S, T, and Leptoquarks at HERA

Abstract

If the recently discovered anomalous events at HERA are due to a scalar leptoquark, then it is very likely to have weak isospin $I = 1/2$. In that case, present precision measurements of the oblique radiative parameters $S$ and $T$ provide strong constraints on the mass of the other component of this doublet. If the standard model is extended to include such a doublet, a slightly better fit may in fact be obtained. However, in specific proposed models where this doublet comes from a larger symmetry, there are often additional large and positive contributions to $S$ from exotic heavy fermions which far exceed the present experimental limit. A way to improve the Tevatron exploration of leptoquarks is proposed.