A Study of Cosmic Ray Secondaries Induced by the Mir Space Station Using AMS-01

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) is a high energy particle physics experiment that will study cosmic rays in the $\sim 100 \mathrm{MeV}$ to $1 \mathrm{TeV}$ range and will be installed on the International Space Station (ISS) for at least 3 years. A first version of AMS-02, AMS-01, flew aboard the space shuttle \emph{Discovery} from June 2 to June 12, 1998, and collected $10^8$ cosmic ray triggers. Part of the \emph{Mir} space station was within the AMS-01 field of view during the four day \emph{Mir} docking phase of this flight. We have reconstructed an image of this part of the \emph{Mir} space station using secondary $\pi^-$ and $\mu^-$ emissions from primary cosmic rays interacting with \emph{Mir}. This is the first time this reconstruction was performed in AMS-01, and it is important for understanding potential backgrounds during the 3 year AMS-02 mission.Comment: To be submitted to NIM B Added material requested by referee. Minor stylistic and grammer change

Bose-Einstein Correlations of Neutral and Charged Pions in Hadronic Z Decays

Bose-Einstein correlations of both neutral and like-sign charged pion pairs are measured in a sample of 2 million hadronic Z decays collected with the L3 detector at LEP. The analysis is performed in the four-momentum difference range 300 MeV < Q < 2 GeV. The radius of the neutral pion source is found to be smaller than that of charged pions. This result is in qualitative agreement with the string fragmentation model

Measurement of the W+W-gamma Cross Section and Direct Limits on Anomalous Quartic Gauge Boson Couplings at LEP

The process e+e- -> W+W-gamma is analysed using the data collected with the L3 detector at LEP at a centre-of-mass energy of 188.6GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 176.8pb^-1. Based on a sample of 42 selected W+W- candidates containing an isolated hard photon, the W+W-gamma cross section, defined within phase-space cuts, is measured to be: sigma_WWgamma = 290 +/- 80 +/- 16 fb, consistent with the Standard Model expectation. Including the process e+e- -> nu nu gamma gamma, limits are derived on anomalous contributions to the Standard Model quartic vertices W+W- gamma gamma and W+W-Z gamma at 95% CL: -0.043 GeV^-2 < a_0/Lambda^2 < 0.043 GeV^-2 0.08 GeV^-2 < a_c/Lambda^2 < 0.13 GeV^-2 0.41 GeV^-2 < a_n/Lambda^2 < 0.37 GeV^-2

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

Measurement of Bose-Einstein Correlations in e+e- -> W+W- at root(s)=189GeV

We investigate Bose-Einstein correlations (BEC) in W-pair production at root(s)=189GeV using the L3 detector at LEP. We observe BEC between particles from a single W decay in good agreement with those from a light-quark Z decay sample. We investigate their possible existence between particles coming from different W's. No evidence for such inter-W BEC is found

Standard Model Higgs Boson with the L3 Experiment at LEP

Final results of the search for the Standard Model Higgs boson are presented for the data collected by the L3 detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies up to about 209 GeV. These data are compared with the expectations of Standard Model processes for Higgs boson masses up to 120 GeV. A lower limit on the mass of the Standard Model Higgs boson of 112.0 GeV is set at the 95 % confidence level. The most significant high mass candidate is a Hnunu event. It has a reconstructed Higgs mass of 115 GeV and it was recorded at root(s)=206.4 GeV

Determination of gamma/Z interference in e+e- annihilation at LEP

An S-Matrix ansatz is used to determine the mass and width of the Z boson, as well as the contributions of gamma/Z interference and Z boson exchange to fermion-pair production. For this purpose we use hadron and lepton-pair production cross sections and lepton forward-backward asymmetries that have been measured with the L3 detector at centre-of-mass energies between 87GeV and 189GeV

Measurement of the Tau Branching Fractions into Leptons

Using data collected with the L3 detector near the Z resonance, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 150pb-1, the branching fractions of the tau lepton into electron and muon are measured to be B(tau->e nu nu) = (17.806 +- 0.104 (stat.) +- 0.076 (syst.)) %, B(tau->mu nu nu) = (17.342 +- 0.110 (stat.) +- 0.067 (syst.)) %. From these results the ratio of the charged current coupling constants of the muon and the electron is determined to be g_mu/g_e = 1.0007 +- 0.0051. Assuming electron-muon universality, the Fermi constant is measured in tau lepton decays as G_F = (1.1616 +- 0.0058) 10^{-5} GeV^{-2}. Furthermore, the coupling constant of the strong interaction at the tau mass scale is obtained as alpha_s(m_tau^2) = 0.322 +- 0.009 (exp.) +- 0.015 (theory)

Higgs Candidates in e+e- Interactions at root(s) = 206.6 GeV

In a search for the Standard Model Higgs boson, carried out on 212.5 pb-1 of data collected by the L3 detector at the highest LEP centre-of-mass energies, including 116.5 pb-1 above root(s) = 206GeV, an excess of candidates for the process e+e- -> Z* -> HZ is found for Higgs masses near 114.5GeV. We present an analysis of our data and the characteristics of our strongest candidates.Comment: Footnote added, matches the version to be published in Physics Letters

Search for Charged Higgs Bosons in e+e- Collisions at Centre-of-Mass Energies up to 202 GeV

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 192 and 202 GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 233.2 pb^-1. Decays into a charm and a strange quark or into a tau lepton and its neutrino are considered. The observed events are consistent with the expectations from Standard Model background processes. Including data taken at lower centre-of-mass energies, lower limits on the charged Higgs mass are derived at the 95% confidence level. They vary from 67.4 to 79.9GeV as a function of the H^+/- --> tau nu branching ratio