0000000000201452
AUTHOR
P Maley
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.
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.
An upper limit for the τ neutrino mass from τ → 5π(π0)ντ decays
An upper limit for the tau-neutrino mass has been determined from the decay tau -> 5pi+- \nu_tau using data collected with the OPAL detector from 1991 to 1995 in e+e- collisions at \sqrt{s} ~ M_Z. A limit of 43.2 MeV at 95% CL is obtained using a two-dimensional method in the 5pi invariant mass and energy distribution from 22 selected events. Combining this result with OPAL's previously published measurement using tau+tau- -> 3h+- \bar{nu}_tau 3h-+ \nu_tau decays, a new combined limit of m_{nu_tau} < 27.6 MeV (95% CL) is obtained.
MEASUREMENT OF ALPHA(S) FROM SCALING VIOLATIONS IN FRAGMENTATION FUNCTIONS IN E(+)E(-) ANNIHILATION
A study of scaling violations in fragmentation functions performed by the ALEPH collaboration at LEP is presented. Data samples enriched in uds, c, b and gluon jets, respectively, together with measurements of the longitudinal and transverse inclusive cross sections are used to extract the fragmentation function for the gluon and for each flavour. The measurements are compared to data from experiments at energies between 22 GeV and 91 GeV and scaling violations consistent with QCD predictions are observed. From this, a measurement of the strong coupling constant alpha(s) (M(z)) = 0.126 +/- 0.009 is obtained.
A measurement of |Vcb| from
Abstract From approximately 3 million hadronic decays of Z bosons recorded with the aleph detector at lep , a sample of 410 ± 32 B 0 → D ∗+ l − ν l candidates is selected, where l is either an electron or a muon. The differential decay rate dΓ ( B 0 → D ∗+ l − ν l ) dω from this sample is fitted, yielding a value for the product of the CKM matrix element |Vcb| and the normalisation of the decay form factor at the point of zero recoil of the D∗+ meson F (ω = 1)|Vcb| = (31.4 ± 2.3stat ± 2.5syst) × 10−3. A value for |Vcb| is extracted using theoretical calculations of the form factor normalisation, with the result |Vcb| = (34.5 ± 2.5stat ± 2.7syst ± 1.5theory) × 10−3. From the integrated s the…
A study of D*+π- production in semileptonic B decay
Abstract In a sample of 1.5 million hadronic decays of the Z collected by the ALEPH detector, a search is carried out for the decays B → D 1 0 (2420)l − ν X and B → D 2 ∗0 (2460)l − ν X . The product branching ratio for D10 production is measured to be Br (b → B ) × Br( B → D 1 0 l − ν X) × Br(D 1 0 → D ∗+ π − ) = (2.04 ± 0.58 stat ± 0.34 syst ) × 10 −3 , and a 95% confidence level limit of Br(b → B ) × Br( B → D 2 ∗0 l − ν X) × Br(D 2 ∗0 → D ∗+ π − ) ≤ 0.81 × 10 −3 is obtained for D2∗0 production. A topological search sensitive to the processes above, but also to wide resonances that decay to D ∗+ π − and to non-resonant D ∗+ π − production is also carried out, yielding Br(b→ B ) ×Br( B →D…
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.
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…
Measurement of the Bs0 lifetime and production rate with Ds−ℓ+ combinations in Z decays
Abstract The lifetime of the Bs0 meson is measured in approximately 3 million hadronic Z decays accumulated using the ALEPH detector at LEP from 1991 to 1994. Seven different Ds− decay modes were reconstructed and combined with an opposite sign lepton as evidence of semileptonic Bs0 decays. Two hundred and eight Ds−l+ candidates satisfy selection criteria designed to ensure precise proper time reconstruction and yield a measured Bs0 lifetime of τ(Bs0) = 1.59−0.15+0.17 (stat) ±0.03 (syst) ps. Using a larger, less constrained sample of events, the product branching ratio is measured to be Br ( b → B s 0 ) · Br(B s 0 → D s − l + νX) = 0.82 ± 0.09 (stat) −0.14+0.13 (syst) %.
The topology dependence of charged particle multiplicities in three-jet events
A study of individual jet and whole-event charged particle multiplicities in three-jet events measured in e(+)e(-) annihilation at the Z reveals a significant topology dependence. Mean jet multiplicities are inadequately described by jet energies; interjet angles must also be specified. Quantitative tests suggest that it is necessary to use transverse-momentum-like scales to describe the data. RI ANTONELLI, ANTONELLA/C-6238-2011; Passalacqua, Luca/F-5127-2011; Murtas, Fabrizio/B-5729-2012; St.Denis, Richard/C-8997-2012; Sanchez, Federico/F-5809-2012; Forti, Francesco/H-3035-2011; Ferrante, Isidoro/F-1017-2012
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.
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…
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…
Study of the four-fermion final state at the Z resonance
The process e+e−→, where l is a charged or a neutral lepton and f any charged fermion, is analyzed. The study uses the ALEPH data collected at LEP from 1989 to 1993 at centre-of-mass energies between 88 and 95 GeV, corresponding to almost two million hadronic Z decays and to a total integrated luminosity of 79 pb−1. For all channels, the data agree well with the standard model expectation both in shape and normalization. The indication of an excess in the\(e^ + e^ - \to \tau ^ + \tau ^ - f\bar f\) channel, reported by ALEPH in 1991, is not confirmed.
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…
A measurement of Rb using mutually exclusive tags
A measurement of R-b using five mutually exclusive hemisphere tags has been performed by ALEPH using the full LEP1 statistics. Three tags are designed to select the decay of the Z(0) to b quarks, while the remaining two select Z(0) decays to c and light quarks, and are used to measure the tagging efficiencies. The result, R-b = 0.2159 +/- 0.0009(stat) +/-0.0011(syst), is in agreement with the electroweak theory prediction of 0.2158 +/- 0.0003. (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. RI ANTONELLI, ANTONELLA/C-6238-2011; Passalacqua, Luca/F-5127-2011; Murtas, Fabrizio/B-5729-2012; St.Denis, Richard/C-8997-2012; Forti, Francesco/H-3035-2011; Ferrante, Isidoro/F-1017-2012
Precision electroweak measurements on the Z resonance
We report on the final electroweak measurements performed with data taken at the Z resonance by the experiments operating at the electron-positron colliders SLC and LEP. The data consist of 17 million Z decays accumulated by the ALEPH, DELPHI, L3 and OPAL experiments at LEP, and 600 thousand Z decays by the SLD experiment using a polarised beam at SLC. The measurements include cross-sections, forward-backward asymmetries and polarised asymmetries. The mass and width of the Z boson, $\MZ$ and $\GZ$, and its couplings to fermions, for example the $\rho$ parameter and the effective electroweak mixing angle, are precisely measured. The number of light neutrino species is determined to be 2.9840…
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.
A measurement of the QCD colour factors and a limit on the light gluino
Using data collected from 1992 to 1995 with the ALEPH detector at LEP, a measurement of the colour factor ratios C-A/C-F and T-F/C-F and the strong coupling constant = C-F alpha(s), (M-Z)/(2 pi) has been performed by fitting theoretical predictions simultaneously to the measured differential two-jet rate and angular distributions in four-jet events. The result is found to be in excellent agreement with QCD. C-A/C-F = 2.20 +/- 0.09 (stat) +/- 0.13 (syst), T-F/C-F = 0.29 +/- 0.05 (stat) +/- 0.06 (syst). Fixing C-A/C-F and T-F/C-F to the QCD values permits a determination of alpha(s) (M-Z) and n(f), the number of active flavours. With this measurement the existence of a gluino with mass below …
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…
Search for supersymmetric particles with R-parity violation in Z decays
Searches for supersymmetric particles produced in e(+)e(-) interactions at the Z peak have been performed under the assumptions that R-parity is not conserved, that the dominant R-parity violating coupling involves only leptonic fields, and that the lifetime of the lightest supersymmetric particle can be neglected. In a data sample collected by the ALEPH detector at LEP up to 1993, and corresponding to almost two million hadronic Z decays, no signal was observed. As a result, supersymmetric particle masses and couplings are at least as well constrained as under the usual assumption of R-parity conservation.
Measurement of the transverse spin correlations in the decay Z → τ+τ-
For tau leptons produced in e(+)e(-) --> tau(+)tau(-) interactions there are, in addition to the longitudinal spin correlations, two independent transverse spin correlations associated with the transverse (within the production plane) and normal (to the production plane) polarization components. A measurement of the transverse-transverse and transverse-normal tau spin correlations in the decay Z --> tau(+)tau(-), C-TT and C-TN, is presented based on the aplanarity angle of the decay products of both tau leptons. Using 80 pb(-1) of data collected by ALEPH on the peak of the Z resonance, the results are C-TT = 1.06 +/- 0.13(stat) +/- 0.05(syst), and C-TN = 0.08 +/- 0.13(stat) +/- 0.04(syst). …