446 research outputs found
Search for supersymmetric particles in scenarios with a gravitino LSP and stau NLSP
Sleptons, neutralinos and charginos were searched for in the context of
scenarios where the lightest supersymmetric particle is the gravitino. It was
assumed that the stau is the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle. Data
collected with the DELPHI detector at a centre-of-mass energy near 189 GeV were
analysed combining the methods developed in previous searches at lower
energies. No evidence for the production of these supersymmetric particles was
found. Hence, limits were derived at 95% confidence level.Comment: 31 pages, 14 figure
A synthesis of past, current and future research for protection and management of papyrus (Cyperus papyrus L.) wetlands in Africa
Papyrus wetlands (dominated by the giant
sedge Cyperus papyrus L.) occur throughout eastern,
central and southern Africa and are important for
biodiversity, for water quality and quantity regulation
and for the livelihoods of millions of people. To draw
attention to the importance of papyrus wetlands, a
special session entitled ‘‘The ecology of livelihoods in
papyrus wetlands’’ was organized at the 9th INTECOL
Wetlands Conference in Orlando, Florida in June
2012. Papers from the session, combined with additional
contributions, were collected in a special issue
of Wetlands Ecology and Management. The current
paper reviews ecological and hydrological characteristics
of papyrus wetlands, summarizes their ecosystem
services and sustainable use, provides an
overview of papyrus research to date, and looks at
policy development for papyrus wetlands. Based on
this review, the paper provides a synthesis of research
and policy priorities for papyrus wetlands and introduces
the contributions in the special issue. Main
conclusions are that (1) there is a need for better
estimates of the area covered by papyrus wetlands.
Limited evidence suggests that the loss of papyrus
wetlands is rapid in some areas; (2) there is a need for a
better understanding and modelling of the regulating
services of papyrus wetlands to support trade-off
analysis and improve economic valuation; (3) research
on papyrus wetlands should include assessment of all
ecosystem services (provisioning, regulating, habitat,
cultural) so that trade-offs can be determined as the
basis for sustainable management strategies (‘wise
use’); (4) more research on the governance, institutional
and socio-economic aspects of papyrus wetlands
is needed to assist African governments in
dealing with the challenges of conserving wetlands in
the face of growing food security needs and climate
change. The papers in the special issue address a
number of these issues
Measurement of Trilinear Gauge Couplings in Collisions at 161 GeV and 172 GeV
Trilinear gauge boson couplings are measured using data taken by DELPHI at 161~GeV and 172~GeV. Values for couplings () are determined from a study of the reactions \eeWW\ and \eeWev, using differential distributions from the final state in which one decays hadronically and the other leptonically, and total cross-section data from other channels. Limits are also derived on neutral couplings from an analysis of the reaction \eegi
Search for neutral heavy leptons produced in decays
Weak isosinglet Neutral Heavy Leptons (νm) have been searched for using data collected by the DELPHI detector corresponding to 3.3 × 106 hadronic Z0 decays at LEP1. Four separate searches have been performed, for short-lived νm production giving monojet or acollinear jet topologies, and for long-lived νm giving detectable secondary vertices or calorimeter clusters. No indication of the existence of these particles has been found, leading to an upper limit for the branching ratio BR(Z0 → νmν̄) of about 1.3 × 10-6 at 95% confidence level for νm masses between 3.5 and 50 GeV/c2. Outside this range the limit weakens rapidly with the νm mass. The results are also interpreted in terms of limits for the single production of excited neutrinos. © Springer-Verlag 1997
Study of B0_s anti-B0_s oscillations and B0_s lifetimes using hadronic decays of B0_s mesons
Oscillations of B0s mesons have been studied in samples selected from about
3.5 million hadronic Z decays detected by DELPHI between 1992 and 1995. One
analysis uses events in the exclusive decay channels: B0s -> Ds- pi+ or Ds- a1+
and B0s -> anti-D0 K- pi+ or anti-D0 K- a1+, where the D decays are completely
reconstructed. In addition, B0s anti-B0s oscillations have been studied in
events with an exclusively reconstructed Ds accompanied in the same hemisphere
by a high momentum hadron of opposite charge. Combining the two analyses, a
limit on the mass difference between the physical B0s states has been obtained:
Delta(m_B0s) > 4.0 ps^{-1} at the 95% C.L. with a sensitivity of Delta(m_B0s)
= 3.2 ps^{-1}. Using the latter sample of events, the B0s lifetime has been
measured and an upper limit on the decay width difference between the two
physical B0s states has been obtained:
tau(B0s) = 1.53^{+0.16}_{-0.15}(stat.) +/- {0.07}(syst.) ps
\Delta\Gamma(B0s)/\Gamma(B0s) < 0.69 at the 95% C.L.
The combination of these results with those obtained using Ds+- lepton-+
sample gives:
Delta(m_B0s) > 4.9 ps^{-1} at the 95% C.L.
with a sensitivity of Delta(m_B0s) = 8.7 ps^{-1}.
tau(B0s) = 1.46 +/- 0.11 ps and \Delta\Gamma(B0s)/\Gamma(B0s) < 0.45 at the
95% C.L.Comment: 42 pages, 13 figure
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