Measurement of the Charge Asymmetry in Top Quark Pair Production

Abstract

We present a measurement of the charge asymmetry in top quark pair production using an integrated luminosity of 1.09 fb-1 collected with the CMS detector. Top quark pairs with a signature of one electron or muon and four or more jets, at least one of them b tagged, are selected. At the LHC a small charge asymmetry in the rapidity distributions of top and antitop quarks is predicted. Therein slightly broader rapidity distributions for top quarks are expected, while antitop quarks are produced more centrally and possess narrower rapidity distributions. We determine the charge asymmetry based on two different sensitive variables and the results are compared with the most precise standard model theory predictions using a dedicated unfolding technique.