ELECTROWEAK VECTOR BOSON PRODUCTION IN HIGH-ENERGY EP COLLISIONS

We present the results of a comprehensive study of W and Z production in high-energy ep collisions. The processes ep --> eW +/- X, ep --> nu-W- X, ep --> eZX and ep --> nu-ZX are investigated. The region of small momentum transfer in eW and eZ production, with a fermion exchanged in the u-channel, is treated using the photon structure function approach, and carefully matched to the deep inelastic region. Low momentum photon exchange contributions to nu-W and eZ production, where the proton either stays intact or is transformed into a nucleon resonance, are calculated using form factors and structure functions fitted directly to experimental data. These processes will be the source of rare but spectacular events. Total cross sections for W and Z production at HERA and at an ep collider in the LEP tunnel (LEP/LHC), and detailed results for the characteristics of eW, nu-W, eZ and nu-Z events are presented. In ep --> eWX, eZX the uncertainties of the quark densities in the proton and photon allow the total cross section predictions to vary by +/- 40% at HERA and +/- 15% at LEP/LHC.