1. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(author)
-
Very high-energy gamma-ray follow-up program using neutrino triggers from IceCube
- 2016
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In: Journal of Instrumentation. - 1748-0221. ; 11
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We describe and report the status of a neutrino-triggered program in IceCube that generates real-time alerts for gamma-ray follow-up observations by atmospheric-Cherenkov telescopes (MAGIC and VERITAS). While IceCube is capable of monitoring the whole sky continuously, high-energy gamma-ray telescopes have restricted fields of view and in general are unlikely to be observing a potential neutrino-flaring source at the time such neutrinos are recorded. The use of neutrino-triggered alerts thus aims at increasing the availability of simultaneous multi-messenger data during potential neutrino flaring activity, which can increase the discovery potential and constrain the phenomenological interpretation of the high-energy emission of selected source classes (e. g. blazars). The requirements of a fast and stable online analysis of potential neutrino signals and its operation are presented, along with first results of the program operating between 14 March 2012 and 31 December 2015.
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2. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(author)
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Characterization of the atmospheric muon flux in IceCube
- 2016
-
In: Astroparticle physics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0927-6505 .- 1873-2852. ; 78, s. 1-27
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Muons produced in atmospheric cosmic ray showers account for the by far dominant part of the event yield in large-volume underground particle detectors. The IceCube detector, with an instrumented volume of about a cubic kilometer, has the potential to conduct unique investigations on atmospheric muons by exploiting the large collection area and the possibility to track particles over a long distance. Through detailed reconstruction of energy deposition along the tracks, the characteristics of muon bundles can be quantified, and individual particles of exceptionally high energy identified. The data can then be used to constrain the cosmic ray primary flux and the contribution to atmospheric lepton fluxes from prompt decays of short-lived hadrons. In this paper, techniques for the extraction of physical measurements from atmospheric muon events are described and first results are presented. The multiplicity spectrum of TeV muons in cosmic ray air showers for primaries in the energy range from the knee to the ankle is derived and found to be consistent with recent results from surface detectors. The single muon energy spectrum is determined up to PeV energies and shows a clear indication for the emergence of a distinct spectral component from prompt decays of short-lived hadrons. The magnitude of the prompt flux, which should include a substantial contribution from light vector meson di-muon decays, is consistent with current theoretical predictions. The variety of measurements and high event statistics can also be exploited for the evaluation of systematic effects. In the course of this study, internal inconsistencies in the zenith angle distribution of events were found which indicate the presence of an unexplained effect outside the currently applied range of detector systematics. The underlying cause could be related to the hadronic interaction models used to describe muon production in air showers.
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3. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(author)
-
The IceCube realtime alert system
- 2017
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In: Astroparticle physics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0927-6505 .- 1873-2852. ; 92, s. 30-41
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Although high-energy astrophysical neutrinos were discovered in 2013, their origin is still unknown. Aiming for the identification of an electromagnetic counterpart of a rapidly fading source, we have implemented a realtime analysis framework for the IceCube neutrino observatory. Several analyses selecting neutrinos of astrophysical origin are now operating in realtime at the detector site in Antarctica and are producing alerts for the community to enable rapid follow-up observations. The goal of these observations is to locate the astrophysical objects responsible for these neutrino signals. This paper highlights the infrastructure in place both at the South Pole site and at IceCube facilities in the north that have enabled this fast follow-up program to be implemented. Additionally, this paper presents the first realtime analyses to be activated within this framework, highlights their sensitivities to astrophysical neutrinos and background event rates, and presents an outlook for future discoveries.
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4. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(author)
-
Differential limit on the extremely-high-energy cosmic neutrino flux in the presence of astrophysical background from nine years of IceCube data
- 2018
-
In: Physical Review D. - : AMER PHYSICAL SOC. - 2470-0010 .- 2470-0029. ; 98:6
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report a quasidifferential upper limit on the extremely-high-energy (EHE) neutrino flux above 5 x 10(6) GeV based on an analysis of nine years of IceCube data. The astrophysical neutrino flux measured by IceCube extends to PeV energies, and it is a background flux when searching for an independent signal flux at higher energies, such as the cosmogenic neutrino signal. We have developed a new method to place robust limits on the EHE neutrino flux in the presence of an astrophysical background, whose spectrum has yet to be understood with high precision at PeV energies. A distinct event with a deposited energy above 10(6) GeV was found in the new two-year sample, in addition to the one event previously found in the seven-year EHE neutrino search. These two events represent a neutrino flux that is incompatible with predictions for a cosmogenic neutrino flux and are considered to be an astrophysical background in the current study. The obtained limit is the most stringent to date in the energy range between 5 x 10(6) and 2 x 10(10) GeV. This result constrains neutrino models predicting a three-flavor neutrino flux of E-nu(2)phi(nu e+nu mu+nu tau) similar or equal to 2 x 10(-8) GeV/cm(2) sec sr at 10(9) GeV. A significant part of the parameter space for EHE neutrino production scenarios assuming a proton-dominated composition of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays is disfavored independently of uncertain models of the extragalactic background light which previous IceCube constraints partially relied on.
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5. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(author)
-
Constraints on Galactic Neutrino Emission with Seven Years of IceCube Data
- 2017
-
In: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 849:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The origins of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos remain a mystery despite extensive searches for their sources. We present constraints from seven years of IceCube Neutrino Observatory muon data on the neutrino flux coming from the Galactic plane. This flux is expected from cosmic-ray interactions with the interstellar medium or near localized sources. Two methods were developed to test for a spatially extended flux from the entire plane, both of which are maximum likelihood fits but with different signal and background modeling techniques. We consider three templates for Galactic neutrino emission based primarily on gamma-ray observations and models that cover a wide range of possibilities. Based on these templates and in the benchmark case of an unbroken E-2.5 power-law energy spectrum, we set 90% confidence level upper limits, constraining the possible Galactic contribution to the diffuse neutrino flux to be relatively small, less than 14% of the flux reported in Aartsen et al. above 1 TeV. A stacking method is also used to test catalogs of known high-energy Galactic gamma-ray sources.
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6. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(author)
-
Flavor Ratio of Astrophysical Neutrinos above 35 TeV in IceCube
- 2015
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In: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 114:17
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A diffuse flux of astrophysical neutrinos above 100 TeV has been observed at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. Here we extend this analysis to probe the astrophysical flux down to 35 TeV and analyze its flavor composition by classifying events as showers or tracks. Taking advantage of lower atmospheric backgrounds for showerlike events, we obtain a shower-biased sample containing 129 showers and 8 tracks collected in three years from 2010 to 2013. We demonstrate consistency with the (f(e) : f(mu) : f(tau))(circle plus) approximate to (1 : 1 : 1)(circle plus) flavor ratio at Earth commonly expected from the averaged oscillations of neutrinos produced by pion decay in distant astrophysical sources. Limits are placed on nonstandard flavor compositions that cannot be produced by averaged neutrino oscillations but could arise in exotic physics scenarios. A maximally tracklike composition of (0 : 1 : 0)(circle plus) is excluded at 3.3 sigma, and a purely showerlike composition of (1 : 0 : 0)(circle plus) is excluded at 2.3 sigma.
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7. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(author)
-
Search for Astrophysical Sources of Neutrinos Using Cascade Events in IceCube
- 2017
-
In: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 846:2
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The IceCube neutrino observatory has established the existence of a flux of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos, which is inconsistent with the expectation from atmospheric backgrounds at a significance greater than 5 sigma. This flux has been observed in analyses of both track events from muon neutrino interactions and cascade events from interactions of all neutrino flavors. Searches for astrophysical neutrino sources have focused on track events due to the significantly better angular resolution of track reconstructions. To date, no such sources have been confirmed. Here we present the first search for astrophysical neutrino sources using cascades interacting in IceCube with deposited energies as small as 1 TeV. No significant clustering was observed in a selection of 263 cascades collected from 2010 May to 2012 May. We show that compared to the classic approach using tracks, this statistically independent search offers improved sensitivity to sources in the southern sky, especially if the emission is spatially extended or follows a soft energy spectrum. This enhancement is due to the low background from atmospheric neutrinos forming cascade events and the additional veto of atmospheric neutrinos at declinations less than or similar to-30 degrees.
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8. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(author)
-
Search for neutrinos from dark matter self-annihilations in the center of the Milky Way with 3 years of IceCube/DeepCore
- 2017
-
In: European Physical Journal C. - : SPRINGER. - 1434-6044 .- 1434-6052. ; 77:9
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present a search for a neutrino signal from dark matter self-annihilations in the Milky Way using the Ice-Cube Neutrino Observatory (IceCube). In 1005 days of data we found no significant excess of neutrinos over the background of neutrinos produced in atmospheric air showers from cosmic ray interactions. We derive upper limits on the velocity averaged product of the darkmatter self-annihilation cross section and the relative velocity of the dark matter particles . Upper limits are set for darkmatter particle candidate masses ranging from 10GeV up to 1TeV while considering annihilation through multiple channels. This work sets the most stringent limit on a neutrino signal from dark matter with mass between 10 and 100GeV, with a limit of 1.18 . 10-23 cm(3)s(-1) for 100GeV dark matter particles self-annihilating via iota(+)iota(-) t-to neutrinos (assuming the Navarro-Frenk-White dark matter halo profile).
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9. |
- Aartsen, M. G., et al.
(author)
-
Neutrino emission from the direction of the blazar TXS 0506+056 prior to the IceCube-170922A alert
- 2018
-
In: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 361:6398, s. 147-151
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A high-energy neutrino event detected by IceCube on 22 September 2017 was coincident in direction and time with a gamma-ray flare from the blazar TXS 0506+056. Prompted by this association, we investigated 9.5 years of IceCube neutrino observations to search for excess emission at the position of the blazar. We found an excess of high-energy neutrino events, with respect to atmospheric backgrounds, at that position between September 2014 and March 2015. Allowing for time-variable flux, this constitutes 3.5 sigma evidence for neutrino emission from the direction of TXS 0506+056, independent of and prior to the 2017 flaring episode. This suggests that blazars are identifiable sources of the high-energy astrophysical neutrino flux.
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10. |
- Adloff, C, et al.
(author)
-
Energy flow and rapidity gaps between jets in photoproduction at HERA
- 2002
-
In: European Physical Journal C. Particles and Fields. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1434-6044. ; 24:4, s. 517-527
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Dijet events in photon-proton collisions in which there is a large pseudorapidity separation, Deltaeta > 2.5 between the two highest E-T jets are studied with the H1 detector at HERA. The inclusive dijet cross sections are measured as functions of the longitudinal momentum fractions of the proton and photon which participate in the production of the jets, x(p)(jets) and x(gamma)(jets) respectively, Deltaeta, the pseudorapidity P separation between the two highest E-T jets, and E-T(gap), the total summed transverse energy between the jets. Rapidity gap events are defined as events in which E-T(gap) is less than E-T(cut), for E-T(cut) varied between jets 0.5 and 2.0 GeV. The fraction of dijet events with a rapidity gap is measured differentially in Deltaeta, x(p)(jets) and x(gamma)(jets). An excess of events with rapidity gaps at low values of E-T(cut) is observed above the expectation from standard photoproduction processes. This excess can be explained by the exchange of a strongly interacting colour singlet object between the jets.
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11. |
- Adloff, C, et al.
(author)
-
Measurement of dijet electroproduction at small jet separation
- 2002
-
In: European Physical Journal C. Particles and Fields. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1434-6044. ; 24:1, s. 33-41
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Deep-inelastic scattering data in the range 150 < Q(2) < 35000 GeV2 are used to investigate the minimum jet separation necessary to allow accurate description of the rate of dijet production using next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations. The required jet separation is found to be small, allowing about 1/3 of DIS data to be classified as dijet, as opposed to approximately 1/10 with more typical jet analyses. A number of precision measurements made using this dijet sample are well described by the calculations. The data are also described by the combination of leading order matrix elements and parton showers, as implemented in the QCD based Monte Carlo model RAPGAP.
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12. |
- Adloff, C, et al.
(author)
-
Measurement of inclusive jet cross-sections in deep-inelastic ep scattering at HERA
- 2002
-
In: Physics Letters. Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics. - 0370-2693. ; 542:3-4, s. 193-206
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A measurement of inclusive jet cross-sections in deep-inelastic ep scattering at HERA is presented based on data with an integrated luminosity of 21.1 pb(-1). The measurement is performed for photon virtualities Q(2) between 5 and 100 GeV2, differentially in Q(2), in the jet transverse energy E-T, in E-T(2)/Q(2) and in the pseudorapidity eta(lab). With the renormalization scale mu(R) = E-T, perturbative QCD calculations in next-to-leading order (NLO) give a good description of the data in most of the phase space. Significant discrepancies are observed only for jets in the proton beam direction with ET below 20 GeV and Q2 below 20 GeV2. This corresponds to the region in which NLO corrections are largest and further improvement of the calculations is thus of particular interest.
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13. |
- Adloff, C, et al.
(author)
-
Search for QCD instanton-induced processes in deep-inelastic scattering at HERA
- 2002
-
In: European Physical Journal C. Particles and Fields. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1434-6044. ; 25:4, s. 495-509
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Signals of QCD instanton-induced processes are searched for in deep-inelastic scattering (DIS) at the electron-proton collider HERA in a kinematic region defined by the Bjorken-scaling variables x > 10(-3), 0.1 < y < 0.6 and photon virtualities 10 less than or similar to Q(2) < 100 GeV2. Several observables characterising hadronic final state properties of QCD instanton-induced events are exploited to identify a potentially instanton-enriched domain. While an excess of events with instanton-like topology is observed it cannot be claimed significant given the uncertainty of the standard DIS background simulation. Upper limits on the cross-section for instanton-induced processes of between 60 pb and 1000 pb are set dependent on the kinematic domain considered. The data do not exclude the cross-section predicted by instanton perturbation theory for small instanton sizes. At large instanton sizes a naive extrapolation of instanton perturbation theory yields a cross-section in the range of sensitivity of this study. Such a cross-section is not observed, in agreement with non-perturbative lattice simulations of the QCD vacuum.
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14. |
- Adloff, C, et al.
(author)
-
A measurement of the t dependence of the helicity structure of diffractive rho meson electroproduction at HERA
- 2002
-
In: Physics Letters. Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics. - 0370-2693. ; 539:1-2, s. 25-39
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The helicity structure of the diffractive electroproduction of rho mesons, e + p --> e + rho + Y, is studied in a previously unexplored region of large four-momentum transfer squared at the proton vertex, t: 0 < t' < 3 GeV2, where t' = - min. The data used are collected with the HI detector at HERA in the kinematic domain 2.5 < Q(2) < 60 GeV2, 40 < W < 120 GeV No t dependence of the r(00)(04) spin density matrix element is found. A significant t dependent helicity non-conservation from the virtual photon to the rho meson is observed for the spin density matrix element combinations r(00)(5) + 2r(11)(5) and r(00)(1) + 2r(11)(1). These t dependences are consistently described by a perturbative QCD model based on the exchange of two gluons.
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15. |
- Adloff, C, et al.
(author)
-
Diffractive photoproduction of psi(2S) mesons at HERA
- 2002
-
In: Physics Letters. Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics. - 0370-2693. ; 541:3-4, s. 251-264
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Results on diffractive photoproduction of psi(2S) mesons are presented using data collected between 1996 and 2000 with the H1 detector at the HERA ep collider. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 77 pb(-1). The energy dependence of the diffractive psi(2S) cross section is found to be similar to or possibly somewhat steeper than that for J/psi mesons. The dependences of the elastic and proton dissociative psi(2S) photoproduction cross sections on the squared momentum transfer t at the proton vertex are measured. The t-dependence of the elastic channel, parametrised as e(bt), yields b(el)(psi(2S)) = (4.31 +/- 0.57 +/- 0.46) GeV-2, compatible with that of the J/psi. For the proton dissociative channel the result b(pd)(psi(2S)) = (0.59 +/- 0.13 +/- 0.12) GeV-2 is 2.3 standard deviations smaller than that measured for the J/psi. With proper account of the individual wavefunctions theoretical predictions based on perturbative QCD are found to describe the measurements well. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
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16. |
- Adloff, C, et al.
(author)
-
Inelastic leptoproduction of J/psi mesons at HERA
- 2002
-
In: European Physical Journal C. Particles and Fields. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1434-6044. ; 25:1, s. 41-53
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The leptoproduction of J/psi mesons is studied in inelastic reactions for four momentorri transfers 2 < Q(2) < 100GeV(2). The data were taken with the H1 detector at the electron proton collider HERA and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 77 pb(-1). Single differential and double differential cross sections are measured with increased precision compared with previous analyses. New leading order calculations within the non-relativistic QCD factorisation approach including colour octet and colour singlet contributions are compared with the data and are found to give a reasonable description of most distributions. An exception is the shape of the distribution in the J/psi fractional energy. z, which deviates significantly from that of the data. Comparisons with photoproduction are made and the polarisation of the produced J/psi meson is analysed.
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17. |
- Adloff, C, et al.
(author)
-
Inelastic photoproduction of J/psi mesons at HERA
- 2002
-
In: European Physical Journal C. Particles and Fields. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1434-6044. ; 25:1, s. 25-39
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- An analysis of inelastic photoproduction of J/psi mesons is presented using data collected at the ep collider HERA corresponding to an integrated luminosity of above 80 pb(-1), Differential and double I < P-t/psi(2) < differential cross sections are measured in a wide kinematic region: 60 < W-gammap < 260 GeV, 1 p(t,psi)(2) < 60 GeV2 and 0.05 < z < 0.9. where z is the fraction of the energy of the exchanged photon transferred to the J/psi meson in the rest frame of the target proton. Cross sections at z less than or similar to 0.3 are presented for the first time. Theoretical calculations within the Colour Singlet Model at NLO for direct photon processes are shown to give a good description of the data in the medium z region (0.3 < z < 0.9) up to the highest p(t,psi)(2) values. A calculation using a k(t) factorisation approach in LO in the Colour Singlet Model is also able to describe these data. The data in the full z range are also compared to LO calculations within a non-relativistic QCD framework including colour octet and colour singlet contributions for direct and resolved photons. It seems possible to reconcile data and theory with modest contributions from colour octet processes. The polarisation of the J/psi meson is measured as a function of z and p(t,psi) and is reasonably described by the theoretical predictions.
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18. |
- Adloff, C, et al.
(author)
-
Measurement of D*(+/-) meson production and F-2(c) in deep-inelastic scattering at HERA
- 2002
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In: Physics Letters. Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics. - 0370-2693. ; 528:3-4, s. 199-214
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The inclusive production of D*+/-(2010) mesons in deep-inelastic scattering is studied with the HI detector at HERA. In the kinematic region 1 < Q(2) < 100 GeV2 and 0.05 < y < 0.7 an e(+) p cross section for inclusive D*+/- meson production of 8.50 +/- 0.42(stat.)(-100)(+1.21)(syst.) nb is measured in the visible range p(tD*) > 1.5 GeV and eta(D*) < 1.5. Single and double differential inclusive D*+/- meson cross sections are compared to perturbative QCD calculations in two different evolution schemes, The charm contribution to the proton structure, F-c(2)(x, Q(2)), is determined by extrapolating the visible charm cross section to the full phase space. This contribution is found to rise from about 10% at Q(2) = 1.5 GeV2 to more than 25% at Q(2) = 60 GeV2 corresponding to x values ranging from 5 x 10(-5) to 3 x 10(-3). (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
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19. |
- Adloff, C, et al.
(author)
-
Measurement of dijet cross sections in photoproduction at HERA
- 2002
-
In: European Physical Journal C. Particles and Fields. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1434-6044. ; 25:1, s. 13-23
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Dijet cross sections as functions of several jet observables are measured in photoproduction using the HI detector at HERA. The data sample comprises e(+)p data with an integrated luminosity of 319 pb(-1). Jets are selected using the inclusive k(perpendicular to) algorithm with a minimum transverse energy of 25 GeV for the leading jet. The phase space covers longitudinal proton momentum fraction x(p) and photon longitudinal momentum fraction x(gamma) in the ranges 0.05 < x(p) < 0.6 and 0.1 < x(gamma) < 1. The predict ions of next-to-leading order perturbative QCD, including recent photon and proton parton densities, are found to be compatible with the data in a wide kinematical range.
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20. |
- Adloff, C, et al.
(author)
-
Search for odderon-induced contributions to exclusive pi(0) photoproduction at HERA
- 2002
-
In: Physics Letters. Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics. - 0370-2693. ; 544:1-2, s. 35-43
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A search for contributions to the reaction ep --> epi(0)N* from photon-odderon fusion in the photoproduction regime at HERA is reported, at an average photon-proton centre-of-mass energy = 215 GeV. The measurement proceeds via detection of the pi(0) decay photons, a leading neutron from the N* decay, and the scattered electron. No pi(0) signal is observed and an upper limit on the cross section for the photon-odderon fusion process of sigma(gammap --> pi(0)N*) < 49 nb at the 95% confidence level is derived, integrated over the experimentally accessible range of the squared four-momentum transfer at the nucleon vertex 0.02 < < 0.3 GeV2. This excludes a recent prediction from a calculation based on a non-perturbative QCD model of a photon-odderon fusion cross section above 200 nb. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
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21. |
- Adloff, C, et al.
(author)
-
Search for excited neutrinos at HERA
- 2002
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In: Physics Letters. Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics. - 0370-2693. ; 525:1-2, s. 9-16
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present a search for excited neutrinos using e(-) p data taken by the H1 experiment at HERA at a center-of-mass energy of 318 GeV with an integrated luminosity of 15 pb(-1). No evidence for excited neutrino production is found. Mass dependent exclusion limits are determined for the ratio of the coupling to the compositeness scale, f/Lambda, independently of the relative couplings to the SU(2) and U(1) gauge bosons. These limits extend the excluded region to higher masses than has been possible in previous searches at other colliders.
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22. |
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