W + 1-jet to W + 0-jet ratio at the Tevatron: a hint of new physics?

We interpret the reported disagreement between the measured ratio, R_{10}, of the W + 1 jet cross-section to the W + 0 jet cross-section at the Tevatron and the Standard Model (SM) prediction, as the effect of interactions mediated by a colour-octet analogue of the W-boson, the W_8. The presence of a W_8 with mass O(300) GeV, and with couplings to quarks and gluons of the order of electroweak strength, allows the observations of the D0 collaboration to be reproduced quite accurately. Such an interaction is not in contradiction with the present CDF data on W+ W- or dijet production, though higher luminosities may reveal measurable effects.