A Remark on the Z0→bbˉZ^0 \to b\bar b Width

The $Z^0 \to b\bar b$ width, $\Gamma_b$, is analysed in conjunction with the total and hadronic $Z^0$ widths, $\Gamma_T$ and $\Gamma_h$. Assuming, tentatively, that the present 2$\sigma$ discrepancy in $\Gamma_b$ will substantiate as time goes on, for large values of $m_H$ it will be sufficient to modify the $Z^0 b \bar b$ vertex only. In contrast, for small values of $m_H$, the theoretical predictions for both the $Z^0$ width into light quarks and leptons as well as the $Z^0 \to b\bar b$ vertex will have to be modified.Comment: 8 pages uuencoded postscript including 2 figure

ATLAS Monitored Drift Tube Chambers in E = 11 MeV Neutron Background

The influence of fast neutrons on the occupancy and the single tube resolution of ATLAS muon drift detectors was investigated by exposing a chamber built out of 3 layers of 3 short standard drift tubes to neutron flux-densities of up to 16 kHz/cm2 at a neutron energy of E=11 MeV. Pulse shape capable NE213 scintillaton detectors and a calibrated BF3 neutron detector provided monitoring of the neutron flux-density and energy. The sensitivity of the drift chamber to the neutrons was measured to be 4*10-4 by comparing data sets with and without neutron background. For the investigation of tracks of cosmic muons two silicon-strip detectors above and underneath the chamber allow to compare measured drift-radii with reference tracks. Alternatively, the single tube resolution was determined using the triple-sum method. The comparison between data with and without neutron irradiation shows only a marginal effect on the resolution and little influence on the muon track reconstruction.Comment: 4 pages, 11 figures, conferenc

A Search for Vector Diquarks at the CERN LHC

Resonant production of the first generation vector diquarks at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is investigated. It is shown that the LHC will be able to discover vector diquarks with masses up to 9 TeV for quark-diquark-quark coupling alpha_(D)=0.1 and 4 TeV for alpha_(D)=5x10^(-4).Comment: 9 pages, 4 tables, 4 figure

HIGGS BOSON PRODUCTION IN e+e−→μ+μ−bbˉe^+ e^- \to \mu^+ \mu^- b \bar b

The production of the Standard Model Higgs boson in the four-fermion reaction $e^+ e^- \to \mu^+ \mu^- b \bar b$ is studied. The complete tree-level matrix element, including signal and backgrounds in the standard electroweak theory, is computed and initial state radiation is taken into account in the leading-log approximation. A Monte Carlo event generator has been built and numerical results for some distributions of experimental interest for the search of the Higgs particle at future electron-positron colliders are shown, compared with those existing in the literature and commented.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures available via anonymous ftp at: ftp://cobra1.pv.infn.it/pub/4f/, files fig#h.ps with #=1,...,5

Z' Physics

The limits on extra neutral gauge bosons, which could be reached at LEP2, are reviewed. Exclusion and discovery limits are discussed for f\bar f and WW production.Comment: 20 pages Latex, 7 figures included by epsfig, Contribution to the Proceedings the workshop "Physics at LEP2", Geneva, 199

THE SENSITIVITY TO NEW PHYSICS OF A LEP SCAN IN 1995

We study the implications of possible off-peak measurements in the 1995 LEP run, in regard to probing physics beyond the Standard Model. To do so, we determine the accuracy with which various nonstandard couplings can be expected to be measured in the three different scan scenarios recently discussed by Clarke and Wyatt. We find that each scan scenario allows greater sensitivity to a different set of new physics couplings. Oblique parameters are best measured with the longest scan, while nonstandard fermion couplings to the Z tend to be better constrained (albeit only marginally) if all of the 1995 LEP measurements are taken on the Z peak.Comment: Plain TeX, 9 pages, no figures. We have streamlined our presentation by omitting observables of our Class B. All else is completely unchanged

Refined Analysis of the Electroweak Precision Data

We refine our recent analysis of the electroweak precision data at the \PZO\ pole by including the hadronic decay modes of the \PZO. Within the framework of an effective Lagrangian we parametrize $SU(2)$ violation by the additional process-specific parameters \De y_\nu, \De\yh, and \De\yb (for the \PZO\nu\bar\nu, \PZO\Pq\bar\Pq, and \PZO\Pb\bar\Pb vertices) together with the previously introduced parameters \De x, \De y, and \eps. We find that a six-parameter analysis of the experimental data is indeed feasible, and it is carried out in addition to a four-parameter fit for \De x, \De y, \eps, and \De\yb only. We reemphasize that the experimental data have become sensitive to the (combined) magnitude of the vertex corrections at the \PWp\Pl\bar\nu (\PWm\nu\bar\Pl) and \PZO\Pl\bar\Pl vertices, \De y, which is insensitive to the notion of the Higgs mechanism but dependent on the non-Abelian, trilinear vector-boson coupling. Full explicit analytical results for the standard one-loop predictions for the above-mentioned parameters are given, and the leading two-loop top-quark effects are included. The analytic formluae for the analysis of the experimental data in terms of the parameters \De x, \De y etc.\ are presented in order to encourage experimentalists to persue such an analysis by themselves with future data.Comment: 28 pages latex, 9 figures in uuencoded form, trivial misprint correcte

Top Quark Physics at the Tevatron

The discovery of the top quark in 1995, by the CDF and D0 collaborations at the Fermilab Tevatron, marked the dawn of a new era in particle physics. Since then, enormous efforts have been made to study the properties of this remarkable particle, especially its mass and production cross section. In this article, we review the status of top quark physics as studied by the two collaborations using the p-pbar collider data at sqrt(s) = 1.8 TeV. The combined measurement of the top quark mass, m_t = 173.8 +- 5.0 GeV/c^2, makes it known to a fractional precision better than any other quark mass. The production cross sections are measured as sigma (t-tbar) = 7.6 -1.5 +1.8 pb by CDF and sigma (t-tbar) = 5.5 +- 1.8 pb by D0. Further investigations of t-tbar decays and future prospects are briefly discussed.Comment: 119 pages, 59 figures, 17 tables Submitted to Int. J. Mod. Phys. A Fixed some minor error