The Pomeron structure and diffractive parton distributions

Measurements of the diffractive structure function, $F_2^D$, of the proton at HERA are used to extract the partonic structure of the Pomeron. Regge Factorization is tested and is found to describe well the existing data within the selected kinematic range. The analysis is based on the next to leading order QCD evolution equations. The results obtained from various data sets are compared. An analysis of the uncertainties in determining the parton distributions is provided. The probability of diffraction is calculated using the obtained results.Comment: Talk presented at DIS05, Madison, Wisconsi

Neural Network based Electron Identification in the ZEUS Calorimeter

We present an electron identification algorithm based on a neural network approach applied to the ZEUS uranium calorimeter. The study is motivated by the need to select deep inelastic, neutral current, electron proton interactions characterized by the presence of a scattered electron in the final state. The performance of the algorithm is compared to an electron identification method based on a classical probabilistic approach. By means of a principle component analysis the improvement in the performance is traced back to the number of variables used in the neural network approach.Comment: 20 pages, latex, 16 figures appended as uuencoded fil

An Orientation Selective Neural Network and its Application to Cosmic Muon Identification

We propose a novel method for identification of a linear pattern of pixels on a two-dimensional grid. Following principles employed by the visual cortex, we employ orientation selective neurons in a neural network which performs this task. The method is then applied to a sample of data collected with the ZEUS detector at HERA in order to identify cosmic muons which leave a linear pattern of signals in the segmented uranium-scintillator calorimeter. A two dimensional representation of the relevant part of the detector is used. The results compared with a visual scan point to a very satisfactory cosmic muon identification. The algorithm performs well in the presence of noise and pixels with limited efficiency. Given its architecture, this system becomes a good candidate for fast pattern recognition in parallel processing devices.Comment: 19 pages, 10 Postrcipt figure

Diffraction and the Pomeron

Recent experimental results on inclusive diffractive scattering and on exclusive vector meson production are reviewed. The dynamical picture of hard diffraction emerging in perturbative QCD is highlighted.Comment: 25 pages, 21 postscript figures, contribution to the XIX International Symposium on Lepton and Photon Interactions at High Energies, Stanford University, August 9-14, 199

The HERA challenges for LHC

Over the last two decades, the HERA collider has provided a large amount of new information about QCD dynamics at high energy. While the most appreciated are the measurements of the proton structure functions in a wide range of parton momentum x and virtuality Q^2, it is hard to believe that some of the observations at HERA which do not fit the simple picture of DGLAP dynamics would not get amplified at the LHC, possibly rendering certain approaches to searches beyond the Standard Model inadequate.Comment: 19 pages, 15 figures, Talk presented at the 2009 Epiphany meeting, Cracow, Jan 5-7, 2009, dedicated to the memory of Jan Kwiecinsk

Production of Z0 bosons in elastic and quasi-elastic ep collisions at HERA

Artículo escrito por un elevado número de autores, solo se referencian el que aparece en primer lugar, el nombre del grupo de colaboración, si le hubiere, y los autores pertenecientes a la UAMThe production of Z0 bosons in the reaction ep →eZ0 p(∗), where p(∗) stands for a proton or a lowmass nucleon resonance, has been studied in ep collisions at HERA using the ZEUS detector. The analysis is based on a data sample collected between 1996 and 2007, amounting to 496 pb−1 of integrated luminosity. The Z0 was measured in the hadronic decay mode. The elasticity of the events was ensured by a cut on ηmax < 3.0, where ηmax is the maximum pseudorapidity of energy deposits in the calorimeter defined with respect to the proton beam direction. A signal was observed at the Z0 mass. The cross section of the reaction ep → eZ0 p(∗) was measured to be σ(ep → eZ0 p(∗)) =0.13 ± 0.06(stat.) ± 0.01(syst.) pb, in agreement with the Standard Model prediction of 0.16 pb. This is the first measurement of Z0 production in ep collisionsWe appreciate the contributions to the construction and maintenance of the ZEUS detector of many people who are not listed as authors. The HERA machine group and the DESY computing staff are especially acknowledged for their success in providing excellent operation of the collider and the data-analysis environment. We thank the DESY directorate for their strong support and encouragemen