Professor Amanda Cooper-Sarkar

Abstract:

Charged particle production in neutral current deep inelastic scattering (DIS) has been studied using the ZEUS detector. The evolution of the mean multiplicities, scaled momenta and transverse momenta in Q2 and cursive Greek chi for 10 < Q2 < 5120 GeV2 and cursive Greek chi > 6 × 10-4 has been investigated in the current and target fragmentation regions of the Breit frame. Distributions in the target region, using HERA data for the first time, are compared to distributions in the current region. Predictions based on MLLA and LPHD are inconsistent with the data.

Abstract:

The DIS diffractive cross section, dσdiffγ*p→XN/dMx, has been measured in the mass range Mx < 15 GeV for γ*p c.m. energies 60 < W < 200 GeV and photon virtualities Q2 = 7 to 140 GeV2. For fixed Q2 and Mx, the diffractive cross section rises rapidly with W, dσdiffγ*p→X N (Mx, W, Q2)/dMx ∝ Wadiff with adiff = 0.507 ± 0.034 (stat) +0.155-0.046 (syst) corresponding to a t-averaged pomeron trajectory of ̄αℙ = 1.127 ± 0.009 (stat) +0.039-0.012 (syst) which is larger than ̄αℙ observed in hadron-hadron scattering. The W dependence of the diffractive cross section is found to be the same as that of the total cross section for scattering of virtual photons on protons. The data are consistent with the assumption that the diffractive structure function FD(3)2 factorizes according to cursive greek chiℙFD(3)2(cursive greek chiℙ, β, Q2) = (cursive greek chi0//cursive greek chiℙ)nFD(2)2(β, Q2). They are also consistent with QCD based models which incorporate factorization breaking. The rise of cursive greek chiℙFD(3)2 with decreasing cursive greek chiℙ and the weak dependence of FD(2)2 on Q2 suggest a substantial contribution from partonic interactions.

Abstract:

Measurements of the proton structure function F2 for 0.6 < Q2 < 17 GeV2 and 1.2 × 10-5 < cursive Greek chi < 1.9 × 10 -3 from ZEUS 1995 shifted vertex data are presented. From ZEUS F2 data the slopes dF2/d ln Q2 at fixed cursive Greek chi and din F2/d ln(1/cursive Greek chi) for cursive Greek chi < 0.01 at fixed Q2 are derived. For the latter, E665 data are also used. The transition region in Q2 is explored using the simplest non-perturbative models and NLO QCD. The data at very low Q2 ≤ 0.65 GeV2 are described successfully by a combination of generalised vector meson dominance and Regge theory. From a NLO QCD fit to ZEUS data the gluon density in the proton is extracted in the range 3 × 10-5 < cursive Greek chi < 0.7. Data from NMC and BCDMS constrain the fit at large cursive Greek chi. Assuming the NLO QCD description to be valid down to Q2 ∼ 1 GeV2, it is found that the qq̄ sea distribution is still rising at small cursive Greek chi and the lowest Q2 values whereas the gluon distribution is strongly suppressed.