A new measurement of the inclusive and differential production cross sections of J/{psi} mesons and b-hadrons in proton-antiproton collisions at {radical}s = 1960 GeV is presented. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 39.7 pb{sup -1} collected by the CDF Run II detector. The integrated cross section for inclusive J/{psi} production for all transverse momenta from 0 to 20 GeV/c in the rapidity range |y| < 0.6 is found to be 4.08 {+-} 0.02(stat){sub -0.33}{sup +0.36}(syst) {mu}b. The fraction of J/{psi} events from the decay of the long-lived b-hadrons is separated by using the lifetime distribution in all events with p{sub T}(J/{psi}) > 1.25 GeV/c. The total cross section for b-hadrons, including both hadrons and anti-hadrons, decaying to J/{psi} with transverse momenta greater than 1.25 GeV/c in the rapidity range |y(J/{psi})| < 0.6, is found to be 0.330 {+-} 0.005(stat){sub -0.033}{sup +0.036}(syst) {mu}b. Using a Monte Carlo simulation of the decay kinematics of b-hadrons to all final states containing a J/{psi}, the first measurement of the total single b-hadron cross section down to zero transverse momentum is extracted at sqrts = 1960 GeV. The total single b-hadron cross section integrated over all transverse momenta for b-hadrons in the rapidity …

A measurement of the asymmetry between the strange and antistrange quark distributions, from a next to leading order QCD analysis of dimuon events measured by the NuTeV experiment at Fermilab is presented. Neutrino charged current events with two muons in the final state provide a direct means for studying charm production and measuring the strange sea. NuTeV's sign selected beam allows independent measurement of the strange and antistrange seas. An improved measurement of the neutrino and antineutrino forward dimuon cross section tables, using the complete charged current event sample for normalization is performed. These tables are then analyzed at NLO to measure the strange and antistrange seas. Detector acceptance is modeled using an NLO charm cross section differential in all variables required. The strange quark distribution is found to have an integrated momentum weighted asymmetry of +0.00196 {+-} 0.00046(stat) {+-} 0.00045(syst) {+-} 0.00182(external). The charm mass is found to be 1.41 {+-} 0.10(stat) {+-} 0.08(syst) {+-} 0.12(external) GeV.

The main topic of this thesis is the measurement of b-quark jet shapes at CDF. CDF is an experiment located at Fermilab, in the United States, which studies proton-antiproton collisions at a center of mass energy of 1.96TeV. To reach this energy, the particles are accelerated using the Tevatron accelerator which is currently the highest energy collider in operation. The data used for this analysis were taken between February 2002 and September 2004 and represent an integrated luminosity of about 300 pb{sup -1}. This is the first time that b-quark jet shapes have been measured at hadron colliders. The basis of this measurement lies in the possibility of enhancing the b-quark jet content of jet samples by requiring the jets to be identified as having a displaced vertex inside the jet cone. Such jets are called tagged. This enhances the b-quark jet fraction from about 5% before tagging to 20-40% after tagging, depending on the transverse momentum of the jets. I verified that it is possible to apply this secondary vertex tagging algorithm to different cone jet algorithms (MidPoint and JetClu) and different cone sizes (0.4 and 0.7). I found that the performance of the algorithm does not change significantly, …

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The United States economy is heavily dependent upon a vast network of pipeline systems to transport and distribute the nation's energy resources. As this network of pipelines continues to age, monitoring and maintaining its structural integrity remains essential to the nation's energy interests. Numerous pipeline accidents over the past several years have resulted in hundreds of fatalities and billions of dollars in property damages. These accidents show that the current monitoring methods are not sufficient and leave a considerable margin for improvement. To avoid such catastrophes, more thorough methods are needed. As a solution, the research of this thesis proposes a structural health monitoring (SHM) system for pipeline networks. By implementing a SHM system with pipelines, their structural integrity can be continuously monitored, reducing the overall risks and costs associated with current methods. The proposed SHM system relies upon the deployment of macro-fiber composite (MFC) patches for the sensor array. Because MFC patches are flexible and resilient, they can be permanently mounted to the curved surface of a pipeline's main body. From this location, the MFC patches are used to monitor the structural integrity of the entire pipeline. Two damage detection techniques, guided wave and impedance methods, were implemented as …