Related papers: Tau Decays and $\alpha_s$
Precise measurements of the lepton properties provide stringent tests of the Standard Model and accurate determinations of its parameters. We overview the present status of tau physics, highlighting the most recent developments, and discuss…
Using recently developed methods for the evaluation of five-loop amplitudes in perturbative QCD, corrections of order alpha_s^4 for the cross section of electron-positron annihilation into hadrons and for the decay rates of the Z-boson and…
The decay rate of the $\tau$ lepton into hadrons of invariant mass smaller than $Q\gg\Lambda_{\rm QCD}$ can be calculated in QCD using the OPE. Using experimental data on the hadronic mass distribution, the running coupling constant…
The results of two methods to extract the strong coupling constant, $\alpha_s$, are reviewed for the LEP experiments. In the first, scaling violations in the scaled momentum distributions of charged particles at LEP and at lower energy…
The full LEP-1 data set collected with the ALEPH detector at the $Z$ pole during 1991-1995 is analysed in order to measure the $\tau$ decay branching fractions. Extensive systematic studies are performed, in order to match the large…
Three important QCD-related aspects of the $\tau$ and $\mu$ dynamics are reviewed: the determination of the strong coupling from the hadronic tau decay width, leading to the updated value $\alpha_s(m_\tau^2) = 0.331 \pm 0.013$; the…
The leptonic decays of the tau lepton provide relevant tests on the structure of the weak currents and the universality of their couplings to the gauge bosons. The hadronic tau decay modes constitute an ideal tool for studying low--energy…
This is a review of new results on the Tau lepton. The lifetime has been measured with improved precision, allowing the test of lepton universality to 0.2% level. There are several new measurements of the branching ratios for the hadronic…
The two highest precision determinations of alpha_s(M_Z^2), that based on the analysis of short-distance-sensitive lattice observables, and that based on an analysis of hadronic tau decay data, have, until very recently, given results which…
We review the current status of the determination of the strong coupling from tau decay. Using the most recent release of the ALEPH data, a very comprehensive phenomenological analysis has been performed, exploring all strategies previously…
The total tau hadronic width can be accurately calculated using analyticity and the operator product expansion. The result turns out to be very sensitive to the value of alpha_s(m_tau^2), providing a precise determination of the strong…
Some important aspects of hadronic tau decays are reviewed: the determination of alpha_s from the inclusive tau hadronic width, the measurement of |V_{us}| through the Cabibbo-suppressed decays of the tau, and the theoretical description of…
The pure leptonic or semileptonic character of tau decays makes them a good laboratory to test the structure of the weak currents and the universality of their couplings to the gauge bosons. The hadronic tau decay modes constitute an ideal…
The purely leptonic decays Ds -> tau nu and Ds -> mu nu are studied in a sample of four million hadronic Z decays collected with the ALEPH detector at the LEP e+e- collider from 1991 to 1995. The branching fractions are extracted from a…
Until recently, determinations of alpha_s(M_Z) from hadronic tau decays and the analysis of short-distance-sensitive lattice observables yielded results which, though precise, were not in good agreement. I review new analyses that bring…
Hadronic $\tau$ decays provide a clean laboratory for the precise study of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). Observables based on the spectral functions of hadronic $\tau$ decays can be related to QCD quark-level calculations to determine…
We present a comprehensive study of the determination of the strong coupling from $\tau$ decay, using the most recent release of the experimental ALEPH data. We critically review all theoretical strategies used in previous works and put…
We review our recent determination of the strong coupling \alpha_s from the OPAL data for non-strange hadronic tau decays. We find that \alpha_s(m^2_\tau) =0.325+-0.018 using fixed-order perturbation theory, and…
Full LEP-I data collected by the ALEPH detector during 1991-1995 running are analyzed in order to measure the $\tau$ decay branching fractions. The analysis follows the global method used in the published study based on 1991-1993 data, with…
Recently, we extracted the strong coupling, $\alpha_s(m_\tau^2)$, from the revised ALEPH data for non-strange hadronic tau decays. Our analysis is based on a method previously used for the determination of the strong coupling from OPAL…