Measurement of W gamma and Z gamma production in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV

A measurement of W gamma and Z gamma production in proton-proton collisions at root s = 7 TeV is presented. Results are based on a data sample recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 pb(-1). The electron and muon decay channels of the W and Z are used. The total cross sections are measured for photon transverse energy E(T)(gamma) > 10 GeV and spatial separation from charged leptons in the plane of pseudorapidity and azimuthal angle Delta R(l.gamma) > 0.7, and with an additional dilepton invariant mass requirement of M(ll) > 50 GeV for the Z gamma process. The following cross section times branching fraction values are found: sigma(pp -> W gamma + X) x B(W -> lv) = 56.3 +/- 5.0(stat.) +/- 5.0(syst.) +/- 2.3(lumi.) pb and sigma(pp -> Z gamma + X) x B(Z -> ll) = 9.4 +/- 1.0(stat.) +/- 0.6(syst.) +/- 0.4(lumi.) pb. These measurements are in agreement with standard model predictions. The first limits on anomalous WW gamma, ZZ gamma, and Z gamma gamma trilinear gauge couplings at root s = 7 TeV are set. (C) 2011 CERN. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. RI Mertzimekis, Theodore/A-3287-2008; Hektor, Andi/G-1804-2011; Wulz, Claudia-Elisabeth/H-5657-2011; Chen, Jie/H-6210-2011; Bolton, Tim/A-7951-2012; Stahl, Achim/E-8846-2011; Yang, Fan/B-2755-2012; Krammer, Manfred/A-6508-2010; Tinoco Mendes, Andre David/D-4314-2011; Petrushanko, Sergey/D-6880-2012; Lokhtin, Igor/D-7004-2012; Kodolova, Olga/D-7158-2012; Dudko, Lev/D-7127-2012; Perfilov, Maxim/E-1064-2012; Belyaev, Andrey/E-1540-2012; Katkov, Igor/E-2627-2012; Boos, Eduard/D-9748-2012; Snigirev, Alexander/D-8912-2012; Tomei, Thiago/E-7091-2012; Focardi, Ettore/E-7376-2012; Novaes, Sergio/D-3532-2012; Padula, Sandra /G-3560-2012; Flix, Josep/G-5414-2012; Fruhwirth, Rudolf/H-2529-2012; Azzi, Patrizia/H-5404-2012; Torassa, Ezio/I-1788-2012