Parton distributions from W± and Z production in polarized pp and pn collisions at RHIC

We study the production of W± and Z gauge bosons in proton-proton and proton-neutron collisions up to a center-of-mass energy √(s)=0.5 TeV, in connection with the realistic possibility of having proton-deuteron collisions at RHIC with a high luminosity. We stress the importance of measuring unpolarized cross sections for a better determination of the flavor asymmetry of the quarks. Since polarized proton beams will be available at RHIC, we evaluate several spin-dependent observables, like double helicity asymmetries ALL as a test of the sea quark polarization, double transverse spin asymmetries ATT as a practical way to determine a new structure function, the nucleon transversity distribution h1(x), and parity-violating asymmetries AL as a further test of our present knowledge of polarized parton distributions. ((orig.))