Search for the glueball candidates f0(1500) and fJ(1710) in gamma gamma collisions

Data taken with the ALEPH detector at LEP1 have been used to search for gamma gamma production of the glueball candidates f0(1500) and fJ(1710) via their decay to pi+pi-. No signal is observed and upper limits to the product of gamma gamma width and pi+pi- branching ratio of the f0(1500) and the fJ(1710) have been measured to be Gamma_(gamma gamma -> f0(1500)). BR(f0(1500)->pi+pi-) < 0.31 keV and Gamma_(gamma gamma -> fJ(1710)). BR(fJ(1710)->pi+pi-) < 0.55 keV at 95% confidence level.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Atomic-accuracy prediction of protein loop structures through an RNA-inspired ansatz

Consistently predicting biopolymer structure at atomic resolution from sequence alone remains a difficult problem, even for small sub-segments of large proteins. Such loop prediction challenges, which arise frequently in comparative modeling and protein design, can become intractable as loop lengths exceed 10 residues and if surrounding side-chain conformations are erased. This article introduces a modeling strategy based on a 'stepwise ansatz', recently developed for RNA modeling, which posits that any realistic all-atom molecular conformation can be built up by residue-by-residue stepwise enumeration. When harnessed to a dynamic-programming-like recursion in the Rosetta framework, the resulting stepwise assembly (SWA) protocol enables enumerative sampling of a 12 residue loop at a significant but achievable cost of thousands of CPU-hours. In a previously established benchmark, SWA recovers crystallographic conformations with sub-Angstrom accuracy for 19 of 20 loops, compared to 14 of 20 by KIC modeling with a comparable expenditure of computational power. Furthermore, SWA gives high accuracy results on an additional set of 15 loops highlighted in the biological literature for their irregularity or unusual length. Successes include cis-Pro touch turns, loops that pass through tunnels of other side-chains, and loops of lengths up to 24 residues. Remaining problem cases are traced to inaccuracies in the Rosetta all-atom energy function. In five additional blind tests, SWA achieves sub-Angstrom accuracy models, including the first such success in a protein/RNA binding interface, the YbxF/kink-turn interaction in the fourth RNA-puzzle competition. These results establish all-atom enumeration as a systematic approach to protein structure that can leverage high performance computing and physically realistic energy functions to more consistently achieve atomic resolution.Comment: Identity of four-loop blind test protein and parts of figures 5 have been omitted in this preprint to ensure confidentiality of the protein structure prior to its public releas

Constraints on anomalous QGC's in e+e−e^{+}e^{-} interactions from 183 to 209 GeV

The acoplanar photon pairs produced in the reaction e(+) e(-) - → vvyy are analysed in the 700 pb(-1) of data collected by the ALEPH detector at centre-of-mass energies between 183 and 209 GeV. No deviation from the Standard Model predictions is seen in any of the distributions examined. The resulting 95% C.L. limits set on anomalous QGCs, a(0)(Z), a(c)(Z), a(0)(W) and a(c)(W), are -0.012 lt a(0)(Z)/Lambda(2) lt +0.019 GeV-2, -0.041 lt a(c)(Z)/Lambda(2) lt +0.044 GeV-2, -0.060 lt a(0)(W)/Lambda(2) lt +0.055 GeV-2, -0.099 lt a(c)(W)/Lambda(2) lt +0.093 GeV-2, where Lambda is the energy scale of the new physics responsible for the anomalous couplings

Electroweak measurements in electron–positron collisions at w-boson-pair energies at lep

Contains fulltext : 121524.pdf (preprint version ) (Open Access

Search for the standard model higgs boson at LEP

The four LEP collaborations, ALEPH, DELPHI, L3 and OPAL, have collected a total of 2461 pb−1 of e+ e− collision data at centre-of-mass energies between189 and 209 GeV. The data are used to search for the Standard Model Higgs boson. The search results of the four collaborations are combined and examined in a likelihood test for their consistency with two hypotheses: the background hypothesis and the signal plus background hypothesis. The corresponding confidences have been computed as functions of the hypothetical Higgs boson mass. A lower bound of114.4 GeV/c2 is established, at the 95% confidence level, on the mass of the Standard Model Higgs boson. The LEP data are also used to set upper bounds on the HZZ coupling for various assumptions concerning the decay of the Higgs boson. © 2016, Elsevier. All rights reserved

Tau leptonic branching ratios

A sample of 62249 τ-pair events is selected from data taken with the ALEPH detector in 1991, 1992 and 1993. The measurement of the branching fractions for τ decays into electrons and muons is presented with emphasis on the study of systematic effects from selection, particle identification and decay classification. The results obtained are: Be = 17.79±0.12(stat)±0.06(syst)(%) and Bμ = 17.31±0.11(stat)±0.05(syst)(%). Combined with the most recent. ALEPH determination of the τ lifetime, these results provide a relative measurement of the leptonic couplings in the weak charged current for transverse W bosons: gμ/ge = 1.0002±0.0051 and gτ/gμ = 0.9943±0.0065. © Springer-Verlag 1996

Tau hadronic branching ratios

From 64492 selected τ-pair events, produced at the Z0 resonance, the measurement of the tau decays into hadrons from a global analysis using 1991, 1992 and 1993 ALEPH data is presented. Special emphasis is given to the reconstruction of photons and π0,S, and the removal of fake photons. A detailed study of the systematics entering the π0 reconstruction is also given. A complete and consistent set of tau hadronic branching ratios is presented for 18 exclusive modes. Most measurements are more precise than the present world average. The new level of precision reached allows a stringent test of τ-μ universality in hadronic decays, gτ/gμ = 1.0013 ± 0.0095, and the first measurement of the vector and axial-vector contributions to the non-strange hadronic τ decay width: Rτ,V = 1.788 ± 0.025 and Rτ,A = 1.694 ± 0.027. The ratio (Rτ,V - Rτ,A)/(Rτ,V + Rτ,A), equal to (2.7 ± 1.3) %, is a measure of the importance of QCD non-perturbative contributions to the hadronic τ decay width. © Springer-Verlag 1996