Editorial

The production of charmed mesons ,D ^± , andD ^*± is studied in a sample of 478,000 hadronicZ decays. The production rates are measured to be

A measurement of the forward-backward asymmetry of e+e?→bb by applying a jet charge algorithm to lifetime tagged events

The forward-backward asymmetry of has been measured using approximately 2.15 million hadronicZ ⁰ decays collected at the LEP e⁺e^– collider with the OPAL detector. A lifetime tag technique was used to select an enriched event sample. The measurement of the asymmetry was then performed using a jet charge algorithm to determine the direction of the primary quark. Values of:

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     

Branching ratios and properties ofD-meson decays

Properties ofD mesons produced in the photo-production experiment NA 14/2 at CERN are reported. The following ratios of branching fractions were measured:

Measurement of the forward-backward asymmetry of charm and bottom quarks at theZ pole usingD*± mesons

The forward-backward asymmetries for the processes and at theZ resonance are measured using identifiedD ^*± mesons. In 905,000 selected hadronic events, taken in 1991 and 1992 with the DEL-PHI detector at LEP, 4757D ^*+D ⁰⁺ decays are reconstructed. Thec andb quark forward-backward asymmetries are determined to be:

Measurement of the decay of the Υ(1S) and Υ(2S) resonances to muon pairs

Using the Crystal Ball detector at thee ⁺ e ^– storage ring DORIS II, we have measured the branching fraction to muon pairsB of the (1S) and (2S) resonances and for the first time the product of the muonic partial width and the branching fraction to electronsB _ee for both resonances. We obtain

Updated estimate of the muon magnetic momentusing revised results from <Emphasis Type="Italic">e</Emphasis><Superscript> + </Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">e</Emphasis><Superscript>-</Superscript>annihilation

A new evaluation of the hadronic vacuum polarization contribution to the muon magnetic moment is presented. We take into account the reanalysis of the low-energy e ⁺ e ^-annihilation cross section into hadrons by the CMD-2 Collaboration. The agreement between e ⁺ e ^-and spectral functions in the channel is found to be much improved. Nevertheless, significant discrepancies remain in the center-of-mass energy range between 0.85 and , so that we refrain from averaging the two data sets. The values found for the lowest-order hadronic vacuum polarization contributions are where the errors have been separated according to their sources: experimental, missing radiative corrections in e ⁺ e ^-data, and isospin breaking. The corresponding Standard Model predictions for the muon magnetic anomaly read where the errors account for the hadronic, light-by-light (LBL) scattering and electroweak contributions. The deviations from the measurement at BNL are found to be (1.9 ) and (0.7 ) for the e ⁺ e ^-- and -based estimates, respectively, where the second error is from the LBL contribution and the third one from the BNL measurement.Received: 7 September 2003, Published online: 30 October 2003     

Measurement of inclusive Λ production in electron-positron interactions at the upsilon energies

Using the MD-1 detector at the VEPP-4e ⁺ e ^– strorage ring we have measured the inclusive and370-1 production rates in direct (1S) decays

Universal Feynman-Yang scaling for hadrons frome + e −,\bar pp andep collisions

An analysis of the single-particle distribution of inclusive at in terms of the covariant Boltzmann factor indicates that the Feynman-Yang scaling holds, the temperature ofW being 0.188 GeV. The specific central particle density ofW is found to be the same as andK ⁰ production at the same energy.     

Complements to various Stone-Weierstrass theorems forC *-algebras and a theorem of Shultz

J. Glimm's Stone-Weierstrass theorem states that ifA is aC ^*-algebra,P(A) is the set of pure states ofA, andB is aC ^*-subalgebra which separates , thenB=A. We show that ifB is aC ^*-subalgebra ofA andx an element ofA such that any two elements of which agree onB agree also onx, thenxB. Similar complements are given to other Stone-Weierstrass theorems. A theorem of F. Shultz states that ifxA ^**, the enveloping von Neumann algebra ofA, and ifx, x ^*, x, andxx ^* are uniformly continuous onP(A){0}, then there is an element ofA which agrees withx onP(A). We show that the hypotheses onx ^*x andxx ^* can be dropped.     

Determination of the ϒ(1S) leptonic width

Analyzing the data recorded with the MD-1 detector operated at the VEPP-4 storage ring we have determined the (1S) resonance leptonic partial width and mass. We find

A measurement ofB meson production and lifetime usingDl? events inZ0 decays

A study ofB meson decays intoDl X final states is presented. In these events, neutral and chargedD mesons originate predominantly fromB ⁺ andB ⁰ decays, respectively. The dilution of this correlation due toD ^** production has been taken into account. From 263 700 hadronicZ ⁰ decays collected in 1991 with the DELPHI detector at the LEP collider, 92D ⁰K ^-+, 35D ⁺K ^-++ and 61D ^*0D ⁰⁺ followed byD ⁰K ^-+ orD ⁰K ^-++-, are found with an associated lepton of the same charge as the kaon. From theD ⁰ l ^- andD ^*+ l ^-, the probabilityf _d that ab quark hadronizes into aB ^– (or ) meson is found to be 0.44 ±0.08±0.09, corresponding to a total (B _s+ _b ) hadronization fraction of 0.12 _–0.12 ^+0.24 . By reconstructing the energy of eachB meson, theb quark fragmentation is directly measured for the first time. The mean value of theB meson energy fraction is:

B c and $$b\bar bc\bar c$$ at theZ 0-boson pole

The cross-section for the production of quarks ine ⁺ e ^– annihilation, that proves to be at a level of for is calculated within the frames of the QCD perturbation theory. The cross sections for the associated production of 1S-and 2S-wave states ofB _c-meson in the reaction were calculated in the nonrelativistic model of a heavy quarkonium. The number of _bc -hyperons to be expected at LEP is estimated on the basis of the assumption on quark-hadron duality.     

Tau decays into K* mesons

Using the ARGUS detector at the storage ring DORIS II we have measured decays into three charged mesons containingK ^* mesons. Exploiting the good particle identification capabilities of the detector we have determined the following branching ratios: ,B _r (^–K ^*0 K ^– v )= (0.20±0.05±0.04)%, andB _r (^–K ^*– X ⁰ v ) =(1.15±0.15_–0.18 ^+0.13)%.Supported by the German Bundesministerium für Forschung und Technologie, under contract number 054DO51P.     

Multiplicity distributions of charged hadrons invp and charged current interactions

Using data onvp and charged current interactions from a bubble chamber experiment with BEBC at CERN, the multiplicity distributions of charged hadrons are investigated. The analysis is based on 20000 events with incidentv and 10000 events with incident . The invariant massW of the total hadronic system ranges from 3 GeV to 14 GeV. The experimental multiplicity distributions are fitted by the binomial function (for different intervals ofW and in different intervals of the rapidityy), by the Levy function and the lognormal function. All three parametrizations give acceptable values forX ². For fixedW, forward and backward multiplicities are found to be uncorrelated. The normalized moments of the charged multiplicity distributions are measured as a function ofW. They show a violation of KNO scaling.     

Deorientation of highly stripped Ca and K ions recoiling in vacuo

The -decays of two isomeric states in and excited in the reactions¹²C(³¹P, pn and 2p) were observed using the recoil-into-vacuum plunger technique. At a recoil velocity ofv/c=5.1%, the perturbations of the -ray angular distributions were measured time differentially and interpreted in terms of the cascade model by Bosch and Spehl in the limit of fast electron relaxation. It is found that the ions reach stable electronic configurations with an average angular momentum ofJ1.7.Supported by the US Energy Research and Development Administration and Deutsches Bundesministerium für Forschung und Technologie.     

A study of the decays of tau leptons produced on theZ resonance at LEP

From the analysis of a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.63 pb^–1 taken during the 1990 run of LEP at centre of mass energies between 88.2 GeV an 94.2 GeV, the tau decays and their charge conjugates have been studied. The following branching ratios have been measured; , , Br(^{– –} (K^–)v)=11.9±0.7±0.7%, BR (^{– –} v)= 22.4±0.8±1.3%, in good agreement with world averages. The measured electronic and muonic branching ratios lead to a measurement of the strong coupling constant, _s (m) = 0.26 _–0.12 ^+0.09 . Extrapolating the _s value fromm tom _Z yields _s (m_Z) = 0.109 _–0.028 ^+0.012 .The average polarizationP of taus produced in Z ^{s s} decays has also been measured using the above decay modes. The weighted mean of the polarizations obtained from the four decay modes isP =–0.24±0.07. This value ofP gives, in the improved Born approximation, a ratio between the axial and vector coupling constants of the tau of /a = 0.12 ± 0.04, and hence a value of the effective electroweak mixing parameter sin² _W(m _Z ² ).     

The nuclear magnetic moment of182Ta

The nuclear magnetic moment of¹⁸²Ta has been measured with the aid of the NMR-ON technique, using the hyperfine fieldB=–65.6±1.3T in iron. Its value =298±0.06 _N is in excellent agreement with that calculated for a Nilsson configuration, using proper parametersg _K andg _R derived from neighbouring odd-A nuclei. Agreement is also found between experimental and calculated nuclear magnetic moments of¹⁸⁴Re, which has the sameK=1/2 neutron state as¹⁸²Ta.     

Determination of the branching ratiosΓ(K L→3π0)/Γ(K L→π+ - 0) andΓ(K L→3π0)/Γ(K L→πev)

Improved branching ratios were measured for theK _L3⁰ decay in a neutral beam at the CERN SPS with the NA31 detector:

Instabilities of certain empty Robertson-Walker space-times

Results are established concerning perturbations of each empty Robertson-Walker space-time (M, g) with a nonvanishing cosmological constant. The perturbed space-times have the general form ( ) with an extension ofM, and lying in an open neighborhood of g in a type ofW ^m topology. These results indicate that large classes of such perturbations give rise to space-times which suffer from one of two types of incompleteness.