Measurement of the Forward-Backward Asymmetry in the Production of B+ Mesons in p p-bar Collisions
| dc.contributor.advisor | Corcoran, Marjorie D | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Geurts, Frank | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Semmes, Stephen | |
| dc.creator | Hogan, Julie M | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2016-01-25T21:56:23Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2016-01-25T21:56:23Z | |
| dc.date.created | 2015-05 | |
| dc.date.issued | 2015-02-06 | |
| dc.date.submitted | May 2015 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2016-01-25T21:56:24Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | We present a measurement of the forward-backward asymmetry in the production of B+ mesons, A_FB(B+), using B+ -> J/psi K+ decays in 10.4 inverse femtobarns of p p-bar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV collected by the D0 experiment during Run II of the Tevatron collider. A nonzero asymmetry would indicate a preference for a particular flavor, i.e., b quark or b-bar antiquark, to be produced in the direction of the proton beam. We extract A_FB(B+) from a maximum likelihood fit to the difference between the numbers of forward- and backward-produced B+ mesons, using a boosted decision tree to reduce background. Corrections are made for reconstruction asymmetries of the decay products. We measure an asymmetry consistent with zero: A_FB(B+) = [-0.24 +/- 0.41(stat) +/- 0.19(syst)]%. The standard model estimate from next-to-leading-order Monte Carlo is A_FB(B+) = [2.31 +/- 0.34(stat.) +/- 0.51(syst.)]%. There is a difference of approximately 3 standard deviations between this prediction and our result, which suggests that more rigorous determination of the standard model prediction is needed to interpret these results. | |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Hogan, Julie M. "Measurement of the Forward-Backward Asymmetry in the Production of B+ Mesons in p p-bar Collisions." (2015) Diss., Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/88127">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/88127</a>. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1911/88127 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.rights | Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder. | |
| dc.subject | particle physics | |
| dc.subject | forward-backward asymmetry | |
| dc.subject | b quark | |
| dc.subject | B meson | |
| dc.title | Measurement of the Forward-Backward Asymmetry in the Production of B+ Mesons in p p-bar Collisions | |
| dc.type | Thesis | |
| dc.type.material | Text | |
| thesis.degree.department | Physics and Astronomy | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Natural Sciences | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | Rice University | |
| thesis.degree.level | Doctoral | |
| thesis.degree.name | Doctor of Philosophy |
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