Alternative Interpretation of the Tevatron Top Events

Abstract

We propose an alternative interpretation of the top events discovered at the Tevatron in 1995. Given that the charge of the $b$ quark jet cannot be measured for the whole sample with certainty, the signal can be due to a quark of charge -4/3 at the reported mass, i.e. 174 GeV, while the top quark is actually heavier, say above 230 GeV. We point out in this paper that such a scenario is actually hinted at by the latest precision electroweak measurements of $Z$ decay. To rule out this possibility in the future, the $b$ quark jet charge analysis has to become definitive, or the single "top" production cross section has to be measured.