Z′gauge bosons at the Fermilab Tevatron
We study the discovery potential of the Tevatron for a ${Z}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ gauge boson. We introduce a parametrization of the ${Z}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ signal which provides a convenient bridge between collider searches and specific ${Z}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ models. The cross section for $p\overline{p}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{Z}^{\ensuremath{'}}X\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\ensuremath{\ell}}^{+}{\ensuremath{\ell}}^{\ensuremath{-}}X$ depends primarily on the ${Z}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ mass and the ${Z}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ decay branching fraction into leptons times the average square coupling to up and down quarks. If the quark and lepton masses are generated as in the standard model, then the ${Z}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ bosons accessible at the Tevatron must couple to fermions proportionally to a linear combination of baryon and lepton numbers in order to avoid the limits on $Z\ensuremath{-}{Z}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ mixing. More generally, we present several families of U(1) extensions of the standard model that include as special cases many of the ${Z}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ models discussed in the literature. Typically, the CDF and D0 experiments are expected to probe ${Z}^{\ensuremath{'}}$-fermion couplings down to 0.1 for ${Z}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ masses in the 500--800 GeV range, which in various models would substantially improve the limits set by the LEP experiments.