Measurement of the quark to photon fragmentation function through the inclusive production of prompt photons in hadronic Z^0 decays

TL;DR

This paper measures the quark-to-photon fragmentation function by analyzing prompt photon production in Z^0 decays, providing data that aligns with QCD predictions without requiring photon isolation.

Contribution

It presents a novel measurement of the quark-to-photon fragmentation function using inclusive prompt photons without isolation criteria, expanding previous experimental approaches.

Findings

Production rate agrees with QCD predictions.

Energy spectrum matches theoretical models.

No isolation requirement affects measurement accuracy.

Abstract

The inclusive production of prompt photons with energy above 10 GeV is measured using the OPAL detector in hadronic Z^0 decays at LEP. In contrast to previous measurements, the prompt photons were not required to be isolated. The production rate and energy spectrum are found to be in agreement with QCD predictions for the quark-to-photon fragmentation function.