Four-fermion production near the W-pair production threshold

TL;DR

This paper presents next-to-leading order calculations of the e- e+ -> mu- nu_mu u dbar process near the W-pair production threshold, analyzing theoretical uncertainties affecting W mass measurements.

Contribution

It provides a detailed theoretical framework using unstable-particle effective field theory for precise cross section calculations near the W-pair threshold.

Findings

Next-to-leading order cross section results are obtained.

Theoretical uncertainties are quantified and discussed.

Implications for W mass measurement precision are analyzed.

Abstract

I report on recent results for the total production cross section of the process e- e+ -> mu- nubar_mu u dbar X near the W-pair production threshold up to next-to-leading order in GammaW/MW alpha v^2 obtained in the framework of unstable-particle effective field theory. Remaining theoretical uncertainties and their impact on the experimental determination of the W mass are discussed.