Study of the fragmentation of b quarks into B mesons at the Z peak

The fragmentation of b quarks into B mesons is studied with four million hadronic Z decays collected by the ALEPH experiment during the years 1991-1995. A semi-exclusive reconstruction of B->l nu D(*) decays is performed, by combining lepton candidates with fully reconstructed D(*) mesons while the neutrino energy is estimated from the missing energy of the event. The mean value of xewd, the energy of the weakly-decaying B meson normalised to the beam energy, is found to be mxewd = 0.716 +- 0.006 (stat) +- 0.006 (syst) using a model-independent method; the corresponding value for the energy of the leading B meson is mxel = 0.736 +- 0.006 (stat) +- 0.006 (syst). The reconstructed spectra …

Measurements of mean lifetime and branching fractions of b hadrons decaying to J/ψ

From a data sample of 450 000 hadronic events recorded with the ALEPH detector at LEP, 92 +/- 10 events are observed containing a J/psi meson decaying to mu+mu- or e+e-. From these data the measured inclusive branching fraction for a b flavoured hadron to decay to a J/psi is BR(b --> J/psiX) = (1.21 +/- 0.13 (stat.) +/- 0.08 (syst.))%, and the average b hadron lifetime in the events tagged with a J/psi is tau(b) = 1.35(-0.17)+0.19 +/- 0.05 ps. Five events are observed consistent with the exclusive decay B+/- --> J/psiK+/- and from these events the exclusive branching fraction is measured to be BR(B+/- --> J/psiK+/-) = (0.22 +/- 0.10 +/- 0.02)%. Upper limits for other exclusive branching rat…

Two-dimensional analysis of Bose-Einstein correlations in hadronic Z decays at LEP

Single vector boson production in e(+)e(-) collisions at centre-of-mass energies from 183 to 209 GeV

The cross sections for single vector boson production in the Wenu and Zee channels are measured from the data collected by AA the ALEPH detector at LEP for centre-of-mass energies between 183 and 209 GeV. These data correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 683 pb(-1). Single-W production is studied in both hadronic and leptonic decay channels. Hadronic and dimuon decays are used for single-Z production. The measured cross sections agree with the Standard Model predictions.

Properties of Hadronic Z-decays and Test of QCD Generators

Distributions are presented of event shape variables, jet roduction rates and charged particle momenta obtained from 53 000 hadronic Z decays. They are compared to the predictions of the QCD + hadronization models JETSET, ARIADNE and HERWIG, and are used to optimize several model parameters. The JETSET and ARIADNE coherent parton shower (PS) models with running alpha(s) and string fragmentation yield the best description of the data. The HERWIG parton shower model with cluster fragmentation fits the data less well. The data are in better agreement with JETSET PS than with JETSET O(alpha(s)2) matrix elements (ME) even when the renormalization scale is optimized.

A measurement of the b baryon lifetime

In 451 000 hadronic Z0 decays, recorded with the ALEPH detector at LEP, the yields of lambdal- and lambdal+ combinations are measured. Semileptonic decays of b baryons result in a signal of 122 +/- 18(stat.)+22/-23(syst.) lambdal- combinations. From a fit to the impact parameter distribution of the leptons in the lambdal- sample, the lifetime of b baryons is measured to be 1.12+0.32/-0.29(stat.) +/- 0.16(syst.) ps.

Measurement of the cross section for open b-quark production in two-photon interactions at LEP

Deuteron and anti-deuteron production in e+ e- collisions at the Z resonance

Deuteron and anti-deuteron production in Z decays has been observed in the ALEPH experiment at LEP. The production rate of anti-deuterons is measured to be per hadronic Z decay in the anti-deuteron momentum range from 0.62 to 1.03 GeV/c. The coalescence parameter , which characterizes the likelihood of anti-deuteron production, is measured to be in Z decays. These measurements indicate that the production of anti-deuterons is suppressed in collisions compared to that in pp and photoproduction collisions

Evidence for b baryons in Z decays

Abstract In 160 000 hadronic Z decays recorded with the ALEPH detector at LEP, the yields of Λl− and Λl+ combinations have been measured. The observed excess of Λl− over Λl+ of 53±13 is interpreted as evidence for b baryons and their semileptonic decay. Assuming that three body decay processes such as Λ b →Λ c + l − v dominate the semileptonic decay of b baryons, this ex cess corresponds to a product branching ratio BR ( b →Λ b )· BR (Λ b →Λ c + l − v )· BR (Λ c + →ΛX) = (0.95±0.22 ( stat. )±0.21( syst. ))% , where Λb and Λc+ denote the bottom and charm baryons respectively.

Search for CP violation in ZmF ττ

Abstract Using the 18.8 pb−1 of data accumulated at LEP in 1990 and 1991 with the ALEPH detector, a direct test of neutral current CP-invariance is performed by a search for CP-odd correlations in Z decays to τ pairs where both τ decay modes are identified. No evidence for CP-violation is observed. The weak dipole moment of the τ has been measured to be dτ(mZ) = (1.3 ± 1.4 ± 0.1) × 10−17 e·cm which results in an upper limit on the weak dipole moment of |dτ(mZ)| ⩽ 3.7 × 10−17 e·cm with 95% confidence level.

Two-particle correlations in pp, (p)over-bar(p)over-bar and (KSKS0)-K-0 pairs from hadronic Z decays

Two-particle correlations in pp, and pairs have been studied in hadronic Z decays recorded at LEP with the ALEPH detector. The correlations were measured as a function of the four-momentum difference Q of the pair. For pp, pairs a depletion of events is observed in the region , and for pairs an enhancement of events is observed in the region . These features are consistent with expectations from Fermi–Dirac and Bose–Einstein statistics, respectively.

MEASUREMENT OF THE PRODUCTION-RATES OF ETA AND ETA' IN HADRONIC-Z DECAYS

The decays eta --> gammagamma and eta' --> etapi+pi- have been observed in hadronic decays of the Z produced at LEP. The fragmentation functions of both the eta and eta' have been measured. The measured multiplicities for x > 0.1 are 0.298 +/- 0.023 +/- 0.021 and 0.068 +/- 0.018 +/- 0.016 for eta and eta' respectively. While the fragmentation function for the eta is fairly well described by the JETSET Monte Carlo, it is found that the production rate of the eta' is a factor of four less than the corresponding prediction.

Measurement of triple gauge WWγ couplings at LEP2 using photonic events

A study of events with photons and missing energy has been performed with the data sample obtained with the ALEPH detector at centre-of-mass energies from 161 to 184 GeV,corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of about 80 pb**-1.The measured distributions are in agreement with Standard Model predictions, leading to constraints on W W gamma gauge coupling parameters Delta(kappa_gamma) and lambda_gamma. The results from the fit to the cross sectionsand to the energy and angular distributions of the photons are: Delta(kappa_gamma) = 0.05 +1.15/-1.10 (stat) +/- 0.25 (syst) lambda_gamma = 0.05 +1.55/-1.45 (stat) +/- 0.30 (syst) A study of events with photons and missing energy has been pe…

Search for Single Top Production in $e^{+} e^{-}$ Collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ up to 209 GeV

Single top production via the flavour changing neutral current reactions e+e- -> \bar{t}c, \bar{t}u is searched for within the 214 pb-1 of data collected by ALEPH at centre-of-mass energies between 204 and 209 GeV. No deviation from the Standard Model expectation is observed and upper limits on the single top production cross sections are derived. The combination with data collected at lower centre-of-mass energies yields an upper limit on the branching ratio BR(t -> Zc)+BR(t -> Zu) 14%, for BR(t -> ��c)+BR(t -> ��u)= 0 and mt=174 GeV/c2.

Bose-Einstein correlations in W-pair decays with an event-mixing technique

Bose-Einstein correlations in W-pair decays are studied using data collected by the ALEPH detector at LEP at e+e- centre-of-mass energies from 183 to 209 GeV. The analysis is based on the comparison of WW→qq̄qq̄ events to "mixed" events constructed with the hadronic part of WW→qq̄ℓν events. The data are in agreement with the hypothesis that Bose-Einstein correlations are present only for pions from the same W decay. The JETSET model with Bose-Einstein correlations between pions from different W bosons is disfavoured.

Improved measurement of the triple gauge-boson couplings gamma WW and ZWW in e(+)e(-) collisions

Triple gauge-boson couplings ?WW and ZWW involving single-photon, single-W and W-pair production are determined using data samples collected at LEP with the ALEPH detector at centre-of-mass energies between 183 and 209 GeV. The integrated luminosity used is 700 pb-1 for the single-photon measurement and 683 pb-1 for the W channels. Restricting the measurement to C- and P-conserving terms and applying local SU(2) L×U(1)Y gauge invariance, the measured values of the parameters g1 Z, ?? and ?? are: g1 Z=1.001±0. 027(stat)±0.013(syst), ??=0.971±0.055(stat) ±0.030(syst), ??=-0.012±0.027(stat) ±0.011(syst) for single-parameter fits, where the two other parameters are fixed to their Standard Model…

AN INVESTIGATION INTO INTERMITTENCY

The results of an investigation based on ALEPH data, e+ e- --> hadrons at square-root s = 91 GeV, into fluctuations in rapidity space are presented. It is found that the behaviour of the factorial moments is well represented by the Lund parton shower model. An estimate is made of the scale of fluctuations needed to describe the data. Differential moments are introduced and are used to demonstrate that within the average represented by the traditional factorial moments the pattern of fluctu10.1007/BF01483869ations is itself a strong function of rapidity. This pattern is shown to be primarily associated with the emission of hard gluons. The implied structure between the hadron clusters and pa…