Search for lepton-flavor violation at HERA ZEUS Collaboration

A search for lepton-flavor-violating interactions ep → μX and ep → τX has been performed with the ZEUS detector using the entire HERA I data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 130 pb. The data were taken at center-of-mass energies, √ s, of 300 and 318 GeV. No evidence of leptonflavor violation was found, and constraints were derived on leptoquarks (LQs) that could mediate such interactions. For LQ masses below √ s, limits were set on λeq1 √ βlq, where λeq1 is the coupling of the LQ to an electron and a firstgeneration quark q1, and βlq is the branching ratio of the LQ to the final-state lepton l (μ or τ) and a quark q. For LQ masses much larger than √ s, limits were set on the four-fermion interaction term λeqαλlqβ/M 2 LQ for LQs that couple to an electron and a quark qα and to a lepton l and a quark qβ , where α and β are quark generation indices. Some of the limits are also applicable to lepton-flavorviolating processes mediated by squarks in R-Parity-violating supersymmetric models. In some cases, especially when a higher-generation quark is involved and for the process ep → τX, the ZEUS limits are the most stringent to date. The ZEUS Collaboration S. Chekanov, M. Derrick, S. Magill, S. Miglioranzi, B. Musgrave, J. Repond, R. Yoshida Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439-4815, USA n M.C.K. Mattingly Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan 49104-0380, USA N. Pavel, A.G. Yagües Molina Institut für Physik der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany P. Antonioli, G. Bari, M. Basile, L. Bellagamba, D. Boscherini, A. Bruni, G. Bruni, G. Cara Romeo, L. Cifarelli, F. Cindolo, A. Contin, M. Corradi, S. De Pasquale, P. Giusti, G. Iacobucci, A. Margotti, A. Montanari, R. Nania, F. Palmonari, A. Pesci, A. Polini, L. Rinaldi, G. Sartorelli, A. Zichichi University and INFN Bologna, Bologna, Italy e G. Aghuzumtsyan, D. Bartsch, I. Brock, S. Goers, H. Hartmann, E. Hilger, P. Irrgang, H.P. Jakob, O. Kind, U. Meyer, E. Paul, J. Rautenberg, R. Renner, K.C. Voss, M. Wang, M. Wlasenko Physikalisches Institut der Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany b D.S. Bailey, N.H. Brook, J.E. Cole, G.P. Heath, T. Namsoo, S. Robins H.H. Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom m M. Capua, A. Mastroberardino, M. Schioppa, G. Susinno, E. Tassi Calabria University, Physics Department and INFN, Cosenza, Italy e J.Y. Kim, K.J. Ma Chonnam National University, Kwangju, South Korea g M. Helbich, Y. Ning, Z. Ren, W.B. Schmidke, F. Sciulli Nevis Laboratories, Columbia University, Irvington on Hudson, New York 10027 o J. Chwastowski, A. Eskreys, J. Figiel, A. Galas, K. Olkiewicz, P. Stopa, D. Szuba, L. Zawiejski Institute of Nuclear Physics, Cracow, Poland i L. Adamczyk, T. Bo ld, I. Grabowska-Bo ld, D. Kisielewska, A.M. Kowal, J. Lukasik, M. Przybycień, L. Suszycki, J. Szuba Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, AGH-University of Science and Technology, Cracow, Poland p A. Kotański, W. S lomiński Department of Physics, Jagellonian University, Cracow, Poland