arXiv subjects

The OPAL collaboration

Publications and source records attributed to The OPAL collaboration.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2012

Search for Charged Higgs Bosons in e+e- Collisions at sqrts(s) = 189-209 GeV

A search is made for charged Higgs bosons predicted by Two-Higgs-Doublet extensions of the Standard Model (2HDM) using electron-positron collision data collected by the OPAL experiment at sqrt(s)=189-209 GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 600 pb-1. Charged Higgs bosons are assumed to be pair-produced and to decay into q qbar, tau nu or A W+-. No signal is observed. Model-independent limits on the charged Higgs-boson production cross section are derived by combining these results with previous searches at lower energies. Under the assumption BR(H+- -> tau nu) + BR(H+- -> qq)=1, motivated by general 2HDM type II models, excluded areas on the [m(H+-), BR(H+- -> tau nu)] plane are presented and charged Higgs bosons are excluded up to a mass of 76.3 GeV at 95% confidence level, independent of the branching ratio BR(H+- -> tau nu). A scan of the 2HDM type I model parameter space is performed and limits on the Higgs-boson masses m(H+-) and m(A) are presented for different choices of tan(beta).

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arXiv2007

Measurement of the e+e- -> W+W- cross section and W decay branching fractions at LEP

From a total data sample of 701.1 pb^-1 recorded with e+e- centre-of-mass energies of sqrt = 161-209 GeV with the OPAL detector at LEP, 11693 W-pair candidate events are selected. These data are used to obtain measurements of the W-pair production cross sections at 10 different centre-of-mass energies. The ratio of the measured cross sections to the Standard Model expectation is found to be: data/SM = 1.002 +- 0.011(stat.) +- 0.007(syst.) +- 0.005(theory), where the uncertainties are statistical, experimental systematics and theory systematics respectively. The data are used to determine the W boson branching fractions, which are found to be consistent with lepton universality of the charged current interaction. Assuming lepton universality, the branching ratio to hadrons is determined to be 67.41 +- 0.37(stat.) +- 0.23(syst.)%, from which the CKM matrix element Vcs is determined to be 0.96+-0.017(stat.)+-0.012(syst.). The differential cross section as a function of the W^- production angle is measured for the qqev and qqmv final states. The results described in this paper are consistent with the expectations from the Standard Model.

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arXiv2007

Bose-Einstein study of position-momentum correlations of charged pions in hadronic Z0 decays

A study of Bose-Einstein correlations in pairs of identically charged pions produced in e+e- annihilations at the Z0 peak has been performed for the first time assuming a non-static emitting source. The results are based on the high statistics data obtained with the OPAL detector at LEP. The correlation functions have been analyzed in intervals of the average pair transverse momentum and of the pair rapidity, in order to study possible correlations between the pion production points and their momenta (position-momentum correlations). The Yano-Koonin and the Bertsch-Pratt parameterizations have been fitted to the measured correlation functions to estimate the geometrical parameters of the source as well as the velocity of the source elements with respect to the overall centre-of-mass frame. The source rapidity is found to scale approximately with the pair rapidity, and both the longitudinal and transverse source dimensions are found to decrease for increasing average pair transverse momenta.

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arXiv2007

Search for Direc Magnetic Monopoles in e+e- Collisions with the OPAL Detector at LEP2

This letter describes a direct search for pair produced magnetic monopoles in e+e- collisions. The analysis is based on 62.7 pb^-1 of data collected with the OPAL detector at an average centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s)= 206.3GeV. The monopole signal was assumed to be characterized by two back-to-back particles with an anomalously high ionization energy loss de/dx in the tracking chambers. No evidence for production of monopoles was observed. Upper limits were obtained on the magnetic monopole pair-production cross-section (sigma) in the mass range 45 GeV/c^2<m_M<102 GeV/c^2. The average limit is sigma < 0.05 pb and is essentially independent of the magnetic monopole mass. The cross-section limit is derived at the 95% confidence level and is valid for spin-1/2 magnetic monopoles.

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arXiv2007

Search for invisibly decaying Higgs bosons in e+e- -> Zoho production at sqrt(s) = 183 - 209 GeV

A search is performed for Higgs bosons decaying into invisible final states, produced in association with a Zo boson in e+e- collisions at energies between 183 and 209 GeV. The search is based on data samples collected by the OPAL detector at LEP corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 660 pb-1. The analysis aims to select events containing the hadronic decay products of the Zo boson and large missing momentum, as expected from Higgs boson decay into a pair of stable weakly interacting neutral particles, such as the lightest neutralino in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. The same analysis is applied to a search for nearly invisible Higgs boson cascade decays into stable weakly interacting neutral particles. No excess over the expected background from Standard Model processes is observed. Limits on the production of invisibly decaying Higgs bosons produced in association with a Zo boson are derived. Assuming a branching ratio BR(ho->invisible)=1, a lower limit of 108.2 GeV is placed on the Higgs boson mass at the 95% confidence level. Limits on the production of nearly invisibly decaying Higgs bosons are also obtained.

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arXiv2007

Inclusive Jet Production in Photon-Photon Collisions at sqrt(s_ee) from 189 to 209 GeV

Inclusive jet production (e+e- -> e+e- +jet+X) is studied in collisions of quasi-real photons radiated by the LEP beams at e+e- centre-of-mass energies sqrt see from 189 to 209 GeV. Jets are reconstructed using the kp jet algorithm. The inclusive differential cross-section is measured as a function of the jet transverse momentum, ptjet, in the range 5 <ptjet < 40 GeV for pseudo-rapidities, etaj, in the range -1.5 < etaj < 1.5. The results are compared to predictions of perturbative QCD in next-to-leading order in the strong coupling constant.

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arXiv2006

Inclusive Production of Charged Hadrons in Photon-Photon Collisions

The inclusive production of charged hadrons in the collisions of quasi-real photons e+e- -> e+e- +X has been measured using the OPAL detector at LEP. The data were taken at e+e- centre-of-mass energies from 183 to 209 GeV. The differential cross-sections as a function of the transverse momentum and the pseudorapidity of the hadrons are compared to theoretical calculations of up to next-to-leading order (NLO) in the strong coupling constant alpha{s}. The data are also compared to a measurement by the L3 Collaboration, in which a large deviation from the NLO predictions is observed.

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arXiv2006

Search for Invisibly Decaying Higgs Bosons with Large Decay Width Using the OPAL Detector at LEP

This paper describes a topological search for an invisibly decaying Higgs boson,H, produced via the Bjorken process (e+e- -> HZ). The analysis is based on data recorded using the OPAL detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies from 183 to 209 GeV corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 629pb-1. In the analysis only hadronic decays of the Z boson are considered. A scan over Higgs boson masses from 1 to 120 GeV and decay widths from 1 to 3000 GeV revealed no indication for a signal in the data. From a likelihood ratio of expected signal and Standard Model background we determine upper limits on cross-section times branching ratio to an invisible final state. For moderate Higgs boson decay widths, these range from about 0.07pb Mh = 60GeV) to 0.57pb (Mh = 114GeV). For decay widths above 200GeV the upper limits are of the order of 0.15pb. The results can be interpreted in general scenarios predicting a large invisible decay width of the Higgs boson. As an example we interpret the results in the so-called stealthy Higgs scenario. The limits from this analysis exclude a large part of the parameter range of this scenario experimentally accessible at LEP2.

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arXiv2006

QCD coherence and correlations of particles with restricted momenta in hadronic Z decays

QCD coherence effects are studied based on measurements of correlations of particles with either restricted transverse momenta, pT<pTcut, where pT is defined with respect to the thrust axis, or restricted absolute momenta, p equiv |p| < pcut, using about four million hadronic Z decays recorded at LEP with the OPAL detector. The correlations are analyzed in terms of normalized factorial and cumulant moments. The analysis is inspired by analytical QCD calculations which, in conjunction with Local Parton-Hadron Duality (LPHD), predict that, due to colour coherence, the multiplicity distribution of particles with restricted transverse momenta should become Poissonian as pTcut decreases. The expected correlation pattern is indeed observed down to pTcut approx 1GeV but not at lower transverse momenta. Furthermore, for pcut to 0 GeV a strong rise is observed in the data, in disagreement with theoretical expectation. The Monte Carlo models reproduce well the measurements at large pTcut and pcut but underestimate their magnitudes at the lowest momenta. The e+e- data are also compared to the measurements in deep-inelastic e+p collisions. Our study indicates difficulties with the LPHD hypothesis when applied to many-particle inclusive observables of soft hadrons.

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arXiv2004

Mulit-Photon Events with Large Missing energy in e+e- collisions at sqrt(s)=192-209 GeV

Events with a final state consisting of two or more photons and large missing transverse energy have been observed in e+e- collisions at centre-of-mass energies in the range 192 - 209 GeV using the OPAL detector at LEP. Cross-section measurements are performed within the kinematic acceptance of the selection and compared with the expectation from the Standard Model process e+e- -> nu nu gamma gamma(gamma). No evidence for new physics contributions to this final state is observed. Upper limits on sigma (e+e- -> XX) BR^2(X -> Ygamma) are derived for the case of stable and invisible Y. In the case of massive Y the combined limits obtained from all the data range from 10 fb to 60 fb, while for the special case of massless Y the range is 20 fb to 40 fb. The limits apply to pair production of excited neutrions (X=nu^*,Y=nu), to neutralino production (X=~chi^0_2, Y=~chi^0_1) and to supersymmetric models in which X=~chi^0_1 and Y=~G is a light gravitino.

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arXiv2004

Search for Radions at LEP2

A new scalar resonance, called the radion, with couplings to fermions and bosons similar to those of the Higgs boson, is predicted in the framework of Randall-Sundrum models, proposed solutions to the hierarchy problem with one extra dimension. An important distinction between the radion and the Higgs boson is that the radion would couple directly to gluon pairs, and in particular its decay products would include a significant fraction of gluon jets. The radion had the same quantum numbers as the Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson, and therefore they can mix, with the resulting mass eigenstates having properties different from those of the SM Higgs boson. Existing searches for the Higgs boson are sensitive to the possible production and decay of radions and Higgs bosons in these models. For the first time, searches for the SM Higgs boson and flavour-independent and decay-mode independent searches for a neutral Higgs boson are used in combination to explore the parameter space of the Randall-Sundrum model. In the dataset recorded by the OPAL experiment at LEP, no evidence for radion or Higgs particle production was observed in any of those searches. The results are used to set limits on the radion and Higgs boson masses.

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arXiv2004

Determination of the LEP Beam Energy using Radiative Fermion-pair Events

We present a determination of the LEP beam energy using "radiative return" fermion-pair events recorded at centre-of-mass energies from 183 GeV to 209 GeV. We find no evidence of a disagreement between the OPAL data and the LEP Energy Workings Group's standard calibration. Including the energy- averaged 11 MeV uncertainty in the standard determination, the beam energy we obtain from the OPAL data is higher than that obtained from the LEP calibration by 0+-34(stat.)+-27(syst.)MeV

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arXiv2004

Flavour Independent hA Search and Two Higgs Doublet Model Interpretation of Neutral Higgs Boson Searches at LEP

Upper limits on the cross-section of the pair-production process e+e- -> h0A0 assuming 100% decays into hadrons, are derived from a new search for the h0A0 -> hadrons topology, independent of the hadronic flavour of the decay products. Searches for the neutral Higgs bosons h0 and A0, are used to obtain constraints on the Type II Two Higgs Doublet Model (2HDM(11)) with no CP violation in the Higgs sector and no additional non Standard Model particles besides the five Higgs bosons. The analysis combines LEP1 and LEP2 data collected with the OPAL detctor up to the highest available centre-of-mass energies. The searches are sensitive to the h0, A0 -> qq, gg,tau+tau- and h0 -> A0A0 decay modes of the Higgs bosons. The 2HDM(II) parameter space is explored in a detailed scan. Large regions of the 2HDM(II) parameter space are excluded at the 95% CL in the (mh, mA), (mh, tanb) and (mA, tanb) planes, using both direct neutral Higgs boson searches and indirect limits derived from Standard Model high precision measurements. The region 1 lesssim mh lesssim 55 GeV and 3 lesssim mA lesssim 63 GeV is excluded at 95% CL independently of the choice of the 2HDM(II) parameters.

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arXiv2004

Search for Neutral Higgs Boson in CP-Conserving and CP-Violating MSSM Scenarios

This report summarizes the final results from the OPAL collaboration on searches for neutral Higgs bosons predicted by the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). CP-conserving and for the first time at LEP CP-violating scenarios are studied. New scenarios are also included, which aim to set the stage for Higgs searches at future colliders. The results are based on the data collected with the OPAL detector at e+e- centre-of-mass energies up to 209 GeV. The data are consistent with the prediction of the Standard Model with no Higgs boson produced. Model-independent limits are derived for the cross-section of a number of events topologies motivated by prediction of the MSSM. Limits on Higgs boson masses and other MSSM parameters are obtained for a number of representative MSSM benchmark scenarios. For example, in the CP-conserving scenario mh-max where the MSSM parameters are adjusted to predict the largest range of values for mh at each tan beta, and for a top quark mass of 174.3 GeV, the domain 0.7 84.5 GeV and ma>85.0 GeV are obtained. For the CP-violating benchmark scenario CPX which, by construction, enhances the CP-violating effects in the Higgs sector, the domain tan beta<2.8 is excluded but no universal limit can be set on the Higgs boson masses.

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arXiv2004

Measurement of the Strange Spectral Function in Hadronic tau Decays

Tau lepton decays with open strangeness in the final state are measured with the OPAL detector at LEP to determine the strange hadronic spectral function of the tau lepton. The decays T- ->(Kpi)-nu tau, (Kpipi)-nu tau and (Kpipipi) -nu tau with final states consisting of neutral and charged kaons and pions have been studied. The invariant mass distributions of 93.4% of these final states have been experimentally determined. Monte Carlo simulations have been used for the remaining 6.6% and for the strange final states including eta mesons. The reconstructed strange final states, corrected for resolution effects and detection efficiencies, yield the strange spectral function of the tau lepton. The moments of the spectral function and the ration of strange to non-strange moments, which are important input parameters for theoretical analysis, are determined. Furthermore, the branching fractions B(tau- -> K-pi0nu tau)=(0.471+-0.064stat+_0.022sys)% and B(tau- -> K-pi+pi-nu tau)=(0.415+-0.059stat+-0.031sys)% have been measured.

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arXiv2004

Scaling violations of quark and gluon jet fragmentation functions in e+e- annihilations at sqrt(s) = 91.2 and 183-209 GeV

Flavour inclusive, udsc and b fragmentation functions in unbiased jets, and flavour inclusive, udsc, b and gluon fragmentation functions in biased jets are measured in e+e- annihilations from data collected at centre-of-mass energies of 91.2, and 183-209 GeV with the OPAL detector at LEP. The unbiased jets are defined by hemispheres of inclusive hadronic events, while the biased jet measurements are based on three-jet events selected with jet algorithms. Several methods are employed to extract the fragmentation functions over a wide range of scales. Possible biases are studied in the results are obtained. The fragmentation functions are compared to results from lower energy e+e- experiments and with earlier LEP measurements and are found to be consistent. Scaling violations are observed and are found to be stronger for the fragmentation functions of gluon jets than for those of quarks. The measured fragmentation functions are compared to three recent theoretical next-to-leading order calculations and to the predictions of three Monte Carlo event generators. While the Monte Carlo models are in good agreement with the data, the theoretical predictions fail to describe the full set of results, in particular the b and gluon jet measurements.

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arXiv2004

Study of Bose-Einstein Correlations in e+e- -> W+W- events at LEP

Bose-Einstein correlation between like-sign charged-particle pairs in e+e- -> W+W- events recorded with the OPAL detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies between 183 GeV and 209 GeV are studied. Recently proposed methods which allow direct searches for correlations in the data via distributions of test variables are used to investigate the presence of correlations between hadrons originating from different W bosons in W+W- -> qqqq events. Within the statistics of the data sample no evidence for inter-WW Bose-Einstein correlations is obtained. The data are also compared with predictions of a recent implementation of Bose-Einstein correlation effects in the Monte Carlo model PYTHIA.

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arXiv2004

Constraints on Anomalous Quaric Gauge Boson Couplings from vv gamma gamma and qq gamma gamma events at LEP 2

Anomalous quartic couplings between the electroweak gauge bosons may contribute to the vv gamma gamma and qq gamma gamma final states produced in e+e- collisions. This analysis uses the LEP2 OPAL data sample at centre-of-mass energies up to 209 GeV. Event selections identify vv gamma gamma and qq gamma gamma events in which the two photons are reconstructed within the detector acceptance. The cross-section for the process e+e- -> qq gamma gamma is measured. Averaging over all energies, the ratio of the observed e+e- -> qq gamma gamma cross-section to the Standard Model expectation is R(data/SM) = 0.92 +- 0.07 +- 0.04 where the errors represent the statistical and systematic uncertainties respectively. The vv gamma gamma and qq gamma gamma data are used to constrain possible anomalous W+W- gamma gamma and ZZ gamma gamma couplings. Combining with previous OPAL results from the W+W- gamma final state, the 95% confidence level limits on the anomalous coupling parameters aoz, acz, aow and acw are found to be: -0.007 GeV^-2 < aoz/Lambda^2 < 0.023 GeV^-2 -0.029 GeV^-2 < acz/Lambda^2 < 0.029 GeV^-2 -0.020 GeV^-2 < aow/Lambda^2 < 0.020 GeV^-2 -0.052 GeV^-2 < acw/Lambda^2 < 0.037 GeV^-2 where Lamdba is the energy scale of the new physics. Limits found when allowing two or more parameters to vary are also presented.

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