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     

A precise measurement of the tau lifetime

The tau lepton lifetime has been measured with the events collected by the DELPHI detector at LEP in the years 1991-1995. Three different methods have been exploited, using both one-prong and three-prong decay channels. Two measurements have been made using events in which both taus decay to a single charged particle. Combining these measurements gave . A third measurement using taus which decayed to three charged particles yielded These were combined with previous DELPHI results to measure the tau lifetime, using the full LEP1 data sample, to be .Received: 12 November 2003, Revised: 1 June 2004, Published online: 20 July 2004     

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     

A study of charm and anti-charm production in beauty decays with the OPAL detector at LEP

The branching ratio of beauty hadrons to final states containing two charm hadrons, Br(b , has been measured using an inclusive method in hadronic Z⁰ decays with the OPAL detector at LEP. The impact parameter significance of tracks opposite tagged b-jets is used to differentiate b decays from other decays. The result is where det. is the systematic uncertainty due to the modelling of the detector, and is the systematic uncertainty due to the modelling of the underlying physics. Using this result, the average number of charm plus anti-charm quarks produced in a beauty quark decay, n_c, is found to be 1.12 ^{+ 0.11}_-0.10.Received: 11 July 2003, Published online: 18 May 2004     

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     

Production properties of K^\star(892)^\pm vector mesons and their spin alignment as measured in the NOMAD experiment

First measurements of mesons production properties and their spin alignment in charged current (CC) and neutral current (NC) interactions are presented. The analysis of the full data sample of the NOMAD experiment is performed in different kinematic regions. For and mesons produced in CC interactions and decaying into we have found the following yields per event: and respectively, while for the and mesons produced in interactions the corresponding yields per event are: and . The results obtained for the parameter, and for and produced in CC interactions, are compared to theoretical predictions tuned on LEP measurements in annihilation at the pole. For mesons produced in interactions the measured parameter is . PACS 13.15.+g, 13.60.Le, 13.87.Fh, 13.88.+e, 14.40.Ev     

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     

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     

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     

A measurement of semileptonic B decaysto narrow orbitally-excited charm mesons

The decay chain is identified in a sample of 3.9 million hadronic Z decays collected with the OPAL detector at LEP. The branching ratio BR is measured to be for the J ^P =1⁺ (D⁰ ₁) state. For decays into the J ^P =2⁺ (D₂ ^*0) state, an upper limit of 1.4 x 10^-3 is placed on the branching ratio at the 95% confidence level.Received: 20 December 2002, Revised: 15 April 2003, Published online: 12 September 2003     

Measurement of isolated prompt photon production in photon-photon collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm ee}} = 183$-209 GeV

For the first time at LEP the production of prompt photons is studied in the collisions of quasi-real photons using the OPAL data taken at centre-of-mass energies between 183 GeV and 209 GeV. The total inclusive production cross-section for isolated prompt photons in the kinematic range of transverse momentum GeV and pseudorapidity is determined to be . Differential cross-sections are compared to the predictions of a next-to-leading-order (NLO) calculation.Received: 6 May 2003, Published online: 4 November 2003     

Exclusive semileptonic rare decays $B \to K^{(*)} l^ + l^-$ in a SUSY SO(10) GUT

In the SUSY SO(10) GUT context, we study the exclusive processes . Using the Wilson coefficients of the relevant operators including the new operators which are induced by neutral Higgs boson (NHB) penguins, we evaluate some possible observables associated with these processes like the invariant mass spectrum (IMS), lepton pair forward-backward asymmetry (FBA), lepton polarization asymmetries etc. In this model the contributions from Wilson coefficients , among new contributions, are dominant. Our results show that the NHB effects are sensitive to the FBA, , and of decay, which are expected to be measured in B factories, the deviation of in can reach 0.1 from SM, which could be seen in B factories, and the average of the normal polarization can reach several percent for and it is 0.05 or so for , which could be measured in the future super B factories and provide useful information to probe new physics and discriminate different models.Received: 30 October 2004, Published online: 9 March 2005     

Exclusive $B \to (K^*, \rho) \gamma$ decays in general two-Higgs-doublet models

By employing the QCD factorization approach, we calculated the next-to-leading order new physics contributions to the branching ratios, CP asymmetries, isospin and U-spin symmetry breaking of the exclusive decays ( ), induced by the charged Higgs penguins in general two-Higgs-doublet models. Within the considered parameter space, we found that (a) the new physics corrections to the observables are generally small in model I and model III-A, moderate in model II, but large in model III-B; (b) from the well measured branching ratios and upper limits, a lower bound of M_H > 200 GeV in model II was obtained, while the allowed range of M_H in model III-B is GeV; these bounds are comparable with those from the inclusive decay; (c) the NLO Wilson coefficient C₇(m_b) in model III-B is positive and disfavored by the measured value of isospin symmetry breaking , but it still cannot be excluded if we take the large errors into account; (d) the CP asymmetry in model III-B has an opposite sign to the one in the standard model (SM), which may be used as a good observable to distinguish the SM from model III-B; (e) the isospin symmetry breaking is less than in the region of preferred by the global fit result, but it can be as large as 20 to in the regions of and . The SM and model III-B predictions for are opposite in sign for small or large values of the CKM angles; (f) the U-spin symmetry breaking in the SM and the general two-Higgs-doublet models is generally small in size: .Received: 9 October 2003, Revised: 11 November 2003, Published online: 18 February 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     

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.     

Corrections to quark asymmetries at LEP

The most precise measurement of the weak mixing angle at LEP is from the forward-backward asymmetry at the Z-pole. In this note the QED and electroweak radiative corrections to obtain the pole asymmetry from the measured asymmetry for b- and c-quarks have been calculated using ZFITTER, which has been amended to allow a consistent treatment of partial two-loop corrections for the b-quark final asymmetries. A total correction of and has been found, where the remaining theoretical uncertainty is much too small to explain the apparent discrepancy between obtained from A _FB ^b and from the left-right asymmetry at SLD.Received: 1 December 2004, Published online: 9 March 2005     

Inclusive analysis of the b quark fragmentation function in Z decays at LEP

A study of quark hadronisation is presented using inclusively reconstructed B hadrons in about four million hadronic Z decays recorded in 1992-2000 with the OPAL detector at LEP. The data are compared to different theoretical models, and fragmentation function parameters of these models are fitted. The average scaled energy of weakly decaying B hadrons is determined to be

Medium effects on high p_{\rm T} particle production measured with the PHENIX experiment

Transverse momentum ( ) spectra measured by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC in Au + Au, d + Au and pp collisions at and in Au + Au collisions at are presented. A suppression of the yield of high hadrons in central Au + Au collisions by a factor 4-5 at is found relative to the pp reference scaled by the nuclear overlap function . In contrast, direct photons are not suppressed in central Au + Au collisions and no suppression of high particles can be seen in d + Au collisions. This leads to the conclusion that the dense medium formed in central Au + Au collisions is responsible for the suppression. Arrival of the final proofs: 30 June 2005 PACS: 25.75.Dw     

Study of Z pair production and anomalous couplingsin e + e- collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ between 190 GeV and 209 GeV

A study of Z-boson pair production in e ⁺ e^- annihilation at center-of-mass energies between 190 GeV and 209 GeV is reported. Final states containing only leptons, ( and ), quark and lepton pairs, ( , ) and only hadrons ( ) are considered. In all states with at least one Z boson decaying hadronically, lifetime, lepton and event-shape tags are used to separate pairs from final states. Limits on anomalous ZZ and ZZZ couplings are derived from the measured cross sections and from event kinematics using an optimal observable method. Limits on low scale gravity with large extra dimensions are derived from the cross sections and their dependence on polar angle.Received: 14 July 2003, Published online: 18 December 2003     

New experimental limits on violations of the Pauli exclusion principle obtained with the Borexino Counting Test Facility

The Pauli exclusion principle (PEP) has been tested for nucleons (n,p) in and nuclei, using the results of background measurements with the prototype of the Borexino detector, the Counting Test Facility (CTF). The approach consisted of a search for , n, p and/or s emitted in a non-Paulian transition of 1P- shell nucleons to the filled 1S _1/2 shell in nuclei. Similarly, the Pauli-forbidden decay processes were searched for. Due to the extremely low background and the large mass (4.2 tons) of the CTF detector, the following most stringent up-to-date experimental bounds on PEP violating transitions of nucleons have been established: , , , , and , all at C.L.Received: 18 June 2004, Published online: 1 October 2004PACS: 11.30.-j, 24.80. + y, 23.20.-g, 27.20. + nG. Bellini: SpokesmanL. Cadonati: Now at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, NW17-161, 175 Albany St. Cambridge, MA 02139O. Dadoun: Marie Curie fellowship at LNGS Correspondence to: A. Derbin. On leave of absence from St. Petersburg Nuclear Physics Inst. - Gatchina, RussiaM. Deutsch: DeceasedR. Ford: No w at Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, INCO Creighton Mine, P.O.Box 159 Lively, Ontario, Canada, P3Y 1M3B. Freudiger: Marie Curie fellowship at LNGS. Now at Institute for Nuclear Physics, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Postfach 3640, 76021 KarlsruheS. Gazzana: GLIMOSV.V. Kobychev: Now at Institute for Nuclear Research, Prospekt Nauki 47, MSP 03680, Kiev, UkraineG. Korga: On leave of absence from KFKI-RMKI, Konkoly Thege ut 29-33 H-1121 Budapest, HungaryC. Lendvai: Marie Curie fellowship at LNGSP. Lombardi: Detector installation managerA. Martemianov: DeceasedV. Muratova: On leave of absence from St. Petersburg Nuclear Physics Inst. - Gatchina, RussiaL. Niedermeier: Marie Curie fellowship at LNGSL. Papp: On leave of absence from KFKI-RMKI, Konkoly Thege ut 29-33 H-1121 Budapest, HungaryR.S. Raghavan: Present Address: Department of Physics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg VA 24061G. Ranucci: Project managerC. Salvo: Operational manager Correspondence to: O. SmirnovA. Sonnenschein: Center for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, 933 E.56^th St., Chicago, IL 60637