16638912
The forward-backward asymmetry for charm quarks at the Z pole
From 1.4 million hadronic Z decays collected by the ALEPH detector at LEP, an enriched sample of Z → cc events is extracted by requiring the presence of a high momentum D∗±. The charm quark forward-backward charge asymmetry at the Z pole is measured to be AFB0.c = (8.0 ± 2.4) % corresponding to an effective electroweak mixing angle of sin2θWeff = 0.2302 ± 0.0054.
122041721
Production of excited beauty states inZ decays
AbstractA data sample of about 3.0 million hadronicZ decays collected by the ALEPH experiment at LEP in the years 1991 through 1994 is used to make an inclusive selection of B hadron events. In this event sample 4227±140±252B* mesons in the decayB*→Bγ and 1944±108±161B**u,d mesons decaying into a B meson and a charged pion are reconstructed. Here and in the followingB**u,d denotes the eightL=1(bū) and (bd) states and their charge conjugate.For the well establishedB* meson the following quantities are obtained:ΔM=MB*−MB=(45.30±0.35±0.87) MeV/c2 andNB*/(NB+NB*)=(77.1±2.6±7.0)%. The angular distribution of the photons in theB* rest frame is used to measure the relative contribution of longitudinalB* polarization states to beσL/(σL+σT)=(33±6±5)%.In theM(Bπ)−M(B) mass difference resonance structure is observed at (424±4±10) MeV/c2, for which the shape and position is consistent with the expectation forB**u,d states decaying intoB(*)π±. The relative production rate is determined to be
$$\begin{gathered} \frac{{BR(Z \to b \to B_{u,d}^{ * * } )}}{{BR(Z \to b \to B_{u,d} )}} \hfill \\ = [27.9 \pm 1.6(stat) \pm 5.9(syst) {}_{ - 5.6}^{ + 3.9} (model)]\% \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$
 where the third error reflects the uncertainty due to different production and decay models for the broadB**u,d states.
123101518
Studies of quantum chromodynamics with the ALEPH detector
Abstract Previously published and as yet unpublished QCD results obtained with the ALEPH detector at LEP1 are presented. The unprecedented statistics allows detailed studies of both perturbative and non-perturbative aspects of strong interactions to be carried out using hadronic Z and tau decays. The studies presented include precise determinations of the strong coupling constant, tests of its flavour independence, tests of the SU(3) gauge structure of QCD, study of coherence effects, and measurements of single-particle inclusive distributions and two-particle correlations for many identified baryons and mesons.
122230572
A measurement of the ratio of longitudinal and transverse structure functions in neutrino interactions between 30 and 200 GeV
Abstract A new measurement of the ratio R = σ L / σ T of longitudinal and transverse structure functions in neutrino interactions on iron between 30 and 190 GeV neutrino energy is reported. The result is given as a function of the scale parameter x and the inelasticity ν of the interaction. The average value is R = 0.10 ± 0.07 around ν ≈ 50 GeV and is in accordance with a prediction from the QCD theory.
122204997
First measurement of the quark-to-photon fragmentation function
Earlier measurements at LEP of isolated hard photons in hadronic Z decays, attributed to radiation from primary quark pairs, have been extended in the ALEPH experiment to include hard photon productioninside hadron jets. Events are selected where all particles combine democratically to form hadron jets, one of which contains a photon with a fractional energyz≥0.7. After statistical subtraction of non-prompt photons, the quark-to-photon fragmentation function,D(z), is extracted directly from the measured 2-jet rate. By taking into account the perturbative contributions toD(z) obtained from anO(ααs) QCD calculation, the unknown non-perturbative component ofD(z) is then determined at highz. Provided due account is taken of hadronization effects nearz=1, a good description of the other event topologies is then found.
122188618
Charged particle pair production associated with a lepton pair in Z decays. indication of an excess in the tau channel
In a sample of 200 000 Z decays, events with two leptons and an additional pair of charged particles are studied. The 35 events found show a possible excess in the tau channel compared with the expectation from electroweak processes. The features of the events are consistent with radiation of virtual photons.
27779267
Microscopic examination of defects located by thermometry in 1.5 GHz superconducting niobium cavities
A new high resolution, high speed thermometry system has been built at Cornell to permit the study of anomalous loss regions in 1.5 GHz superconducting Nb cavities in superfluid He. Following a cavity test, the cavity is dissected for examination of these regions in an electron microscope. Presented is a survey of the topographical and elemental characteristics of various defects found so far. Included are field emitters which were known to be active at the end of a cavity test, as well as those which processed.
120575134
EUROFEL: Europe Tackles Key Issues of Free Electron Lasers
During the last few years Europe has made enormous progress towards free electron laser (FEL)-based research infrastructures. The FLASH facility [1] at DESY in Hamburg, Germany, has been in user operation since the summer of 2005; FERMI@Elettra [2] in Trieste, Italy, is under construction; the European XFEL [3] in Hamburg will start construction in summer 2008; and several other FEL projects are being prepared in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. In addition, a number of dedicated test facilities have become available, including the photo-injector test facility (PITZ) [4] and the cryomodule test bench (CMTB) [5] at DESY, the HoBiCaT facility for testing superconducting cavities [6] at BESSY, Berlin, Germany, the SPARC facility [7] at INFN-LNF in Frascati, Italy, and the ERL Prototype (ERLP) [8] at Daresbury Laboratory, UK. They have been strongly supported by the national stakeholders in order to prepare the design of new FEL sources.
121092553
Detailed characterization of electron sources yielding first demonstration of European X-ray Free-Electron Laser beam quality
The photoinjector test facility at DESY, Zeuthen site (PITZ), was built to develop and optimize photoelectron sources for superconducting linacs for high-brilliance, short-wavelength free-electron laser (FEL) applications like the free-electron laser in Hamburg (FLASH) and the European x-ray free-electron laser (XFEL). In this paper, the detailed characterization of two laser-driven rf guns with different operating conditions is described. One experimental optimization of the beam parameters was performed at an accelerating gradient of about 43 MV=m at the photocathode and the other at about 60 MV=m. In both cases, electron beams with very high phase-space density have been demonstrated at a bunch charge of 1 nC and are compared with corresponding simulations. The rf gun optimized for the lower gradient has surpassed all the FLASH requirements on beam quality and rf parameters (gradient, rf pulse length, repetition rate) and serves as a spare gun for this facility. The rf gun studied with increased accelerating gradient at the cathode produced beams with even higher brightness, yielding the first demonstration of the beam quality required for driving the European XFEL: The geometric mean of the normalized projected rms emittance in the two transverse directions was measured to be 1:26 ` 0:13 mm mrad for a 1-nC electron bunch. When a 10% charge cut is applied excluding electrons from those phase-space regions where the measured phase-space density is below a certain level and which are not expected to contribute to the lasing process, the normalized projected rms emittance is about 0.9 mm mrad.
40909893
Enhanced susceptibility of Nb cavity equator welds to the hydrogen related Q-virus ∗
Thermometric studies of chemically treated niobium cavities have demonstrated that preferential niobium-hydride precipitation takes place along the electron-beam-welded equator (“Q-virus”). High residual losses are recorded as a result of the hydride in this region. Such precipitation can take place even when the cavity is rapidly cooled from 300 K to 4.2 K, a procedure that is known to be effective at preventing the Q-virus in bulk niobium.
119762147
The nature of field emission from microparticles and the ensuing voltage breakdown
In recent years there has been much progress in furthering our understanding of the sources of field emission as well as in tracing the stages from field emission to voltage breakdown. These advances come from microscopic studies (scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray analysis, Auger spectroscopy) of field emitters located by DC high voltage scans as well as from field emitters found in microwave cavities. Craters, residues and starbursts found at breakdown sites reveal much about the physics of voltage breakdown. Both experiments and computer simulations show the important role played by gases generated by field emission induced heating.