The discovery of the top quark

Abstract

Evidence for pair production of a new particle consistent with the Standard Model top quark has been reported recently by groups studying proton anti-proton collisions at 1.8 TeV center of mass energy at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. In this paper we review the history of the search for the top quark in electron positron and proton anti-proton collisions. We report on a number of precise electro-weak measurements and the value of the top quark mass which can be extracted from these measurements within the context of the Standard Model. We review the theoretical predictions for top quark production and the dominant backgrounds. We describe the collider and the detectors that were used to measure the pair production process and follow on to describe the data from which the existence of the top quark is evinced. Finally, we present possible measurements that could be made in the future with more data, measurements of quantities that would confirm the nature of this particle, the details of its production in hadron collisions, and its decay properties.