Outlook

Abstract

We have now investigated the phenomenology of high-Q ² NC and CC ep reactions at HERA in quite some detail. We have seen how both the strong and the electroweak sectors of the standard model (SM) come into play when deriving precise predictions for the cross sections in this kinematic regime, and how hypothesized phenomena beyond the SM could modify these predictions. In the last sections we have confronted the SM predictions and various theoretical scenarios beyond the SM with the experimental data. The precision with which these theoretical conjectures can be tested has increased in an impressive way since HERA came into operation, and a lot has been learned since that time. In general, we can draw one central conclusion: the SM predictions and the basic concepts of describing deep inelastic scattering (DIS) hold in the HERA kinematic region, at least to the level of accuracy achieved with the existing data.