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Cross section measurements of kinematically reconstructed weak bosons in unpolarized $p+p$ collisions at STAR

ORAL

Abstract

We present cross sections for the weak bosons measured by the STAR experiment at RHIC in unpolarized proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 500(510) GeV. The results combine data from 2011, 2012, 2013, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 360~pb$^{-1}$. An update including the 2017 data ($\sim$ 340~pb$^{-1}$) will be also discussed. The differential $Z^{0}$ cross section, measured as a function of the boson's $p_{T}$, provides important constraints on the energy dependence of transverse momentum distributions of partons inside the proton. The $W^{+}/W^{-}$ cross-section ratio as a function of the boson's rapidity, is sensitive to the non-pertubative $\bar{d}/\bar{u}$ distribution. The probed $x$ range ($0.1 < x < 0.3$) covered by our data naturally complements the phase space accessed at the LHC, providing critical inputs to global fits.

Authors

  • Salvatore Fazio

    Brookhaven National Laboratory