Electroweak Physics at NuTeV

TL;DR

The NuTeV experiment measures the electroweak mixing angle using neutrino scattering, achieving high precision and providing insights into the W boson mass, with implications for testing the Standard Model and exploring new physics.

Contribution

This work presents a precise measurement of sin²θ_W using the Paschos-Wolfenstein relation, reducing systematic errors and exploring potential new physics beyond the Standard Model.

Findings

Measured sin²θ_W(on-shell)=0.2253±0.0019(stat)±0.0010(syst)

Derived W boson mass M_W=80.26±0.11 GeV

Set limits on neutrino oscillations and extra neutral gauge bosons

Abstract

The NuTeV experiment at Fermilab presents a determination of the electroweak mixing angle. High purity, large statistics samples of muon-neutrino and muon-antineutrino events allow the use of the Paschos-Wolfenstein relation, a technique which considerably reduces systematic errors associated with charm production and other sources. Within the Standard Model, this measurement of sin2thw indirectly determines the W boson mass to a precision comparable to direct measurements from high energy e+e- and ppbar colliders. NuTeV measures sin2thw(on-shell)=0.2253+/-0.0019(stat)+/-0.0010(syst), which implies M_W=80.26+/-0.11 GeV. Outside the Standard Model, this result can be used to explore the possibility of new physics; in particular, we present limits on both neutrino oscillations and the presence of extra neutral vector gauge bosons.