Observation of charmless hadronic B decays

Four candidates for charmless hadronic B decay are observed in a data sample of four million hadronic Z decays recorded by the ALEPH detector at LEP. The probability that these events come from background sources is estimated to be less than 10(-6). The average branching of weakly decaying B hadrons (a mixture of B-d(0), B-s(0) and Lambda(b) weighted by their production The average branching ratio of weakly decaying B hadrons (a mixture of B-d(0) cross sections and lifetimes, here denoted B) into two long-lived charged hadrons (pions, kaons or protons) is measured to be Br(B-->h(+)h(-))=(1.7(-0.7)(+1.0)+/-0.2)x10(-5). The relative branching fraction Br(B-d(s)(0)-->pi(+)pi(-)(K-))/Br(B-d(s)(0)-->h(+)h(-)) is measured to be 1.0(-0.3-0.1)(+0.0+0.0). In addition, branching ratio upper limits are obtained for a variety of exclusive charmless hadronic two-body decays of B hadrons

Four-fermion production in e+e−e^+e^- collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 130 and 136 GeV

Four-fermion events have been selected in a data sample of 5.8 pb−1 collected with the aleph detector at centre-of-mass energies of 130 and 136 GeV. The final states , ℓ+ℓ−ℓ+ℓ−, , and have been examined. Five events are observed in the data, in agreement with the Standard Model predictions of 6.67±0.38 events from four-fermion processes and 0.14−0.05+0.19 from background processes

Determination of sin2 θeff w using jet charge measurements in hadronic Z decays

The electroweak mixing angle is determined with high precision from measurements of the mean difference between forward and backward hemisphere charges in hadronic decays of the Z. A data sample of 2.5 million hadronic Z decays recorded over the period 1990 to 1994 in the ALEPH detector at LEP is used. The mean charge separation between event hemispheres containing the original quark and antiquark is measured for bb̄ and cc̄ events in subsamples selected by their long lifetimes or using fast D*'s. The corresponding average charge separation for light quarks is measured in an inclusive sample from the anticorrelation between charges of opposite hemispheres and agrees with predictions of hadronisation models with a precision of 2%. It is shown that differences between light quark charge separations and the measured average can be determined using hadronisation models, with systematic uncertainties constrained by measurements of inclusive production of kaons, protons and A's. The separations are used to measure the electroweak mixing angle precisely as sin2 θeff w = 0.2322 ± 0.0008(exp. stat.) ±0.0007(exp. syst.) ± 0.0008(sep.). The first two errors are due to purely experimental sources whereas the third stems from uncertainties in the quark charge separations

Operational experience with a large detector system using silicon strip detectors with double sided readout

A large system of silicon strip detectors with double sided readout has been successfully commissioned over the course of the last year at the e+e- collider LEP. The readout of this 73728 channel system is performed with custom designed VLSI charge sensitive amplifier chips (CAMEX64A). An overall point resolution of 12 mum on both sides has been acheived for the complete system. The most important difficulties during the run were beam losses into the detector, and a chemical agent deposited onto the electronics; however, the damage from these sources was understood and brought under control. This and other results of the 1991 data-taking run are described with special emphasis on the operational experience

Measurement of the Very Rare K+→π+νν¯ Decay

The decay K+ -> pi(+)nu(nu) over bar, with a very precisely predicted branching ratio of less than 10(-10), is among the best processes to reveal indirect effects of new physics. The NA62 experiment at CERN SPS is designed to study the K+ -> pi(+)nu(nu) over bar decay and to measure its branching ratio using a decay-in-flight technique. NA62 took data in 2016, 2017, and 2018, reaching the sensitivity of the Standard Model for the K+ -> pi(+)nu(nu) over bar decay by the analysis of the 2016 and 2017 data, and providing the most precise measurement of the branching ratio to date by the analysis of the 2018 data. The final result of the BR(K+ -> pi(+)nu(nu) over bar) measurement from the analysis of the full 2016-2017-2018 data set is presented, and future plans and prospects reviewed

A search for new quarks and leptons from Z0 decay at LEP

A search for Z0 decays into pairs of possible new heavy quarks (t and b′), new heavy charged leptons (L±), stable heavy neutral leptons (νL) and unstable heavy neutral leptons (L0) is performed on data collected by the ALEPH detector corresponding to 11 550 events of Z0→hadrons. The limits on the masses of the heavy quarks are Mt > 45.8 GeV and Mb′ > 46.0 GeV, allowing for both charged-current and flavor-changing neutral-current decays of the b′. If an L± decays into a stable νL, then for MνL MνL. Finally, while the mass of the stable νL is excluded up to 42.7 GeV, the mass of the unstable L0 is excluded up to 45.7 GeV with the mixing parameters |UℓL0|2 down to 10−13 at this mass. For 25.0 GeV < ML0 < 42.7 GeV, all values of |UℓL0|2 are excluded. All limits are given at 95% CL

PRODUCTION OF CHARMED MESONS IN Z DECAYS

The production of charmed mesons D0(-), D+/-, and D*+/- is studied in a sample of 478,000 hadronic Z decays. The production rates are measured to be GAMMA(Z --> D*+/- X)/GAMMA(had) = 0.187 +/- 0.015 (exp.) +/- 0.013 (BR), GAMMA(Z --> D+/- X) = 0.251 +/- 0.026 (exp.) +/- 0.025 (BR), GAMMA(Z --> D0(-) X)/GAMMA(had) = 0.518 +/- 0.052 (exp.) +/- 0.035 (BR), where the errors from this analysis are separated from those coming from the D branching ratios (BR). The D *+/momentum distribution is extracted separately for Z --> cc and Z --> bbBAR events with the help of event shape variables. It is consistent with the prediction of the JETSET Monte Carlo program after adjustment of the charm fragmentation function. Constraining the shape of the Z --> bbBAR contribution, the average fraction of the beam energy taken by a D* meson produced in the fragmentation of a charm quark is extracted by a parametric fit to be [X(E)]c = 0.495 +/- 0.011 +/- 0.007. Evidence for D**0 (D1(2420)0 and/or D2*(2460)0) production is found in the D*+/-pi-/+ channel, accounting for a fraction (18 +/- 5 +/- 2)% of all D*+/- production. The relative production of vector and pseudoscalar mesons is dicussed, together with the possible effects of D** production. The c-quark forward-backward Z-pole asymmetry is determined from that of high momentum D*+/- to be A(FB)0,c = (7.7 +/- 4.4)%