Search for W' bosons decaying to an electron and a neutrino with the D0 detector

TL;DR

This paper reports a search for W' bosons decaying to electrons and neutrinos using Fermilab Tevatron data, setting new limits on W' mass and excluding masses below 1.00 TeV at 95% confidence.

Contribution

First search with D0 data for W' bosons in the electron-neutrino channel, establishing the most stringent mass limits to date.

Findings

No significant excess observed over background.

Excluded W' boson masses below 1.00 TeV at 95% CL.

Set the most restrictive limits to date on W' production.

Abstract

This Letter describes the search for a new heavy charged gauge boson W' decaying into an electron and a neutrino. The data were collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron proton-antiproton Collider at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of about 1 inverse femtobarn. Lacking any significant excess in the data in comparison with known processes, an upper limit is set on the production cross section times branching fraction, and a W' boson with mass below 1.00 TeV can be excluded at the 95% C.L., assuming standard-model-like couplings to fermions. This result significantly improves upon previous limits, and is the most stringent to date.