QCD analysis of the ATLAS and CMS $W^{\pm }$ and $Z$ cross-section measurements and implications for the strange sea density

Abstract

In the present paper, the ATLAS inclusive $W^{\pm }$ and $Z$ boson production data are analysed together with the CMS inclusive $W^{\pm }$ and $Z$ boson production data to investigate any possible tensions between the data sets and to determine the strange sea fraction, within the framework of a parton distribution function fit at next-to-next-to leading order in perturbative QCD.