Measurement of the t-channel single top quark production cross section in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Abstract

Electroweak production of the top quark is measured for the first time in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV, using a data set collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 pb^-1. With an event selection optimized for t-channel production, two complementary analyses are performed. The first one exploits the special angular properties of the signal, together with background estimates from the data. The second approach uses a multivariate analysis technique to probe the compatibility with signal topology expected from electroweak top-quark production. The combined measurement of the cross section is 83.6±29.8(stat+syst)±3.3(lumi) pb, consistent with the standard model expectation.