Hadron collider limits on anomalous $WWγ$ couplings

Abstract

A next-to-leading log calculation of the reactions $pp$ and $p\overline{p}\rightarrow W^\pmγX$ is presented including a tri-boson gauge coupling from non-Standard Model contributions. Two approaches are made for comparison. The first approach considers the tri-boson $WWγ$ coupling as being uniquely fixed by tree level unitarity at high energies to its Standard Model form and, consequently, suppresses the non-Standard Model contributions with form factors. The second approach is to ignore such considerations and calculate the contributions to non-Standard Model tri-boson gauge couplings without such suppressions. It is found that at Tevatron energies, the two approaches do not differ much in quantitative results, while at Large Hadron Collider (LHC) energies the two approaches give significantly different predictions for production rates. At the Tevatron and LHC, however, the sensitivity limits on the anomalous coupling of $WWγ$ are too weak to usefully constrain parameters in effective Lagrangian models.