arXiv subjects

G. Abbiendi

Publications and source records attributed to G. Abbiendi.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2001

Measurement of Z/gamma* production in Compton scattering of quasi-real photons

The process e+ e- -> e+ e- Z/gamma* is studied with the OPAL detector at LEP at a centre of mass energy of sqrt(s) = 189 GeV. The cross-section times the branching ratio of the Z/gamma* decaying into hadrons is measured within Lorentz invariant kinematic limits to be (1.2 +/- 0.3 +/- 0.1) pb for invariant masses of the hadronic system between 5 GeV and 60 GeV and (0.7 +/- 0.2 +/- 0.1) pb for hadronic masses above 60 GeV. The differential cross-sections of the Mandelstam variables s-hat, t-hat, and u-hat are measured and compared with the predictions from the Monte Carlo generators grc4f and PYTHIA. From this, based on a factorisation ansatz, the total and differential cross-sections for the subprocess e gamma -> e Z/gamma* are derived.

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arXiv2001

Angular Analysis of the Muon Pair Asymmetry at LEP 1

Data on muon pair production obtained by the OPAL collaboration at centre of mass energies near the Z peak are analysed. Small angular mismatches between the directions of the two muons are used to assess the effects of initial state photon radiation and initial-final-state radiation interference on the forward-backward asymmetry of muon pairs. The dependence of the asymmetry on the invariant mass of the pair is measured in a model-independent way. Effective vector and axial-vector couplings of the Z boson are determined and compared to the Standard Model expectations.

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arXiv2001

Measurement of Vub using b hadron semileptonic decays

The magnitude of the CKM matrix element Vub is determined by measuring the inclusive charmless semileptonic branching fraction of beauty hadrons at OPAL based on b -> Xu l nu event topology and kinematics. This analysis uses OPAL data collected between 1991 and 1995, which correspond to about four million hadronic Z decays. We measure Br(b -> Xu l) to be (1.63 +/- 0.53 +0.55/-0.62) x 10^(-3). The first uncertainty is the statistical error and the second is the systematic error. From this analysis, Vub is determined to be: |Vub| = (4.00 +/- 0.65(stat) +0.67/-0.76(sys) +/- 0.19(HQE)) x 10^(-3). The last error represents the theoretical uncertainties related to the extraction of |Vub| from Br(b -> Xu l) using the Heavy Quark Expansion.

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arXiv2001

Search for Single Leptoquark and Squark Production in Electron-Photon Scattering at sqrt(s_ee) = 189 GeV at LEP

A search for first generation scalar and vector leptoquarks (LQ) as well as for squarks in R-parity violating SUSY models has been performed using e+e- collisions collected with the OPAL detector at LEP at an e+e- centre-of-mass energy sqrt(s_ee) of 189 GeV. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of about 160 pb-1. The dominant process for this search is e q -> LQ/squark -> e q, nu q, where a photon, which has been radiated by one of the beam electrons, serves as a source of quarks. The numbers of selected events found in the two decay channels are in agreement with the expectations from Standard Model processes. This result allows to set lower limits at the 95% confidence level on the mass of first generation scalar and vector leptoquarks, and of squarks in R-parity violating SUSY models. For Yukawa couplings lambda to fermions larger than sqrt{4 pi alpha_em}, the mass limits range from 121 GeV/c^2 to 175 GeV/c^2 (149 GeV/c^2 to 188 GeV/c^2) depending on the branching ratio beta of the scalar (vector) leptoquark state. Furthermore, limits are set on the Yukawa couplings lambda for leptoquarks and lambda'_1jk for squarks, and on beta as a function of the scalar leptoquark/squark mass.

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arXiv2001

Determination of the b Quark Mass at the Z Mass Scale

In hadronic decays of Z bosons recorded with the OPAL detector at LEP, events containing b quarks were selected using the long lifetime of b flavoured hadrons. Comparing the 3-jet rate in b events with that in d,u,s and c quark events, a significant difference was observed. Using Order(alpha_s squared) calculations for massive quarks, this difference was used to determine the b quark mass in the MSbar renormalisation scheme at the scale of the Z boson mass. By combining the results from seven different jet finders the running b quark mass was determined to be mb(MZ) = (2.67 +/- 0.03(stat) +0.29/-0.37(syst) +/- 0.19(theo.)) GeV. Evolving this value to the b quark mass scale itself yields mb(mb) = (3.95 +0.52/-0.62) GeV, consistent with results obtained at the b quark production threshold. This determination confirms the QCD expectation of a scale dependent quark mass. A constant mass is ruled out by 3.9 standard deviations.

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arXiv2001

A Search for a Narrow Radial Excitation of the D*+/- Meson

A sample of 3.73 million hadronic Z decays, recorded with the OPAL detector at LEP in the years 1991-95, has been used to search for a narrow resonance corresponding to the decay of the D*'+/-(2629) meson into D*+/- pi+ pi-. The D*+ mesons are reconstructed in the decay channel D*+ -> D0 pi+ with D0 -> K- pi+. No evidence for a narrow D*'+/-(2629) resonance is found. A limit on the production of D*'+/-(2629) in hadronic Z decays is derived: f(Z -> D*'+/-(2629)) x Br(D*'+ -> D*+ pi+ pi-) < 3.1 x 10^{-3} (95% C.L.)

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arXiv2001

Precision Neutral Current Asymmetry Parameter Measurements from the Tau Polarization at LEP

Measurements of the tau lepton polarization and forward-backward polarization asymmetry near the Z resonance using the OPAL detector are described. The measurements are based on analyses of tau -> e nu_e nu_tau, tau -> mu nu_mu nu_tau, tau -> pi nu_tau, tau -> rho nu_tau and tau -> a1 nu_tau decays from a sample of 144810 e+e- -> tau+ tau- candidates corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 151 pb-1. Assuming that the tau lepton decays according to V-A theory, we measure the average tau polarization near Ecm = MZ to be = (-14.10 +/- 0.73 +/- 0.55)% and the tau polarization forward-backward asymmetry to be Afb = (-10.55 +/- 0.76 +/- 0.25)%, where the first error is statistical and the second systematic. Taking into account the small effects of the photon propagator, photon-Z interference and photonic radiative corrections, these results can be expressed in terms of the lepton neutral current asymmetry parameters: Atau = 0.1456 +/- 0.0076 +/- 0.0057, Ae = 0.1454 +/- 0.0108 +/- 0.0036. These measurements are consistent with the hypothesis of lepton universality and combine to give Al = 0.1455 +/- 0.0073. Within the context of the Standard Model this combined result corresponds to sin^2(theta)(lept,effective) = 0.23172 +/- 0.00092. Combing these results with those from the other OPAL neutral current measurements yields a value of sin^2(theta)(lept,effective) = 0.23211 +/- 0.00068.

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arXiv2001

Measurement of the Branching Ratio for D_s->tau nu_tau Decays

Using about 3.9 million hadronic Z decays from e+e- collisions recorded by the OPAL detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies near MZ the branching ratio for the decay D_s -> tau nu_tau has been measured to be (7.0 +/- 2.1(stat) +/- 2.0 (syst))%. This result can be used to derive the decay constant of the D_s meson: f(D_s) = 286 +/- 44(stat) +/- 41(syst) MeV.

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arXiv2001

A Simultaneous Measurement of the QCD Colour Factors and the Strong Coupling

Using data from e+e- annihilation into hadrons, taken with the OPAL detector at LEP at the Z pole between 1991 and 1995, we performed a simultaneous measurement of the colour factors of the underlying gauge group of the strong interaction, CF and CA, and the strong coupling, alpha(s). The measurement was carried out by fitting next-to-leading order perturbative predictions to measured angular correlations of 4-jet events together with multi-jet related variables. Our results, CA = 3.02 +/- 0.25 (stat.) +/- 0.49 (syst.), CF = 1.34 +/- 0.13 (stat.) +/- 0.22 (syst.), alpha(s)(M_Z) = 0.120 +/- 0.011 (stat.) +/- 0.020 (syst.), provide a test of perturbative QCD in which the only assumptions are non-abelian gauge symmetry and standard hadronization models. The measurements are in agreement with SU(3) expectations for CF and CA and the world average of alpha(s)(M_Z).

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arXiv2001

Searches for prompt light gravitino signatures in e+e- Collisions at sqrt{s}=189GeV

Searches for final states expected in models with light gravitinos have been performed, including experimental topologies with multi-leptons with missing energy, leptons and photons with missing energy, and jets and photons with missing energy. No excess over the expectations from the Standard Model has been observed. Limits are placed on production cross-sections in the different experimental topologies. Additionally, combining with searches for the anomalous production of lepton and photon pairs with missing energy, results are interpreted in the context of minimal models of gauge mediated SUSY breaking. Exclusion limits are established at the 95% confidence level on the supersymmetric particle masses; m-slepton > 83 GeV and m-neutralino > 85 GeV for tan(beta)=2, m-stau > 69 GeV, m-selectron,-smu > 88 GeV and m-neutralino > 76 GeV for tan(beta)=20.

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arXiv2001

Search for the Standard Model Higgs Boson in e+e- Collisions at sqrt(s) = 192-209 GeV

A search for the Standard Model Higgs boson has been performed with the OPAL detector at LEP based on the full data sample collected at sqrt(s) = 192-209 GeV in 1999 and 2000, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 426 pb-1. The data are examined for their consistency with the background-only hypothesis and various Higgs boson mass hypotheses. A lower bound of 109.7 GeV is obtained on the Higgs boson mass at the 95% confidence level. At higher masses, the data are consistent with both the background and the signal-plus-background hypotheses.

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arXiv2000

Precise Determination of the Z Resonance Parameters at LEP : Zedometry

This final analysis of hadronic and leptonic cross-sections and of leptonic forward-backward asymmetries in e+e- collisions with the OPAL detector makes use of the full LEP1 data sample comprising 161 pb^-1 of integrated luminosity and 4.5 x 10^6 selected Z decays. An interpretation of the data in terms of contributions from pure Z exchange and from Z-gamma interference allows the parameters of the Z resonance to be determined in a model-independent way. Our results are in good agreement with lepton universality and consistent with the vector and axial-vector couplings predicted in the Standard Model. A fit to the complete dataset yields the fundamental Z resonance parameters: mZ = 91.1852 +- 0.0030 GeV, GZ = 2.4948 +- 0.0041 GeV, s0h = 41.501 +- 0.055 nb, Rl = 20.823 +- 0.044, and Afb0l = 0.0145 +- 0.0017. Transforming these parameters gives a measurement of the ratio between the decay width into invisible particles and the width to a single species of charged lepton, Ginv/Gl = 5.942 +- 0.027. Attributing the entire invisible width to neutrino decays and assuming the Standard Model couplings for neutrinos, this translates into a measurement of the effective number of light neutrino species, N_nu = 2.984 +- 0.013. Interpreting the data within the context of the Standard Model allows the mass of the top quark, mt = 162 +29-16 GeV, to be determined through its influence on radiative corrections. Alternatively, utilising the direct external measurement of mt as an additional constraint leads to a measurement of the strong coupling constant and the mass of the Higgs boson: alfa_s(mZ) = 0.127 +- 0.005 and mH = 390 +750-280 GeV.

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arXiv2000

A Study of Bs Meson Oscillation Using Ds-Lepton Correlations

From data collected around the Z resonance by the OPAL detector at LEP, a sample of Bs decays was obtained using Ds^-l^+ combinations, where the Ds^- was fully reconstructed in the phi pi-, K*0K- and Ks0K- decay channels or partially reconstructed in the phi l- nu (X) decay channel. These events were used to study Bs oscillation. The flavor (b or bbar) at decay was determined from the lepton charge while the flavor at production was determined from a combination of techniques. The expected sensitivity of the experiment is 4.1 ps-1. The experiment was not able to resolve the oscillatory behavior, and we deduced that the Bs oscillation frequency Delta m_s > 1.0 ps-1 at the 95% confidence level.

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arXiv2000

Charged Multiplicities in Z Decays into u, d, and s Quarks

About 4.4 million hadronic decays of Z bosons, recorded by the OPAL detector at LEP at a centre-of-mass energy of around sqrt(s) = 91.2 GeV, are used to determine the mean charged particle multiplicities for the three light quark flavours. Events from primary u, d, and s quarks are tagged by selecting characteristic particles which carry a large fraction of the beam energy. The charged particle multiplicities are measured in the hemispheres opposite to these particles. An unfolding procedure is applied to obtain these multiplicities for each primary light quark flavour. This yields = 17.77 +- 0.51 +0.86 -1.20, = 21.44 +- 0.63 +1.46 -1.17, = 20.02 +- 0.13 +0.39 -0.37, where statistical and systematic errors are given. The results for and are almost fully statistically anti-correlated. Within the errors the result is consistent with the flavour independence of the strong interaction for the particle multiplicities in events from the light up, down, and strange quarks.

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arXiv2000

Production rate of bb(bar) quark pairs from gluons and bb(bar)bb(bar) events in hadronic Z Decays

The rates are measured per hadronic Z decay for gluon splitting to bb(bar) quark pairs, g_bb, and of events containing two bb(bar) quark pairs, g_4b, using a sample of four-jet events selected from data collected with the OPAL detector. Events with an enhanced signal of gluon splitting to bb(bar) quarks are selected if two of the jets are close in phase-space and contain detached secondary vertices. For the event sample containing two bb(bar) quark pairs, three of the four jets are required to have a significantly detached secondary vertex. Information from the event topology is combined in a likelihood fit to extract the values of g_bb and g_4b, namely g_bb = (3.07 +- 0.53(stat) +- 0.97(syst))x10^-3 g_4b = (0.36 +- 0.17(stat) +- 0.27(syst))x10^-3

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arXiv2000

Investigation of the Decay of Orbitally-Excited B Mesons and First Measurement of the Branching Ratio BR(B_J->Bpi(X))

From about 4 million hadronic Z decays recorded by the OPAL detector on and near to the Z resonance, we select a sample of more than 570000 inclusively reconstructed B mesons. Orbitally-excited mesons B*J are reconstructed using Bpi+- combinations. Independently, B* mesons are reconstructed using the decay B* -> Bgamma. The selected B* candidates are used to obtain samples enriched or depleted in the decay B*J -> B*pi+-(X), where (X) refers to decay modes with or without additional accompanying decay particles. From the number of signal candidates in the Bpi+- mass spectra of these two samples, we perform the first measurement of the branching ratio of orbitally-excited B mesons decaying into B*pi(X): BR(B*J ->B*pi(X)) = 0.85 +0.36-0.37 +- 0.12, where the first error is statistical and the second systematic. If B*J decay modes other than single pion transitions can be neglected the measured ratio corresponds to the branching ratio BR(B*J->B*pi). In the framework of Heavy Quark Symmetry, a simultaneous fit to the Bpi+- mass spectra of the samples enriched or depleted in B*J->B*pi+-(X) decays yields the mass and the width of the B1(3/2) state, as well as the branching ratio of B*J mesons decaying into B*pi: M(B1(3/2)) = (5.738 +0.005-0.006 +-0.007) GeV/c2 G(B1(3/2)) = (18 +15-13 +29-23) MeV/c BR(B*J->B*pi) = 0.74 +0.12-0.10 +0.21-0.15, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.

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arXiv2000

Measurement of the B0 Lifetime and Oscillation Frequency using B0->D*+l-v decays

The lifetime and oscillation frequency of the B0 meson has been measured using B0->D*+l-v decays recorded on the Z0 peak with the OPAL detector at LEP. The D*+ -> D0pi+ decays were reconstructed using an inclusive technique and the production flavour of the B0 mesons was determined using a combination of tags from the rest of the event. The results t_B0 = 1.541 +- 0.028 +- 0.023 ps, Dm_d = 0.497 +- 0.024 +- 0.025 ps-1 were obtained, where in each case the first error is statistical and the second systematic.

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arXiv2000

Measurement of triple gauge boson couplings from WW production at LEP energies up to 189 GeV

A measurement of triple gauge boson couplings is presented, based on W-pair data recorded by the OPAL detector at LEP during 1998 at a centre-of-mass energy of 189 GeV with an integrated luminosity of 183 pb^-1. After combining with our previous measurements at centre-of-mass energies of 161-183 GeV we obtain k_g=0.97 +0.20 -0.16, g_1^z=0.991 +0.060 -0.057 and lambda_g=-0.110 +0.058 -0.055, where the errors include both statistical and systematic uncertainties and each coupling is determined by setting the other two couplings to their SM values. These results are consistent with the Standard Model expectations.

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