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

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

Determination of sin**2 theta(w)(eff) 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 forbb ¯ andcc ¯ events in subsamples selected by their long lifetimes or using fastD*’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 andΛ’s. The separations are used to measure the electroweak mixing angle precisely as sin2ϑweff=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

Inclusive production of neutral pions in hadronic Z decays

A measurement of the inclusive production of pi0 mesons in hadronic Z decays is presented and compared to Monte Carlo model predictions. The analysis is based on approximately 2 million hadronic events recorded with the ALEPH detector at LEP at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 91.2 GeV. Neutral pions are reconstructed using photons from conversion pairs and photons measured in the electromagnetic calorimeter. The inclusive pi0 momentum spectrum is measured in the range from 0.025 < x(p) = p/p(beam) < 1 to be 4.80 +/- 0.07(stat) +/- 0.31(sys). The differential inclusive pi0 cross section has also been measured as a function of transverse momentum with respect to the event plane (p_T^in and p_T^out_T)

Transverse momentum correlations in hadronic Z decays

Using data obtained with the ALEPH detector at the Z resonance, a measure based on transverse momentum is shown to exhibit a correlation between the two halves of a hadronic event which cannot be explained by energy-momentum conservation, flavour conservation, the imposition of an event axis or imperfect event reconstruction. Two possible explanations based on Monte Carlo models are examined: a) ARIADNE, with the correlation forming early in the parton shower and with the transition from partons to hadrons playing only a minor part; b) JETSET, with the correlation forming at the fragmentation stage. A correlation technique based on a jet cluster analysis is used to make a comparison of the models with the data. It is concluded that both non-perturbative and perturbative effects make important contributions to the observed correlation

Measurements of |V(cb)|, form-factors and branching fractions in the decays anti-B0 ---> D*+ lepton- anti-lepton-neutrino and anti-B0 ---> D+ lepton- anti-lepton-neutrino

Two samples of exclusive semileptonic decays, 579 events and 261 events, are selected from approximately 3.9 million hadronic Z decays collected by the ALEPH detector at LEP. From the reconstructed differential decay rate of each sample, the product of the hadronic form factor (ω) at zero recoil of the D(∗)+ meson and the CKM matrix element |Vcb| are measured to be , FD+(1)|Vcb| = (27.8 ± 6.8stat ± 6.5syst) × 10−3. The ratio of the form factors FD+(1) and is measured to be . A value of |Vcb| is extracted from the two samples, using theoretical constraints on the slope and curvature of the hadronic form factors and their normalization at zero recoil, with the result |Vcb| = (34.4 ± 1.6stat ± 2.3syst ± 1.4th) × 10−3. The branching fractions are measured from the two integrated spectra to be %, %

Heavy flavor production and decay with prompt leptons in the ALEPH detector

In 431000 hadronic Z decays recorded with the ALEPH detector at LEP, the yields of electrons and muons in events with one or more prompt leptons have been analysed to give information on the production and decay of heavy quarks. The fractions of b bbar and ccbar events are measured to be 0.219+/-0.006+/-0.005 and 0.165+/-0.005+/-0.020, and the corresponding forward-backward asymmetries at the Z mass are measured to be 0.090+/-0.013+/-0.003 and 0.111+/-0.021+/-0.018, after QED and QCD corrections. Measurements for the semileptonic branching ratios BR(b->l- nu bar X) and BR(b->c->l+ nu X) yield 0.114+/-0.003+/-0.004 and 0.082+/-0.003+/-0.012, respectively. The dilepton events enable measurement of the b mixing parameter, chi=0.114+/-0.014+/-0.008. Results are also presented for the energy variation of the b bbar asymmetry and the parameters required to describe heavy quark fragmentation. From the asymmetry measurements, the effective electroweak mixing angle is sin^2( theta(W)eff)=0.2333+/-0.0022

INCLUSIVE PI(+/-), K+/- AND (P,(P)OVER-BAR) DIFFERENTIAL CROSS-SECTIONS AT THE Z-RESONANCE

Inclusive pi(+/-), K-+/- and (p, (p) over bar) differential cross-sections in hadronic decays of the Z have been measured as a function of z = p(hadron)/p(beam), the scaled momentum. The results are based on approximately 520 000 events measured by the ALEPH detector at LEP during 1992. Charged particles are identified bp their rate of ionization energy loss in the ALEPH Time Projection Chamber. The position, xi*, of the peak in the ln(1/z) distribution is determined, and the evolution of the peak position with centre-of-mass energy is compared with the prediction of QCD

PRODUCTION OF K(0) AND LAMBDA IN HADRONIC Z-DECAYS

Measurements of the inclusive cross-sections for K0 and LAMBDA production in hadronic decays of the Z are presented together with measurements of two-particle correlations within pairs of LAMBDA and K0. The results are compared with predictions from the hadronization models Jetset, based on string fragmentation, and Herwig, based on cluster decays. The K0 spectrum is found to be harder than predicted by both models, while the LAMBDA spectrum is softer than predicted. The correlation measurements are all reproduced well by Jetset, while Herwig misses some of the qualitative features and overestimates the size of the LAMBDALAMBDABAR correlation. Finally, the possibility of Bose-Einstein correlation in the K(S)0K(S)0 system is discussed

K0 production in one prong tau decays

From a sample of about 75000 τ decays identified with the ALEPH detector, K0 production in 1-prong hadronic decays is investigated by tagging the KL0 component in a hadronic calorimeter. Results are given for the final states ντh−K0 and ντh−π0K0 where the h− is separated into π and K contributions by means of the dE/dx measurement in in the central detector. The resulting branching ratios are: (Bτ → ντπ−K0) = (0.88±0.14±0.09)%, (Bτ → ντK−K0) = (0.29±0.12±0.03)%, (Bτ → ντπ−π0K0) = (0.33±0.14±0.07)% aand (Bτ → ντK−π0K0) = (0.05±0.05±0.01)%. The K∗ decay rate in the K0π channel agrees with that in the Kπ0 mode: the combined value for the branching ratio is