SSM−E6

SSM−0032 : Particles and Fields of Modern Physics

Practical Session 3, 11th December 2003

Name of Student : .................................

Hand in answers to Dr.Waters at the end of the session.

Scanning OPAL Events

Overview :

You will be looking at pictures of e A e B collisions recorded at various energies by the OPAL
detector, one of the experiments located at the LEP collider at CERN in Geneva that took data
between 1989 and 2000. The event pictures are computer reconstructions of the tracks left by the
charged particles in the detector, together with the energies recorded in the calorimeter and hits (or
short track "stubs") left in the outer muon detectors. The object of the exercise is to learn how to
recognise the different sorts of events and use these techniques to measure the composition of some
samples of events.

Getting Started :

(1)Double click on the shortcut to "PP−Primer", which should be visible on the desktop of the
computer to which you have been assigned. Click on "Guess the OPAL event!".
(2)Read and understand the following sections : "Introduction", "The Detector and How to
Understand the Event Pictures" and "How to Identify Events Containing a Particle−Antiparticle
Pair".
(3)Complete "Challenge 1" and "Challenge 2".

Measuring the Decay Branching Ratios of the Z0 Boson :

(4)Click on the link "Measuring Z0 Decays".

Q1 Scan all 267 events and search for those events falling into the following 3 categories.
Record the event numbers (and for the Z 0 →τA τB decays, the type of decay) :

Z 0 →e A e B Z 0 →µA µB Z 0 →τ A τ B

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Q2 Multiply the number of Z 0 →e A e B events by 1.6 and compare the numbers of events in
the above three categories. Estimate the statistical errors on your measured numbers of
events (you might need to read the section on "statistical uncertainties" on the web page) :

0 A B
N Z →e e = ±
0 A B
N Z →µ µ = ±
0 A B
N Z →τ τ = ±

Q3 Are the numbers consistent with the theoretical prediction that the Z0 should decay with
equal probability to all 3 lepton flavours ?

Q4 Are the numbers consistent with the theoretical prediction that the Z0 should decay to a
µ+µ− pair 0.048 times as often as it decays to a quark−antiquark pair ?

Characterising WW Decays :

Once the centre of mass energy available in the e A e B collision exceeds approximately 160 GeV,
it is possible for pairs of W bosons to be created. Each W boson can then decay with the following
probabilities into different final states (the charges are not indicated since W+ and W− bosons decay
identically, each conserving charge and lepton number) :

Decay Mode Fraction

W →e ν e 1/9

W →µν µ 1/9

W →τ ν τ 1/9

W →q q̄ 6/9

Q5 Calculate the fraction of WW events that fall into the following categories :

Decay Mode Fraction

WW →q q̄ q q̄

WW →l ν l q q̄ l=e or µor τ

WW →l νl l ν l l=e or µor τ

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(5)Read the section "How to Identify Events Containing a Pair of W Particles".
(6)Click on the challenge "Measuring W Decays".

Q6 Classify the following events by placing a cross in the appropriate column :

WW →l ν l l ν l
Event WW →q q̄ q q̄ WW →e νe q q̄ WW →µν µ q q̄
(indicate type)
2
3
7
29
33
37
47
49
57
58

Search for the Higgs Boson :

The highest energy reached at LEP was around 205 GeV. The purpose of running at these very high
energies was to search for Higgs bosons, predominantly through their production in association
with a Z0 boson. Since the Higgs bosons couple preferentially to massive particles, they decay
mainly to b b̄ (why not t t̄ ?). The Z0 can decay through any of the channels you have identified
above :

The b−quarks form jets of hadrons like any other quarks. However, the b−mesons that are formed
have a relatively long lifetime and, coupled with the effect of time−dilation, they can travel
hundreds of microns or even millimetres before decaying. Sensitive tracking detectors can
reconstruct tracks from these decays that do not point back to the main event "vertex" (where the
original collision took place and from where all the other tracks emanate), but from a displaced
"secondary−vertex". This is one of the main ways in which jets arising from b−quark production
are differentiated from jets arising from other quark flavours.

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Q7 This 3−dimensional OPAL event picture shows an event which might be of the above type.
How did the Z0 decay in this event ? Indicate on the picture the Z0 and Higgs decay products.

4
Q8 The following shows a cross section of another event which might contain a Higgs boson.
The small circles indicate secondary vertices that have been reconstructed from the particle
tracks. How did the Z0 decay this time ? Indicate on the picture the Z0 and Higgs decay
products.

Q9 How might Higgs events of this type be recognised if the Z0 decayed to neutrinos ?