Electroweak Radiative Corrections, Born Approximation, and Precision Tests of the Standard Model at LEP

Abstract

We have examined the evidence for the electroweak radiative corrections in the LEP precision data along with the intriguing possibility that the QED corrections only may be sufficient to fit the data. We find that the situation is very sensitive to the precise value of $M_W$. While the world average value of $M_W$ strongly favors nonvanishing electroweak radiative corrections, the QED corrections alone can account for the data within $2\sigma $ in the context of the standard model. We discuss how the precision measurements of $M_W$ can provide a decisive test for the standard model with radiative corrections and give a profound implication for the existence of t-quark and Higgs scalar.