Discriminating New Physics Scenarios at NLC: The Role of Polarization

We explore the potential of the Next Linear Collider (NLC), operating in the $e\gamma$ mode, to disentangle new physics scenarios on single $W$ production. We study the effects related with the exchange of composite fermion in the reaction $e\gamma \to W \nu_e$, and compare with those arising from trilinear gauge boson anomalous couplings. We stress the role played by the initial state polarization to increase the reach of this machine and to discriminate the possible origin of the new phenomena.Comment: 26 pages, LaTeX file using ReVTeX. 10 Figure

Excited Leptonic States in Polarized e^-\gamma and e^+ e^- Collisions

We analyze the capability of the next generation of linear electron--positron colliders to unravel the spin and couplings of excited leptons predicted by composite models. Assuming that these machines will be able to operate both in the $e^+e^-$ and $e^-\gamma$ modes, we study the effects of the excited electrons of spin $\frac{1}{2}$ and $\frac{3}{2}$ in the reactions $e^-\gamma \rightarrow e^-\gamma$ and $e^+e^- \rightarrow \gamma\gamma$. We show how the use of polarized beams is able not only to increase the reach of these machines, but also to determine the spin and couplings of the excited states.Comment: 22 pages, RevTeX, 8 figure

Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum