Measurement of high-<i>Q²</i> charged current cross sections in <i>e⁺p</i> deep inelastic scattering at HERA

Abstract

Cross sections for charged current deep inelastic scattering have been measured in <i>e⁺p</i> collisions at a center-of-mass energy of <i>318 GeV</i>. The data collected with the ZEUS detector at HERA in the running periods 1999 and 2000 correspond to an integrated luminosity of <i>61 pb^-1</i>. Single differential cross sections dσ/d<i>Q²</i>, dσ/d<i>x</i> and dσ/d<i>y</i> have been measured for <i>Q²>200 GeV²</i>, as well as the double differential reduced cross section d²σ/d<i>x</i>d<i>Q²</i> in the kinematic range <i>280 GeV² < Q² < 17000GeV²</i>and<i> 0.008 < x < 0.42</i>. The results are compared with the predictions of the Standard Model as well as with measurements of <i>e^-p</i> charged current deep inelastic scattering cross sections. The helicity structure is investigated in particular. The mass of the space-like <i>W</i> boson propagator has been determined from a fit to dσ/d<i>Q²</i>.