Electroweak Results from LEP and SLC and Tests of the Standard Model

An update of the electroweak measurements at LEP and SLC is presented. These measurements are used to perform precise tests of the Standard Model. A constraint on the Standard Model Higgs mass is obtained when the direct measurements of $m_{top}$ and $M_W$ are included in the fit. A combination with the direct Higgs search is also shown.Comment: 8 page

The status of Virgo

National audienceIn this paper the main characteristics of the interferometric gravitational waves detector Virgo are presented as well as its present status and perspectives

GePEToS : A Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation package for Positron Emission Tomography

GePEToS is a simulation framework developed over the last few years for assessing the instrumental performance of future PET scanners. It is based on Geant4, written in Object-Oriented C++ and runs on Linux platforms. The validity of GePEToS has been tested on the well-known Siemens ECAT EXACT HR+ camera. The results of two application examples are presented : the design optimization of a liquid Xe micro-PET camera dedicated to small animal imaging as well as the evaluation of the effect of a strong axial magnetic field on the image resolution of a Concorde P4 micro-PET camera.Comment: 5 pages, 12 figures, submitted to IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Scienc

Initial-Final-State Interference in the Z line-shape

The uncertainty in the determination of the Z line-shape parameters coming from the precision of the calculation of the Initial-State Radiation and Initial--Final-State Interference is 2 10**(-4) for the total cross section sigma zero(had) at the Z peak, 0.15 MeV for the Z mass M Z, and 0.1 MeV for the Z width Gamma Z. Corrections to Initial--Final-State Interference beyond \Order{\alpha^1} are discussed.Comment: 10 pages LaTeX including 2 PostScript figure

Experimental study of a liquid Xenon PET prototype module

A detector using liquid Xenon in the scintillation mode is studied for Positron Emission Tomography (PET). The specific design aims at taking full advantage of the liquid Xenon properties. It does feature a promising insensitive to any parallax effect. This work reports on the performances of the first LXe prototype module, equipped with a position sensitive PMT operating in the VUV range (178 nm).Comment: Proc. of the 7th International Workshops on Radiation Imaging Detectors (IWORID-7), Grenoble, France 4-7 July 200

Two-Loop Results for M_W in the Standard Model and the MSSM

Recent higher-order results for the prediction of the W-boson mass, M_W, within the Standard Model are reviewed and an estimate of the remaining theoretical uncertainties of the electroweak precision observables is given. An updated version of a simple numerical parameterisation of the result for M_W is presented. Furthermore, leading electroweak two-loop contributions to the precision observables within the MSSM are discussed.Comment: 6 pages, Proceedings contribution to RADCOR 2002 - Loops & Legs 2002, Kloster Banz, Germany, Sept. 200

Current Bounds on Technicolor with Scalars

Technicolor with scalars is the simplest dynamical symmetry breaking model and one in which the predicted values of many observables may be readily calculated. This letter applies current LEP, Tevatron, CESR, and SLAC data from searches for neutral and charged scalars and from studies of b-quark physics to obtain bounds on technicolor with scalars. Expectations for how upcoming measurements will further probe the theory's parameter space are also discussed.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, LaTe

Bounds on the Higgs-Boson Mass in the Presence of Non-Standard Interactions

The triviality and vacuum stability bounds on the Higgs-boson mass are revisited in the presence of new interactions parameterized in a model-independent way by an effective lagrangian. When the scale of new physics is below 50 TeV the triviality bound is unchanged but the stability lower bound is increased by 40-60 GeV. Should the Higgs-boson mass be close to its current lower experimental limit, this leads to the possibility of new physics at the scale of a few TeV, even for modest values of the effective lagrangian parameters.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, RevTex, submitted to PR