Combination procedure for the precise determination of Z boson parameters from results of the LEP experiments

The precise determination of the Z boson parameters from the measurements at the Z resonance by the four collaborations ALEPH, DELPHI, L3 and OPAL in e+e- collisions at the large electron positron collider LEP at CERN is a landmark for precision tests of the electroweak theory. The four experiments measured quantities which were used to extract the mass and width of the Z boson, the hadronic cross-section at the pole of the resonance, the ratio of hadronic and leptonic decay widths, and the leptonic forward-backward asymmetries at the pole. The combination procedure based on these parameters is presented in this paper

Proposal to establish a Sponsoring Consortium for Open Access Publishing in Particle Physics

In the present proposal, the publishers' subscription income from multiple institutions is replaced by an "author-side" funding. Journals are paid through contracts between publishers and a single financial partner, the "Sponsoring Consortium for Open Access Publishing in Particle Physics" (SCOAP3). SCOAP3 is envisioned as a global network of funding agencies, research laboratories, and libraries that will contribute the necessary funding; each SCOAP3 partner will recover its contribution from the cancellation of journal subscriptions. This model avoids the obvious disadvantage of authors being directly charged for the OA publication of their articles, which is perceived as an even higher barrier than subscription charges, in particular for theoretical physicists from small institutions who account for the vast majority of HEP papers. The financing and governance of SCOAP3 will follow as much as possible the example of the memoranda of understanding governing large research collaborations. Its partners will contribute on a pro-rata basis according to the number of scientific publications from their country or laboratory in a reference period

Spectroscopy with Hadrons Beams at COMPASS

Following numerous interactions with the SPSC in 2007 we review projected capa- bilities of the COMPASS spectrometer in the field of light hadron spectroscopy. The paper describes in detail a full simulation with subsequent partial wave analysis of two final states for central production. Both, neutral and all charged states can very well be observed and analyzed within COMPASS. In addition we show the result of a full partial wave analysis of data taken in the pilot run 2004 using the diffractively produced $\pi^+\pi^-\pi^-$ final state. The results agree remarkably well with previous data taken an BNL. We also vaticinate the physics data sample expected for 2008, using projected beam times for different reaction mechanisms