Indirect measurement of $\sin^2 \theta_W$ (or $M_W$) using $\mu^+\mu^-$ pairs from $\gamma^*/Z$ bosons produced in $p\bar{p}$ collisions at a center-of-momentum energy of 1.96 TeV

Understand

Drell-Yan lepton pairs are produced in the process $p\bar{p} \rightarrow \mu^+\mu^- + X$ through an intermediate $\gamma^*/Z$ boson.

• The forward-backward asymmetry in the polar-angle distribution of the $\mu^-$ as a function of the invariant mass of the $\mu^+\mu^-$ pair is used to obtain the effective leptonic determination $\sin^2 \theta^{lept}_{eff}$ of the electroweak-mixing parameter $\sin^2 \theta_W$, from which the value of $\sin^2 \theta_W$ is derived assuming the standard model.
• The measurement sample, recorded by the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF), corresponds to 9.2 fb-1 of integrated luminosity from $p\bar{p}$ collisions at a center-of-momentum energy of 1.96 TeV, and is the full CDF Run II data set.
• The value of $\sin^2 \theta^{lept}_{eff}$ is found to be 0.2315 +- 0.0010, where statistical and systematic uncertainties are combined in quadrature.