W boson physics at hadron colliders

The use of hadron colliders to investigate the properties of the W bosons started in 1982 at the CERN Sp (p) over barS collider. Since then, the Tevatron experiments at Fermilab have recorded a large sample of W events which allowed precision measurements of the properties of W bosons. In this paper the authors review W gauge boson physics at hadron colliders from 1982 to 2000. They first discuss the production mechanism and detection of W bosons in p (p) over bar collisions. After a brief review of the early studies, W boson physics at the Tevatron collider are thoroughly examined. Finally, possible future directions of W boson physics at hadron colliders are discussed.