Precision Measurements of the W-Boson Mass

Abstract

The Standard Model of electroweak interactions has had great success in describing the observed data over the last three decades. The precision of experimental measurements affords tests of the Standard Model at the quantum loop level beyond leading order. Despite this great success it is important to continue confronting experimental measurements with the Standard Model predictions as any deviation would signal new physics. As a fundamental parameter of the Standard Model, the mass of the W-boson, M_W, is of particular importance. Aside from being an important test of the SM itself, a precision measurement of M_W can be used to constrain the mass of the Higgs boson, M_H. In this article we review the principal experimental techniques for determining M_W and discuss their combination into a single precision M_W measurement, which is then used to yield constraints on M_H. We conclude by briefly discussing future prospects for precision measurements of the W-boson mass.Comment: 37 pages, 13 figures, LaTex, to be published in volume 50 of Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Scienc