Search for excited electrons in pp̅ collisions at √s = 1.96 TeV

Abstract

We present the results of a search for the production of an excited state of the electron, e^∗, in proton-antiproton collisions at √s=1.96 TeV. The data were collected with the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider and correspond to an integrated luminosity of approximately 1 fb^-1. We search for e^∗ in the process pp̅→e^∗e, with the e^∗ subsequently decaying to an electron plus photon. No excess above the standard model background is observed. Interpreting our data in the context of a model that describes e^∗ production by four-fermion contact interactions and e^∗ decay via electroweak processes, we set 95% C.L. upper limits on the production cross section ranging from 8.9 to 27 fb, depending on the mass of the excited electron. Choosing the scale for contact interactions to be Λ=1 TeV, excited electron masses below 756 GeV are excluded at the 95% C.L.