Guy Wilkinson

Abstract:

A sample of events enriched in bb̄ quark pairs was selected in the data recorded by the DELPHI experiment at LEP during 1992 and 1993, by the presence of secondary decay vertices from short-lived particles. Using this sample, the average multiplicities of Ks0, K±, p(p̄), Λ(Λ) and of charged particles in bb̄ events have been measured, distinguishing the component from fragmentation and the component coming from the decay of b-hadrons. The measurement of the average charge multiplicity in bb̄ events was used to compute the mean fractional beam energy carried by the primary b-hadron, and the difference in charged particle multiplicity between bb̄ events and light quark (uū, dd̄, ss̄) events. © 1995.

Abstract:

A measurement of B meson lifetimes is presented using data collected from 1991 to 1993 by the DELPHI detector at the LEP collider. Samples of events with a D meson and a lepton in the same jet are selected where {Mathematical expression} and D*ℓ+ events originate mainly from the semileptonic decays of B+ and B0 mesons, respectively. From the reconstructed B decay length and the estimated B momentum, taking into account the dilution due to B decays into {Mathematical expression}, the following B meson lifetimes and lifetime ratio are measured: {Mathematical expression} and an average lifetime of B+ and B0 mesons is obtained: {Mathematical expression} © 1995 Springer-Verlag.

Abstract:

A measurement of the strange quark forward-backward asymmetry at the Z0 peak was performed using 718,000 multihadronic Z0 decays collected by the DELPHI detector at LEP in 1992. The s-quark was tagged by the presence of high momentum charged kaons identified by the Ring Imaging Cherenkov detector and by Λ0;s decaying into pπ-. The s-quark purity obtained was estimated for the two hadrons to be 43%. The average s-quark asymmetry was found to be 0.131±0.035 (stat.) ±0.013 (syst.). The forward-backward asymmetry was measured for unresolved d-and s-quarks, tagged by the detection of a high energy neutron or neutral kaon in the Hadron Calorimeter. The combined d-and s-quark purity was 69% and their asymmetry was found to be 0.112±0.031 (stat.) ±0.054 (syst.). © 1995 Springer-Verlag.

Abstract:

A search for pair production of neutral heavy Higgs bosons decaying into {Mathematical expression} has been carried out in a study of hadronic decays of the Z boson into four jet final states using data taken by DELPHI in 1991 and 1992. The two production mechanisms present in the two Higgs doublets scheme, bremsstrahlung production of hZ* and associated production of hA, may lead to four beauty jets well recognizable using the precise microvertex detector measurements. No evidence for a signal was found, leading to limits on BR(Z→hA→4b) from 3.5 to 5.5×10-4 at 95% contidence level, depending on the mass of the ligthest Higgs. When combined with the results of the recent DELPHI standard Higgs search, this result allows the kinematical limit to be reached for the masses of h and A in the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (MSSM) scheme. It also allows the tanβ≤1 domain to be explored, and a region above the kinematic limit for direct hA production is constrained by considering virtual hA production. Results are also given in the general two-doublet scheme. © 1995 Springer-Verlag.

Abstract:

For the first time, multihadronic production from single tagged γγ collisions has been studied, where one of the scattered leptons was tagged at very low virtual photon absolute mass squared (〈Q2〉 = 0.06 (GeV/c2)2). Data collected during 1991 and 1992 in the DELPHI experiment at LEP are shown to agree well with predictions which included the non-perturbative vector meson dominance model in which the interacting photons are assumed to have converted into a vector meson (ρ{variant}, ω or π), a quark-parton model which describes direct photon interactions and a QCD-based model which considers the photon to have quark and gluon structure functions. Five different parametrizations of these structure functions were used and the predictions compared with the data. This study confirms recent results from no-tag experiments in requiring a QCD-based component to successfully describe the data, indicating that the photon has a significant partonic content. © 1995.