Observing Macroscopic Consequences of Electroweak Anomalies with Archival DELPHI Data

Abstract

In this Letter, we emphasize that asymmetries in charge flux produced in the decays of on-shell Z-bosons provide a macroscopic manifestation of electroweak anomalies in the Standard Model (SM). We propose that these can be cleanly observed using charge correlators, providing a new formulation of forward-backward asymmetry measurements that is particularly well suited for precision studies of hadronic decays. Using archival DELPHI data, we perform a first measurement of the one-point charge correlator of electromagnetic charge flux on hadrons, and cleanly observe the macroscopic imprint of the underlying anomaly. Our analysis illustrates the potential of charge correlators as precision electroweak observables, and motivates a renewed effort to resolve longstanding tensions in hadronic asymmetry measurements.

7 pages, 3 figures