We have studied several features of the production of charged-hardon pairs by γγ collisions. We have measured the f0 partial width Γf0→γγ(Q2) for Q2 in the range 0<Q2<1.4 GeV2/c2, and obtained Γf0→γγ=2.52±0.13±0.38 keV at Q2≈0. The measured Q2 dependence is in agreement with the generalized vector-dominance model. The cross section for γγ→(π+π−+K+K−) in the mass region 1.6≤Mππ≤2.5 GeV/c2 has also been measured and the result compared with that expected from the QCD continuum.
We report a measurement of the cross section for the process γγ → π + π − at invariant masses 500 MeV/ c 2 < m ππ <2000 MeV/ c 2 . A value for the radiative width of the f(1270) tensor meson Γ f→ γγ = 3.6 ± 0.3 ± 0.5 KeV (helicity λ = 2) has been obtained from a fit to the observed ππ mass spectrum.
We present a measurement of the cross section for the reaction e + e − → e + e − π + π − π + π − at SPEAR. This channel is found to be large and dominated by the process γγ → ϱ 0 ϱ 0 → π + π − π + π − . The cross section, which is small just above the four-pion threshold, exhibits a large enhancement near the ϱ 0 ϱ 0 threshold.
We report measurements of the two-photon processes e+e−→e+e−π+π− and e+e−→e+e−K+K−, at an e+e− center-of-mass energy of 29 GeV. In the π+π− data a high-statistics analysis of the f(1270) results in a γγ width Γ(γγ→f)=3.2±0.4 keV. The π+π− continuum below the f mass is well described by a QED Born approximation, whereas above the f mass it is consistent with a QCD-model calculation if a large contribution from the f is assumed. For the K+K− data we find agreement of the high-mass continuum with the QCD prediction; limits on f′(1520) and θ(1720) formation are presented.
At the electron-proton collider HERA the inclusive $D~{*\pm}$ meson photoproduction cross section has been measured with the H1 detector in two different, but partly overlapping, kinematical regions. For the first, where $\langle W_{\gamma p}\rangle \approx 200$\ GeV and $Q~2 < 0.01\,\gev~2$, the result is $\sigma(\gamma p \rightarrow c \bar{c} X) = (13.2 \pm 2.2 ~{+2.1}_{-1.7}\, ~{+9.9}_{-4.8})\,\mu b$. The second measurement for $Q~2 < 4\,\gev~2$ yields $\sigma(\gamma p \rightarrow c \bar{c} X) = ( 9.3 \pm 2.1 ~{+1.9}_{-1.8}\, ~{+6.9}_ {-3.2} )\,\mu b$ at $\langle W_{\gamma p}\rangle \approx 142$\,GeV and $\sigma(\gamma p \rightarrow c \bar{c} X) = ( 20.6 \pm 5.5 ~ {+4.3}_{-3.9}\, ~{+15.4}_{-7.2})\,\mu b$ at $\langle W_{\gamma p} \rangle \approx 230$\,GeV, respectively. The third error accounts for an additional uncertainty due to the proton and photon parton density parametrizations. Differential cross sections are presented as a function of the $D~{*\pm}$ transverse momentum and rapidity. The results compare reasonably well with next-to-leading order QCD calculations. Evidence for diffractive photoproduction of charm quark is presented.
Properties of the hadronic final state in photoproduction events with large transverse energy are studied at the electron-proton collider HERA. Distributions of the transverse energy, jets and underlying event energy are compared to $\overline{p}p$ data and QCD calculations. The comparisons show that the $\gamma p$ events can be consistently described by QCD models including -- in addition to the primary hard scattering process -- interactions between the two beam remnants. The differential jet cross sections $d\sigma/dE_T~{jet}$ and $d\sigma/d\eta~{jet}$ are measured.
We report a measurement of the reaction γγ→K+K−π+π− in both tagged and untagged events at PEP. The cross section rises with invariant γγ mass to about 15 nb at 2 GeV and falls slowly at higher masses. We find clear evidence for the processes γγ→φπ+π− and γγ→K*0(892)Kπ. Upper limits (95% C.L.) of 1.5 and 5.7 nb in the mass range from 1.7 to 3.7 GeV are obtained for φρ0 and K*0K¯*0 production, respectively.
The two-photon production of the η meson has been observed, and a value has been determined for the two-photon η decay width by a measurement of the cross section σ(e+e−→e+e−η) where η→γγ. The measurement was made with the TPC/Two-Gamma facility at the SLAC e+e− collider PEP, with an accumulated data sample of 64.5 pb−1. The η→γγ events were both triggered and detected by the pole-tip calorimeter. The measured two-photon η decay width is Γη→γγ=0.64±0.14 (statistical) ±0.13 (systematic) keV, in agreement with earlier similarly determined values.
Using 2674 nb−1 of data taken at s from 5.00 to 7.25 GeV with a trigger sensitive to decays of lower-mass particles produced in two-photon collisions, we have observed 56±12 events consistent with the reaction e+e−→e+e−η, η→γγ. Background has been subtracted using separated-beam data. We obtain Γγγ(η)=0.56±0.16 keV and the pseudoscalar-nonet mixing angle θP=−17.6°±3.6°.
The inclusive production of D ∗± mesons in photon-photon collisions has been measured by the Aleph experiment at LEP with a beam energy of 45 GeV. The D ∗+ are detected in their decay to D 0 π + with the D 0 observed in three separate decay modes: (1) K − π + , (2) K − π + π 0 and (3) K − π + π − π + , and analagously for the D ∗− modes. A total of 33 events was observed from an integrated luminosity of 73 pb −1 which corresponds to a cross section for Σ( e + e − → e + e − D ∗± X ) of 155 ± 33 ± 21 pb. This result is compatible with both the direct production γγ → c c in the Born approximation and with a more complete calculation which includes both radiative QCD corrections and contributions in which one of the photons is first resolved into its quark and gluon constituents. The shapes of distributions for events containing a D ∗+ are found to be better described by the latter.