Measurement of the W -> lnu and Z/gamma* -> ll production cross sections in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

TL;DR

This paper reports the first measurements of W and Z boson production cross sections in proton-proton collisions at 7 TeV using ATLAS data, confirming consistency with NNLO QCD predictions.

Contribution

It provides the initial measurement of W and Z production cross sections at 7 TeV with detailed experimental results and comparison to theoretical models.

Findings

Measured W and Z cross sections with uncertainties.

Confirmed agreement with NNLO QCD predictions.

Reported W+ and W- production and lepton charge asymmetry.

Abstract

First measurements of the W -> lnu and Z/gamma* -> ll (l = e, mu) production cross sections in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV are presented using data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. The results are based on 2250 W -> lnu and 179 Z/gamma* -> ll candidate events selected from a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 320 nb-1. The measured total W and Z/gamma*-boson production cross sections times the respective leptonic branching ratios for the combined electron and muon channels are $\stotW$ * BR(W -> lnu) = 9.96 +- 0.23(stat) +- 0.50(syst) +- 1.10(lumi) nb and $\stotZg$ * BR(Z/gamma* -> ll) = 0.82 +- 0.06(stat) +- 0.05(syst) +- 0.09(lumi) nb (within the invariant mass window 66 < m_ll < 116 GeV). The W/Z cross-section ratio is measured to be 11.7 +- 0.9(stat) +- 0.4(syst). In addition, measurements of the W+ and W- production cross sections and of the lepton charge asymmetry are reported. Theoretical predictions based on NNLO QCD calculations are found to agree with the measurements.