Evidence for associated production of a single top quark and W boson in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV

Abstract

Evidence is presented for the associated production of a single top quark and W boson in pp collisions at root s = 7 TeV with the CMS experiment at the LHC. The analyzed data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.9 fb(-1). The measurement is performed using events with two leptons and a jet originated from a b quark. A multivariate analysis based on kinematic properties is utilized to separate the t (t) over bar background from the signal. The observed signal has a significance of 4.0 sigma and corresponds to a cross section of 16(-4)(+5) pb, in agreement with the standard model expectation of 15.6 +/- 0.4(-1.2)(+1.0) pb.