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Title: The first direct limit on the $t$ quark lifetime

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Abstract

This dissertation presents the first direct limit on the t quark lifetime, measured in $$t\bar{t}$$ pair production candidate events from a 318 pb -1 sample of $$p +\bar{p}$$ collisions recorded by the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF). Candidate events are identified by a leptonically decaying W± boson and three or more jets, at least one of which contains a secondary vertex. In each event we measure the transverse track-to-beam displacement (impact parameter) of the lepton from the W± decay, and compare the distribution to templates constructed from $$t\bar{t}$$ event simulations with a variable t lifetime. Anticipated background distributions are measured with a combination of Monte Carlo event simulation and control samples, and included in the templates. We determine the following limits: cτ t < 52.5µm @ 95% C.L. cτ t < 43.5µm @ 90% C.L. We thus conclude that the top mean lifetime is less than 145 fs (175 fs) at 90% (95%) C.L.

Authors:
 [1]
  1. Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP) (SC-25)
OSTI Identifier:
1415846
Report Number(s):
FERMILAB-THESIS-2006-60
738881
DOE Contract Number:  
AC02-07CH11359
Resource Type:
Thesis/Dissertation
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS

Citation Formats

Holloway, Ayana Tamu. The first direct limit on the $t$ quark lifetime. United States: N. p., 2006. Web. doi:10.2172/1415846.
Holloway, Ayana Tamu. The first direct limit on the $t$ quark lifetime. United States. doi:10.2172/1415846.
Holloway, Ayana Tamu. Sun . "The first direct limit on the $t$ quark lifetime". United States. doi:10.2172/1415846. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1415846.
@article{osti_1415846,
title = {The first direct limit on the $t$ quark lifetime},
author = {Holloway, Ayana Tamu},
abstractNote = {This dissertation presents the first direct limit on the t quark lifetime, measured in $t\bar{t}$ pair production candidate events from a 318 pb-1 sample of $p +\bar{p}$ collisions recorded by the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF). Candidate events are identified by a leptonically decaying W± boson and three or more jets, at least one of which contains a secondary vertex. In each event we measure the transverse track-to-beam displacement (impact parameter) of the lepton from the W± decay, and compare the distribution to templates constructed from $t\bar{t}$ event simulations with a variable t lifetime. Anticipated background distributions are measured with a combination of Monte Carlo event simulation and control samples, and included in the templates. We determine the following limits: cτt < 52.5µm @ 95% C.L. cτt < 43.5µm @ 90% C.L. We thus conclude that the top mean lifetime is less than 145 fs (175 fs) at 90% (95%) C.L.},
doi = {10.2172/1415846},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2006},
month = {Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2006}
}

Thesis/Dissertation:
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