0000000000174117
AUTHOR
J. C. Marin
Production of strange particles in the hadronic decays of the Z0
Abstract An analysis of the production of strange particles from the decays of the Z 0 boson into multihadronic final states is presented. The analysis is based on about 90 000 selected hadronic Z 0 decays collected by the DELPHI detector at LEP in 1990. K s 0 , K ∗± , Λ( Λ ) and Ξ − ( Ξ + ) have been identified by their characteristic decays. The measured production cross sections are compared with predictions of the Lund Monte Carlo tuned to data at PEP/PETRA energies.
Constraints on the origin of cosmic rays above 10^18 eV from large-scale anisotropy searches in data of the Pierre Auger Observatory
A thorough search for large-scale anisotropies in the distribution of arrival directions of cosmic rays detected above 10(18) eV at the Pierre Auger Observatory is reported. For the first time, these large-scale anisotropy searches are performed as a function of both the right ascension and the declination and expressed in terms of dipole and quadrupole moments. Within the systematic uncertainties, no significant deviation from isotropy is revealed. Upper limits on dipole and quadrupole amplitudes are derived under the hypothesis that any cosmic ray anisotropy is dominated by such moments in this energy range. These upper limits provide constraints on the production of cosmic rays above 10(…
Ultra-High Energy Neutrinos at the Pierre Auger Observatory
The observation of ultrahigh energy neutrinos (UHE nu s) has become a priority in experimental astroparticle physics. UHE nu s can be detected with a variety of techniques. In particular, neutrinos can interact in the atmosphere (downward-going nu) or in the Earth crust (Earth-skimming nu), producing air showers that can be observed with arrays of detectors at the ground. With the surface detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory we can detect these types of cascades. The distinguishing signature for neutrino events is the presence of very inclined showers produced close to the ground (i.e., after having traversed a large amount of atmosphere). In this work we review the procedure and …
A measurement of the Tau topological branching ratios
Using data collected in the DELPHI detector at LEP-1, measurements of the inclusive tau branching ratios for decay modes containing one, three, or five charged particles have been performed, giving the following results: B_1 = B(\tau^- -> (particle)^- \geq 0pi^0 \geq 0K^0 \nu_\tau(\bar{\nu})) = (85.316 +/- 0.093 +/- 0.049)%; B_3 = B(\tau^- -> 2h^-h^+ \geq 0pi^0 \geq 0K^0 \nu_\tau) = (14.569 +/- 0.093 +/- 0.048)%; B_5 = B(\tau^- -> 3h^-2h^+ \geq 0pi^0 \geq 0K^0 \nu_\tau) = (0.115 +/- 0.013 +/- 0.006)%, where h is either a charged pi or K meson. The first quoted uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic.
Search for exclusive decays of the Lambda_b baryon and measurement of its mass
A search for fully reconstructed \lb beauty baryons is performed using about 3 million Z decays collected with the DELPHI detector at LEP. The analysis relies on the combined use of the accurate tracking and of the hadron identification capabilities of DELPHI. A total of four events has been found, three in the \lc\ppm channel and one in the \lc\a1m channel over a small background. The \lb beauty baryon mass is measured to be (~ 5668 \pm 16~ ({\rm stat.}) \pm 8~({\rm syst.})~)~ \mv.
The Lateral Trigger Probability function for the Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray Showers detected by the Pierre Auger Observatory
In this paper we introduce the concept of Lateral Trigger Probability (LTP) function, i.e., the probability for an Extensive Air Shower (EAS) to trigger an individual detector of a ground based array as a function of distance to the shower axis, taking into account energy, mass and direction of the primary cosmic ray. We apply this concept to the surface array of the Pierre Auger Observatory consisting of a 1.5 km spaced grid of about 1600 water Cherenkov stations. Using Monte Carlo simulations of ultra-high energy showers the LTP functions are derived for energies in the range between 1017 and 1019 eV and zenith angles up to 65. A parametrization combining a step function with an exponenti…
Techniques for measuring aerosol attenuation using the Central Laser Facility at the Pierre Auger Observatory
The Pierre Auger Observatory in Malargue, Argentina, is designed to study the properties of ultra-high energy cosmic rays with energies above 10(18) eV. It is a hybrid facility that employs a Fluorescence Detector to perform nearly calorimetric measurements of Extensive Air Shower energies. To obtain reliable calorimetric information from the FD, the atmospheric conditions at the observatory need to be continuously monitored during data acquisition. In particular, light attenuation due to aerosols is an important atmospheric correction. The aerosol concentration is highly variable, so that the aerosol attenuation needs to be evaluated hourly. We use light from the Central Laser Facility, lo…
First evidence for a charm radial excitation, D
Using D*+ mesons exclusively reconstructed in the DELPHI detector at LEP, an excess of 66 +/- 14(stat.) events is observed in the D(*+)pi(+)pi(-) final state with a mass of 2637 +/- 2(stat.) +/- 6(syst.) MeV/c(2) and a full width smaller than 15 MeV/c(2) (95% C.L.). This signal is compatible with the expected decay of a radially excited D*' (J(P) = 1(-))meson. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Identifying clouds over the Pierre Auger Observatory using infrared satellite data
We describe a new method of identifying night-time clouds over the Pierre Auger Observatory using infrared data from the Imager instruments on the GOES-12 and GOES-13 satellites. We compare cloud. identifications resulting from our method to those obtained by the Central Laser Facility of the Auger Observatory. Using our new method we can now develop cloud probability maps for the 3000 km(2) of the Pierre Auger Observatory twice per hour with a spatial resolution of similar to 2.4 km by similar to 5.5 km. Our method could also be applied to monitor cloud cover for other ground-based observatories and for space-based observatories. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Search for pair production of heavy objects in 4-jet events at sqrt {s}$=130-136 GeV
Results are presented of a search for pair production of heavy objects decaying into four hadronic jets, as expected for example from associated or pair production of MSSM Higgs bosons, hA or H$^+$H$^-$, using a data sample of $5.9\,$pb$^{-1}$ of $e^+ e^-$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=130$-$136\,{\mathrm {GeV}}$ collected with the DELPHI detector at LEP in November 1995. The data and expectations from standard processes agree after four-jet selections. An analysis based on $b$-tagging finds no hA candidate with high mass. A study optimized to search for H$^+$H$^-$ events with mass in the 40-50$\,{\mathrm{GeV}}/c^2$ range also finds no candidate. Finally a comparison is made with a recent ALEPH a…
Measurement of the Proton-Air Cross Section ats=57 TeVwith the Pierre Auger Observatory
We report a measurement of the proton-air cross section for particle production at the center-of-mass energy per nucleon of 57 TeV. This is derived from the distribution of the depths of shower maxima observed with the Pierre Auger Observatory: systematic uncertainties are studied in detail. Analyzing the tail of the distribution of the shower maxima, a proton-air cross section of [505 +/- 22(stat)(-36)(+28)(syst)] mb is found.
Search for point-like sources of ultra-high energy neutrinos at the pierre auger observatory and improved limit on the diffuse flux of tau neutrinos
The surface detector array of the Pierre Auger Observatory can detect neutrinos with energy Eν between 1017 eV and 1020 eV from point-like sources across the sky south of +55º and north of −65º declinations. A search has been performed for highly inclined extensive air showers produced by the interaction of neutrinos of all flavors in the atmosphere (downward-going neutrinos), and by the decay of tau leptons originating from tau neutrino interactions in Earth’s crust (Earth-skimming neutrinos). No candidate neutrinos have been found in data up to 2010 May 31. This corresponds to an equivalent exposure of ∼3.5 years of a full surface detector array for the Earth-skimming channel and ∼2 years…
Large-scale distribution of arrival directions of cosmic rays detected above 1018 eV at the Pierre Auger Observatory
A thorough search for large-scale anisotropies in the distribution of arrival directions of cosmic rays detected above 1018 eV at the Pierre Auger Observatory is presented. This search is performed as a function of both declination and right ascension in several energy ranges above 1018 eV, and reported in terms of dipolar and quadrupolar coefficients. Within the systematic uncertainties, no significant deviation from isotropy is revealed. Assuming that any cosmic-ray anisotropy is dominated by dipole and quadrupole moments in this energy range, upper limits on their amplitudes are derived. These upper limits allow us to test the origin of cosmic rays above 1018 eV from stationary Galactic …
Measurement of the Z$^0$ branching fraction to b quark pairs using the boosted sphericity product
Abstract From a sample of about 120 000 hadronic Z 0 decays, using a technique based on a separation of the different event categories in the boosted sphericity product, the fraction of b b decays has been measured to be 0.219 ± 0.014 (stat)± 0.019 (syst). Using the DELPHI determination of the hadronic Z 0 width, this corresponds to a partial width τ b b = 378 ± 42 MeV (in good agreement with the standard model prediction of ∼-380 MeV). Combining this measurement with the determinations based on events with high p t leptons gives an estimate for the branching ratio of b into leptons at LEP of (11.2 ± 1.2)%, consistent with previous determinations.
Antennas for the detection of radio emission pulses from cosmic-ray induced air showers at the Pierre Auger Observatory.
The Pierre Auger Observatory is exploring the potential of the radio detection technique to study extensive air showers induced by ultra-high energy cosmic rays. The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) addresses both technological and scientific aspects of the radio technique. A first phase of AERA has been operating since September 2010 with detector stations observing radio signals at frequencies between 30 and 80 MHz. In this paper we present comparative studies to identify and optimize the antenna design for the final configuration of AERA consisting of 160 individual radio detector stations. The transient nature of the air shower signal requires a detailed description of the antenna s…
A measurement of the branching fractions of the b quark into charged and neutral b hadrons
The production fractions of charged and neutral b-hadrons in b-quark events from Z0 decays have been measured with the DELPHI detector at LEP. An algorithm has been developed, based on a neural network, to estimate the charge of the weakly-decaying b-hadron by distinguishing its decay products from particles produced at the primary vertex. From the data taken in the years 1994 and 1995, the fraction of bbar-quarks fragmenting into positively charged weakly-decaying b-hadrons has been measured to be: f^+ = (42.09 +/- 0.82 (stat.) +/- 0.89 (syst.))%. Subtracting the rates for charged Xibar_b^+ and Omegabar_b^+ baryons gives the production fraction of B^+ mesons: f_Bu = (40.99 +/- 0.82 (stat.)…
Multiplicity fluctuations in hadronic final states from the decay of the Z0
An analysis of the fluctuations in the phase space distribution of hadrons produced in the decay of 78829 Z0 has been carried out, using the method of factorial moments. The high statistics collected by the DELPHI experiment at LEP during 1990 allowed studies of the event sample both globally and in intervals of p(t) and multiplicity, and for different jet topologies and for single jets. A large contribution to the factorial moments of the one-dimensional data on rapidity with respect to the event axis comes from hard gluons. Details of factorial moments in two and three dimensions are presented. Influences of resonance decays have been studied by Monte Carlo simulation: one-dimensional fac…
Measurement of the spin density matrix for the rho(0), K*(0)(892) and phi produced in Z(0) decays
The spin density matrix elements for the rho(0), K-*0(892) and phi produced in hadronic Z(0) decays are measured in the DELPHI detector. There is no evidence for spin alignment of the K-*0(892) and phi, in the region x(p) less than or equal to 0.3 (x(p) = p/p(beam)), where rho(00) = 0.33 +/- 0.05 and rho(00) = 0.30 +/- 0.04, respectively. In the fragmentation region, x(p) greater than or equal to 0.4, there is some indication for spin alignment of the rho(0) and K-*0(892), since rho(00) = 0.43 +/- 0.05 and rho(00) = 0.46 +/- 0.08, respectively. These values are compared with those found in meson-induced hadronic reactions. For the phi, rho(00) = 0.30 +/- 0.04 for x(p) greater than or equal …
Classification of the hadronic decays of the Z$^0$ into b and c quark pairs using a neural network
A classifier based on a feed-forward neural network has been used for separating a sample of about 123 500 selected hadronic decays of the Z 0 , collected by DELPHI during 1991, into three classes according to the flavour of the original quark pair: u u +d d +s s (unresolved), c c and b b . The classification has been used to compute the partial widths of the Z 0 into b and c quark pairs. This gave Γ c c /Γ h = 0.151 ± 0.008 ( stat. ) ± 0.041 ( syst. ) , Γ b b /Γ h = 0.232±0.005 ( stat. )±0.017 ( syst. ) .
A search for anisotropy in the arrival directions of ultra high energy cosmic rays recorded at the Pierre Auger Observatory
Observations of cosmic ray arrival directions made with the Pierre Auger Observatory have previously provided evidence of anisotropy at the 99% CL using the correlation of ultra high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) with objects drawn from the Véron-Cetty Véron catalog. In this paper we report on the use of three catalog independent methods to search for anisotropy. The 2pt–L, 2pt+ and 3pt methods, each giving a different measure of selfclustering in arrival directions, were tested on mock cosmic ray data sets to study the impacts of sample size and magnetic smearing on their results, accounting for both angular and energy resolutions. If the sources of UHECRs follow the same large scale structu…
Limits on the production of scalar leptoquarks from $Z^0$ decays at LEP
A search has been made for pairs and for single production of scalar leptoquarks of the first and second generations using a data sample of 392000 Z0 decays from the DELPHI detector at LEP 1. No signal was found and limits on the leptoquark mass, production cross section and branching ratio were set. A mass limit at 95% confidence level of 45.5 GeV/c2 was obtained for leptoquark pair production. The search for the production of a single leptoquark probed the mass region above this limit and its results exclude first and second generation leptoquarks D0 with masses below 65 GeV/c2 and 73 GeV/c2 respectively, at 95% confidence level, assuming that the D0lq Yukawa coupling alpha(lambda) is equ…
A Measurement of Sin2-theta-w From the Charge Asymmetry of Hadronic Events At the Z0 Peak
Abstract View references (24)The weak mixing angle has been measured from the charge asymmetry of hadronic events with two different approaches using the DELPHI detector at LEP. Both methods are based on a momentum-weighted charge sum to determine the jet charge in both event hemispheres. In a data sample of 247 300 multihadronic Z0 decays a charge asymmetry of 〈QF〉 - 〈QB〉 = -0.0076±0.0012(stat.)±0.0005(exp. syst.)±0.0014(frag.) and a raw forward-backward asymmetry of Araw FB = -0.0109±0.0020(stat.)±0.0010(exp. syst.)±0.0017(frag.) have been measured. This result corresponds to a value of sinθeff=0.2345±0.0030(exp.)±0.0027(frag.) ,sin2θMS=0.2341±0.0030(exp.)±0. 0027(frag.) and to sin2θW=1-m…
Search for charged Higgs bosons in e^{+}e^{-}$ collisions at √s=172 GeV
This paper presents results on charged Higgs boson production, based on LEP data collected at √s = 172 GeV, that complement the previous DELPHI results obtained at centre of mass energies up to 161 GeV. The charged Higgs bosons are assumed to be pair produced and to decay either into a quark pair or into τVτ. The three different possible final states are included in the analysis. Data from ring imaging Cherenkov and microvertex detectors are used to identify the quarks as a cs pair. The number of candidates found is compatible with the background expected from standard processes. Combining the results of the present analysis with those of the previous analysis at lower energies, a new lower…
Search for neutral MSSM Higgs bosons at LEP
The four LEP collaborations, ALEPH, DELPHI, L3 and OPAL, have searched for the neutral Higgs bosons which are predicted by the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The data of the four collaborations are statistically combined and examined for their consistency with the background hypothesis and with a possible Higgs boson signal. The combined LEP data show no significant excess of events which would indicate the production of Higgs bosons. The search results are used to set upper bounds on the cross-sections of various Higgs-like event topologies. The results are interpreted within the MSSM in a number of "benchmark" models, including CP-conserving and CP-violating scenarios. Thes…
Description of atmospheric conditions at the Pierre Auger Observatory using the Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS)
Atmospheric conditions at the site of a cosmic ray observatory must be known for reconstructing observed extensive air showers. The Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) is a global atmospheric model predicated on meteorological measurements and numerical weather predictions. GDAS provides altitude-dependent profiles of the main state variables of the atmosphere like temperature, pressure, and humidity. The original data and their application to the air shower reconstruction of the Pierre Auger Observatory are described. By comparisons with radiosonde and weather station measurements obtained on-site in Malargüe and averaged monthly models, the utility of the GDAS data is shown.
Bounds on the density of sources of ultra-high energy cosmic rays from the Pierre Auger Observatory
We derive lower bounds on the density of sources of ultra-high energy cosmic rays from the lack of significant clustering in the arrival directions of the highest energy events detected at the Pierre Auger Observatory. The density of uniformly distributed sources of equal intrinsic intensity was found to be larger than similar to (0.06 – 5) x 10(-4) Mpc(-3) at 95% CL, depending on the magnitude of the magnetic defections. Similar bounds, in the range (0.2 – 7) x 10(-4) Mpc(-3), were obtained for sources following the local matter distribution.