Measurement of the production and muonic decay rate ofWandZbosons inpp¯collisions at √s=1.8 TeV

An analysis of proton-antiproton collisions at {}s =1.8 TeV recorded with the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) yields {σ}(pp{}{→}WX)B(W{→}{μ}{ν})=2.21±{}0.22 nb and {σ}(pp{}{→}ZX)B(Z {→}μ⁺{{{μ}}}^{{{-}})}=0.226±0.032 nb. The ratio is{R}_{{{μ}}}$=${{{σ}}}WB(W→μν)/{{{σ}}}ZB(Z→{{{μ}}}⁺μ^-)=9.8±{}1.2. Combining with previous CDF electron results gives σWB(W{→}l{ν})=2.20±{}0.20 nb, σZB(Z{→}l⁺{l}^{{{-}}})=0.214±0.023 nb, and{R}ₗ=10.0±0.8. We extract the ratios of the coupling constants{g}_{{{μ}}}$/${g}ₑ$ and ${g}_{{{τ}}}$/${g}_{{{μ}}}$. Using standard model assumptions we deduce the inverse branching ratio ${B}^{{{-}}1}(W→lν), the width Γ(W), and a decay-mode-independent lower bound on the top quark mass of 45 GeV/{c}²$ (95% C.L.).