Charge Asymmetry of Weak Boson Production at the LHC and the Charm Content of the Proton

Abstract

We investigate the production of the weak bosons $W^+$, $W^-$ and $Z$ at the LHC as a function of their rapidity, reconstructed {\it experimentally} from their leptonic decay. We show that the measurements provide a powerful tool for constraining the parton distribution functions, as was already the case for the lower energy $p\bar{p}$ collider data. We study the charge asymmetry determining the $u$ and $d$ distribution functions using the reconstructed $W^+$, $W^-$ rapidities. We also show how the ratio of the $W$ and $Z$ boson rapidity distributions directly probes the charm quark distribution function of the proton.