A precise measurement of the tau lifetime

The tau lepton lifetime has been measured with the e(+) e(-) --> tau(+) tau(-) events collected by the DELPHI detector at LEP in the years 1991 - 1995. Three different methods have been exploited, using both one-prong and three-prong tau decay channels. Two measurements have been made using events in which both taus decay to a single charged particle. Combining these measurements gave tau(tau) ( 1 prong) = 291.8 +/- 2.3(stat) +/- 1.5(sys) fs. A third measurement using taus which decayed to three charged particles yielded tau(tau) (3 prong) = 288.6 +/- 2.4(stat) +/- 1.3(sys) fs. These were combined with previous DELPHI results to measure the tau lifetime, using the full LEP1 data sample, to be tau(tau) = 290.9 +/- 1.4(stat) +/- 1.0(sys) fs.