We report the first observation of diffractively produced W bosons. In a sample of W → eν events produced in pp collisions at √ s=1.8 TeV, we find an excess of events with a forward rapidity gap, which is attributed to diffraction. The probability that this excess is consistent with non-diffractive production is 1.1 × 10 −4 (3.8σ). The relatively low fraction of W + Jet events observed within this excess implies that mainly quarks from the pomeron, which mediates diffraction, participate in W production. The diffractive to non-diffractive W production ratio is found to be R W = (1.15 ± 0.55)%.
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