High Energy Physics Seminars

In this talk I discuss recent measurements of the Z ---> l+l- and W ---> lv inclusive cross-sections performed by the CMS collaboration. W and Z gauge boson production has been among the first physics studied at the LHC and the CMS results are an important test of Standard Model predictions at the unprecedented pp center-of-mass collision energy of 7 TeV. Events are selected for the analysis by requiring the presence of energetic, isolated electrons or muons. The presence of an energetic neutrino is demonstrated using the distribution of missing transverse energy. I describe the criteria used for lepton identification, as well as the data-driven techniques employed in the estimation of efficiencies, in the tuning of Monte Carlo simulation and in the determination of the most important background contributions. I discuss the methods used to evaluate experimental uncertainties and present relevant kinematic distributions and the extracted cross-sections.