Measurement of W$^\pm\gamma$ differential cross sections in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV and effective field theory constraints

The CMS collaboration Tumasyan, Armen ; Adam, Wolfgang ; Andrejkovic, Janik Walter ; et al.
Phys.Rev.D 105 (2022) 052003, 2022.
Inspire Record 1978840 DOI 10.17182/hepdata.115354

Differential cross section measurements of W$^\pm\gamma$ production in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 13 TeV are presented. The data set used in this study was collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC in 2016-2018 with an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$. Candidate events containing an electron or muon, a photon, and missing transverse momentum are selected. The measurements are compared with standard model predictions computed at next-to-leading and next-to-next-to-leading orders in perturbative quantum chromodynamics. Constraints on the presence of TeV-scale new physics affecting the WW$\gamma$ vertex are determined within an effective field theory framework, focusing on the $\mathcal{O}_\mathrm{3W}$ operator. A simultaneous measurement of the photon transverse momentum and the azimuthal angle of the charged lepton in a special reference frame is performed. This two-dimensional approach provides up to a factor of ten more sensitivity to the interference between the standard model and the $\mathcal{O}_\mathrm{3W}$ contribution than using the transverse momentum alone.

57 data tables

Measured absolute differential $p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\gamma}$ cross section, compared to the MG5_aMC+PY8, GENEVA, MATRIX and MCFM predictions. The differential cross sections $\sigma_{j}(\mathrm{pp}\rightarrow\mathrm{W}^{\pm}\gamma\rightarrow\ell^{\pm}\nu\gamma)$, where $\ell$ denotes all three lepton flavors, are measured in the following fiducial region: $p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\ell} > 30\,\mathrm{GeV}$, $|\eta^{\ell}| < 2.5$, $p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\gamma} > 30\,\mathrm{GeV}$, $|\eta^{\gamma}| < 2.5$, $p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\mathrm{miss}} > 40\,\mathrm{GeV}$, and $\Delta R(\ell, \gamma) > 0.7$. The leptons are dressed by adding the four-momenta of any photons with $\Delta R(\ell, \gamma) < 0.1$ to the four-momentum of the lepton. A smooth-cone photon isolation is also applied, with parameters $\delta_{0}=0.4$, $\epsilon=1.0$, and $n=1$.

Measured fractional differential $p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\gamma}$ cross section, compared to the MG5_aMC+PY8, GENEVA, MATRIX and MCFM predictions. The differential cross sections $\sigma_{j}(\mathrm{pp}\rightarrow\mathrm{W}^{\pm}\gamma\rightarrow\ell^{\pm}\nu\gamma)$, where $\ell$ denotes all three lepton flavors, are measured in the following fiducial region: $p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\ell} > 30\,\mathrm{GeV}$, $|\eta^{\ell}| < 2.5$, $p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\gamma} > 30\,\mathrm{GeV}$, $|\eta^{\gamma}| < 2.5$, $p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\mathrm{miss}} > 40\,\mathrm{GeV}$, and $\Delta R(\ell, \gamma) > 0.7$. The leptons are dressed by adding the four-momenta of any photons with $\Delta R(\ell, \gamma) < 0.1$ to the four-momentum of the lepton. A smooth-cone photon isolation is also applied, with parameters $\delta_{0}=0.4$, $\epsilon=1.0$, and $n=1$.

Relative uncertainties on the measured absolute differential $p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\gamma}$ cross section.

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