Precision Measurements of the W Boson Mass

Abstract

▪ Abstract  The standard model of electroweak interactions has had great success in describing the observed data over the past three decades. The precision of experimental measurements affords tests of the standard model at the quantum loop level beyond leading order. Despite this success, it is important to continue confronting experimental measurements with the standard model's predictions because any deviation would signal new physics. As a fundamental parameter of the standard model, the mass of the W boson, MW, is of particular importance. Aside from being an important test of the model itself, a precision measurement of MW can be used to constrain the mass of the Higgs boson, MH. In this article, we review the principal experimental techniques for determining MW and discuss their combination into a single precision MW measurement. We conclude by briefly discussing future prospects for precision measurements of the W boson mass.