W and Z boson production in p-Pb collisions at √{s_{NN}}=5.02 TeV

The W and Z boson production was measured via the muonic decay channel in proton-lead collisions at √{s_{NN}}=5.02 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider with the ALICE detector. The measurement covers backward (-4.46 < y _cms < -2.96) and forward (2.03 < y _cms < 3.53) rapidity regions, corresponding to Pb-going and p-going directions, respectively. The Z-boson production cross section, with dimuon invariant mass of 60 < m _μμ < 120 GeV/ c ² and muon transverse momentum ( p _T ^μ ) larger than 20 GeV/ c, is measured. The production cross section and charge asymmetry of muons from W-boson decays with p _T ^μ > 10 GeV/ c are determined. The results are compared to theoretical calculations both with and without including the nuclear modification of the parton distribution functions. The W-boson production is also studied as a function of the collision centrality: the cross section of muons from W-boson decays is found to scale with the average number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions within uncertainties.