Cyclotron resonance propulsion system semiannual report no. 1

Cyclotron resonance plasma accelerator for space propulsion application

Investigation of plasma accelerator /cyclotron resonance propulsion system/ Final report

Electron cyclotron resonance plasma accelerators for space propulsion system

New Fermions at e+^+e−^- Colliders: II.~Signals and Backgrounds

We discuss the production, at high--energy e$^+$e$^-$ linear colliders, of new heavy fermions predicted by extensions of the Standard Model. We analyze in great details the various signals and the corresponding backgrounds for both pair production and single production in association with ordinary fermions. Concentrating on new leptons, we use a model detector for e$^+$e$^-$ collisions at a center of mass energy of 500 GeV, to illustrate the discovery potential of the Next Linear Colliders.Comment: 22 pages + 9 figures (not included: available by mail from A. Djouadi), Preprint UdeM-LPN-TH-93-15

Theoretical uncertainties for measurements of alpha_s from electroweak observables

One of the most precise measurements of the strong coupling constant alpha_s(MZ) is obtained in the context of global analyses of precision electroweak data. This article reviews the sensitivity of different electroweak observables to alpha_s and describes the perturbative uncertainties related to missing higher orders. The complete renormalisation scale dependence for the relevant observables is calculated at next-to-next-to-leading order and a new method is presented to determine the corresponding perturbative uncertainty for measurements of alpha_s based on these observables.Comment: v4: Revised version with new tables and figure

Next-to-Leading Order QCD Corrections to Three-Jet Cross Sections with Massive Quarks

We calculate the cross section for $e^+ e^-$ annihilation into three jets for massive quarks at next-to-leading order in perturbative QCD, both on and off the $Z$ resonance. Our computation allows the implementation of any jet clustering algorithm. We give results for the three-jet cross section involving $b$ quarks for the JADE and Durham algorithm at c.m. energies $\sqrt s = m_Z$. We also discuss a three-jet observable that is sensitive to the mass of the $b$ quark.Comment: 11 pages, using revtex; 6 postscript figures included. Figures have been change

Renormalization scale uncertainty in tne DIS 2+1 jet cross-section

The deep inelastic scattering 2+1 jet cross- section is a useful observable for precision tests of QCD, e.g. measuring the strong coupling constant alpha(s). A consistent analysis requires a good understanding of the theoretical uncertainties and one of the most fundamental ones in QCD is due to the renormalization scheme and scale ambiguity. Different methods, which have been proposed to resolve the scale ambiguity, are applied to the 2+1 jet cross-section and the uncertainty is estimated. It is shown that the uncertainty can be made smaller by choosing the jet definition in a suitable way.Comment: 24 pages, uuencoded compressed tar file, DESY 94-082, TSL-ISV-94-009

Next-to-Leading Order Calculation of Four-Jet Shape Variables

We present the next-to-leading order calculation of two four-jet event shape variables, the D parameter and acoplanarity differential distributions. We find large, more than 100% radiative corrections. The theoretical prediction for the D parameter is compared to L3 data obtained at the Z peak and corrected to hadron level.Comment: 11 pages, latex with aps, epsf, rotate styles 3 tables, 3 figures typo in eq. 10 corrected, note and reference added, introduction revise

Strong Coupling Constant from Scaling Violations in Fragmentation Functions

We present a new determination of the strong coupling constant alpha_s through the scaling violations in the fragmentation functions for charged pions, charged kaons, and protons. In our fit we include the latest e+e- annihilation data from CERN LEP1 and SLAC SLC on the Z-boson resonance and older, yet very precise data from SLAC PEP at center-of-mass energy sqrt(s)=29 GeV. A new world average of alpha_s is given.Comment: 10 pages, 3 eps figue

A Precision Calculation of the Next-to-Leading Order Energy-Energy Correlation Function

The O(alpha_s^2) contribution to the Energy-Energy Correlation function (EEC) of e+e- -> hadrons is calculated to high precision and the results are shown to be larger than previously reported. The consistency with the leading logarithm approximation and the accurate cancellation of infrared singularities exhibited by the new calculation suggest that it is reliable. We offer evidence that the source of the disagreement with previous results lies in the regulation of double singularities.Comment: 6 pages, uuencoded LaTeX and one eps figure appended Complete paper as PostScript file (125 kB) available at: http://www.phys.washington.edu/~clay/eecpaper1/paper.htm

High-precision αs\alpha_s measurements from LHC to FCC-ee

This document provides a writeup of all contributions to the workshop on "High precision measurements of $\alpha_s$: From LHC to FCC-ee" held at CERN, Oct. 12--13, 2015. The workshop explored in depth the latest developments on the determination of the QCD coupling $\alpha_s$ from 15 methods where high precision measurements are (or will be) available. Those include low-energy observables: (i) lattice QCD, (ii) pion decay factor, (iii) quarkonia and (iv) $\tau$ decays, (v) soft parton-to-hadron fragmentation functions, as well as high-energy observables: (vi) global fits of parton distribution functions, (vii) hard parton-to-hadron fragmentation functions, (viii) jets in $e^\pm$p DIS and $\gamma$-p photoproduction, (ix) photon structure function in $\gamma$-$\gamma$, (x) event shapes and (xi) jet cross sections in $e^+e^-$ collisions, (xii) W boson and (xiii) Z boson decays, and (xiv) jets and (xv) top-quark cross sections in proton-(anti)proton collisions. The current status of the theoretical and experimental uncertainties associated to each extraction method, the improvements expected from LHC data in the coming years, and future perspectives achievable in $e^+e^-$ collisions at the Future Circular Collider (FCC-ee) with $\cal{O}$(1--100 ab$^{-1}$) integrated luminosities yielding 10$^{12}$ Z bosons and jets, and 10$^{8}$ W bosons and $\tau$ leptons, are thoroughly reviewed. The current uncertainty of the (preliminary) 2015 strong coupling world-average value, $\alpha_s(m_Z)$ = 0.1177 $\pm$ 0.0013, is about 1\%. Some participants believed this may be reduced by a factor of three in the near future by including novel high-precision observables, although this opinion was not universally shared. At the FCC-ee facility, a factor of ten reduction in the $\alpha_s$ uncertainty should be possible, mostly thanks to the huge Z and W data samples available.Comment: 135 pages, 56 figures. CERN-PH-TH-2015-299, CoEPP-MN-15-13. This document is dedicated to the memory of Guido Altarell