CAVEAT: this post was embargoed for several weeks because it contains ‘the number’.
Just before we could move to the DAQ section during the meeting Josh popped up this plots … glasses of champagne in his hands with Kenneth and the team … OMG, August 23 at 9:24 am Eastern. This is an amazing result spot on what is the predicted value and with an uncertainty rivaling the most precise measurement by CDF. Congratulations, this is BIG!
The new measurement is perfectly consistent with the predicted SM value and the other measurements except for CMS. It is in somewhat simplified terms inconsistent at the [ (80360.2-80434.0)/sqrt(9.9*9.9+9.4*9.4) ] 5.4 standard deviation level. The significance will go down when applying the different modeling assumptions but it is becoming obvious that something smells not quite right with the CDF measurement. We at CMS will be on the ball to get an even more precise number out in the next year(s).
An interesting point was made during the usual coffee walk when we were still all excited about this amazing result. As the opening of the box marks a major milestone in our analysis probably the most significant since the Higgs boson discovery I am impressed how people had the champagne ready but of course did not have any ‘proper’ glasses. Nicolas Feuillatte was the brand of choice and it must have been the best champagne ever for anyone deeply involved in this measurement.
The Thesis: “The best Champagne is always served in plastic cups.”