Kenneth G Hayes

The tau listings in the 1996 Review of Particle Physics have significantly changed from the previous edition. The changes have been motivated by measurements of many new tau branching fractions and precise new measurements of many other tau branching fractions. This paper reviews some recent trends in measurements of tau lepton properties and changes in the tau listings including decay mode notation and the constrained fit to branching fractions. The new data have significantly reduced several inconsistencies in tau branching fraction data that have existed for a number of years.

This report summarizes the highlights of the 1996 Review of Particle Physics (Phys, Rev. D54, 1 (1996)). Using data from previous editions, plus 1900 new measurements from 700 papers, we list, evaluate, and average, measured properties of gauge bosons, leptons, quarks, mesons, and baryons. We summarize searches for hypothetical particles such as Higgs bosons, heavy neutrinos, and supersymmetric particles. We also give numerous reviews, tables, figures, and formulae. The present edition marks the apparent completion of the table of Standard Model quarks with the discovery of the top. A booklet is available containing the Summary Tables and abbreviated versions of some of the other sections of the full Review..