Combination and QCD analysis of charm production cross section measurements in deep-inelastic ep scattering at HERA

Measurements of open charm production cross sections in deep-inelastic ep scattering at HERA from the H1 and ZEUS Collaborations are combined. Reduced cross sections sigma(c (c) over bar)(red) for charm production are obtained in the kinematic range of photon virtuality 2.5 LT = Q(2) LT = 2000 GeV2 and Bjorken scaling variable 3 . 10(-5) LT = x LT = 5 . 10(-2). The combination method accounts for the correlations of the systematic uncertainties among the different data sets. The combined charm data together with the combined inclusive deep-inelastic scattering cross sections from HERA are used as input for a detailed NLO QCD analysis to study the influence of different heavy flavour schemes on the parton distribution functions. The optimal values of the charm mass as a parameter in these different schemes are obtained. The implications on the NLO predictions for W-+/- and Z production cross sections at the LHC are investigated. Using the fixed flavour number scheme, the running mass of the charm quark is determined

Patterns of Genetic and Reproductive Traits Differentiation in Mainland vs. Corsican Populations of Bumblebees

Populations on islands often exhibit lower levels of genetic variation and ecomorphological divergence compared to their mainland relatives. While phenotypic differentiation in characters, such as size or shape among insular organisms, has been well studied, insular differentiation in quantitative reproductive traits involved in chemical communication has received very little attention to date. Here, we investigated the impact of insularity on two syntopic bumblebee species pairs: one including species that are phylogenetically related (Bombus terrestris and B. lucorum), and the other including species that interact ecologically (B. terrestris and its specific nest inquiline B. vestalis). For each bumblebee species, we characterized the patterns of variation and differentiation of insular (Corsican) vs. mainland (European) populations (i) with four genes (nuclear and mitochondrial, 3781 bp) and (ii) in the chemical composition of male marking secretions (MMS), a key trait for mate attraction in bumblebees, by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Our results provide evidence for genetic differentiation in Corsican bumblebees and show that, contrary to theoretical expectations, island populations of bumblebees exhibit levels of genetic variation similar to the mainland populations. Likewise, our comparative chemical analyses of MMS indicate that Corsican populations of bumblebees are significantly differentiated from the mainland yet they hold comparative levels of within-population MMS variability compared to the mainland. Therefore, insularity has led Corsican populations to diverge both genetically and chemically from their mainland relatives, presumably through genetic drift, but without a decrease of genetic diversity in island populations. We hypothesize that MMS divergence in Corsican bumblebees was driven by a persistent lack of gene flow with mainland populations and reinforced by the preference of Corsican females for sympatric (Corsican) MMS. The impoverished Corsican bumblebee fauna has not led to relaxation of stabilizing selection on MMS but to consistent differentiation chemical reproductive traits on the island

Measurement of beauty photoproduction near threshold using di-electron events with the H1 detector at HERA

The cross section for ep -> eb (b) over barX in photoproduction is measured with the H1 detector at the ep-collider HERA. The decay channel b (b) over bar -> eeX' is selected by identifying the semi-electronic decays of the b-quarks. The total production cross section is measured in the kinematic range given by the photon virtuality Q(2) down to the threshold. The results are compared to next-to-leading-order QCD predictions

Determination of the Integrated Luminosity at HERA using Elastic QED Compton Events

24 pages, 3 tables, 7 figures, submitted to EPJC - See paper for full list of authorsA measurement of the integrated luminosity at the ep collider HERA is presented, exploiting the elastic QED Compton process ep \rightarrow ep. The electron and the photon are detected in the backward calorimeter of the H1 experiment. The integrated luminosity of the data recorded in 2003 to 2007 is determined with a precision of 2.3%. The measurement is found to be compatible with the corresponding result obtained using the Bethe-Heitler process

A Search for leptoquarks, leptogluons and excited leptons in H1 at HERA

A direct search for new particles in the H1 experiment at HERA is presented for masses ranging from 35 GeV up to ∼ 250 GeV. The data sample of 24 nb−1 accumulated during the first year of operation was analysed for signatures of scalar and vector leptoquarks, leptogluons, excited electrons and excited neutrinos with flavours of the first generation. No evidence for the production of such particles was found in various possible decay channels. Rejection limits are derived

Measurement of inclusive jet cross-sections in photoproduction at HERA

The inclusive jet cross section in photoproduction has been measured as a function of transverse energy and pseudorapidity using the H 1 detector at the HERA electron-proton collider. The results are compared with leading order QCD calculations. © 1993.0SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe