MINOS is a long-baseline two-detector neutrino oscillation experiment that uses a high intensity muon neutrino beam to investigate the phenomena of neutrino oscillations. By measuring the neutrino interactions in a detector near the neutrino source and again 735 km away from the production site, it is possible to probe the parameters governing neutrino oscillation. The majority of the {nu}{sub {mu}} oscillate to {nu}{sub {tau}} but a small fraction may oscillate instead to {nu}{sub e}. This thesis presents a measurement of the {nu}{sub e} appearance rate in the MINOS far detector using the first two years of exposure. Methods for constraining the far detector backgrounds using the near detector measurements is discussed and a technique for estimating the uncertainty on the background and signal selection are developed. A 1.6{sigma} excess over the expected background rate is found providing a hint of {nu}{sub e} appearance.

A search for charged massive stable particles has been performed with the D0 detector using 1.1 fb{sup -1} of data. The speed of the particle has been calculated based on the time-of-flight and position information in the muon system. The present research is limited to direct pair-production of the charged massive long-lived particles. We do not consider CMSPs that result from the cascade decays of heavier particles. In this analysis, the exact values of the model parameters of the entire supersymmetric particle mass spectrum, relevant for cascade decays, are not important. We found no evidence of the signal. 95% CL cross-section upper limits have been set on the pair-productions of the stable scaler tau lepton, the gaugino-like charginos, and the higgsino-like charginos. The upper cross section limits vary from 0.31 pb to 0.04 pb, for stau masses in the range between 60 GeV and 300 GeV. We use the nominal value of the theoretical cross section to set limits on the mass of the pair produced charginos. We exclude the pair-produced stable gaugino-like charginos with mass below 206 GeV, and higgsino-like charginos below 171 GeV, respectively. Although the present sensitivity is insufficient to test the model of the pair produced …

We report on the results of a search for the standard model Higgs boson produced in association with a W or Z boson in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV recorded by the CDF II experiment at the Tevatron in a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.1 fb{sup -1}. We consider events having no identified charged leptons, a large imbalance in transverse momentum, and two or three jets where at least one jet contains a secondary vertex consistent with the decay of a b hadron. The main backgrounds are modeled with innovative techniques using data. The sensitivity of the search is optimized using multivariate discriminant techniques. We find good agreement between data and the standard model predictions. We place 95% confidence level upper limits on production cross section times branching ratio for several Higgs boson masses ranging from 110 GeV=c{sup 2} to 150 GeV=c{sup 2}. For a mass of 115 GeV=c{sup 2} the observed (expected) limit is 6.9 (5.6) times the standard model prediction.

The top quark is by far the heaviest known fundamental particle with a mass nearing that of a gold atom. Because of this strikingly high mass, the top quark has several unique properties and might play an important role in electroweak symmetry breaking - the mechanism that gives all elementary particles mass. Creating top quarks requires access to very high energy collisions, and at present only the Tevatron collider at Fermilab is capable of reaching these energies. Until now, top quarks have only been observed produced in pairs via the strong interaction. At hadron colliders, it should also be possible to produce single top quarks via the electroweak interaction. Studies of single top quark production provide opportunities to measure the top quark spin, how top quarks mix with other quarks, and to look for new physics beyond the standard model. Because of these interesting properties, scientists have been looking for single top quarks for more than 15 years. This thesis presents the first discovery of single top quark production. An analysis is performed using 2.3 fb{sup -1} of data recorded by the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider at centre-of-mass energy {radical}s = 1.96 TeV. Boosted decision trees are …

This thesis describes the search for K_L → π⁰π⁰μ⁺μ^-, which was conducted using data collected by the KTeV Experiment at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois. Although this decay mode is possible within the Standard Model, it is limited to a very narrow band of phase space. The HyperCP Experiment has recently observed three Σ⁺ → pμ⁺μ^- events within a narrow dimuon mass range of 213.8 MeV/c² to 214.8 MeV/c². This suggests that the process could occur via a neutral intermediary particle, Σ⁺ → pX⁰ → pμ⁺μ^-, with an X⁰ mass of 214.3 MeV/c² ± 0.5 MeV/c² . Since the X⁰ has a light mass and a low interaction probability, then it is most likely a new neutral boson that exists beyond the Standard Model. Recent theoretical predictions suggest that the decay mode K_L → π⁰π⁰μ⁺μ^- can also occur via the aforementioned neutral boson: K_L → π⁰π⁰X⁰→ π⁰π⁰μ⁺μ^-. Therefore, in addition to a Standard Model measurement, the search for K_L → π⁰π⁰μ⁺μ^- is also carried out in an effort to address the viability of X⁰ in explaining the HyperCP phenomena. Measurement of the upper limits presented in this thesis were performed using blind analysis techniques. The upper limit of …