Recent STAR results and future prospects of $W^{\pm}$ boson production in polarized proton-proton collisions at RHIC

Abstract

The STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory is providing fundamental measurements in high-energy polarized $\vec{p}+\vec{p}$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=200-500\,$GeV to deepen our understanding on the spin structure and dynamics of the proton. This program has completed the first data taking period in 2009 of polarized $\vec{p}+\vec{p}$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=500\,$GeV. This opens a new era in the study of the spin-flavor structure of the proton based on the production of $W^{-(+)}$ bosons. The measurement of the cross section and single-spin asymmetries for midrapidity decay positrons and electrons from $W^{+}$ and $W^{-}$ boson production in longitudinally polarized $\vec{p}+p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=500\,$GeV is presented.