Observation of Single Top Quarks
Prof. R. Schwienhorst (Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA)

After 20 years of searching, the D0 and CDF collaborations at the Tevatron proton-antiproton collider at Fermilab have recently observed single top quark production for the first time. This measurement requires advanced analysis techniques to extract the small single top signal out of the large backgrounds. The single top cross section provides a direct measurement of the CKM matrix element Vtb, and the single top final state is sensitive to many models of new physics. I will present the exciting new results and discuss its implications for electroweak symmetry breaking and searches for new physics.