Energy helps accuracy: electroweak precision tests at hadron colliders

TL;DR

High energy Drell-Yan measurements at the LHC can serve as precise electroweak tests, with the potential to surpass LEP sensitivity using existing and future data, by analyzing modifications from Standard Model Effective Field Theory operators.

Contribution

This paper demonstrates the potential of high energy Drell-Yan processes at the LHC as electroweak precision tests, proposing new measurement strategies to improve sensitivity beyond LEP.

Findings

Existing 8 TeV data has comparable sensitivity to LEP.

Proposed measurements can surpass LEP sensitivity with current data.

13 TeV LHC data will significantly enhance electroweak precision tests.

Abstract

We show that high energy measurements of Drell-Yan at the LHC can serve as electroweak precision tests. Dimension-6 operators, from the Standard Model Effective Field Theory, modify the high energy behavior of electroweak gauge boson propagators. Existing measurements of the dilepton invariant mass spectrum, from neutral current Drell-Yan at 8 TeV, have comparable sensitivity to LEP. We propose measuring the transverse mass spectrum of charged current Drell-Yan, which can surpass LEP already with 8 TeV data. The 13 TeV LHC will elevate electroweak tests to a new precision frontier.