Abstract:
We report the first observation of the associated production of a W boson and a Z boson. This result is based on 1.1 fb-1 of integrated luminosity from p[overline p] collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV collected with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. We observe 16 WZ candidates passing our event selection with an expected background of 2.7$\pm$0.4 events. A fit to the missing transverse energy distribution indicates an excess of events compared to the background expectation corresponding to a significance equivalent to 6 standard deviations. The measured cross section is sigma(p[overline p]-->WZ)=5.0-1.6+1.8 pb, consistent with the standard model expectation.
Duke University * Arts & Sciences * Physics * Faculty * Staff * Grad * Researchers * Reload * Login
Copyright (c) 2001-2002 by Duke University Physics.