Evidence for production of single top quarks and first direct measurement of |Vtb|

Observation of single top-quark production

We report observation of the electroweak production of single top quarks in pp[over ] collisions at sqrt[s]=1.96 TeV based on 2.3 fb(-1) of data collected by the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. Using events containing an isolated electron or muon and missing transverse energy, together with jets originating from the fragmentation of b quarks, we measure a cross section of sigma(pp[over ]--> tb + X, tqb + X) = 3.94 + or - 0.88 pb. The probability to measure a cross section at this value or higher in the absence of signal is 2.5 x 10(-7), corresponding to a 5.0 standard deviation significance for the observation.

Observation of electroweak single top-quark production

We report the observation of single top-quark production using 3.2 fb(-1) of pp[over ] collision data with sqrt[s]=1.96 TeV collected by the Collider Detector at Fermilab. The significance of the observed data is 5.0 standard deviations, and the expected sensitivity for standard model production and decay is in excess of 5.9 standard deviations. Assuming m(t) = 175 GeV/c(2), we measure a cross section of 2.3(-0.5);(+0.6)(stat + syst) pb, extract the CKM matrix-element value |V(tb)| = 0.91 + or - 0.11(stat + syst) + or - 0.07(theory), and set the limit |V(tb)| > 0.71 at the 95% C.L.

Search for charged higgs bosons decaying into top and bottom quarks in pp[over ] collisions

We describe a search for production of a charged Higgs boson, qq[over ];{'}-->H;{+}, reconstructed in the tb[over ] final state in the mass range 180< or =M_{H;{+}}< or =300 GeV. The search was undertaken at the Fermilab Tevatron collider with a center-of-mass energy sqrt[s]=1.96 TeV and uses 0.9 fb;{-1} of data collected with the D0 detector. We find no evidence for charged Higgs boson production and set upper limits on the production cross section in the types I, II, and III two-Higgs-doublet models (2HDMs). An excluded region in the (M_{H;{+}}, tanbeta) plane for type I 2HDM is presented.

Next-to-leading-order predictions for t-channel single-top production at hadron colliders

We present the predictions at next-to-leading order (NLO) in the strong coupling for the single-top cross section in the t channel at the Tevatron and the LHC. Our calculation starts from the 2-->3 Born amplitude gq-->tb[over ]q;{'}, keeping the b-quark mass nonzero. A comparison is performed with a traditional NLO calculation of this channel based on the 2-->2 Born process with a bottom quark in the initial state. In particular, the effect of using kinematic approximations and resumming logarithms of the form log(Q2/m(b)2) in the 2-->2 process is assessed. Our results show that the 2-->3 calculation is very well behaved and in substantial agreement with the predictions based on the 2-->2 process.

Search for top-quark production via flavor-changing neutral currents in W+1 jet events at CDF

We report on a search for the non-standard-model process u(c) + g --> t using pp[over ] collision data collected by the Collider Detector at Fermilab II detector corresponding to 2.2 fb;{-1}. The candidate events are classified as signal-like or backgroundlike by an artificial neural network. The observed discriminant distribution yields no evidence for flavor-changing neutral current top-quark production, resulting in an upper limit on the production cross section sigma(u(c) + g --> t) < 1.8 pb at the 95% C.L. Using theoretical predictions we convert the cross section limit to upper limits on flavor-changing neutral current branching ratios: B(t --> u + g) < 3.9 x 10;{-4} and B(t --> c + g) < 5.7 x 10;{-3}.

Search for anomalous top-quark couplings with the D0 detector

Anomalous Wtb couplings modify the angular correlations of the top-quark decay products and change the single top-quark production cross section. We present limits on anomalous top-quark couplings by combining information from W boson helicity measurements in top-quark decays and anomalous coupling searches in the single top-quark final state. We set limits on right-handed vector couplings as well as left-handed and right-handed tensor couplings based on about 1 fb(-1) of data collected by the D0 experiment.

Measurement of the single-top-quark production cross section at CDF

We report a measurement of the single-top-quark production cross section in 2.2 fb;{-1} of pp collision data collected by the Collider Detector at Fermilab at sqrt[s]=1.96 TeV. Candidate events are classified as signal-like by three parallel analyses which use likelihood, matrix element, and neural network discriminants. These results are combined in order to improve the sensitivity. We observe a signal consistent with the standard model prediction, but inconsistent with the background-only model by 3.7 standard deviations with a median expected sensitivity of 4.9 standard deviations. We measure a cross section of 2.2(-0.6)(+0.7)(stat+syst) pb, extract the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix-element value |V(tb)|=0.88(-0.12)(+0.13)(stat+syst)+/-0.07(theory), and set the limit |V(tb)|>0.66 at the 95% C.L.

Search for anomalous Wtb couplings in single top quark production

In 0.9 fb(-1) of pp[over] collisions, the D0 Collaboration presented evidence for single top quark production in events with an isolated lepton, missing transverse momentum, and two to four jets. We examine these data to study the Lorentz structure of the Wtb coupling. The standard model predicts a left-handed vector coupling at the Wtb vertex. The most general lowest dimension, CP-conserving Lagrangian admits right-handed vector and left- or right-handed tensor couplings as well. We find that the data prefer the left-handed vector coupling and set upper limits on the anomalous couplings. These are the first direct constraints on a general Wtb interaction and the first direct limits on left- and right-handed tensor couplings.

Search for W' boson resonances decaying to a top quark and a bottom quark

We search for the production of a heavy W' gauge boson that decays to third generation quarks in 0.9 fb-1 of pp collisions at square root(s)=1.96 TeV, collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. We find no significant excess in the final-state invariant mass distribution and set upper limits on the production cross section times branching fraction. For a left-handed W' boson with SM couplings, we set a lower mass limit of 731 GeV. For right-handed W' bosons, we set lower mass limits of 739 GeV if the W' boson decays to both leptons and quarks and 768 GeV if the W' boson decays only to quarks. We also set limits on the coupling of the W' boson to fermions as a function of its mass.

Simultaneous measurement of the ratio R=B(t --> Wb)/B(t --> Wq) and the top-quark pair production cross section with the D0 detector at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV

We present the first simultaneous measurement of the ratio of branching fractions, R=B(t --> Wb)/B(t --> Wq), with q being a d, s, or b quark, and the top-quark pair production cross section sigma(tt[over]) in the lepton plus jets channel using 0.9 fb(-1) of pp[over] collision data at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV collected with the D0 detector. We extract R and sigma(tt[over]) by analyzing samples of events with 0, 1, and > or =2 identified b jets. We measure R=0.97(+0.09)/(-0.08)(stat+syst) and sigma(tt[over])=8.18(+0.09)(-0.84)(stat+syst) +/- 0.50(lumi) pb, in agreement with the standard model prediction.

Model-independent measurement of the W-boson helicity in top-quark decays at D0

We present the first model-independent measurement of the helicity of W bosons produced in top quark decays, based on a 1 fb(-1) sample of candidate tt events in the dilepton and lepton plus jets channels collected by the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron pp Collider. We reconstruct the angle theta(*) between the momenta of the down-type fermion and the top quark in the W boson rest frame for each top quark decay. A fit of the resulting costheta(*) distribution finds that the fraction of longitudinal W bosons f(0)=0.425+/-0.166(stat)+/-0.102(syst) and the fraction of right-handed W bosons f(+)=0.119+/-0.090(stat)+/-0.053(syst), which is consistent at the 30% C.L. with the standard model.

Search for production of single top quarks via tcg and tug flavor-changing-neutral-current couplings

We search for the production of single top quarks via flavor-changing-neutral-current couplings of a gluon to the top quark and a charm (c) or up (u) quark. We analyze 230 pb{-1} of lepton+jets data from pp[over] collisions at a center of mass energy of 1.96 TeV collected by the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. We observe no significant deviation from standard model predictions, and hence set upper limits on the anomalous coupling parameters kappa{g}{c}/Lambda and kappa{g}{u}/Lambda, where kappa{g} define the strength of tcg and tug couplings, and Lambda defines the scale of new physics. The limits at 95% C.L. are kappa{g}{c}/Lambda<0.15 TeV-1 and kappa{g}{u}/Lambda<0.037 TeV-1.

High-energy colliders and the rise of the standard model

Over the past quarter of a century, experiments at high-energy particle colliders have established the standard model as the precise theory of particle interactions up to the 100 GeV scale. A series of important experimental discoveries and measurements have filled in most of the missing pieces and tested the predictions of the standard model with great precision.

Next-to-leading-order QCD corrections to tt[over ]+jet production at Hadron Colliders

We report on the calculation of the next-to-leading-order QCD corrections to the production of top-quark-top-antiquark pairs in association with a hard jet at the Fermilab Tevatron and the CERN Large Hadron Collider. We present results for the tt[over ]+jet cross section and the forward-backward charge asymmetry. The corrections stabilize the leading-order prediction for the cross section. The charge asymmetry receives large corrections.