This thesis presents first measurements of moments of the hadronic n_X^2 distribution measured in inclusive semileptonic decays of B mesons to final states containing a charm quark, B->Xc l nu. The variable n_X^2 is a combination of the invariant mass of the charmed meson m_X, its energy in the B-meson rest-frame E_X, and a constant \tilde{\Lambda} = 0.65 GeV, n_X^2 = m_X^2 c^4 - 2 \tilde{\Lambda} E_X + \tilde{\Lambda}^2. The moments <n_X^k> with k=2,4,6 are measured as proposed by theory to constrain assumptions made in the theoretical description of inclusive observables in semileptonic B-meson decays. This description uses Heavy Quark Expansion (HQE), an effective QCD combined with an Operator Product Expansion. The measurement is based on a sample of 231.6 million e+e- -> Y(4S) -> B\bar{B} events recorded with the BABAR experiment at the PEP-II e+e--storage rings at SLAC. We reconstruct the semileptonic decay by identifying a charged lepton in events tagged by a fully reconstructed hadronic decay of the second B meson. Correction procedures are derived from Monte Carlo simulations to ensure an unbiased measurement of the moments of the n_X^2 distribution. All moments are measured requiring minimum lepton momenta between 0.8 GeV/c and 1.9 GeV/c in the rest frame of the B meson. Performing a simultaneous fit to the measured moments <n_X^k> up to order k=6 combined with other measurements of moments of the lepton-energy spectrum in decays B->Xc l nu and moments of the photon-energy spectrum in decays B->Xs gamma, we determine the quark-mixing parameter |V_{cb}|, the bottom and charm quark masses, the semileptonic branching fraction BR(B->X l nu), and four non-perturbative heavy quark parameters. Using HQE calculations in the kinetic scheme up to order 1/m_b^3 we find |V_{cb}| = (41.65 +- 0.43 +- 0.40 +- 0.58) x 10^{-3} and m_b = (4.570 \pm 0.033 \pm 0.043)GeV/c^2, where the first uncertainty refers to experimental contributions, the second to uncertainties in the HQE, and the third to theoretical uncertainties in the calculations of the semileptonic decay rate. All obtained results are consistent with previous determinations. The inclusion of the moments <n_X^6> decreases the uncertainty on the HQE parameters mu_{pi} and rho_{D}. Furthermore, the theoretical treatment of higher order corrections in the HQE used for the moments <m_X^k> has been verified with these new measurements.

Within the PANDA experiment, proton anti-proton collisions will be studied in order to gain knowledge about the strong interaction. One interesting aspect is the production and decay of charmed hadrons. The charm quark is three orders of magnitude heavier than the light up- and down-quarks which constitue the matter we consist of. The detection of charmed particles is a challenge since they are rare and often hidden in a large background. There will be three different targets used at the experiment; the cluster-jet, the untracked pellet and the tracked pellet. All three targets meet the experimental requirements of high luminosity. However they have different properties, concerning the effect on beam quality and the determination of the interaction point. In this thesis, simulations and reconstruction of the charmed D-mesons using the three different targets have been made. The data quality, such as momentum resolution and vertex resolution has been studied, as well as how the different targets effect the reconstruction efficiency of D-meson have been analysed. The results are consistent with the results from a similar study in 2006, but provide additional information since it takes the detector response into account. Furthermore, a new target distribution have been implemented in the software package. This is the first results obtained from a cylindrical target distribution. The results are very important for PANDA since they show the limitations of different target types regarding the possibilities to reduce background. Simulations with the new target distribution have been made for all three targets and the results are presented.

LHCb is an experiment designed to make precision measurements of Charge- Parity violation in the B meson system. We report a measurement of the B± crosssection and production asymmetry, using B± → J/u K± decays collected at the LHCb detector in 2010 and 2011. Using 27.6 pb-1 of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy 7 TeV, we obtain a B± cross-section of [41.6 ± 0.6 (stat.) ± 3.0 (sys.) ± 4.2 (lumi.)] μb in the rapidity region 2 to 4.5. Using 371.1 pb-1 of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy 7 TeV, we obtain a B± production asymmetry of [-2.09 ± 1.20 ± 0.8 (CP) ]% in the same rapidity region. The Ring Imaging Cherenkov system of LHCb uses Hybrid photon detectors (HPDs) for single photon detection. This thesis summarises the use of ion feedback measurements as indicators of HPD vacuum quality.

A large acceptance polarimeter has been designed to measure recoil polarisation in pseudoscalar (Jπ=0−) meson photoproduction reactions. The device was installed at the MAMI facility at the Institut für Kernphysik in Mainz, Germany. A racetrack microtron provided a longitudinally polarised 1.5 GeV electron beam, which impinged on a 12 μm copper radiator, producing a beam of circularly polarised Bremsstrahlung photons with energies between 400-1400 MeV. The electrons were then momentum analysed in the Glasgow Photon Tagging Spectrometer to tag the photon energy with a resolution of ~4 MeV. The photons were incident on a liquid hydrogen target, and the reaction products were detected using the Crystal Ball and TAPS detectors. The beam-recoil polarisation observable Cx, which describes the fraction of circular polarisation transferred from the photon beam to the recoiling nucleon, was measured in the reactions γp→pπ0 and γp→pη from data taken in September-October 2008. The results for π0 production give a significant expansion of the world data set and are shown to be consistent with the few previous measurements taken at Jefferson Lab, USA, while the results for the η channel are a world first. The observed values for Cx are compared to the current solutions from the two leading partial wave analyses, SAID and MAID, with wide angular coverage up to a photon beam energy of 1400 MeV. Significant discrepancies in the prediction of Cx can be resolved by the new data.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi incluir o méson escalar $\\kappa$ na núvem de mésons estranhos do próton e verificar se, desta forma, a contribuição de estranheza para as suas propriedades eletromagnéticas poderia ser explicada pelo modelo da núvem mesônica. Os observáveis que quantificam tal contribuição são os fatores de forma estranhos elétrico ($G_E^s$) e magnético ($G_M^s$), que têm sido objeto de grande interesse experimental nos últimos 10 anos. Usando a versão da nuvem que inclui o méson $\\kappa$, nós calculamos $G_E^s$ e $G_M^s$ em função do momento transferido dentro do intervalo 0 $\\leq Q^2 \\leq$ 1,2 GeV$^2$, de modo a abranger toda a gama de dados disponíveis no momento. Comparamos nossos resultados com os dados existentes para $G_E^s$ e $G_M^s$ e encontramos um ótimo acordo entre experimento e modelo, demonstrando que a inclusão do $\\kappa$ na núvem de mésons do próton é fundamental para que o seu conteúdo de estranheza possa ser compreendido. / The goal of this work was to include the scalar $\\kappa$ meson on the meson cloud of the proton, and then to verify if the strangeness contribution to the electromagnetic properties of the proton could be explained by the meson cloud model. The observables that quantify such a contribution are the electric ($G_E^s$) and magnetic ($G_M^s$) strange form factors, which have been subject of great experimental interest in the last 10 years. Using the version of the cloud which includes the $\\kappa$ meson, we calculated $G_E^s$ and $G_M^s$ as a function of the transferred momentum in the interval 0 $\\leq Q^2 \\leq$ 1.2 GeV$^2$, to cover the full range of available data at the time. We compared our results with existing data for $G_E^s$ and $G_M^s$ and we found a good agreement between experiment and model, showing that including $\\kappa$ on the meson cloud of the proton is crucial to understand its strangeness content.

The study of matter at extreme densities has been a major focus in theoretical physics in the last half-century. The wide spectrum of information that the field produces provides an invaluable contribution to our knowledge of the world in which we live. Most fascinatingly, the insight into the world around us is provided from knowledge of the intangible, at both the smallest and largest scales in existence. Through the study of nuclear physics we are able to investigate the fundamental construction of individual particles forming nuclei, and with further physics we can extrapolate to neutron stars. The models and concepts put forward by the study of nuclear matter help to solve the mystery of the most powerful interaction in the universe; the strong force. In this study we have investigated a particular state-of-the-art model which is currently used to refine our knowledge of the workings of the strong interaction and the way that it is manifested in both neutron stars and heavy nuclei, although we have placed emphasis on the former for reasons of personal interest. The main body of this work has surrounded an effective field theory known as Quantum Hadrodynamics (QHD) and its variations, as well as an extension to this known as the Quark-Meson Coupling (QMC) model, and variations thereof. We further extend these frameworks to include the possibility of a phase transition from hadronic matter to deconfined quark matter to produce hybrid stars, using various models. We have investigated these pre-existing models to deeply understand how they are justified, and given this information, we have expanded them to incorporate a modern understanding of how the strong interaction is manifest. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1458960 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Chemistry and Physics, 2010

<p>Quantum chromodynamics has interesting limits both in the low and the high-energy region. In the low energy region one has phenomenology of meson interactions which are still not clearly understood. In the high-energy region one wants to find a new theory which will envelope gravity and the standard model in the quantum framework, possibly via some kind of string theory.</p><p>In this thesis some aspects are touched upon including both these limits. On the one hand we look at meson scattering close to threshold and try to describe cross sections via phenomenological models such as the two-step model. We then go on and dwell upon noncommutative geometry, a framework which has been successful in describing certain aspects of the theory of strings.</p><p>The low-energy calculations gave some insight into the need for finding better understanding of the theories of mesons. The work on noncommutative geometry was on the other hand fruitful in gaining understanding of certain connections between different star products and their relations on a local level.</p>

<p> Two-pion production reactions in proton-proton collisions have been studied using the PROMICE/WASA detector and an internal cluster gas-jet target at the CELSIUS storage ring in Uppsala. Three out of the four isospin-independent reaction channels have been measured at several energies in the intermediate and near threshold energy region. Important parts of the analysis include the identification of neutral pions from the invariant mass of the decay gammas, the identification of positive pions with the delayed pulse technique and the use of Monte Carlo simulations to understand the detector response. The total cross sections for the pp®ppπ⁺π^-, the pp®ppπ⁰π⁰ and the pp®pnπ⁺π⁰ reactions are presented at beam energies ranging from 650 to 775 MeV. </p><p>The production mechanism for two-pion production near threshold seems to be dominated by resonance production. The contribution from the non-resonant terms alone can not reproduce the total cross sections. In most models, two-pion production is governed by the δ and the <i>N</i>^* resonances in either one or both of the participating nucleons. </p><p>The <i>N</i>^*(1440)®N(πp)^T=0_S−<i>wave</i> transition has been suggested as the dominating production mechanism for two-pion production in proton-proton collisions. However, the total cross sections presented in this thesis show that other production mechanisms also must give large contributions. </p>

Two-pion production reactions in proton-proton collisions have been studied using the PROMICE/WASA detector and an internal cluster gas-jet target at the CELSIUS storage ring in Uppsala. Three out of the four isospin-independent reaction channels have been measured at several energies in the intermediate and near threshold energy region. Important parts of the analysis include the identification of neutral pions from the invariant mass of the decay gammas, the identification of positive pions with the delayed pulse technique and the use of Monte Carlo simulations to understand the detector response. The total cross sections for the pp®ppπ+π-, the pp®ppπ0π0 and the pp®pnπ+π0 reactions are presented at beam energies ranging from 650 to 775 MeV. The production mechanism for two-pion production near threshold seems to be dominated by resonance production. The contribution from the non-resonant terms alone can not reproduce the total cross sections. In most models, two-pion production is governed by the δ and the N* resonances in either one or both of the participating nucleons. The N*(1440)®N(πp)T=0S−wave transition has been suggested as the dominating production mechanism for two-pion production in proton-proton collisions. However, the total cross sections presented in this thesis show that other production mechanisms also must give large contributions.

Quantum chromodynamics has interesting limits both in the low and the high-energy region. In the low energy region one has phenomenology of meson interactions which are still not clearly understood. In the high-energy region one wants to find a new theory which will envelope gravity and the standard model in the quantum framework, possibly via some kind of string theory. In this thesis some aspects are touched upon including both these limits. On the one hand we look at meson scattering close to threshold and try to describe cross sections via phenomenological models such as the two-step model. We then go on and dwell upon noncommutative geometry, a framework which has been successful in describing certain aspects of the theory of strings. The low-energy calculations gave some insight into the need for finding better understanding of the theories of mesons. The work on noncommutative geometry was on the other hand fruitful in gaining understanding of certain connections between different star products and their relations on a local level.