Evidence for top quark production in p̄p collisions at √s=1.8 TeV

Abstract

A search[1] for the top quark with the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) in a sample of p̄p collisions at √s=1.8 TeV with an integrated luminosity of 19.3±0.7 pb−1 is summarized. We find 12 events consistent with either two W bosons, or a W boson and at least one b jet. The probability that the measured yield is consistent with the background is 0.26%. Though the statistics are too limited to establish firmly the existence of the top quark, a natural interpretation of the excess is that it is due to tt̄ production. Under this assumption, constrained fits to individual events yield a top quark mass of 174±10+13−12 GeV/c2. The tt̄ production cross section is measured to be 13.9+6.1−4.8 pb. Some implications of the measured value of the top mass are discussed.