QCD corrections and nonstandard three vector boson couplings in W⁺W^- production at hadron colliders

The process pp^(-)→W⁺W^-+X→l₁⁺ν₁l₂^-ν¯₂+X is calculated to O(α_s) for general G- and P-conserving WWV couplings (V=γ,Z). The prospects of probing the WWV couplings in this reaction are explored. The impact of O(α_s) QCD corrections and various background processes on the observability of nonstandard WWV couplings in W⁺W^- production at the Fermilab Tevatron and the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is discussed in detail. The transverse momentum distribution of the charged lepton pair is found to be particularly sensitive to both anomalous couplings and QCD corrections. Sensitivity limits for anomalous WWV couplings are derived at next-to-leading order for the Fermilab Tevatron and LHC center of mass energies, and are compared to the bounds which can be achieved in other processes. Unless a jet veto or a cut on the total transverse momentum of the hadrons in the event is imposed, the O(α_s) QCD corrections and the background from top quark production decrease the sensitivity of pp^(-)→W⁺W^-+X→l₁⁺ν₁l₂^-ν¯₂+X to anomalous WWV couplings by a factor 2 to 5. © 1996 The American Physical Society.