The W and Z boson production was measured via the muonic decay channel in proton-lead collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV at the Large Hadron Collider with the ALICE detector. The measurement covers backward ($-4.46 < y_{\rm cms} < -2.96$) and forward ($2.03 < y_{\rm cms} < 3.53$) rapidity regions, corresponding to Pb-going and p-going directions, respectively. The Z-boson production cross section, with dimuon invariant mass of $60<m_{\mu\mu}<120$ GeV/$c^2$ and muon transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}^\mu$) larger than 20 GeV/$c$, is measured. The production cross section and charge asymmetry of muons from W-boson decays with $p_{\rm T}^\mu>10$ GeV/$c$ are determined. The results are compared to theoretical calculations both with and without including the nuclear modification of the parton distribution functions. The W-boson production is also studied as a function of the collision centrality: the cross section of muons from W-boson decays is found to scale with the average number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions within uncertainties.
A search is conducted for non-resonant new phenomena in dielectron and dimuon final states, originating from either contact interactions or large extra spatial dimensions. The LHC 2012 proton-proton collision dataset recorded by the ATLAS detector is used, corresponding to 20 fb$^{-1}$ at $\sqrt{s}$ = 8 TeV. The dilepton invariant mass spectrum is a discriminating variable in both searches, with the contact interaction search additionally utilizing the dilepton forward-backward asymmetry. No significant deviations from the Standard Model expectation are observed. Lower limits are set on the $\ell\ell q q$ contact interaction scale $\Lambda$ between 15.4 TeV and 26.3 TeV, at the 95% credibility level. For large extra spatial dimensions, lower limits are set on the string scale $M_{S}$ between 3.2 TeV to 5.0 TeV.
Using the ATLAS detector, observations have been made of a centrality-dependent dijet asymmetry in the collisions of lead ions at the Large Hadron Collider. In a sample of lead-lead events with a per-nucleon center of mass energy of 2.76 TeV, selected with a minimum bias trigger, jets are reconstructed in fine-grained, longitudinally-segmented electromagnetic and hadronic calorimeters. The underlying event is measured and subtracted event-by-event, giving estimates of jet transverse energy above the ambient background. The transverse energies of dijets in opposite hemispheres is observed to become systematically more unbalanced with increasing event centrality leading to a large number of events which contain highly asymmetric dijets. This is the first observation of an enhancement of events with such large dijet asymmetries, not observed in proton-proton collisions, and which may point to an interpretation in terms of strong jet energy loss in a hot, dense medium.
A measurement of $\textit{W}$ boson production in lead-lead collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=$2.76 TeV is presented. It is based on the analysis of data collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2011 corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.14 $\mathrm{nb}^{-1}$ and 0.15 $\mathrm{nb}^{-1}$ in the muon and electron decay channels, respectively. The differential production yields and lepton charge asymmetry are each measured as a function of the average number of participating nucleons $< N_{\mathrm{part}} >$ and absolute pseudorapidity of the charged lepton. The results are compared to predictions based on next-to-leading-order QCD calculations. These measurements are, in principle, sensitive to possible nuclear modifications to the parton distribution functions and also provide information on scaling of $\textit{W}$ boson production in multi-nucleon systems.
The t t-bar charge asymmetry in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV is measured using the dilepton decay channel (ee, e mu, or mu mu). The data correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 5.0 inverse femtobarns, collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The t t-bar and lepton charge asymmetries, defined as the differences in absolute values of the rapidities between the reconstructed top quarks and antiquarks and of the pseudorapidities between the positive and negative leptons, respectively, are measured to be Ac = -0.010 +/- 0.017 (stat.) +/- 0.008 (syst.) and Ac[lep] = 0.009 +/- 0.010 (stat.) +/- 0.006 (syst). The lepton charge asymmetry is also measured as a function of the invariant mass, rapidity, and transverse momentum of the t t-bar system. All measurements are consistent with the expectations of the standard model.
A measurement of the electron charge asymmetry in inclusive pp to W + X to e nu + X production at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV is presented based on data recorded by the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 840 inverse picobarns. The electron charge asymmetry reflects the unequal production of positive and negative W bosons in pp collisions. The electron charge asymmetry is measured in bins of absolute value of electron pseudorapidity in the range of abs(eta) < 2.4. The asymmetry rises from about 0.1 to 0.2 as a function of the pseudorapidity and is measured with a relative precision better than 7%. This measurement provides new stringent constraints for parton distribution functions.
A measurement of the forward-backward asymmetry (A[FB]) of Drell-Yan lepton pairs in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV is presented. The data sample, collected with the CMS detector, corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5 inverse femtobarns. The asymmetry is measured as a function of dilepton mass and rapidity in the dielectron and dimuon channels. Combined results from the two channels are also presented. The A[FB] measurement in the dimuon channel and the combination of the two channels are the first such results obtained at a hadron collider. The measured asymmetries are consistent with the standard model predictions.
The production of Z bosons in pPb collisions at sqrt(s[NN]) = 5.02 TeV is studied by the CMS experiment via the electron and muon decay channels. The inclusive cross section is compared to pp collision predictions, and found to scale with the number of elementary nucleon-nucleon collisions. The differential cross sections as a function of the Z boson rapidity and transverse momentum are measured. Though they are found to be consistent within uncertainty with theoretical predictions both with and without nuclear effects, the forward-backward asymmetry suggests the presence of nuclear effects at large rapidities. These results provide new data for constraining nuclear parton distribution functions.
A measurement of the forward-backward asymmetry A[FB] of oppositely charged lepton pairs (mu mu and e e) produced via Z/gamma* boson exchange in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV is presented. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns collected with the CMS detector at the LHC. The measurement of A[FB] is performed for dilepton masses between 40 GeV and 2 TeV and for dilepton rapidity up to 5. The A[FB] measurements as a function of dilepton mass and rapidity are compared with the standard model predictions.
The charge asymmetry in the production of top quark and antiquark pairs is measured in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.6 inverse femtobarns, were collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. Events with a single isolated electron or muon, and four or more jets, at least one of which is likely to have originated from hadronization of a bottom quark, are selected. A template technique is used to measure the asymmetry in the distribution of differences in the top quark and antiquark absolute rapidities. The measured asymmetry is A[c,y] = [0.33 +/- 0.26 (stat) +/- 0.33 (syst)]%, which is the most precise result to date. The results are compared to calculations based on the standard model and on several beyond-the-standard-model scenarios.
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