A search for scalar leptoquarks in Z0 decays

A search for scalar leptoquarks has been performed with data from the OPAL detector at the e+e− storage ring LEP. In a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 6.3 pb−1 no evidence for leptoquark production was observed where the leptoquark decays into a quark and either a charged lepton (e, μ, τ) or a neutrino. An upper limit of 1.7 pb on the production cross section for leptoquarks is obtainedassuming a branching ratio of 50% for the decay of the leptoquark into the channels with a charged lepton. Lower limits on the leptoquark mass between 41.4 and 46.4 GeV/c2 at 95% CL are obtained, depending on the effecte SU(2) × U(1) invariant couplings assigned to the leptoquark.