This article reports world averages for measurements of b-hadron, c-hadron, and τ lepton properties obtained by the Heavy Flavor Averaging Group (HFAG) using results available at least through the end of 2009. Some of the world averages presented use data available through the spring of 2010. For the averaging, common input parameters used in the various analyses are adjusted (rescaled) to common values, and known correlations are taken into account. The averages include branching fractions, lifetimes, neutral meson mixing parameters, CP violation parameters, and parameters of semileptonic decays.3 The DELPHI result of Ref. [25] is considered to supersede an older one [26]. 4 CDF updated their measurement of f baryon /f d [29] to account for a measured p T dependence between exclusively reconstructed Λ b and B 0 [31].

ALICE is the heavy-ion experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The experiment continuously took data during the first physics campaign of the machine from fall 2009 until early 2013, using proton and lead-ion beams. In this paper we describe the running environment and the data handling procedures, and discuss the performance of the ALICE detectors and analysis methods for various physics observables.

This article reports world averages for measurements on b-hadron properties obtained by the Heavy Flavor Averaging Group (HFAG) using the available results as of at the end of 2005. In the averaging, the input parameters used in the various analyses are adjusted (rescaled) to common values, and all known correlations are taken into account. The averages include lifetimes, neutral meson mixing parameters, parameters of semileptonic decays, branching fractions of B decays to final states with open charm, charmonium and no charm, and measurements related to CP asymmetries.

We present strange particle spectra and yields measured at midrapidity in √ s = 200 GeV proton-proton (p + p) collisions at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). We find that the previously observed universal transverse mass (m T ≡ p T 2 + m 2 ) scaling of hadron production in p + p collisions seems to break down at higher m T and that there is a difference in the shape of the m T spectrum between baryons and mesons. We observe midrapidity antibaryon to baryon ratios near unity for and baryons and no dependence of the ratio on transverse momentum, indicating that our data do not yet reach the quark-jet dominated region. We show the dependence of the mean transverse momentum p T on measured charged particle multiplicity and on particle mass and infer that these trends are consistent with gluon-jet dominated particle production. The data are compared with previous measurements made at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron and Intersecting Storage Rings and in Fermilab experiments and with leading-order and next-to-leading-order string fragmentation model predictions. We infer from these comparisons that the spectral shapes and particle yields from p + p collisions at RHIC energies have large contributions from gluon jets rather than from quark jets.

Photoproduction reactions occur when the electromagnetic field of a relativistic heavy ion interacts with another heavy ion. The STAR Collaboration presents a measurement of ρ 0 and direct π + π − photoproduction in ultraperipheral relativistic heavy ion collisions at √ s NN = 200 GeV. We observe both exclusive photoproduction and photoproduction accompanied by mutual Coulomb excitation. We find a coherent cross section of σ (AuAu → Au * Au * ρ 0 ) = 530 ± 19(stat.) ± 57(syst.) mb, in accord with theoretical calculations based on a Glauber approach, but considerably below the predictions of a color dipole model. The ρ 0 transverse momentum spectrum (p 2 T ) is fit by a double exponential curve including both coherent and incoherent coupling to the target nucleus; we find σ inc /σ coh = 0.29 ± 0.03 (stat.) ± 0.08 (syst.). The ratio of direct π + π − to ρ 0 production is comparable to that observed in γp collisions at HERA and appears to be independent of photon energy. Finally, the measured ρ 0 spin helicity matrix elements agree within errors with the expected s-channel helicity conservation.