Single-top-quark production at hadron colliders

T. Stelzer, Z. Sullivan, S. Willenbrock
1998 Physical Review D, Particles and fields  
Single-top-quark production probes the charged-current weak interaction of the top quark, and provides a direct measurement of the CKM matrix element V_tb. We perform two independent analyses to quantify the accuracy with which the W-gluon fusion (gq -> tb̅q) and (qq̅ -> tb̅) signals can be extracted from the backgrounds at both the Tevatron and the LHC. Although perturbation theory breaks down at low transverse momentum for the W-gluon fusion b̅ differential cross section, we show how to
more » ... a reliable cross section integrated over low b̅ transverse momenta up to a cutoff. We estimate the accuracy with which V_tb can be measured in both analyses, including theoretical and statistical uncertainties. We also show that the polarization of the top quark in W-gluon fusion can be detected at the Fermilab Tevatron and the CERN LHC.
doi:10.1103/physrevd.58.094021 fatcat:f4ojlgpzr5h4tbxnhw4axdiebq