t-tbar Production at the Tevatron: Event Selection and Cross Section Measurement

TL;DR

This paper details the event selection process and presents the latest measurements of the top-antitop production cross section at the Fermilab Tevatron, testing QCD predictions with improved experimental precision.

Contribution

It introduces specific event selection criteria for t-tbar events and provides updated cross section measurements at the Tevatron.

Findings

Measured t-tbar cross section with high precision

Event selection criteria optimized for Tevatron data

Results consistent with QCD predictions

Abstract

The Fermilab Tevatron is currently the only collider capable of producing and studying top quarks. The dominant mechanism for top quark production at the Tevatron is t-tbar production via the strong interaction. The precise measurement of the cross section of this process is a test of the QCD prediction. In Run II of the Tevatron it should be possible to achieve an experimental error on this cross section which is comparable or better than the current theoretical precision. This paper presents the basic event selection criteria for t-tbar events at the Tevatron and the latest measurements of the t-tbar cross section.