of \rho^0 mesons at HERA

Exclusive electroproduction of mesons has been measured using the ZEUS detector at HERA in two ranges, GeV and GeV. The low- data span the range GeV; the high- data cover the GeV interval. Both samples extend up to four-momentum transfers of GeV. The distribution in the azimuthal angle between the positron scattering plane and the production plane shows a small but significant violation of s-channel helicity conservation, corresponding to the production of longitudinally polarised (i.e. helicity zero) mesons from transverse photons. Measurements of the 15 combinations of spin-density matrix elements which completely define the angular distributions are presented and discussed. Received: 30 July 1999 / Revised version: 20 September 1999 / Published online: 8 December 1999     

Measurement of <Emphasis Type="Italic">K</Emphasis><Superscript> + </Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">K</Emphasis><Superscript>-</Superscript> production in two-photon collisions in the resonant-mass region

K ⁺ K ^- production in two-photon collisions has been studied using a large data sample of 67 fb^-1 accumulated with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric e ⁺ e ^- collider. We have measured the cross section for the process for center-of-mass energies between 1.4 and 2.4 GeV, and found three new resonant structures in the energy region between 1.6 and 2.4 GeV. The angular differential cross sections have also been measured.Received: 30 September 2003, Published online: 18 December 2003     

Eta and omega meson production in medium energy π+-p and K−p interactions

The production of η(550) and ω(780) mesons is studied in π^±p interactions at 16 GeV/c and K^?p interactions at 10 and 16 GeV/c. Cross sections for exclusive channels are presented, and for the π⁺p data differential cross sections are given for quasi-inclusive production where the η or ω is required to be accompanied by charged particles only. Close similarities are observed between η, ω and also ?⁰(770) production in terms of longitudinal and transverse variables. By a rough estimate, the η, ω and ?⁰ inclusive yields are found to be in the ratio 0.32 : 0.85 : 1, respectively, for 16 GeV/cπ⁺p collisions. For non-peripheral production we estimate this same ratio to be 0.34 : 0.9 : 1.     

Inclusive production of antihyperons in nC-interactions

The inclusive production cross-sections of , , and in neutron-carbon interactions at GeV mean energy of neutrons have been measured. The parameters n and b of differential cross-section parametrisation , where x_F is the Feynman variable, p_t is the transverse momentum, have been obtained. The kinematic region of validity of the parametrisation has been defined. Results are compared with published experimental data. Received: 7 June 2002 / Revised version: 23 January 2003 / Published online: 3 March 2003     

Proton-antiproton states in high energy photoproduction

Exclusive and inclusive $\text{p}\text{p}$ photoproduction (with ? 2 accompanying charged particles) have been measured in the photon energy range 44–70 GeV. The exclusive process shows no prominent features; the inclusive process shows evidence for S(1936) production as a resonant-like structure with mass 1930 ± 2 MeV and width 12 ± 7 MeV.     

Searches for invisibly decaying Higgs bosonswith the DELPHI detector at LEP

Searches for H Z production with the Higgs boson decaying into an invisible final state were performed using the data collected by the DELPHI experiment at centre-of-mass energies between 188 GeV and 209 GeV. Both hadronic and leptonic final states of the Z boson were analysed. In addition to the search for a heavy Higgs boson, a dedicated search for a light Higgs boson down to 40 GeV/c² was performed. No signal was found. Assuming the Standard Model HZ production cross-section, the mass limit for invisibly decaying Higgs bosons is 112.1 GeV/c² at 95% confidence level. An interpretation in the Minimal Supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (MSSM) and in a Majoron model is also given.Received: 2 September 2003, Revised: 10 November 2003, Published online: 15 January 2004     

Detecting the standard model Higgs bosonin the WW decay channel using forward proton tagging at the LHC

We present a detailed study of the central exclusive production of the standard model Higgs boson in the WW decay channel at the LHC. We include estimates of the experimental acceptance, including that of the proposed proton tagging detectors at 220 m and 420 m around either ATLAS and/or CMS, and the level 1 trigger acceptances. We give first estimates of the photon-photon and glue-glue background processes in the semi-leptonic and fully leptonic decay channels. We find that there will be a detectable signal for Higgs masses between 140 GeV and 200 GeV, and that the backgrounds should be controllable. Arrival of the final proofs: 1 December 2005     

Measurement of the low-x behaviour of the photon structure function F_2^\gamma

The photon structure function has been measured using data taken by the OPAL detector at centre-of-mass energies of 91 GeV, 183 GeVand 189 \GeV, in ranges of 1.5–30.0 GeV (LEP1), and 7.0–30.0 GeV (LEP2), probing lower values of x than ever before. Since previous OPAL analyses, new Monte Carlo models and new methods, such as multi-variable unfolding, have been introduced, reducing significantly the model dependent systematic errors in the measurement. The results do not conclusively prove, but are completely consistent with, the presence of a rise in at low-x as expected from QCD. Received: 9 June 2000 / Published online: 13 November 2000     

Exclusive photoproduction of J/\psi mesons at HERA

The exclusive photoproduction of mesons, , has been studied in ep collisions with the ZEUS detector at HERA, in the kinematic range 20<W<290 GeV, where W is the photon-proton centre-of-mass energy. The mesons were reconstructed in the muon and the electron decay channels using integrated luminosities of 38 and 55,respectively. The helicity structure of production shows that the hypothesis of s-channel helicity conservation is satisfied within two standard deviations. The total cross section and the differential cross-section , where t is the squared four-momentum transfer at the proton vertex, are presented as a function of W, for |t|<1.8 GeV². The t distribution exhibits an exponential shape with a slope parameter increasing logarithmically with W with a value at . The effective parameters of the pomeron trajectory are and . Received: 1 February 2002 / Published online: 22 May 2002     

Meson distributions in photoproduction

Extension of the nova model is applied to γ + p → π + anything. The concept of a photon is motivated from vector dominance, and the parameters describing the production of photon novas are estimated from hadron results. The model is essentially without arbitrary parameters. We compare with inclusive and exclusive data at 9.3 GeV/c, where we find excellent agreement. Predictions for 20 GeV/c are also presented.     

The measurement of the transverse polarization of L\Lambda hyperons produced in nC reactions in the EXCHARM experiment

New precise data of the polarization are obtained in the EXCHARM experiment at the Serpukhov accelerator. The s have been produced in nC interactions in the neutron energy interval 40–70 GeV and detected in the kinematic range of and GeV/c. The obtained results are compared with other measurements in the pp and pA interactions. Received: 25 August 1999 / Published online: 25 February 2000     

Description of initial-and final-state-interaction effects for the reaction γp → π−Δ++ in the region of nucleon-resonance excitation

A model has been developed for describing the cross section for the reaction γ_r,v p → π^?Δ⁺⁺ in the energy region of nucleon-resonance excitation, and relevant calculations have been performed. The model takes into account the contribution of all reliably established resonances with masses less than 2 GeV and the contributions of nonresonance mechanisms in the approximation of Born diagrams. On the basis of data on the amplitudes of pion-nucleon interactions, a method has been evolved for phenomenologically describing the coupling of initial and final states with open inelastic channels. Calculations performed in this study represent a first step in developing a method for determining the electromagnetic form factors for nucleon resonances in exclusive reactions of pion-pair production on a nucleon by real and virtual photons.