Student Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

1996

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis Advisor

Konstantin Goulianos

Keywords

prompt photons, proton-antiproton collisions, cross section, QCD test, transverse momentum, CDF detector

Abstract

Data taken from the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) during the 1992-1993 run are used to measure the cross section for production of isolated prompt photons in p̄p collisions at √s = 1.8 TeV. Prompt photon production in p̄p collisions is sensitive to the gluon structure function of the proton and therefore can provide a test of QCD. This measurement is a significant improvement over the 1989 measurement due to the addition of the Central Preradiator Chambers, the neural network hardware trigger upgrades, and the six times increase in integrated luminosity. Two different methods, conversion method and profile method, were used to separate prompt photons from photons produced by decay of hadrons. The profile method was used from 10-16 GeV PT and the conversion method at PT > 16 GeV. The cross section, measured as a function of transverse momentum, is in general agreement with next-to-leading order QCD predictions over five orders of magnitude but has a steeper slope at low PT.

Comments

A thesis presented to the faculty of The Rockefeller University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

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