D0 Top Quark Results and their Dependence on Successful Grid Computing

The heaviest known Fermion particle -- the top quark -- was discovered at Fermilab in the first run of the Tevatron in 1995. However, besides its mere existence one needs to study its properties precisely in order to verify or falsify the predictions of the Standard Model. With the top quark's extremely high mass and short lifetime such measurements probe yet unexplored regions of the theory and bring us closer to solving the open fundamental questions of our universe of elementary particles such as why three families of quarks and leptons exist and why their masses differ so dramatically. To perform these measurements hundreds of millions of recorded proton-antiproton collisions must be reconstructed and filtered to extract the few top quarks produced. Simulated background and signal events with full detector response need to be generated and reconstructed to validate and understand the results. Since the start of the second run of the Tevatron the D0 collaboration has brought Grid computing to its aid for the production of simulated events. Data processing on the Grid has recently been added and thereby enabled us to effectively triple the amount of data available with the highest quality reconstruction methods. We will present recent top quark results D0 obtained from these improved data and explain how they benefited from the availability of computing resources on the Grid.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, Invited talk at SciDAC2005, San Francisco, CA, 26-30 June 200

Inclusive Jet Production, Parton Distributions, and the Search for New Physics

Jet production at the Tevatron probes some of the smallest distance scales currently accessible. A gluon distribution that is enhanced at large x compared to previous determinations provides a better description of the Run 1b jet data from both CDF and D0. However, considerable uncertainty still remains regarding the gluon distribution at high x. In this paper, we examine the effects of this uncertainty, and of the remaining uncertainties in the NLO QCD theory, on jet cross section comparisons to Run 1b data. We also calculate the range of contributions still possible from any new physics. Predictions are also made for the expanded kinematic range expected for the ongoing Run 2 at the Tevatron and for the LHC.Comment: 50 pages, 31 figures, RevTe

Measurement of the differential cross section for the production of an isolated photon with associated jet in \u3ci\u3epp\u3c/i\u3e collisions at √s = 1.96 TeV

The process pp → γ + jet + X is studied using 1.0 fb−1 of data collected by the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron pp collider at a center-of-mass energy √s = 1.96 TeV. Photons are reconstructed in the central rapidity region |yγ | \u3c 1.0 with transverse momenta in the range 30 \u3c pγT \u3c 400 GeV while jets are reconstructed in either the central |yjet| \u3c 0.8 or forward 1.5 \u3c |yjet| \u3c 2.5 rapidity intervals with pjetT \u3e 15 GeV. The differential cross section d3σ/dpγT dyγ dyjet is measured as a function of pγT in four regions, differing by the relative orientations of the photon and the jet in rapidity. Ratios between the differential cross sections in each region are also presented. Next-to-leading order QCD predictions using different parameterizations of parton distribution functions and theoretical scale choices are compared to the data. The predictions do not simultaneously describe the measured normalization and pγT dependence of the cross section in the four measured regions

Search for Large Extra Dimensions via Single Photon plus Missing Energy Final States at √\u3ci\u3es\u3c/i\u3e = 1.96 TeV

We report on a search for large extra dimensions in a data sample of approximately 1 fb-1 of pp collisions at √s = 1.96 TeV.We investigate Kaluza-Klein graviton production with a photon and missing transverse energy in the final state. At the 95% C.L. we set limits on the fundamental mass scale MD from 884 to 778 GeV for two to eight extra dimensions

Evidence for production of single top quarks

We present first evidence for the production of single top quarks in the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron pp collider. The standard model predicts that the electroweak interaction can produce a top quark together with an anti-bottom quark or light quark, without the antiparticle top-quark partner that is always produced from strong-coupling processes. Top quarks were first observed in pair production in 1995, and since then, single top-quark production has been searched for in ever larger data sets. In this analysis, we select events from a 0.9 fb-1 data set that have an electron or muon and missing transverse energy from the decay of a W boson from the top-quark decay, and two, three, or four jets, with one or two of the jets identified as originating from a b hadron decay. The selected events are mostly backgrounds such as W + jets and tt events, which we separate from the expected signals using three multivariate analysis techniques: boosted decision trees, Bayesian neural networks, and matrix-element calculations. A binned likelihood fit of the signal cross section plus background to the data from the combination of the results from the three analysis methods gives a cross section for single top-quark production of σ(pp Y→ tb + X, tqb + X) = 4.7 ± 1:3 pb. The probability to measure a cross section at this value or higher in the absence of signal is 0.014%, corresponding to a 3.6 standard deviation significance. The measured cross section value is compatible at the 10% level with the standard model prediction for electroweak top-quark production. We use the cross section measurement to directly determine the Cabibbo-Kobayashi- Maskawa quark mixing matrix element that describes the Wtb coupling and find |VtbƒL1 | = 1.31-0.21+0.25 , where ƒL1 is a generic vector coupling. This model-independent measurement translates into 0.68 \u3c |Vtb| ≤ 1 at the 95% C.L. in the standard model

Evidence for production of single top quarks

We present first evidence for the production of single top quarks in the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron pp collider. The standard model predicts that the electroweak interaction can produce a top quark together with an anti-bottom quark or light quark, without the antiparticle top-quark partner that is always produced from strong-coupling processes. Top quarks were first observed in pair production in 1995, and since then, single top-quark production has been searched for in ever larger data sets. In this analysis, we select events from a 0.9 fb-1 data set that have an electron or muon and missing transverse energy from the decay of a W boson from the top-quark decay, and two, three, or four jets, with one or two of the jets identified as originating from a b hadron decay. The selected events are mostly backgrounds such as W + jets and tt events, which we separate from the expected signals using three multivariate analysis techniques: boosted decision trees, Bayesian neural networks, and matrix-element calculations. A binned likelihood fit of the signal cross section plus background to the data from the combination of the results from the three analysis methods gives a cross section for single top-quark production of σ(pp Y→ tb + X, tqb + X) = 4.7 ± 1:3 pb. The probability to measure a cross section at this value or higher in the absence of signal is 0.014%, corresponding to a 3.6 standard deviation significance. The measured cross section value is compatible at the 10% level with the standard model prediction for electroweak top-quark production. We use the cross section measurement to directly determine the Cabibbo-Kobayashi- Maskawa quark mixing matrix element that describes the Wtb coupling and find |VtbƒL1 | = 1.31-0.21+0.25 , where ƒL1 is a generic vector coupling. This model-independent measurement translates into 0.68 \u3c |Vtb| ≤ 1 at the 95% C.L. in the standard model

Physics Beyond the Standard Model

I briefly summarize the prospects for extending our understanding of physics beyond the standard model within the next five years.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, LaTeX. Presented at the 1999 UK Phenomenology Workshop, Durham, September 1999. To be published in Journal of Physics

Electroweak Physics at LHC

The prospects for electroweak physics at the LHC are reviewed focusing mainly on precision studies. This includes projections for measurements of the effective Z pole weak mixing angle, of top quark, W boson, and Higgs scalar properties, and new physics searches

Nuclear suppression of heavy quark production at forward rapidities in relativistic heavy ion collisions

We calculate nuclear suppression $R_{AA}$ of heavy quarks produced from the initial fusion of partons in nucleus-nucleus collisions at RHIC and LHC energies. We take the shadowing as well as the energy loss suffered by them while passing through Quark Gluon Plasma into account. We obtain results for charm and bottom quarks at several rapidities using different mechanisms for energy loss, to see if we can distinguish between them.Comment: 21 pages including 13 figures. To appear in J. Phys.

Multiple photon corrections to the neutral-current Drell-Yan process

Precision studies of single W and Z production processes at hadron colliders require progress in the calculation of electroweak radiative corrections. To this end, higher-order QED corrections to the neutral-current Drell-Yan process, due to multiple photon radiation in Z leptonic decays, are calculated. Particular attention is paid to the effects induced by such corrections on the experimental observables which are relevant for high-precision measurements of the W-boson mass at the Tevatron Run II and the LHC. The calculation is implemented in the Monte Carlo event generator HORACE, which is available for data analysis.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, JHEP3 styl