Higher-order QED corrections to single-W production in electron-positron collisions

Four-fermion processes with a particle lost in the beam pipe are studied at LEP to perform precision tests of the electroweak theory. Leading higher-order QED corrections to such processes are analyzed within the framework of the structure function (SF) approach. The energy scale entering the QED SF is determined by inspection of the soft and collinear limit of the O(α) radiative corrections to the four-fermion final states, paying particular attention to the process of single-W production. Numerical predictions are shown in realistic situations for LEP experiments and compared with existing results. A Monte Carlo event generator, including exact tree-level matrix elements, vacuum polarization, higher-order leading QED corrections and anomalous trilinear gauge couplings, is presented. (orig.)