0000000000069455

AUTHOR

K Affholderbach

Analysis of transverse momentum correlations in hadronic Z decays

In a recent paper, evidence was presented for a significant, positive correlation between the total transverse momenta of particles on opposite hemispheres of hadronic events. A new, model independent analysis of the data has been made. Two components can be distinguished in the correlation, and quantitative estimates of each are given. The results form a significant test of Monte Carlo models and some of the physics behind them. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

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Search for pair-production of long-lived heavy charged particles in e+e− annihilation

A search for pair-production of long-lived, heavy, singly-charged particles has been performed with data collected by the ALEPH detector at a centre-of-mass energy of 172 GeV. Data at \sqrt{s} = 161, 136, and 130 GeV are also included to improve the sensitivity to lower masses. No candidate is found in the data. A model-independent 95% confidence level upper limit on the production cross section at 172 GeV of 0.2-0.4pb is derived for masses between 45 and 86 GeV/c^2. This cross section limit implies, assuming the MSSM, a lower limit of 67 (69) GeV/c^2 on the mass of right- (left-) handed long-lived scalar taus or scalar muons and of 86 GeV/c^2 on the mass of long-lived charginos.

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Search for charged Higgs bosons in $e^+ e^-$ collisions at centre-of-mass energies from 130 to 172 GeV

Abstract The data collected at centre-of-mass energies ranging from 130 to 172 GeV by ALEPH at LEP, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 27.5 pb−1, are analysed in a search for pair-produced charged Higgs bosons H±. Three analyses are employed to select the τ + ν τ τ − ν τ , c s τ − ν τ and c s s c final states. No evidence for a signal is found. Mass limits are set as a function of the branching fraction B (τν) for H±→τν. Charged Higgs bosons with masses below 52 GeV/c2 are excluded at 95% C.L. independently of B (τν) , thus significantly improving on existing limits.

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Measurement of Ab_FB using inclusive b-hadron decays

Based on a sample of four million events collected by ALEPH from 1991 to 1995, a measurement of the forward-backward asymmetry in Z -> b-barb decays using inclusive final states is presented. High-performance tagging of b-barb events in a wide angular range is achieved using neural network techniques. An optimal hemisphere charge estimator is built by merging primary and secondary vertex information, leading kaon identification and jet charge in a neural network. The average charge asymmetry, the flavour tagging efficiencies and mean b-hemisphere charges are measured from data and used to extract the pole b asymmetry in the Standard Model A^{0,b}_{FB} = 0.1009 +- 0.0027 (stat) +- 0.0015 …

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Search for scalar leptons in e+e- collisions at centre-of-mass energies up to 209 GeV

A search for selectron, smuon and stau pair production is performed with the data collected by the ALEPH detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies up to 209 GeV. The numbers of candidate events are consistent with the background predicted by the Standard Model. Final mass limits from ALEPH are reported.

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Searches for Supersymmetry in the photon(s) plus missing energy channels at $\sqrt{s}$ = 161 GeV and 172 GeV

Searches for supersymmetric particles in channels with one or more photons and missing energy have been performed with data collected by the ALEPH detector at LEP. The data consist of 11.1 pb-1 at $\sqrt{s} = 161 GeV$, 1.1 pb-1 at 170 GeV and 9.5 pb-1 at 172 GeV. The e+e- -> nunu+photon cross section is measured. The data are in good agreement with predictions based on the Standard Model, and are used to set upper limits on the cross sections for anomalous photon production. These limits are compared to two different SUSY models and used to set limits on the neutralino mass. A limit of 71 GeV/c^2 at 95% C.L. is set on the mass of the lightest neutralino ($\tau_{\chi_{1}^{0}} \leq $ 3 ns) fo…

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Search for an invisibly decaying Higgs boson in e+e-collisions at 189 GeV

The data collected in 1998 by ALEPH at LEP at a centre-of-mass energy of 188.6 GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 176.2 pb(-1), are analysed to search for invisible decays of a Higgs boson produced in the reaction e(+) e(-) --> hZ. The number of events found in the data and their properties art: in agreement with the Standard Model expectation. This search results in an improved 95% C.L. lower limit on the Higgs boson mass of 95.4 GeV/c(2), assuming it decays totally invisibly and for a production cross section equal to that of the Standard Model. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

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Measurement of the W mass in e+e− collisions at 183 GeV

Abstract The mass of the W boson is obtained from reconstructed invariant mass distributions in W-pair events. The sample of W pairs is selected from 57 pb−1 collected with the ALEPH detector in 1997 at a centre-of-mass energy of 183 GeV. The invariant mass distributions of reweighted Monte Carlo events are fitted separately to the experimental distributions in the q q q q and all lν q q channels to give the following W masses: m W hadronic =80.461±0.177 (stat.) ±0.045 (syst.) ±0.056 (theory) GeV /c 2 , m W semileptonic =80.326±0.184 (stat.) ±0.040 (syst.) GeV /c 2 , where the theory error represents the possible effects of final state interactions. The combination of these two measurements…

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Measurement of the W-pair cross section in $e^+ e^-$ collisions at 172 GeV

The e(+)e(-) --> W+W- cross section is measured in a data sample collected by ALEPH at a mean centre-of-mass energy of 172.09 GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 10.65 pb(-1). Cross sections are given for the three topologies, fully leptonic, semi-leptonic and hadronic of a W-pair decay. Under the assumption that no other decay modes are present, the W-pair cross section is measured to be 11.7 +/- 1.2(stat.) +/- 0.3(syst.) pb. The existence of the triple gauge boson vertex of the Standard Model is clearly preferred by the data. The decay branching ratio of the W boson into hadrons is measured to be B(W --> hadrons) = 67.7 +/- 3.1(stat.) +/- 0.7(syst.) %, allowing a determinati…

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Single- and multi-photon production in e+e− collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 183 GeV

The production of final states involving one or more energetic photons from e(+)e(-) collisions is studied in a sample of 58.5 pb(-1) of data recorded at a centre-of-mass energy of 183 GeV by the ALEPH detector at LEP. The e(+)e(-) --> v (v) over bar gamma(gamma) and e(+)e(-) --> gamma gamma(gamma) cross sections are measured. The data are in good agreement with predictions based on the Standard Model and are used to set upper limits on the cross sections for anomalous photon production in the context of two supersymmetric models and for various extensions to QED. In particular, in the context of a super-light gravitino model a cross section upper limit of 0.38 pb is placed on the process e…

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Measurement of the Michel parameters and the nu(tau) helicity in tau lepton decays

A measurement of the Michel parameters and the average $\nu_\tau$ helicity in $\tau$ lepton decays is described. The data was collected with the ALEPH detector at LEP during the years 1991 to 1995. A total integrated luminosity of 155\,$\text{pb}^{-1}$ is analysed. The Michel parameters $\rho_l$, $\xi_l$, $(\xi\delta)_l$ ($l=e,\mu$), and $\eta_\mu$ are determined for the leptonic deca ys, and the chirality parameters $\xi_\pi$, $\xi_\rho$, and $\xi_{a_1}$ for the hadronic final states. Under the assumptions of $e$\bis $\mu$ universality and $\xi_\pi=\xi_\rho=\xi_{a_1}$, the values $\rho_l=0.742\pm 0.016, \eta_l=0.01 2\pm 0.026,\break (\xi\delta)_l=0.776\pm 0.051, \xi_l=0.986\pm 0.074$, and …

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Search for invisible Higgs boson decays in e+e- collisions at centre-of-mass energies up to 184 GeV

In a data sample of 78.3 pb(-1) collected in 1996 and 1997 by the ALEPH detector at centre-of-mass energies from 161 to 184 GeV, invisible decays of a Higgs boson have been searched for in the reaction e(+)e(-) --> hZ, where the Z can decay into e(+)e(-), mu(+) mu(-) or . No evidence for a signal is found and limits on the production cross section are derived as a function of the Higgs boson mass. These results are combined with those obtained in an update of the analyses of the ALEPH data taken at LEP 1. For a production cross section equal to that of the minimal standard model Higgs boson, masses below 80 GeV/c(2) are excluded at 95% C.L. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

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Four-jet final state production in $e^+ e^-$ collisions at centre-of-mass energies ranging from 130 to 184 GeV

The four jet topology is analysed in the ALEPH data taken between November 1995 and November 1997, at centre-of-mass energies ranging from 130 to 184 GeV. While an unexpected accumulation of events with a dijet mas sum around 105 GeV/c**2 had been observed during the first run in 1995 at 130/136 GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.7 pb-1, no significant differences between data and standard model prediction is noticed, either in the high energy runs (81.1 pb-1 taken at centre-of-mass energies from 161 to 184 GeV) or in the 7.1 pb-1 recorded during a new short run at 130/136 GeV in 1997. We have found no other explanation for the earlier reported ``four jet anomaly'' than a s…

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