The Production Cross Sections Of The Weak Vector Bosons In Proton-antiproton Collisions At Center Of Mass Energy = 1.96 Tev And A Measurement Of The W Boson Decay Width

We present an analysis of data from proton-antiproton collisions at 1.96 TeV at the Fermilab Tevatron. The data represent about 194 pb-1 collected by the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) during 2002--2003. A new measurement is made of the ratio of inclusive W and Z boson cross sections using high-PT muons in the CDF detector. Our measurement yields: s pp→WBR W→mn=2.786+0.060 -0.054syst +/-0.012stat +/-0.166lum nb, sp p→ZBRZ→m +m-=253.1+7 .1-6.2syst +/-4.2stat+/- 15.2lum pb, R≡s pp&d1;→WBR W→mn spp&d1;→ ZBRZ→m+ m-=11.02+/- 0.14syst+/-0 .18stat. A comparison with theoretical predictions allows an indirect value for the W leptonic branching ratio: BRW→mn =11.01+/-0.14syst +/-0.18stat+/- 0.05ext %. Using the Standard Model prediction for GW→ℓn we extract the total width of the W boson: GW=2056+/- 26syst+/-34 stat+/-10 extMeV. We discuss the significance of the ratio measurement in light of existing information on W and Z production and decay.