Production of singleW bosons ine ⁺ e ⁻ ande ⁻ p collisions

Abstract

The production ofW bosons in electronpositron colliding beams below theW ⁺ W ⁻ threshold is discussed. The corresponding reactions$e^ + e^ - \to l^ \pm W^ \mp \mathop {\nu _l }\limits^{( - )}$ yield total cross-sections of the order of 10⁻³⁷ cm² (forl=e) and 10⁻³⁸ cm² (forl=μ). The total cross-sections as well as the angular and energy distributions of theW boson in$e^ + e^ - \to e^ \pm W^ \mp \mathop {\nu _e }\limits^{( - )}$ are sensitive to the magnetic moment of theW. So, with this reaction, not onlyW bosons can be produced but also the gauge nature of the interaction can be tested. The decay$Z^0 \to l^ \pm W^ \mp \mathop {\nu _l }\limits^{( - )}$ is discussed in view of its observation ine ⁺ e ⁻ experiments. Finally the crosssections ofe ^- p→ν _e W ^- X ⁺ are computed. They are of the order of 10⁻³⁸ cm² for$\sqrt s \simeq 200$ GeV.