A measurement of the W and Z production cross sections in the muon channel at center of mass energy = 1.96 TeV.

Abstract

This thesis describes in detail all the necessary components for measuring the weak bosons W and Z cross sections in the muon decay channel. Chapter 1 gives a theoretical description of the production of W and Z bosons and their decay processes. Chapter 2 describes the experiment apparatus, both the collider and the detector, particularly the muon identification and trigger system. Chapter 3 describes the experimental procedure, defining terms and parameters. It explains how the W and Z decays are identified. The event counts for <italic> W</italic> &rarr; munu and <italic>Z</italic> &rarr; mumu are listed at the end of the chapter. In Chapter 4 and Chapter 5, the calculation of the acceptance and efficiency are described in detail. Chapter 6 gives the number of backgrounds in the final sample. In the last chapter, the cross section results is presented. We also compared the results with theoretical predictions.