Measurement of the $W$ pair production cross section and $W$ decay branching fractions in $e^+ e^-$ interactions at $\sqrt{s}=189$~GeV

Abstract The data collected by the L3 experiment at LEP at a centre-of-mass energy of 188.6 GeV are used to measure the W-pair production cross section and the W-boson decay branching fractions. These data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 176.8 pb −1 . The total cross section for W-pair production, combining all final states, is measured to be σ WW =16.24±0.37 (stat.)±0.22 (syst.) pb. Including our data collected at lower centre-of-mass energies, the hadronic branching fraction of the W-boson is determined to be B (W→qq)=[68.20±0.68 (stat.)±0.33 (syst.)]%. The results agree with the Standard Model predictions.