Measurement of W and Z Production Cross-sections in p-pbar Collisions at Sqrt(s)=1.8 TeV

TL;DR

This paper reports measurements of W and Z boson production cross-sections in proton-antiproton collisions at 1.8 TeV, using the D0 detector, and derives related properties like the W boson width.

Contribution

It provides the first precise measurement of W and Z cross-sections at this energy and uses their ratio to infer the W boson width and constrain its decay modes.

Findings

Measured W and Z cross-sections with reduced systematic errors

Determined the W boson width consistent with the Standard Model

Set limits on the W->t-bbar decay channel

Abstract

The cross sections for W and Z production in p-pbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.8 TeV are measured using the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. The detected final states are W->e nu, Z->ee, W->mu nu, and Z->mu mu. In the ratio of these measurements, many common sources of systematic error cancel and we measure the ratio of the W and Z cross-sections. Assuming standard model couplings, this result is used to determine the width of the W boson and to set a limit on the decay W->t-bbar.