222 research outputs found
The detection of Gravitational Waves
This chapter is concerned with the question: how do gravitational waves (GWs)
interact with their detectors? It is intended to be a theory review of the
fundamental concepts involved in interferometric and acoustic (Weber bar) GW
antennas. In particular, the type of signal the GW deposits in the detector in
each case will be assessed, as well as its intensity and deconvolution. Brief
reference will also be made to detector sensitivity characterisation, including
very summary data on current state of the art GW detectors.Comment: 33 pages, 12 figures, LaTeX2e, Springer style files --included. For
Proceedings of the ERE-2001 Conference (Madrid, September 2001
Search for Anomalous Couplings in the Higgs Sector at LEP
Anomalous couplings of the Higgs boson are searched for through the processes
e^+ e^- -> H gamma, e^+ e^- -> e^+ e^- H and e^+ e^- -> HZ. The mass range 70
GeV < m_H < 190 GeV is explored using 602 pb^-1 of integrated luminosity
collected with the L3 detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies
sqrt(s)=189-209 GeV. The Higgs decay channels H -> ffbar, H -> gamma gamma, H
-> Z\gamma and H -> WW^(*) are considered and no evidence is found for
anomalous Higgs production or decay. Limits on the anomalous couplings d, db,
Delta(g1z), Delta(kappa_gamma) and xi^2 are derived as well as limits on the H
-> gamma gamma and H -> Z gamma decay rates
Measurement of W Polarisation at LEP
The three different helicity states of W bosons produced in the reaction e+
e- -> W+ W- -> l nu q q~ at LEP are studied using leptonic and hadronic W
decays. Data at centre-of-mass energies \sqrt s = 183-209 GeV are used to
measure the polarisation of W bosons, and its dependence on the W boson
production angle. The fraction of longitudinally polarised W bosons is measured
to be 0.218 \pm 0.027 \pm 0.016 where the first uncertainty is statistical and
the second systematic, in agreement with the Standard Model expectation
Z Boson Pair-Production at LEP
Events stemming from the pair-production of Z bosons in e^+e^- collisions are
studied using 217.4 pb^-1 of data collected with the L3 detector at
centre-of-mass energies from 200 GeV up to 209 GeV. The special case of events
with b quarks is also investigated.
Combining these events with those collected at lower centre-of-mass energies,
the Standard Model predictions for the production mechanism are verified. In
addition, limits are set on anomalous couplings of neutral gauge bosons and on
effects of extra space dimensions
Search for Charged Higgs Bosons at LEP
A search for pair-produced charged Higgs bosons is performed with the L3
detector at LEP using data collected at centre-of-mass energies between 189 and
209GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 629.4/pb. Decays into a
charm and a strange quark or into a tau lepton and its neutrino are considered.
No significant excess is observed and lower limits on the mass of the charged
Higgs boson are derived at the 95% confidence level. They vary from 76.5 to
82.7GeV, as a function of the H->tv branching ratio
Search for Heavy Neutral and Charged Leptons in e+ e- Annihilation at LEP
A search for exotic unstable neutral and charged heavy leptons as well as for
stable charged heavy leptons is performed with the L3 detector at LEP.
Sequential, vector and mirror natures of heavy leptons are considered. No
evidence for their existence is found and lower limits on their masses are set
Search for Doubly-Charged Higgs Bosons at LEP
Doubly-charged Higgs bosons are searched for in e^+e^- collision data
collected with the L3 detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies up to 209 GeV.
Final states with four leptons are analysed to tag the pair-production of
doubly charged Higgs bosons. No significant excess is found and lower limits at
95% confidence level on the doubly-charged Higgs boson mass are derived. They
vary from 95.5 GeV to 100.2 GeV, depending on the decay mode. Doubly-charged
Higgs bosons which couple to electrons would modify the cross section and
forward-backward asymmetry of the e^+e^- -> e^+e^- process. The measurements of
these quantities do not deviate from the Standard Model expectations and
doubly-charged Higgs bosons with masses up to the order of a TeV are excluded
Flavour Independent Search for Neutral Higgs Bosons at LEP
A flavour independent search for the CP-even and CP-odd neutral Higgs bosons
h and A is performed in 624/pb of data collected with the L3 detector at LEP at
centre-of-mass energies between 189 and 209GeV. Higgs boson production through
the e^+e^- -> Z h and the e^+e^- ->h A processes is considered and decays of
the Higgs bosons into hadrons are studied. No significant signal is observed
and 95% confidence level limits on the hZZ and hAZ couplings are derived as a
function of the Higgs boson masses. Assuming the Standard Model cross section
for the Higgs-strahlung process and a 100% branching fraction into hadrons, a
95% confidence level lower limit on the mass of the Higgs boson is set at
110.3GeV
Measurement of the Cross Section of W-boson pair production at LEP
The cross section of W-boson pair-production is measured with the L3 detector
at LEP. In a data sample corresponding to a total luminosity of 629.4/pb,
collected at centre-of-mass energies ranging from 189 to 209 GeV, 9834
four-fermion events with W bosons decaying into hadrons or leptons are
selected. The total cross section is measured with a precision of 1.4 % and
agrees with the Standard Model expectation. Assuming charged-lepton
universality, the branching fraction for hadronic W-boson decays is measured to
be: Br(W-->hadrons) = 67.50 +- 0.42 (stat.) +- 0.30(syst.) %, in agreement with
the Standard Model. Differential cross sections as a function of the W-
production angle are also measured for the semi-leptonic channels qqev and
qqmv
Search for Extra Dimensions in Boson and Fermion Pair Production in e+e- Interactions at LEP
Extra spatial dimensions are proposed by recent theories that postulate the
scale of gravity to be of the same order as the electroweak scale. A sizeable
interaction between gravitons and Standard Model particles is then predicted.
Effects of these new interactions in boson and fermion pair production are
searched for in the data sample collected at centre-of-mass energies above the
Z pole by the L3 detector at LEP. In addition, the direct production of a
graviton associated with a Z boson is investigated. No statistically
significant hints for the existence of these effects are found and lower limits
in excess of 1 TeV are derived on the scale of this new theory of gravity
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